Some Big Shoes To Fill...

The new (and I use that term very loosely given we are 4 years behind America) run of Law and Order has been going for a couple weeks now, but there seems to be big hole missing in the show. This series is the first without the character of Lennie Briscoe played by the late, great Jerry Orbach. Law and Order just does not seem the same without Orbach as the wisecracking cop and given it is the first time in 12 years, and a total of 274 episodes, that he has not been on the show, you can’t help but notice.

Now, it was always going to be a hard job picking someone to fill this void but I think a wise choice has been made in casting Dennis Farina as Det. Joe Fontana. In bringing him in, it helps keep a bit of consistency in the cast as he plays the older, senior cop in his partnership with fellow detective Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin). It was nice that they didn’t go with a complete polar opposite and bring in a much younger guy. Although Martin can probably feel a bit aggrieved that he comes second in the opening credits to Farina. Still, Farina has settled in nicely as a smooth talker and has already showed that he will try any methods, such as making up that he has children or trying to trick someone into a DNA sample, to get the culprit. And his moustache gives a nice bit of character to him. I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out, but from early impressions things should be fine.