# Dennis Farina joins "Law & Order"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658 "2004-05-17T21:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/1 "2004-05-17T21:17:58Z")
It says so in [this](http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/17/new.season.ap/index.html) story. I suppose he could grow into the role (and given that I haven’t heard about any other cast changes, I assume he’s replacing Jerry Orbach), but he seems like kind of a dull choice. I would have preferred an interesting unknown instead of a TV journeyman. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/2 "2004-05-17T22:05:45Z")
They are going to change the title to “Crime, Law & Order Story”. * * * Overheard in the public restroom: “That’ll leave a skidmark all the way to the treatment plant!” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/3 "2004-05-17T22:40:43Z")
Interesting choice, since Farina’s always had a bit of the brash thug about him, while Orbach’s more insular and world-weary. Haven’t watched the show in a while (because of the terrible blonde chick) but may tune in–for the first half at least. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/4 "2004-05-17T23:26:36Z")
> [@gatopescado](#): > > They are going to change the title to “Crime, Law & Order Story”. Coincidentally, “Crime Story” is part of the reason that I didn’t watch “Law & Order” at the very beginning. I didn’t really like “Crime Story,” and I guess I thought that “Law & Order” was another '50s-era thing for some reason and blew it off. I didn’t start watching “Law & Order” until I read an interview with Michael Moriarty in “Playboy” regarding, among other things, his feud with Janet Reno. Now, of course, I’ve long since seen practically all the early stuff a million times over. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/5 "2004-05-17T23:41:04Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Interesting choice, since Farina’s always had a bit of the brash thug about him, while Orbach’s more insular and world-weary. Farina was a real-life cop for 18 years on the Chicago police force. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/6 "2004-05-17T23:44:44Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Coincidentally, “Crime Story” is part of the reason that I didn’t watch “Law & Order” at the very beginning. I didn’t really like “Crime Story,” **Blasphemy!** Though the series gradually sloped downhill once things moved to Vegas, the best episodes of _Crime Story_ eclipse anything ever done on _L&O_, and the first installment may be the best season premiere ever made. That was back when Michael Mann kicked serious ass (here’s hoping his summer film brings him back to form). :listening to Del Shannon in his head: ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/7 "2004-05-17T23:49:26Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Farina was a real-life cop for 18 years on the Chicago police force. Oh, I know this, but most of his characters (good or bad) have a tough-guy component that I usually associate more with the Young Turk cop in the L&O pairings. Farina’s not as good an actor as Orbach either, IMHO, but here’s hoping the writing gives him some interesting things to explore. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/8 "2004-05-18T00:00:35Z")
quite frankly, the most disturbing thing about that article was > [@](#): > > an animated comedy, “Father of the Pride,” about the lions that perform in Siegfried and Roy’s Las Vegas show I still can’t believe it, and I’m copying it, and pasting it. Comparitively, casting Dennis Farina is pure genius. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/9 "2004-05-18T00:21:26Z")
Well, as an animated show, the episodes were well into production when Roy’s mishap occurred, and at an estimated cost of $2M per episode, the network wasn’t going to simply jettison such an enormous investment–particularly since, IIRC, the show does have the support and/or cooperation of S&R themselves. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/10 "2004-05-18T03:34:31Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > … Haven’t watched the show in a while (because of the terrible blonde chick) … The terrible blond chick grated on me at first as well, but she’s grown on me. I only tire of the “don’t miss the last 43 seconds, you won’t believe it!” “twist” ending. I’m more familiar with Dennis Farina as a bad guy. He was the thug in _Get Shorty_, and he was a jewel buyer in _Snatch_, and some other things that escape me right now…But I like his tough guy “stuff”. I’ll miss Logan, but it’s not like other character haven’t come and gone. ---
**Author:** ![Riqay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Riqay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riqay)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/11 "2004-05-18T04:21:10Z")
I’ve always been a big fan of Dennis Farina. I first saw him as FBI Chief Jack Crawford in Michael Mann’s 1986 production of _Manhunter_ (remade recently as _Red Dragon_). I thought Farina did a great job in that. He also did a nice job playing mobsters in _Get Shorty_ and _Midnight Run_. He comes across very natural to me, but maybe it’s just my appreciation of his heavy Chicago accent … ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dennis-farina-joins-law-order/245658/12 "2004-05-18T12:19:25Z")
Dennis Farina rules. Have you seen him in _Big Trouble_, with Tim Allen and Rene Russo? “So this is Miami? They can keep it.” Genius. He rocks. Snicks