December 29, 2004

• I swear I was trying to preview. I haven't coded in comments in a while, grr and sorry.
• oh yeah, so here's the linky's. God I suck, comment sometimes, rarely post. first second woulda been my first post since the archive crash. now it's just a crappy source of ridicule.
• I was sad when I read this news. He was great in L&O but also in Crimes and Misdemeanors and (yes, I'll admit it) Dirty Dancing. A true loss.
• And, even if I didn't see it, he was in the original cast of Chicago. Sorry to see you go Jerry.
• he grew up in my hometown, waukegan, illinois
• Yeah... I always like him on the L&O show. I just can't get into Special Victims. It's that dude from Full Metal Jacket. Everytime he comes on screen I think to myself "I AMMM IN A WORLD. OF. SHIT!"
• Same here debaser. LO was a staple with Jerry Orbach, now we simply watch CI on Sundays, and catch the original when convenient. SVU has always just sort of creeped me out a little. And damn right, Soooz. How could we ever forget the one man who did put Baby in a corner?
• Oh... and bte planet, thanks... now I can't get that damn song out of my head.... dum dum...
• *btw
• actually, thank YOU debaser, I hadn't even thought of it. DUM DUM!!
• Bummer.
• Well I guess cancer got him in the end.
• Wasn't he also the voice of the candlestick in Disney's Beauty and the Beast? A talented man. First Reggie White, now Orbach...who's the third?
• Yep, JO was Lumiere; and I guess the third was Susan Sontag.
• Yep, all three surprises. Really sad news of Jerry Orbach, I was a fan.
• I can't offer much of a comment on him, as I've not seen more than two minutes of him onscreen, but his death does prompt a public health bulletin: Guys, get your prostate checked every year. I don't know any cops who could stand to watch Law & Order. It was so completely offbase regarding police work that it made Barney Miller seem realistic. And, on a disrespectful note, the actors in Law & Order collectively comprise the ugliest cast in the history of television.
• I have a co-worker who's in a clan of cops, all who love the show, and that's here in cynical Minneapolis (formerly "Murderapolis"). And not that I'm pitchin' a flame here, but why the dig on the looks of the cast? Not germane to this post or to what the cast of this kind of show *should* look like. In fact, fans of L&O were cranky when the most recent blonde assistant DA was added, as she didn't look "real" (or, in all fairness, match the acting quality obvious in the rest of the cast).
• L&O may not be pretty, but L&O:SVU is!
• I find it to be a relief to find a show where everyone looks like a supermodel (unless, of course, the show is about supermodels).
• I guess tastes vary, but I've never met a cop who would watch it. That's from being an officer and administrator in Missouri and knowing police here in Toronto. I only brought up their looks because they really are strikingly ugly to me. They seem misshapen, perhaps mutated, and while that part of my post wasn't specifically germane, it was somewhat related to the topic at hand. I don't think that people should be judged on appearances, but I've always wondered if the cast was created to be unappealing. I don't know about the DA you mentioned, but I've never been impressed with the acting quality on the show.
• Orbach was known for stage, small and large screen ability, and he was equalled by easily a dozen of some of the better actors in modern day television (i.e., Sam Waterston). And as you said in your first post-- never having seen two minutes of Orbach on screen-- how would you even have the chance to be impressed with the acting quality on the show?
• I am bummed. Det. Briscoe seemed kinda like the Dude, in that he would abide.
• May I just thank all participating monkeys for not bringing to light the ugliness I created with my poor post coding. Less poo means more bananas for all. )))))) Of course, never coded those, either, so here goes.but I sure know how to use the small tag!
• Two minutes was enough to convince me that the cast was comprised of over-earnest hams. "...the better actors in modern day television....": that's got to be a very short list. what television actors are even marginally talented?
• Patrick Stewart? John Cleese? Ashlee Simpson?
• coppermac - what is it that the cops you know dislike? As a non-cop, I have to say that the portrayals on L&O are pretty much what I would want cops to be like. I'd really like to know the reality of the job.
• Is it just me or is the main guy in CI the biggest ham you have ever seen? I used to love L&O but can no longer watch it because of the extent to which this guy overacts.
• I can't watch CI because of that red-headed over-(or under)actor, and he's monotonous, too. If that's the one your talking about, Bondurant, he hasn't been on L&O for years.
• Patrick Stewart: I'm not a Star Trek fan, and that's all I've seen him do. John Cleese: You have a point there. Fawlty Towers had many great moments, as did Monty Python. Ashlee Simpson: Isn't that the lipsynch fraud poptart? path: No paperwork or phone duty ever seems to get done by cops on tv. I know it doesn't make for exciting viewing, but to think that all we do is run around and catch the 'bad guys' is beyond simplistic. Then we have the endless good cop/bad cop scenarios which are played out in questioning suspects. The officers on L&W also apparently are psychic, because they quite frequently wrap up cases in the last five minutes with the accused sitting speechless while being told what it was s/he did and the motives behind the acts, all without much plot support from the previous 40 minutes of the show. And, the cops are regularly utterly disrespectful of/abusive toward suspects and witnesses in ways that no decent supervising officer would ever tolerate. I know when I served that if I had ever seen an officer intimidate a witness in the manner shown on tv, said officer would have been reprimanded without hesitation. When you force people to confess or make statements, those statements become questionable and you open up your department to lawsuits. Yes, abuse still occurs, but only when supervisors allow it to happen. The cops I know have all observed that they'd never get away with the intimidating tactics of the cops on L&W. Then we have the massive plot holes, wooden acting and generally badly written scripts. I can't see why the show is popular, if it still is.
• This is the guy. Det Goren.
• Bondurant - yes, D'Norfrio seems to confuse twitching with acting. He seemed promising in "Mystic Pizza", but can't bear to watch him on CSI. coppermac - thank you. I've always wondered about the bad/good cop act, though it's seemed to me it could be successful in calling out real confessions. (Yes, I'm naive.) Another question is whether it's really ok for cops to lie to suspects when questioning them - I've read that it's allowed, but it does seem like a bad thing. On the other hand, I think that most of us civilians who like L&O understand that the "Law" portion of the program lasts 22 minutes, so that the complete portrayal of police duties has to be cut short. But, I do think it shows cops as concerned about keeping the peace. Since I grew up in an era when the police were your friends, for me it's been a comfort to think that they still are, in spite of the publicity to the contrary in the intervening years.
• i've heard that barney miller is the closest to accurate a cop show has gotten and for the pot brownie episode, thank you and mushi mushi That guy on CI has had a long and interesting career outside cop shows, as did Jerry. That's why it's sad Raul Julia's last film was the Addams Family, and Richard Harris', Harry Potter. Richard Harris should at least be remembered for waking up in Tangiers or on some unnamed movie icon or that cake in the rain song, but anyone can be reduced to their most obsequious or innocuous trivia in print. That's one thing when it's a choice between writing a song for Captain Kangaroo or a dumb "principled action", it's another when it's reducing a life to a single job. Bye, Jerry, and thanks. a big year in death
• I LOVE Vincent D'Onofrio! Did you not see him in Full Metal Jacket??? He was amazingly creepy! Not to mention The Cell, which is one of those I-am-ashamed-to-admit-I-liked movies. In fact, L&O:Criminal Intent is a favorite. So there.;) /sorry for the derail.
• You're welcome, path. Good cop/bad cop scenarios do occur, but I doubt that anyone other than the very weak-minded fall for them. As for lying, most officers prefer to think that they mislead suspects and witnesses. It is necessary, sometimes, in order to determine if witnesses/suspects are lying or exaggerating , or to just find out how much they know without tipping your hand.
• Hey Darshon- I loved FMJ and "The Cell". Big VV fan (swingers is one of my all time favourites) but I find it painful to watch this guy in L&O. His acting style is really offputting. It's just so OTT. Sorry.
• i have to agree. i'm tired of the tired "supersleuth" thing. but i'm tired of the end of character actors
• I, too, love D'Onofrio. Can't take him remotely seriously on Criminal Intent but love him all the same. His character is just so surreal, almost ridiculously so. And I can understand what coppermac is saying about the cop stuff on L&O; even as a non-cop I can't imagine police acting that way, and the way they treat crime scenes, but I'm also fussy about shows like CSI when they pull fingerprint data or chemical analyses in, like, milliseconds. (Crime shows are my secret vice.)
• And I was surprised and saddened at Orbach's death.
• OK well while we're on the topic of CSI, in reality would it be those guys doing all the interrogating of suspects? Wouldn't that be left to real cops? Aren't these guys just lab rats?