Hey PopWatchers, if you run out of Law & Orders, SVUs, and Criminal Intents, never fear: A hit parade of veteran actors from the Law & Order franchise and Homicide have a little teaser for you. They’ve joined forces to video-blog their solidarity with the WGA in this hilarious cautionary tale about the dangers of improv-ing your way through even the most formulaic and prolific television medium on prime time today: the crime procedural.
Our dynamic crime-fighting duo — self-described as “impossibly hot” — is Dean Winters and Kathryn Erbe, who amble around the set trying to determine their surroundings (a library), casually assess the vic (a woman in a red dress, gunshot wound to the head), guzzle the goods from a nearby craft services truck, and get their grubby hands on every possible piece of evidence in the room. Erbe puts on her Detective Eames hat half-cocked, as she draws on her years of Dick Wolf-ian experience to try to chip away at the case, while wielding what looks like a candle snuffer. Or is it a tire iron? It certainly ain’t the murder weapon. If only they’d push D’Onofrio out of the way so we can see more of Erbe’s sardonic wit on Criminal Intent, then maybe the runt of the Law & Order litter would get reinstated at NBC. (Remember how sinister and creepy she was on Ozas the femme fatale death-row inmate Shirley Bellinger? I stillhave nightmares.)
Among the other cast of characters fumbling the case: a pair of Homicidealums, Zeljko Ivanek as “the case-hardened D.A.” and “old-timer who’sseen it all” Peter Gerety, neither of whom can remember the name ofthat doctor person who performs autopsies; “omniscientforensic profiler” B.D. Wong, as profound here with one word as he iswith pages of dialogue; and Eric Bogosian as the eye-rolling,underwhelmed “over-burdened captain.” But the man who will mostcertainly (not) solve the case, the “seasoned pro with the golden gut”Chris Noth has a theory about the murder that serves as a most worthypunchline.
PopWatchers, what do you think of this video? Who do you think seems most like their Law & Order alter ego? And are you getting tired of the WGA strike, or are you finding plenty to keep you entertained on TV and YouTube?
Comments (1-13) of 13 Add your comment
“A hit parade of veteran actors from the Law & Order franchise and Homicide”
If you want to call a 3 episode arc on Homicide work from Dean Winters part of the Law and Order and Homicide franchise, I guess that statement is true. Perhaps it would be better to say “A hit parade of veteran actors from the Oz, Law & Order franchise and Homicide”.
Anyway, I must admit I am tiring of these spoofs in support of the writers. I support them and all, but I have stopped watching television. I only use mine for shows on dvd.
In addition to Homicide, off the top of my head, I remember Winters being a regular on the first season of SVU for a little while. Sure, he’s not as well-known as the others, but I still think he qualifies.
Oh man, Winters’ Cassidy was the comic relief dumb cop on the very tonally different first season of SVU. (He is the only person we have ever seen kiss Olivia!)
I love the Erbe. I wasn’t sure if Eames’ one-liners were bad delivery or bad writing (the latter) but I’ve grown to love them, and her.
Criminal Intent is back on NBC proper btw.
I would have thought it would have been a lot funnier than it was. *sigh*
If it means more Dean Winters on my TV screen, I’ll watch every episode, baby.
This needs to be real. Screw the writers, we have gold here!
Love the Dean Winters love here — I loved him on Oz and was very excited he was on SVU way back when. I miss new TV. Sniff… Thank God for FNL and Lost.
I like Winters, and am delighted when he shows up on screen. But he was not credited as a “regular” on L&O SVU as far as I can tell at imdb and elsewhere. He was always listed after the “regular credits”.
Winters is now a recurring character on The Sarah Connor Chronicles, though I don’t know how much screen time they’ll give him there either. He’s an unsung.
And btw, Kera, I’m assuming the weapon in Erbe’s hand is the “lead pipe” since all the other props in the skit are references to CLUE.
This was hilarious. And, by the way, SHOULDN’T have been better as they were trying to prove how much their shows would stink without writers. In other words, if it were comic genius written by actors, they’d kind of be undermining their point. Very cute stuff; glad they did it. BD Wong still had that “look” he always gave before an evaluation on SVU — perfect.
Please more. They should spoof other shows like this that are affected by the strike. Or maybe just this one. “We need tho call the…the whaddaya callit…” “MEDICAL EXAMINER!” “Oh, Jesus! God!” Best part ever.
Zeljko Ivanek is the man. That bit in the chair… oh, dear.
Thanks for sharing Kera – that was fun.