Well, it seems that not even a return from a four-month hiatus following a massive round of retooling could spark much interest in the West Coast edition of Law & Order. Last night's two-hour episode (well it was really two separate eps, but whatever), which killed off poor Skeet Ulrich and demoted Alfred Molina from DA to detective, posted a meager 5.3 million viewers, not a good sign for an already troubled show.

It seems people may have finally tired of the old franchise. NBC moved the low-rated Criminal Intent to its lesser cable sibling USA and then sorta canceled it, only to bring it back in reduced form. Then they canceled the flagship, and now LOLA is hobbling toward a gruesome end. At least SVU still pulls decent numbers, probably because in the criminal justice system sexually based offenses are considered especially entertaining. Ah well. Too bad for LOLA! I actually like it. I mean, what's not to like? It's the same format just with a shifted location. I guess these days people are more into all the flashy forensics stuff than they're into good old fashioned "I didn't see nothin'. Now if you'll excuse me, I got customers here" police work. The old days are fleeting.