Reagan Redux

When Fred Thompson ran for Al Gore's vacated Senate seat (Tennessee), we saw a lot about him on the local news. An actor, I had seen him in movies before, like The Hunt for Red October. I was shocked -- yes, shocked! -- to find out he was a Republican. I didn't know actors were allowed to be Republicans. Well, except the Gipper, of course. And Arnie. All you ever hear is that Hollywood is full of liberal freaks, and here you have Republican actors running for office left and right.

Fred may be back in showbusiness, possibly replacing Dianne Wiest (who deserves to do movies, dammit!) as the chief prosecutor on "Law & Order." Come on people, there are no original cast members on the show. Let it die, already. The plots are nothing more than real-life retreads, and every episode is so formulaic, you can tell by the time what's going to happen. They must have a hard time thinking up new ways to have a body discovered at the top of the show. Fred's a good actor, but I can't forgive him for being a senator, so I will continue my tradition of flipping away from the bass-heavy strains of the opening theme. Duhn-DUHN-dun-dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuhn. Duhn-DUHN-dun-dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuhn.