Don't I Know You?

If you asked me to pick the best TV show of the past few years, I'd say The Shield, the award-winning crime drama that airs Tuesday nights on FX. It's damn good. If you haven't been watching it, you've been missing out on something special. In fact, I'd even rank it among the top five TV dramas of all time.

One of my favorite actors on the show is Jay Karnes, who plays Detective Holland ‘Dutch’ Wagenbach. Karnes consistently delivers a complex, nuanced, psychologically-astute performance that keeps viewers sympathetic to Wagenbach despite a slew of character flaws and some truly dark plot twists along the way. There have been a vast number of TV detectives, but few who feel this human.

Now I'm pretty good with faces, but not so good with names. For years, I thought Jay Karnes looked familiar, but for the life of me I couldn't place him. Where had I seen him before?

Star Trek: Voyager, that's where. He guest starred on "Relativity." You'd think I'd remember who's in the episodes I write, but apparently not. Guess I've been distracted. In a fun coincidence, Karnes played a similar "detective" role in "Relativity," a 29th century investigator of temporal crimes. Maybe Wagenbach is that character's distant ancestor?

In any case, Karnes is a heck of an actor, and I'm happy to have worked with him.

Comments

[Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows]

I totally identify with Dutch Wagenbach. Especially the time he strangled a cat to death just know what it felt like to kill something.

[Nick Sagan]

That would be the controversial third season episode, "Strays," directed by David Mamet. Only Dutch does what he does to help catch a serial killer. That's key. If you identify with him and you're not in law enforcement... er, maybe you're just not a cat person?

[Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows]

Or maybe I'm a psycho serial killer. Heh heh. But seriously, I love kitties.