Maybe I’m a stickler for continuity, but flagrant re-use of the same actor in a series (albeit years apart) is a 15-yard penalty and loss of a down. Case in point: Wednesday’s prime time episode (as opposed to Prime Time in the Daytime from TNT) of Law & Order warranted a flag for bringing back David Groh. First item around, he was a judge who killed the child of one of his secret lovers. A few nights ago, Groh was a wife abuser/child molester/murderer (all around good guy, in short) who was killed by his shrink when she ran him over in a crosswalk (after his release).

Groh did a nice turn as a very unsympathetic character, but, hey…there are plenty of good actors out there who need work. Note to Dick Wolf & Co—do a batter scan of the SAG roster.

For the record, Groh broke on the scene as Rhoda’s husband Joe in the show of the same name. He later had a brief role in Get Shorty. Lots of Get Shorty references today.