Greetings,
When a series lasts a very long time, as Law & Order did, there tends to be dips in either quality or popularity. With this show lasting twenty years, I think that certain people have certain times that, while they still liked it, their zealousness may have subsided a bit. Personally, for me, things sloped a little in Season 6, plateaued for 7 and 8, then started to pick up steam again in Season 9. Ironically, I think these were some of its most acclaimed years. Since I have a propensity for going against the flow, I choose not to blame anyone who may have been on the show at these times. Certainly not who I'm talking about today, Rey Curtis.
Rey Curtis was portrayed by Benjamin Bratt from Season 6 to Season 9. So, yeah, you may think I blame him for my thrills calming. I don't think that's true. Sure, I watch these episodes the least, probably, but this character, not to mention the actor, was a good one. It may have been a case of having a tough act to follow, since he came in right after Logan left and, though I complained about him a lot, I really liked him. And talk about a change where that was concerned. You see, Curtis was very into rule following and whatnot, lots of black and white with very little room for gray. Sounds good to me. He certainly did not appreciate criminals avoiding being put in jail because of certain reasons. You know, like "Boo-hoo, Daddy didn't hug you enough, so it's okay that you killed someone!" Yeah, no. Don't get me wrong, though, he has been known to lose his cool on occasion. Usually with a good reason. Perhaps, that sense of right and wrong comes from his religion. He is a practicing Catholic, something that often works its way into his professional life, for better or worse. Also, when it comes to politics, Curtis seems to be rather Conservative. He has problems with in vitro fertilization, violence in the media and affirmative action. Being a minority himself, he believes he got where he is without any extra help.
Now let's talk about that personal life. Curtis was married to a lovely woman named Deborah, and they had three beautiful daughters, Olivia, Serena and Isabel (Two of those are named after Dick Wolf's kids BTW). So, of course, he cheated on her. With Jennifer Garner, no less. What's up with that? Okay, I'm pretty sure that it only happened once, and, yes, the one time mistress was played by Jennifer Garner. Still, it did cause quite a bump in the marriage, as to be expected and as well it should have. They did end up getting some counseling, but then, Deborah was diagnosed with MS. Curtis blamed himself for this, seeing it as punishment from God for his sins. Not sure it works like that, but you can see why he mat have felt that way. Eventually, he chose to leave the NYPD in order to care for his ailing wife. About ten years later, he returns to both New York and the show when she passes on. The conversation he has with Van Buren in that episode is quite a tearjerker.
Also, this one time, we find out that he is a fan of Oasis and Big Brother & the Holding Company. Points, my friend. Major points.
I'll just close by saying this. Initially, I may not have clicked much with Rey Curtis, but I have come to appreciate him over the years, in hindsight. And I certainly can't deny the great acting of Benjamin Bratt. There was something very real and effortless about his portrayal, and I always love that quality in an actor. Therefore, I declare his contribution to Law & Order as great.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
