L&0S20

I just finished catching up on Law & Order season 20, and even though nobody who reads this blog cares, I'm going to talk some more about it. The season isn't over yet, but it has been shaping up nicely. It was satisfying to see the drug cartel's ex-DA mouthpiece get convicted, as well as ICEBURNED by Connie on the stand. Jason Jones's continuing role as a right-wing blowhard talking head is of course hilarious on a meta level. Lupo and Bernard keep on being awesome.

Of course the big storyline is the lieutenant having cancer and having Ernie Hudson (yes, Winston!) as a boyfriend. I'm guessing she'll be leaving the show by the end of the season, either dying or just retiring. Apparently she is the longest running character on the show, which is kind of cool. Actually the medical examiner appeared first, Wikipedia tells me, but has appeared fewer times.

This Lt. is clearly a lot better than Cragen (thumbs down) and has only gotten better as the series has progressed. It was nice to see Curtis return, if only for a few minutes, looking REALLY old and mentioning Lenny (!!!). It makes me wonder if Green will ever return. L & O fans will recall that he just left the force after his return to his gambling addiction, and Jesse L. Martin hasn't died, so a return at some point, even if it is only for an episode or something, is certainly possible. As he is one of my favorite detectives, that would be a real treat. The more pressing question is who will replace Lt. Van Buren if she does in fact leave the show. My guess would be a new character, as it seems unlikely that they would promote one of the detectives that we all know and love, especially since neither of the current detectives are particularly experienced, with only a couple seasons between them. Of course there is the possibility of bringing back a previous detective to replace her, but I have my doubts. Here is a slapdash list:

1. Green - Unlikely due to the circumstances of his departure, plus it's not like the actor probably needs this fairly small role.

2. Fontana - I'm pretty sure he's retired and again I doubt Farina would want a role like that.

3. Cassidy - In the words of Wayne, yeah, right...

4. Falco - Nobody liked him in the first place.

5. Cragen - I guess he could move back from SVU, but I'm pretty sure he was disgraced and all. I would root against this possibility, anyway. SVU just keeps getting worse from what I can tell and drags all its characters down with it.

6. Logan - He left CI and I doubt he'd come back, but who knows? They seem to love his character even though he's sort of bland and was always overshadowed in my mind by Briscoe.

7. New Guy/Gal - I see this as most likely. They should probably get a new woman, or this show will start failing the Bechdel test, although I suppose it failed that test for most of its run.

That's about all I have for now.