It is always kind of awesome when one of the shows in Dick Wolf’s empire of NYC cop dramas takes on the music business. G-Train! “No Bozo Jam”! Patrick Stump as a criminal! And last night’s episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent continued that tradition, with its Williamsburg setting, Bono in the front/long greasy ponytail in the back aging rocker character, and opportunity for newly installed detective Zach Nichols–played to pitch-perfect effect by Jeff Goldblum–to both rant about the unfairness of the music business and show off his piano skills. (One of those things actually played into why one cast member killed another, FYI.)
The episode, which is not online in sanctioned form but can be found on YouTube in chunks, also had a few interesting takes on the world of “hipsters” (the program guide’s wording, not mine): they all live in hippy-dippy loft communes in Williamsburg, yet feed off that collective creative energy in a way that makes their music mimic a bad Stevie Ray Vaughn cover band; their drummers have zero technique, but are rife with paranoid fantasies about real-estate developers; there are bedbugs. (OK, so that last bit isn’t all that far off.) But Goldblum’s rant–which is truncated a bit by the still-helpful uploader of the clip above–and its punctuation by his quite-good piano playing actually felt kinda true-to-life, perhaps because of his unbridled enthusiasm for the role he’s playing.
Rock Star [USA Network]
Jeff Goldblum Is Really, Really Excited About Joining “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Really. [ArtsBeat; HT Jami Attenberg]
Last week’s Lie to Me had a subplot about feuding rappers…
@Lampbane: is that show any good?
In the loft scenes, I half expected the cast to break into a number from Rent. It was uncomfortable. And when will they learn, don’t include musical performance! DON’T! It only comes across as awkward and dated.
The wannabe guitar star was the cute little Emo son of Viggo in History of Violence however.
And I do like quirky Goldblum.
@whoneedslight: LOVE Goldblum. I was worried about replacing Mike Logan and his plaid ties, but the Wheeler/Nichols pairing is already exploding with potential.
@Maura:
Yes, even though the main character is a bit too House-like sometimes (but better with people because he has to be) and the fact that the way his team wraps up cases reminds me too much of CSI at times… (you know, how the suspect just spills everything at the end, complete with flashback sequence, and then someone goes off to jail and then the characters have their little “the more you know” moment that ties into their own personal issues).
I’ve been a huge fan of Goldblum’s for FOREVER, and also have a pretty large not-so-secret crush on him, so I knew I would love him and L&O. But I think even skeptics were proven wrong about him. He fits in seamlessly to the CI canvass. Can’t wait to see more of him (and perhaps some more piano jam seshes?) this season.