TVSquad

A lot of people thought that one or both of the NBC shows Law and Order and Law and Order: Criminal Intent would be on the cancellation list when NBC presents its upfront tomorrow, but the network has surprised many fans by renewing both shows.

There is a little twist when it comes to Law and Order: CI though. The show will actually first run the new episodes of the season on USA and then NBC will run repeats.

Law and Order is a straight renewal though. The show will head into its 18th season of shows "ripped from the headlines!" As far as Law and Order: SVU goes, most expect that to be renewed with no problem. We'll have full coverage of the network upfronts all this week, starting with NBC on Monday.

The Mayor of Television (hey, they had an election for Mayor of Television? Why didn't anyone tell us??) has invented the Law and Order Fantasy League Game. Basically, you guess which "ripped from the headlines" story one of the Law and Order shows (the original, Criminal Intent, and Special Victims Unit) is going to ripoff write an homage to. Will it be Michael Richards? The O.J. Simpson book controversy?

But you can't just guess which show is going to do which plot and be done with it. You have to tweak it a little bit, so it's "original" (cough cough). So, maybe a former sitcom actor says some nasty racial remarks, only this time it's not at a comedy club, it's at a private party. Or maybe a former pro baseball star (not a football star! accused of killing his parents (not his ex-wife and her friend!) decides to create a web site (not publish a book!) showing pics of the murder scene and how he might have done it.

The Mayor's idea for a Michael Richards-inspired story is more elaborate than mine, and would fit the L&O world nicely.

[via TV Tattle]

Regis just asked Chevy Chase if tonight's Law and Order episode was based on the Mel Gibson case. First of all, dumb question. Second, Chase said it was kind of inspired by the case.

Right.