Who do the television execs think they are trying to fool!?!? I don't get it. When a character has been on a show for a certain amount of time, the audience becomes accustomed to a certain standard. And if that actor leaves the show, the audience expects that spot to be filled with an actor of the same caliber.
Well! NBC apparently does not follow that school of thought. What is up with the excessive amount of "B" actor replacements on their shows??
First came Law and Order. When Jerry Orbach (god rest his soul) left, I was interested to see who would replace him (although, really, there is no replacing Lenny Briscoe). Hmm...whom do we have here? Dennis Farina. Dennis Farina? No, really? Dennis? Farina? Hmph. Well that's just dumb. He is some sort of poor-man's Jerry Orbach! He does rotten "B" movies where he plays the same character over and over again. A loud italian guy, usually connected to the mob. He's not a cop for chrissakes! And certainly not a cop like Lenny Briscoe! He is irritating to watch. As much as I love me some Jesse L. Martin and Sam Waterston's eyebrows, I can't watch the show. He has ruined it for me. Thank you NBC for taking away something else that I love, when I have so little left!!
And how about the West Wing? You can't possibly have me believe that Martin Sheen, President Bartlett, is going to be replace by Jimmy Smits!?!?! C'mon! That is just ridiculous! What, is he the only Latino actor available. Just sitting at home, waiting for his phone to ring...
NBC thinks: "Hmmm...we need ethnic...how about Morgan Freeman?"
" Nah, he ALWAYS gets to be the President in every disaster movie. Who else?"
"We could use a Mexican?"
"Yes! Good! Let's go with that! Does Oscar De La Hoya act? He's pretty."
"Don't think so..."
"What about that Edwards James Olmos guy? He's good! That rape scene in...oh...never mind."
"Yeah, I think he's pretty busy doing Lifetime movies anyways."
"Is Dennis Farina Latin?"
"Oh, Law & Order already snagged him."
"Well fuck! Who else is there? We could never get Benjamin Bratt and Antonio Banderas barely speaks English, the audience would never buy it!"
"Hey, has that guy from NYPD Blue done anything lately?"
"Rick Schroeder? Gah! He has blonde hair, for chrissakes! Let's at least think of someone we can make into a Latino!"
"No! The other guy...with the wispy hair...Johnny...or Jimmy...Sfjjriutu..."
"Jimmy Smits! Yeah! Wait. Is he dead?"
"No! He just hasn't done anything. He was so desperate they made him a ghost on NYPD Blue. He probably paid them for that role. A ghost! HA! Loser! He's definitely available."
"And he's definitely a Latino."
"Then it's decided. Great. The audience will love this. They'll be so excited about an ethnic President, they won't even care that his last role was as a ghost!"
Well guess what NBC? WE CARE!! Stupid NBC! Stupid Jerry Orbach for dying! And stupid Jimmy Smits for not having a career!
