TODAY'S TWD: LOOKS LIKE RAINES (BUT....)

It was announced yesterday that Chris Noth will be leaving 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', where he has been easing the load on original star Vincent D'Onofrio by taking the lead in half of the episodes. Once again, our TV screens will be deprived of the presence of TV Crossover Hall of Famer Detective Mike Logan. He'll still be around in Toobworld, I'm sure - unless they're killing him off! - but we just won't be able to watch what he's up to.

In his place, Dick Wolf is bringing in Jeff Goldblum, who I'm sure will be bringing his own unique quirks to his share of the episodes to complement those of D'Onofrio's Detective Goren.

Once I heard that Goldblum had been cast, one thought only came to mind. And apparently I wasn't the only one who had the same idea.....

Here's a snippet from the news story at TVSquad, by Bob Sassone:

No word yet on what character Goldblum will play, but wouldn't it be all kinds of awesome if he reprised as role as Raines for the show (without the seeing of dead people bit)?

And this is by two of that post's commenters:

Nathaniel said...
So, Goldblum being Raines on L&O:CI is never going to happen, but DAMN that would be awesome! I totally agree. Both NBC shows, right? I would totally watch CI (and I never regularly watch any L&O at the moment) if they actually brought him in as Raines. Mention he cured himself or actually have him having his problem... that'd bring a new dimension to a L&O show!

Never gonna happen, of course, but would be awesome.

At least Goldblum's agreeing to be back on TV. Quite cool.

Number6ix said...
Maybe it isn't so "improbable" as you might think it is. After all, check out Richard Belzer as "Det. John Munch". First appearing in "Homicide: Life on the Street", when that show ended the character was transplanted from Baltimore ot New York and into "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". Here is a character that not only crossed over from other shows, but has even crossed networks [FOX-TV, "The X- Files: "The Unusual Suspects"]. Heck, if you catch the "Took" episode of "The Wire", you can catch the detective, back visiting Baltimore, and having a drink at Kavanaugh's Bar.

In the fictional universe of television, if Munch can move from Baltimore to New York, Raines could move from San Francisco to New York. We can only hope... and wait for the season's premire episode...

O'Bviously rights to the character would have to be negotiated, but wouldn't it be awesome if Detective Michael Raines moved East; not just to escape his personal demons, but to get out from the scrutiny of those around him who knew too much of his circumstances?

However, as lost as I can be in the fantasy of a TV Universe, I'm a practical man as well. I know that it's far more likely Goldblum will be playing a brand new character on the show.

But here's something interesting: the 'Raines' page still exists at NBC.com, nearly a year after the show was canceled......

At least we who enjoy the fantasy of Toobworld know that Michael Raines is still out there... somewhere. We just can't view him at present.

BCnU!
Toby OB