Liberal Talk Radio

I’d like to take a moment to say I’m thrilled to watch Michael Imperioli taking over for Jesse Martin on Law & Order. Martin is on hiatus while he films the movie version of Rent, which he starred in on broadway many moons ago. Imperioli, who plays Chrstopher on the Professor and my favorite show, The Sopranos, is perfect on L&O. He stars opposite Dennis Farina, and it’s a real treat watching the both of them try to out-goombah each other. It’s really refreshing, though, to see more people on the cast adopt actual New York accents. Far more believable than, say, Sex and the City, which, if you close your eyes and listen, sounds like it’s set in a suburban mall.

I’ve gotten to this point where Law & Order has become a zen kind of thing. The episodes kind of wash over me now, the TV on in the background as I do work around the house. I don’t even really pay attention to the details of the particular case, I just let the rhythm of the voices waft across the room… Sam Waterston’s TD Waterhouse montone, Jerry Orbach’s wisecracks, S. Epatha Merkerson’s no-nonsense “get it done” attitude. It’s more than the sum of it’s parts. It’s like TV Muzak. I love it.