Law & Order: Los Angeles S01 E09/10: "Zuma Canyon/Silver Lake"

I think that NBC made a huge mistake in not only announcing that Skeet Ulrich's character would die in E09 of L&O:LA, but producing a trailer that showed exactly how it would happen. I was reminded of something an American friend who lives in Mexico once said about how, on Mexican TV, the trailers for movies and TV shows are full of spoilers because, unless they are assured they'll get to see something really good, Mexicans won't tune in. Perhaps that's where NBC got its bright idea, but I don't think it transfers to American audiences. I felt like I'd already watched the episode; there was no suspense at all.

Not to mention, the trailer was incorrect in its assertion that this would be the "first time in 20 years" that L&O killed a detective. Captain Ross was killed in the first episode of "Criminal Intent" last season.

The episode itself seemed more 24-like than L&O-like, especially the female assassin killing Fernando while he was in police custody. (Where are those In Plain Sight people when you need them? Mary and Marshall would have never let this happen.)

The second installment of the two-part re-premiere featured something I've been saying L&O:LA needed all along: an opening theme song. But What. The. Hell. Was. That? I don't know why they couldn't have just done what the other American L&O's do, and use a rearranged version of the tried-and-true original, or done what they did in the UK and given the show its own theme song. Instead, they produced a bizarre, over-stylized sequence where everything (including the music) was in X-mo.

This speaks to what I feel has been the biggest problem with L&O:LA. I don't think the problem is with the writers or the actors; it's that this show is simply not branded well. L&O:UK is branded well. It has its own identity, complete with its own theme song, but it still fits within the L&O universe. Even though everyone has British accents and wear funny wigs, you know you're watching L&O. It has an L&O "feel." L&O:LA, conversely, has been trying too hard to be "Hollywood." There seems to be a lot more focus on the fact that the stories take place in LA than the stories themselves. Just as in the other L&O's, the city should be the backdrop, not the centerpiece.

A lot of Jericho fans are very upset that Skeet Ulrich will no longer be on the series, but this is what L&O does; cast members check in and out all the time. It was sad to see Skeet Ulrich's character die, but it was great to see Alana de la Garza's character again; I missed her after Old Skool L&O bowed. However, I didn't like the way she just dropped into the series, with no explanation as to how she came to relocate to Los Angeles.

More stories and less "Look, we're in Hollywood!" bullshit, please!