In the years that I’ve blogged about entertainment for this paper, I don’t think I have ever gotten comments as emotional (and, in some cases, crazy nasty) as those about Vincent D’Onofrio and Katherine Erbe’s departure from “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” The suggestion that replacement kooky cop Jeff Goldblum could ever fill D’Onofrio’s brilliant, unsettling shoes was heresy, uninformed and, as some suggested, proof that I was actually a USA Network executive trolling the Net. Not true – execs can afford better apartments than mine.

I agree that Goldblum’s Zach Nichols was no Robert Goren, but I loved his elegantly snide weirdness and the way that he, like D’Onofrio, used his physicality as a device to lure in, and then ultimately tower over the guilty. In the end, the naysayers have the last laugh, because Entertainment Weekly.com reports today that Goldblum is leaving the show. There’s speculation that the show might not even be coming back — the ratings were apparently dismal last season.
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More on Leno and late night:
Jay Leno’s late-night future up in air | Poll: Should Jay stay or go? | Video: Leno gets laughs out of rumors

Who's gonna get to keep 11:35?

NBC’s prime time/late night time slots seem like a game of musical chairs – First the Peacock network makes good on its promise to give Conan O’Brien the hosting gig of “The Tonight Show,” then takes away some of the luster of that accomplishment (no matter how they framed it) by giving Jay Leno, the abdicating “Tonight Show” host, his own 10 p.m. prime time show five days a week. People who like watching crime programs at 10 p.m., or “Dateline” episodes where Chris Hansen pulls the okee doke on “alleged” predators, or who just don’t find Jay Leno funny at any timeslot, cried foul.

And now that the show turned out to be a ratings turkey and, honestly, not all that funny, NBC is reportedly considering pushing Jay back to 11:35, meaning that Conan could be headed back to “Late Night,” and meaning Jimmy Fallon might be…oh, who knows? NBC, for their part, has released a statement confirming that they are committed to keeping Conan on NBC, which, as anyone whose ever been dumped by a vague text message claiming to want to be friends, knows doesn’t mean anything. Sure, they’re committed to keeping you around. But as what? And when? And what kind of friendship is that anyway, huh? And are you gonna pay Conan back for all those lunches when you “forgot” your wallet, NBC?

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BY LEE LOGAN,
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

Better known as a spy who uses special ops training to help people, Jeffrey Donovan played a lobbyist for the TV news cameras Tuesday to highlight the economic impact his show brings to South Florida.

The star of USA Network’s top-rated Burn Notice, Donovan was at the Capitol to lobby for more state film incentives and to help announce the new film, entertainment and television legislative caucus. Read the full story