Woah, Skeet Ulrich is going to anchor Law & Order: Los Angeles? In the brief period when I subscribed to Teen, Ulrich was everywhere. I nursed my crush on him in The Newton Boys, but somehow I missed Ride With the Devil, his Ang Lee Civil War Western with Jewel (can you see why?) and he kind of fell off my radar. It'll be interesting to see how he holds up.
And I'm even more curious to see how they handle a part of his character's history. He's supposed to have started work just six weeks before the beating of Rodney King and the riots that followed, events "which shaped his entire policy of policing." I don't know what that means, and I'll be curious to see how they develop that. Will Ulrich's character be suspicious of Los Angeles's black community? Will he have developed an interest in community policing? Will he be working with cops who are similarly affected? Or will he be working with folks who entered the LAPD afterwards?
It's been a while since a mainstream television show took on the riots, much less their aftermath and their systemic impact on the department. If done well, this could be significant. If done poorly, it would be deeply unfortunate. And I'm curious to see if they take on the Rampart scandal, too. I initially wasn't excited about the prospect of a Law & Order spinoff in Los Angeles, but the more I reflect on it, the more I think it's a good opportunity to revitalize the format. Let's let the original pass on gracefully, and enjoy the smog and sunshine of the expansion.