January
3
'Law & Order' and 'ER': Irrational Unexuberance
I used to be a dedicated "Law & Order" viewer, back before I came to feel years ago that if you've seen 100, you've seen them all. But with most shows on hiatus and Jeremy Sisto joining the cast, I actually set my DVR to record Wednesday's season premiere.
After about five minutes, I left the TV and went upstairs to waste time online. I just couldn't hack it.
There wasn't anything wrong with what I saw. I just wasn't able to bring myself to settle in with its general dreariness, its all-too-familiar tone. The Sisto infusion meant almost nothing.
After a while, I feel, it's hard to repair disenchantment with long-running shows. However rational or irrational my feelings toward "L&O" are, there's no escaping it: I've moved on.
And so it will be for me tonight with "ER," another can't-miss show from another era that's a must-miss for me now. Gloria Reuben — a face from my heyday with the series — returns for a special appearance tonight, boosting a cast that already features three favorites of mine (Maura Tierney, Linda Cardellini and Parminder Nagra). And yet, I know I just won't be able to sit through an episode, or even an act.
Sometimes, when you fall out of love, there's no going back. Know what I mean?
— Jon Weisman
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I've seen parts of that movie, but not the whole thing. I got the same gist of it that you did.
Posted by: Jon | January 03, 2008 at 01:58 PM
"the kicked from 'Loaded'?" I meant the KID from "Loaded." Sheesh.
Posted by: Vail Beach | January 03, 2008 at 01:31 PM
Hi Jon, dzzrt Ratt here. I made up this other name years ago for Type Pad sign ins and I literally cannot shake it. So on this blog, I will be Vail Beach, in honor of the gnarliest beach on Block Island, RI where I summered as a child.
My love of L&O in all three forms transcends all reason. I think it is literally a sedative for me. CI is the best, but I love all of them. I forgot about the season premiere on Wednesday, and I don't know how I managed to do that. However, my particular L&O illness is much more focused on the cable reruns for some reason. I don't need to see episodes when they're fresh; it's more fun to run across them a year from now on TNT.
However, last night my wife got me into one of the dumbest movies ever, "Grandma's Boy." It was funny in a rude and stupid way. The kicked from "Loaded" spent much of the movie with his face in a gigantic pair of naked breasts. A video-game designer seemed to think he was a robot. Another character rolled enormous joints, owned a monkey and had a friend who dressed like an African tribal warrior. The Grandma was Doris Roberts. Shirley Jones played one of her friends, bragging to some kid in his 20s about giving Charlie Chaplin a h--- job. Those words should never come from Shirley Jones' mouth! Then she had sex with him and later on was licking his ear. I almost had to cover my eyes.
And Linda Cardellini was the star. Not only that, she was actually really good in it. Cardellini, Doris Roberts and Kevin Nealon made the movie tolerable. You should check it out, but be prepared to spend much of the movie cringing feebly.
Posted by: Vail Beach | January 03, 2008 at 01:29 PM
I'm a sucker; I sat through both episodes. Pretend Vincent Donofrio was boring, but didn't actively irritate me the way Inspector Gadget did. Ooh. . . his cell phone has wireless access. Awesome! OMG? He googled a witness--What. A. Genius!
RIP Law and Order.
Posted by: bokonon42 | January 03, 2008 at 01:02 PM