Is it true that Adam Beach is ...
Question: Is it true that
Adam Beach is joining
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? This is my favorite crime show, and I can't help but feel like he is eventually going to be a show-killer. I hated his character and his interactions with Finn a couple of weeks ago, and as a result I thought that was one of the show's weakest episodes in a long time.
SVU is a character-driven crime show, unlike the original, so one new character would make a big difference and completely affect the show. I like Benson and Stabler and am glad that they are usually front and center. I like Munch and Finn, who are great as supporting players. Casey Novak can be annoying, but her role is necessary for court scenes. I enjoy the psychiatrist and, finally, I even love when Judith Light appears as a judge from time to time. In order for Adam Beach to join, either Munch or Finn would have to go, and I don't want that. Also, the flirting between Novak and Beach's character was ewwww! Please tell me this is not true.
Answer: Sorry, it's true. After getting a number of e-mails about this episode, I went back and watched, and while it certainly wasn't my favorite
SVU ever, I was mildly intrigued by Adam Beach's character. Having enjoyed him in the PBS adaptations of Tony Hillerman's mysteries, and finding him the most compelling aspect of Clint Eastwood's
Flags of Our Fathers, I'm more concerned that he'll be wasted in the margins of the show rather than upstage the two leads, who now that they've signed rich new contracts aren't likely to concede ground to the show's underused ensemble. And I haven't read or heard anything to indicate that either Ice-T or Richard Belzer are leaving to make room for Beach. (In fact, given the grudging respect Finn showed toward the new guy from Brooklyn by the end of that episode, I imagine they'll be working some cases together.) Let's see how it plays out before we start freaking out, OK?
