TVSquad

Something was amiss during the last three seasons of Law & Order: SVU. With Mariska Hargitay's pregnancy leave, changes in Christopher Meloni's character, the introduction and departure of some cast members, and the demotion of Detective Munch to a desk, the show seemed to have lost its way. It was tough to watch as more melodrama seeped into the show and pushed away the criminal procedurals that have made this Law & Order franchise so popular.

However, change may be on the horizon. With the first two episodes of the tenth season now under their belt, there's a feeling of normalcy that has returned to the show. A sense that the producers may be done tinkering with the program for the time being, despite the introduction of Michaela McManus as new A.D.A Kim Greylek. Some melodrama is still there - they are human beings after all - but the cases are first and foremost for the show.

There's been another transfer out of the squad at NBC. Detective Chester Lake has turned in his badge. Actor Adam Beach is leaving Law and Order: SVU. He'll be on the show till the end of this season -- his one and only with Law and Order: SVU.

Adam Beach, who was also excellent in the Clint Eastwood feature Flags of Our Fathers as the troubled serviceman Ira Hayes, uncomfortable with the acclaim he received as one of the men who rose the flag at Iwo Jima, received a number of award nominations for his role on the HBO mini-series Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. It was on that project that he worked with producer Dick Wolf.

"From the first day I met him on the set of Bury My Heart, I was knocked out by his commitment, dedication and total immersion in the film's most crucial role," said Wolf.

NBC's got a lot of new shows this fall. The panels have been non-stop and swag-free today -- and not without a bit of controversy.

First up was Law & Order creator Dick Wolf and new Law & Order cast members Alicia Witt (CI), Adam Beach (SVU), and Jeremy Sisto (Law & Order).

Sisto's character on L&O comes with emotional baggage that makes the angst he carried around as Rachel Griffith's brother on Six Feet Under seem like a birthday party, which is interesting since Wolf is no fan of serial drama.

This original movie from HBO Films is based on Dee Brown's famous book of the same name, stars Anna Paquin, Aidan Quinn, and Adam Beach, and was executive produced by TV veteran Dick Wolf.

Beach is sort of Hollywood's go-to-guy who portrays a Native American character in everything from John Woo's WIndtalkers to Clint Eastwood's Flags of our Fathers. Now don't get me wrong, I think he's a good actor, but aren't there any other Native American actors out there who can step into roles like this?

The movie, like the book, is about the massacre at Wounded Knee, and the extremely heavy-handed attempt of the U.S. government to assimilate Native Americans and homogenize them, much like the Borg does on Star Trek:TNG.

They did this by moving them onto reservations and giving them "Christian" names, and allowing them to "hunt" for food ... by chasing penned calves around with a rifle. It's a heart-breaking and tragic story, and according to the creative team has ties to the current U.S. situation in Iraq.

Quote of the panel:

• Anna Paquin: "Sadly, stories like this are not unique in the United States." She can act, and she's political. Watch out folks.
• Fred Thompson, former U.S. senator and actor who has is always typecast as a hard-assed senator, admiral, and politician in general plays President Ulysses S. Grant. When aproached by executive producer Dick Wolf and asked if he wanted to play him, Thompson replied: "Not if I have to grow the damn beard."