Cold 

LET us start out by saying that we personally love Mr. Dick Wolf's creation of LAW & ORDER Wolf Pictures/Universal/NBC TV Network, 1990-????) And its offspring L & O: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (1999-????) and L & O: CRIMINAL INTENT (2000-????). LAW & ORDER (the original) was one of the fine Cop Shows on the old tube (along with HOMICIDE:LIFE ON THE STREET that kept me in the game mentally when I was laid up from my job on the good old Chicago P,D. back in 1994-95.

WE really wish that we could say that it was due to some exciting, heroic shoot-out with the bad guys or some such dramatic reason; but, alas, it would be a lie, plain and simple! The malady in my own case was a very harsh dose of the old Rheumatoid Arthritis; which, believe you me, is one nasty illness that you wouldn't want to wish on your own worst enemy!

HOWEVER enough of this sh*t already! Let's get back to our next review on this our very next little morsel of the night in this SPECIAL VICS Episode of "COLD".

WE find that one must not judge on of these L & O Groups entries until you've seen the whole story. This particular installment involves a bad shooting by a Cop, which is a cover up for his own illegal criminal activity. Caught in the middle are some illegal aliens, Detective Lake (Adam Beach) and some other non regular cop character.

WITH plenty of twists and many a use of generous helping of irony, this is indeed one very fine entry into the series. But we have two general remarks about this episode in particular and for all of the LAW & ORDER'S FAMILY of Good Cop Shows.

FIRST of all, there are too many stories that revolve around POLICE MISCONDUCT. Believe me, we know that these things happen and there are always guys on the Job who just don't belong there. We know that things happen, but not to the extent that this fiction would seem to indicate.

SECONDLY, and this is just a given. There is entirely too much of a tilt toward the Left Politically speaking. We realize that it would be impossible not to insert some of one's own personal feelings into a story; but c'mon gang! There are entirely too many stories that, e.g., make abortion clinic picketers the bad guy, ridicule people who are supposed to be proponents of 2nd Amendment Rights (That Means the Right to Bear Arms, Schultz!) and the show ignores one of the most perplexing problems that Police have to deal with.

THAT being that NO MATTER WHAT POLICE DEPARTMENT WE ARE talking about anywhere, POLITICAL CRONYISM is the most detrimental element to good police work and to fair promotion of deserving people to run and manage an efficiently smooth running Police Department for all citizens.

JUSY you wait until I write MY BOOK! That'll be one that will make at least one great film or TV Series!

POODLE SCHNITZ!!