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.

As is my wont, I do most of my TV watching in front of my exercise bike each morning in 30-minute increments. My Cox-brand generic DVR holds 40 hours of programming, and you’d be stunned to see how quickly it fills up. My family has seen my wrath in angrily wiping out old episodes of Monk and oddball Disney Channel shows featured some low-talent, pre-cosmetically altered pubescents. As for me, every DVR must have an ample supply of Law and Orders, West Wings (more about that in a minute) and Sopranos. Caution—I have the first four seasons on tape or DVD, so now that Season 5 has started, it’s rapidly grabbing precious hours on the DVR. The ax is soon to fall on any video trespassers and infiltrators!

I time shift the current season of West Wing and Law and Order. Quick note—for some reason, NBC must hate this time shifting practice, or something’s off at the atomic clock that guides my DVR, because the first six-eight seconds of each show is truncated. Is NBC on some unlisted time zone? Maybe Atlantic Minus 5?

The new season of West Wing is appalling. CJ as Chief of Staff? Hah, I say. The latent felon Wally Backman as MLB manager makes better sense. It’s one thing to stir up the pot, it’s another to go off your rocker. I thought the drug abusers were off the show’s creative staff? Someone’s smoking something, or maybe the yellow makers are a bit too fragrant. Hawkeye as Republican President wanna-be? Sifuentes as Democratic wanna-be? What about Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak for chief counsel? Trapper John for Surgeon General? And, in the show kicker, we hear an asteroid is falling to earth. Any chance we can get it to land smack in the middle of David Spade’s head? Those credit card commercials featuring Spade are the stuff that makes serial killers out of Hari Krishnas.

Law and Order is not what it was, but the wiggle room between its peak and mediocrity is huge. Sam Wateston reading the Yellow Pages ® is better than 90-percent of the card carrying acting world. And while Dennis Farina is no Lenny Briscoe, he’s the man who said, "It’s chilly inside, it’s chilly outside..it’s just one big, freakin’ chilly fest." (Language adapted for airline use).

Sopranos in queue for tomorrow. Steve Buscemi in season five.

If you look to the left column of this blog, you’ll see a cool music feature. It’s a K-Amp Media Player and the folks at the company were kind enough to allow me to demo one. I’ll be adding songs to the player based merely on personal whim with no rhyme or reason. Well, maybe some reason, but certainly no rhyme.

Just click on the play button and you are on your way. Happy motoring.