I Miss Lenny
I know the L&O season has just started, and Dennis Farina as the new cop has to be given a chance, but already I miss Jerry Orbach's inspired Lenny.
I liked Lenny for a number of reasons. In the first place he was an old guy, a cop of the streets. His views were not politically correct, but he tried to move with the nancified attitudes of contemporary social mores. He hated technology, but he ultimately bowed in the last season, and acquired a cell-phone. And, he honestly attempted to adapt to the attitudes of his younger partners.
Secondly, he was a flawed human being, and would be the first to admit it. He was a recovering drunk, and all aficionados of the show remember his 'big slip' as he grieved the death of ADA Claire. His beloved daughter was a junkie, who was ultimately murdered. And finally, and of much less consequence, he was nobody's patsy, as he railed against a world that had grown increasingly alien to a man of his generation.
Finally, Lenny was a cop's cop. Real life cops loved his character, and in my years covering a police beat for my newspaper, it was the Lenny type I found I invariably gravitated towards. Orbach captured the nuances of that sort of cop almost flawlessly, much as his younger partners, as a testament to the production, direction, and writing of L&O were effectively reflective of newer attitudes.
The best pairing in the history of the series (from the enforcement end, at least)was Lenny and Mike (played by Chris Noth). Mike needed to be reined back, and Lenny was the guy to do it because there was such mutual respect. Ultimately Mike's Irish temper got the best of him, and he was relegated to walking a beat after having decked a slimy politician -- a good impulse, but I guess not an acceptable one for a law enforcement officer.
In any case, Lenny's character is supposed to be resurrected sometime mid-season in another offering by the 'Wolf' firm. I look forward to it, and am prepared to give the new guy a chance in the interim. After all, fans of the series, have adjusted to other changes, and have been prepared to be fair. Although, to be honest, I always liked Ben Stone better than Jack McCoy, and Jamie remains in my heart as the most enticing assistant.
I liked Lenny for a number of reasons. In the first place he was an old guy, a cop of the streets. His views were not politically correct, but he tried to move with the nancified attitudes of contemporary social mores. He hated technology, but he ultimately bowed in the last season, and acquired a cell-phone. And, he honestly attempted to adapt to the attitudes of his younger partners.
Secondly, he was a flawed human being, and would be the first to admit it. He was a recovering drunk, and all aficionados of the show remember his 'big slip' as he grieved the death of ADA Claire. His beloved daughter was a junkie, who was ultimately murdered. And finally, and of much less consequence, he was nobody's patsy, as he railed against a world that had grown increasingly alien to a man of his generation.
Finally, Lenny was a cop's cop. Real life cops loved his character, and in my years covering a police beat for my newspaper, it was the Lenny type I found I invariably gravitated towards. Orbach captured the nuances of that sort of cop almost flawlessly, much as his younger partners, as a testament to the production, direction, and writing of L&O were effectively reflective of newer attitudes.
The best pairing in the history of the series (from the enforcement end, at least)was Lenny and Mike (played by Chris Noth). Mike needed to be reined back, and Lenny was the guy to do it because there was such mutual respect. Ultimately Mike's Irish temper got the best of him, and he was relegated to walking a beat after having decked a slimy politician -- a good impulse, but I guess not an acceptable one for a law enforcement officer.
In any case, Lenny's character is supposed to be resurrected sometime mid-season in another offering by the 'Wolf' firm. I look forward to it, and am prepared to give the new guy a chance in the interim. After all, fans of the series, have adjusted to other changes, and have been prepared to be fair. Although, to be honest, I always liked Ben Stone better than Jack McCoy, and Jamie remains in my heart as the most enticing assistant.
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