A mishmosh of rants

1) Following the return of SVU, the original Law and Order returned with a new episode last night. Gotta say, I wasn't impressed. This was one of the episodes where the crime discovered in the first five minutes has NOTHING to do with what's investigated and prosecuted for the last half-hour, and those tend to piss me off. The plotline of child slavery had me interested, but the entire episode seemed disoriented and mailed-in, although, to be fair, much of the cast is still gaining chemistry with everyone else (both lead cops, as well as the ADA and his assistant, have come on in the last two or three seasons). Still, this is an episode not likely to be remembered in the annals of Law and Order history. RATING: **1/2

2) So the Cowboys cut ties with Adam "The Artist Formerly Known as Pac-Man" Jones yesterday. I was counted among those who thought his signing was nothing more than a publicity stunt by Jerry Jones, and he really did nothing this season (yet again, neither did the rest of the Dallas secondary). His behavioral problems are the stuff of legend, but he'll latch on with another team in the offseason (provided he doesn't do something to irk the already-antsy Roger Goodell). The Lions are desperate for any help they can get, the Raiders are, well, the Raiders, and there are plenty of defenses around the NFL searching for any live bodies they can find in hopes of one of them being able to cover somebody. I've never been a Pac-Man sympathizer, and I don't intend to start now.

3) The People's Choice Awards were last night, and while I'm not one to get in a frenzy over these types of shows, a few things stood out. Firstly, thank God Hugh Laurie finally won SOMETHING. I have no idea why he's gotten the shaft for so long for everything he's done, but he finally busted through last night, winning the Favorite Male TV Star award for his role in House (another show I'll be reviewing when new episodes start coming out in a couple of weeks). On the bad side, though, Will Smith over both Christian Bale and Robert Downey, Jr., for Favorite Male Action Star? Give me a break. Yeah, Smith's a great actor, but did people SERIOUSLY believe Smith was better in Hancock than Bale was in The Dark Knight or Downey was in Iron Man? Ridiculous.