Three flashback mini-movies produced by David Simon, the creator of the acclaimed HBO series, have been released via Amazon.com as free streams available on the page for the complete fourth-season DVD set. On Jan. 15, the flicklets will also be made available via HBO On Demand, HBO.com, podcasts and related portals. In other words, there will be virtually no missing the backstories about Prop Joe and Omar as kids or McNulty's first day on the job.... In other cop-show news, Law & Order: SVU's Connie Nielsen has signed on to play the title character in A&E's proposed Danny Fricke series, about a hot detective who is promoted while diddling her boss. — Ben Katner
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Question: (Spoiler alert) I just watched the season premiere of Friday Night Lights online and really liked it up until one point late in the episode. (I'm sure you know where I'm heading here!) I don't want to give anything away, but there's a storyline that's going to be really divisive to the show's fanbase. What was your reaction to the big "twist" near the end? I was watching it with three people and we all literally groaned. To me, it yanks a show that's built on a very effective, realistic feel into the realm of contrived, melodramatic plot devices. Why did they have to go there? There's so much to explore in the very real relationships of the two characters involved that mucking up the waters with this inescapably huge event feels not only unnecessary but actually disruptive. I really want Friday Night Lights to survive — I'm fine with the obvious attempts to "sex it up" (like starting us out with a swimsuit scene) — but I don't really want to watch these characters struggling ...
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In his seventh year playing Elliot Stabler on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Christopher Meloni snagged his first Emmy nomination. We asked the 45-year-old newbie about finally getting recognized and what his costar (and three-time nominee) Mariska Hargitay had to say.
TV Guide: How are you feeling about your first Emmy nomination? Christopher Meloni: I'm feeling… quite honestly, the best part about it is the congratulatory calls I've gotten from friends, colleagues. I think, actually, they're a little happier than I am. [Laughs] So I pretty much
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Question: Are there any cast changes in store for Law & Order: SVU?
Answer: Actually, SVU is the one Law & Order show not in upheaval mode. With the exception of Connie Nielsen subbing for Mariska in the fall, there are no major cast changes afoot.
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Question: What's going to happen with our beloved Stabler and Benson on Law & Order: SVU now that Olivia has requested a new partner?
Answer: Benson's going to get transferred to the computer-crime division, where she'll be working alongside TARU Tech Morales (Joel de la Fuente). Stabler, meanwhile, will be marking time with temp partners (including Anthony Anderson on May 2) until Connie Nielsen shows up in September. Short-story-shorter: We're probably not going to see a Benson-Stabler reunion until at least November.
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