After Raines, Goldblum cops another role

Despite the disappointing response to Raines -- his quirky, criminally under-rated series that fleetingly appeared last season on NBC -- Jeff Goldblum is taking another crack at playing a TV cop: He's on deck to replace Chris Noth for the eighth season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

For me, this is a good news/bad news thing. I'm a fan of Criminal Intent, which seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance during its current USA Network run. (I was particularly impressed by a recent episode that played like a homage to Sweet Smell of Success.) And I'm glad to see Goldblum coming aboard. Noth will be missed, of course, but maybe he thinks, after the success of Sex and the City, that now is the time to pursue a movie career.)

And yet: I'm still sorry that Raines came and went so quickly, without finding the audience it deserved. (Go ahead: You can see all seven episodes for yourself over at Hulu.) And I can't help hoping that Goldblum actually will carry his Raines character over to Criminal Intent, kinda-sorta like Richard Belzer transplanted his Det. John Munch from Homicide: Life on the Street to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Sure, I know that's not likely going to happen. But I can dream, can't I?

Viva? Nada

Well, my worst suspicions are confirmed: All I have to do is merely think of watching a new TV show that appears interesting, and it's cancelled. Case in point: Viva Laughlin got axed today after all of two episodes. Damn. That's harsh. Even Raines got more exposure than that. Guess I'll have to wait for the DVD boxed-set to get my first look.

The 'Raines' came... and left

I strongly suspect that my favorite new TV series of the season -- actually, my favorite series to premiere since House -- aired its last original episode Friday night. So while you still can, take a look at Raines. Pay particularly close attention to the pilot, which deftly establishes the premise -- and pulls off an ingenious twist during the final minutes. (It was directed, by the way, by Frank Darabont.) Then check out the ineffably melancholy "Reconstructing Alice" with the great Laurie Metcalf (who, in a perfect world, would be a slam dunk for an Emmy nomination). As Michael Raines, the L.A. cop who imagines he can converse with murder victims (who, in actuality, are projections of his brilliant -- albeit unstable -- ratiocinative mind), Jeff Goldblum hits the perfect balance of hard-boiled and soft-hearted, sharply witty and wistfully sad. At his frequent best, he makes me think of David Janssen's Harry O -- if only Harry could have seen dead men (and women) talking.