John Byrne name on Law and Order last night

[Paladin]

Anyone see this episode? I did a little doubletake when I heard the name. There was no connection to the artist of course, which probably means this post has nothing to do with comics.

[AlexH]

I watched it and immediately thought that too. Just a coincidence I'm sure.

[ArnoldTBlumberg]

This is not a coincidence, it's been a running gag for at least a few years now. Watch the opening credits and you'll see that Gerry Conway - yes, *that* Gerry Conway - has been on the LAW AND ORDER team for a while. As I recall, he's more directly involved in the CRIMINAL INTENT part of it, but anyway, it's very clear he - or perhaps co-workers familiar with his background - have been seeding episodes with other comic creator names for a long time. Past episodes have featured a murderer named Frank Miller, and in one memorable story with an anthrax scare, a doctor named Roger Stern.

 

Arnold

[Joanna]

When I was writing for TV, my partner and I always used the names of grade school classmates for characters.

 

On the TV show Remington Steele, most of the names used were street names in the San Fernando Valley.

 

Using familiar names, or in-joke names is very common. And if you're in on the joke, as with comic creators, it can be a lot of fun.

 

-- Joanna

[AlexH]

This is not a coincidence, it's been a running gag for at least a few years now. Watch the opening credits and you'll see that Gerry Conway - yes, *that* Gerry Conway - has been on the LAW AND ORDER team for a while. As I recall, he's more directly involved in the CRIMINAL INTENT part of it, but anyway, it's very clear he - or perhaps co-workers familiar with his background - have been seeding episodes with other comic creator names for a long time. Past episodes have featured a murderer named Frank Miller, and in one memorable story with an anthrax scare, a doctor named Roger Stern.

 

Arnold

 

I had not noticed that. I guess you do learn something new each day.

[hobbes]

Yeah. I watched it and had the same reaction.

 

Pretty cool what Arnold said.

[Mr. Zipper]

Wow... a while back I wondered if it was "THAT" Gerry Conway but immediately dismissed it as it seems like it could be a common name.

 

I will miss Lenny... one of my all-time favorite TV cops. At least he didn't die like most "short-timers" in tv and movies do.

[hobbes]

I like how they handled his exit from the show. Very understated which I thought added a bit of class to it all.

[AlexH]

Wow... a while back I wondered if it was "THAT" Gerry Conway but immediately dismissed it as it seems like it could be a common name.

 

I will miss Lenny... one of my all-time favorite TV cops. At least he didn't die like most "short-timers" in tv and movies do.

 

Word has it that Mr. Briscoe will show up on the new Law and Order show they are producing for next year.

[Apotheosis]

Word has it that Mr. Briscoe will show up on the new Law and Order show they are producing for next year.

 

Another new Law & Order? What are they going to call this one... Law & Order: K9 Patrol? Seriously... I love the L & O franchise, but how many shows do they need? Kind of like CSI with their 3 shows (4 if you count Navy NCIS).

 

I'm with the others though... L&O without Lenny is just going to seem wrong.

[sterlingcomics]

Lenny's gone?!?! Who's taking his place?

[Paladin]

Any significance making JB the victim in the episode??

 

 

Okay, okay, I'm sure there is none.

[Mr. Zipper]

Lenny's gone?!?! Who's taking his place?

 

Dennis Farina

[Ares]

Word has it that Mr. Briscoe will show up on the new Law and Order show they are producing for next year.

 

Another new Law & Order? What are they going to call this one... Law & Order: K9 Patrol? Seriously... I love the L & O franchise, but how many shows do they need? Kind of like CSI with their 3 shows (4 if you count Navy NCIS).

 

I'm with the others though... L&O without Lenny is just going to seem wrong.

 

In a way, Orbach was "Law & Order." The drama is the rare series actually shot in the town where it takes place. Orbach, who has played Detective Lennie Briscoe since the first President Bush was in office, was born in the Bronx in 1935. How much more New York can you get?

 

On a show that has seen a lot of cast members come and go, Orbach somehow held on to become the series rudder. You may not have known which knockout assistant D.A. would be prosecuting when you tuned in, but you could always count on Lennie for some cryptic wisecracks about death or divorce.

 

Tonight he signs out, as 18 other major players on the show have before him. Producer Wolf, who is behind all these comings and goings, never has to worry about damage control because there never seems to be an angry exit interview.

 

The blow of Orbach's passing is being softened by reports that he will have a part in "Trial by Jury," Wolf's newest "Law & Order" spinoff, due at some point in midseason, but we're not told how much of a part.

[lighthouse]

See, and here my wife was thinking it was a reference to John Byrne, former President of Oregon State University, who sits on her board of directors...

 

Several times I have thought about asking him to sign some books for me...

 

"No really! John Byrne signed it!"