I am a 32-year-old Dick Wolf ...
Question: I am a 32-year-old Dick Wolf fan who has watched
Law & Order in all of its incarnations since its inception. However, I was personally angered by the cheap publicity stunt that occurred during last Sunday's episode of
Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In case you missed it, in a blatant advertising cross-over promotion, Mary McCormack's character from
In Plain Sight made a "special appearance" in the episode. The cross-over in and of itself I absolutely have no problem with. I also have little problem with the fact that McCormack's scene was essentially useless fluff and crowbarred into the main plotline. The part I do have a problem with was the unabashed promotion of
In Plain Sight that was incorporated directly into the dialogue. Upon McCormack's exit, Chris Noth states, "Gee, I wonder what they do in Albuquerque for fun on Sunday night at 10 pm." The only way they could have made this worse is to have had Noth break the fourth wall and give the line directly to the camera. I am shocked and a little disappointed that Wolf would allow this to happen. I recognize that the
L&O brand is fading and Wolf will do almost anything to reach his dream of having
L&O outlast
Gunsmoke, but when you turn your show over to a network to use as a promotional advertisement, you have gone too far. The
L&O brand used to stand for quality, now I'm not sure what it stands for. Am I alone in my disgust?
Answer: I didn't see that episode — not much of a fan of
Criminal Intent even before it moved to cable, and a week ago Sunday, between sports and the Tonys, I was otherwise engaged — but that gag does sound pretty cheesy. Still, I wouldn't let your disgust for what
Criminal Intent did bleed over to the mothership, which is just coming off a strong and transformative year. There have been times I thought Wolf should just fold the franchise for dignity's sake, but this last season felt like a reinvented, re-energized show. We'll know things have gone seriously awry if NBC Universal forces them to insert a
Knight Rider cameo into the original next season. Let's pray that doesn't happen.
