Farewell Detective Munch.

October 16, 2013 10:14 AM

John Munch, formerly a detective with the Baltimore PD’s homicide squad and currently a sergeant with the NYPD's Special Victims Unit, has put in his papers. He'll be bidding farewell to his fictional coworkers and real-life fans as he heads off to retirement on tonight's episode of Law & Order: SVU.

Munch has been played by actor, comedian, and author Richard Belzer since 1993 when the character began as a member of Homicide: Life on the Street's original ensemble cast. Belzer has portrayed Munch in TV episodes on five different networks, including: The X-Files (FOX); The Wire (HBO); Arrested Development (FOX); The Beat (ABC); Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC); and, the mothership Law & Order series (NBC).

The primetime record for most consecutive seasons of portraying the same TV character is now held by Belzer. After 21 seasons of bringing Det. Munch to the small screen, he has surpassed both Kelsey Grammer and the late James Arness, whose single-character runs ended at 20 seasons. (Those characters were Dr. Frasier Crane and Marshall Matt Dillon, respectively.)

posted by fuse theorem (73 comments total)

It has been lucrative for Richard.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:18 AM on October 16, 2013

Richard Belzer's wikipedia page, in case you aren't familiar with who he is.
posted by jeffkramer at 10:18 AM on October 16, 2013

It'd be great if they could get Captain Ray Holt from the 99th Precinct involved in this episode.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:19 AM on October 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

yeah, Braugher was transcendent in that role.
posted by j_curiouser at 10:20 AM on October 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Whew, for a second there I thought this was going to be an obit post!
posted by mittens at 10:22 AM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Noooooooooo

(and thank god it's not an obit post for Richard Belzer)
posted by Kitteh at 10:23 AM on October 16, 2013

I thought this was going to be an obit post

ME TOO, and I still haven't really recovered from Jerry Orbach.
posted by elizardbits at 10:24 AM on October 16, 2013 [17 favorites]

This isn't the end of Detective Munch. It's the end of Richard Belzer. His character has come out of fiction and killed the actor, taking Belzer's body as his own.
posted by mkb at 10:25 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I am curious to see what Ice T has to say about this next time he's a guest on Comedy Bang Bang.
posted by cortex at 10:25 AM on October 16, 2013 [6 favorites]

And this doesn't even count the recurring cop character he played on"Lois and Clark", who was simply Munch by another name.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 10:29 AM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Looking at Braugher's IMdB page, it looks like he already was on SVU and he and the Belz had a little fun with it.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:29 AM on October 16, 2013

Munch/Belzer is the Reginald Barclay of police procedurals.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:30 AM on October 16, 2013 [4 favorites]

Munch is a major locus of the Tommyverse.
posted by feloniousmonk at 10:33 AM on October 16, 2013 [11 favorites]

JohnnyGunn: It has been lucrative for Richard.

That Celeb Net Worth site is kinda famously dubious. For instance, they have Ian MacKaye of Fugazi at $25 million.

That is a fuckton of $5 concert tickets and $7 albums, if true.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:34 AM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

The Homicide original is the real deal. The SUV version is just a sorry marionette

The X-Files version was a Russian matryoshka doll, the Paris Enquetes Criminales version was a poupee d' imperialisme, the Wire version was an equally-sorry-but-in-an-undefinably-different-way marionette, and the Seasame Street version was a felt puppet.
posted by ormondsacker at 10:35 AM on October 16, 2013 [6 favorites]

Yeah, 16 million seems a little low to be honest.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

I wonder what it's like to have spent two thirds of your career on a single character across multiple shows.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I really like that he stayed on Homicide for the entire 7 seasons. One of the things that hurt the show were the constantly rotating cast. Characters would be added only to exit after two seasons because the LA based actors didn't like having to spend 9 months of the year in Baltimore just to be on a low rated cop show. Christ, even the guy who played Pembleton left before the finale season, and he was basically the lead. I think that's why Simon mostly cast local or New York actors for The Wire.
posted by riruro at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Don't lie to me like I'm Geraldo.
posted by 445supermag at 10:41 AM on October 16, 2013 [7 favorites]

No more monkeys in basketballs for Munch. :C
posted by drezdn at 10:42 AM on October 16, 2013

This will send some ripples through the Tommy Westphall Universe.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 10:47 AM on October 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

Belzer was the only comic relief on SVU, which is really a rather grim show.
posted by dortmunder at 11:00 AM on October 16, 2013

SVU...Special Victims Unit

Unless y'all are being humorous, in which case heh heh...
posted by Billiken at 11:03 AM on October 16, 2013

Tonights episode ends with Munch as the one that commits the crime, Ice T sobbing as he snaps his neck.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:03 AM on October 16, 2013 [9 favorites]

I remember seeing this as stunt casting when he started on Homicide. "Wait, BELZER? The comedian?"

Of course, the real stunt casting was Ice-T as a cop.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:14 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I wonder what it's like to have spent two thirds of your career on a single character across multiple shows.

He is a retired cop from a Special Victim Unit! He is a radio psychiatrist from Seattle! Will they be able to survive as roommates?

Munch & Fraiser - Coming for the 2014-15 TV Season!

CUT TO: Fraiser over a sink full of dirty pots and pans yelling "MUUUUUNCH!"
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:20 AM on October 16, 2013 [9 favorites]

Tonights episode ends with Munch as the one that commits the crime, Ice T sobbing as he snaps his neck.

And as "Cop Killer" plays in the background.
posted by Panjandrum at 11:27 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

The episode ends with Munch being killed by Adena Watson's murderer tying up a loose end.
posted by drezdn at 11:35 AM on October 16, 2013 [11 favorites]

Episode ends with Victoria Principal waking up and walking in on Belzer in the shower.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:41 AM on October 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Guys, c'mon, it'll turn out that it's all part of a novel Roseanne's been writing to cope with LA Law being cancelled.
posted by cortex at 11:49 AM on October 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

Episode ends with Munch being recruited to restart the X-Files; BACKDOOR RELAUNCH PILOT!
posted by NiteMayr at 11:49 AM on October 16, 2013 [10 favorites]

I hope Belzer gets on Brooklyn 99. That would be awesome.
posted by Renoroc at 11:50 AM on October 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

I love Munch because you'll be watching a show and it's going like it normally does when suddenly HOLY SHIT IT'S MUNCH! DETECTIVE MUNCH OUTTA FUCKIN' NOWHERE!
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:52 AM on October 16, 2013

Renoroc: I hope Belzer gets on Brooklyn 99. That would be awesome.

YESSSS! Someone tweet @kentremendous now.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:01 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Belzer was the only comic relief on SVU, which is really a rather grim show.

SVU is completely hysterical if you look at it as a parody of the modern legal system.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:06 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I hope Belzer gets on Brooklyn 99. That would be awesome.

MUNCH: You look familiar.
HOLT: I get that a lot. I find it very amusing.
MUNCH: Is he being sarcastic?
PERALTA: We can't tell either.
posted by Etrigan at 12:07 PM on October 16, 2013 [6 favorites]

Please, please a Homicide reunion for his last episode.
posted by pibeandres at 12:16 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Renoroc: I hope Belzer gets on Brooklyn 99. That would be awesome.

Oh man, you guys, he could totally be Peralta's estranged father who never knew he had a son.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:16 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I remember reading his conspiracy theory book in 2001 or so, before 9/11. Ah, the shadow world of the '90s was so much more tranquil than now.
posted by Apocryphon at 12:20 PM on October 16, 2013

Of course, the real stunt casting was Ice-T as a cop.

Hey, he played a cop in Tank Girl, too! Granted, it was a dog cop, but a cop all the same. (Also, Naomi Watts was in Tank Girl? Who knew?)

Belzer as Munch, I'd argue, fit in perfectly with SVU, because SVU (and to an extent the whole L&O universe) is as much a parody of detective dramas as Police Squad: everything is distilled to its cartoonish essence. You can't have a hothead like Stabler and a gruff captain like Cragen and an endless parade of slimy defense attorneys and not also have a wisecracker like Munch.
posted by Cash4Lead at 12:37 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

The episode ends with Munch being killed by Adena Watson's murderer tying up a loose end.

It will, now that we've jinxed him by saying "he's only one day from retirement!".
posted by zamboni at 12:42 PM on October 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

He better pay his bar tab before he leaves. The full tab.
And this.
Scarface, stand up comedy, 1980.
posted by buzzman at 12:48 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Of course, the real stunt casting was Ice-T as a cop.

You know, half the appeal of SVU for me was that Richard Belzer and Ice-T have strangely compelling chemistry.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:03 PM on October 16, 2013 [11 favorites]

There will be a snow globe, mark my words.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:30 PM on October 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

There will be a snow globe, mark my words.

Took me a minute there...
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:35 PM on October 16, 2013

When I finally got around to watching Luther (and damn, it was good) I was kind of blown away during the episode with the (really horrific) kidnapping. When it turned out the kidnappers seemed to be American, Luther tells his partner to get in touch with Detective Munch in New York, in the special victims unit.

Granted, he didn't appear on the show, but hey, I'm willing to count Luther as part of the Munch-verse. The Luther-Stringer paradox isn't really a problem, seeing as the evil druglord from Homicide is the M.E. in The Wire, and the guy who played Jay Landsman was in an episode of Homicde...
posted by Ghidorah at 2:16 PM on October 16, 2013 [5 favorites]

Thanks for the post! I wouldn't have known otherwise. It would be awesome if there was a a Homicide crossover. The last few months of pregnancy and the first year or so of my daughter's life I watched the entire runs of Law and Order, Homicide, and SVU until that point (season 13 I think). I haven't watched any of them since, but will definitely see this. Munch was part of my life for a good 17 years.
posted by goo at 2:21 PM on October 16, 2013

You know, half the appeal of SVU for me was that Richard Belzer and Ice-T have strangely compelling chemistry.

Me too. Very much so. I really wanted them to just take off and have their own show together. NiteMayr's X-files reboot idea would be brilliant, but honestly, I'd tune in once a week to watch the two of them do a cooking show, or read Craigslist ads, or profile adoptable, local pets, or, hell, give tax advice.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:24 PM on October 16, 2013 [3 favorites]

and the guy who played Jay Landsman was in an episode of Homicde...

He was also on an episode of SVU, playing a very Landesman-like defense attorney. Which would be a perfectly conceivable career upgrade path for Landesman.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:26 PM on October 16, 2013

Fucking Jerry Orbach. Indeed.
posted by C.A.S. at 3:54 PM on October 16, 2013

My Dad and I watched a lot of TV shows together over the years, and Munch was one of the few characters he remembered by name. (Other than Mulder and Scully.) It was so weird to watch Homicide and hear Dad say enthusiastically "Hey, there's Munch! The laziest cop on the force!" TV was just a way of spending time for Dad, and he never devoted much effort to remembering the plot or characters from any of the shows. But John Munch made him smile. I think it was because Munch never seemed to do much but he was always there, more like a real person than a melodramatic story generator.

Munch was a much more vivid personality on Homicide than SVU, and I think that was where he had his greatest highs and lows. Given a choice he'd probably prefer to stay partnered with Big Man Stan forever, solving crimes and bickering, but that didn't last. After that, his next personal heaven would probably involve retiring to run The Waterfront bar, serving cops and confusing the newbies with convoluted conspiracy theories. But the divorce from Billie Lou probably took that away from him.

After moving to New York, Munch was more restrained and private. I think he was just looking for a quiet place to rebuild his life, make a little money to pay off numerous debts (Just think of the alimony from four ex-wives!), and do as much good as he could in a dark world. So of course the NYPD assigned him to one of their most grueling, high burnout units.

All his relationships in New York have been fairly surface level. At first he tried to mentor Cassidy like Stan had mentored him, but Cassidy was already worldly-wise and Munch was no teacher, so it didn't work out. After that failed relationship, he carved out a niche for himself in SVU as the detail guy, who would look at hours of video tape or boxes of old documents to find crucial evidence. He still had an interest in conspiracy theories, drugs and culture, but rarely shared his thoughts with other people outside of short, sarcastic quips. Tutuola was a good partner for late-phase John Munch, because their relationship was very low maintenance. They worked together, but don't hang out afterwards as friends. And both kept a certain distance from the job.

Looking back on his fictional life, it's pretty amazing that lazy, intellectual, drug using, only partially law respecting John Munch went on to have a 30 year career in law enforcement, in some of the toughest, most grueling assignments any fictional cop could endure. And we followed him for 21 real years! That's an achievement that might never be replicated in today's fragmented TV world, where shows just don't last that long.
posted by Kevin Street at 3:55 PM on October 16, 2013 [15 favorites]

Det. Munch singlehandedly creates the single largest television show-verse that I am aware of. If you really dig into that rabbit hole, it gets ridiculous including M*A*S*H and Doctor Who. If this really is the final appearance ever of Munch, it should seriously be considered a watershed moment in the history of television entertainment. I'm not even kidding.
posted by mediocre at 4:35 PM on October 16, 2013 [4 favorites]

He doesn't singlehandedly do any such thing, but he is the character who has appeared on the most different television shows. (Followed by Norm and Cliff from Cheers - who appeared on five: Cheers, Frasier, The Tortellis, Wings and The Simpsons.)

When you dig into that rabbit hole, Munch disappears, replaced by numerous character connections - as well as fictional companies (Lariat Rental Cars & Trucks, the Weigert corporation, etc.), fictional brands (Morley cigarettes, Lets Chips, etc.) and fictional magazines.
posted by crossoverman at 5:28 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Kevin Street, the arc where Munch has to deal with the fact that Bolander doesn't really want to see Munch anymore, that storyline was a painful one to watch. His willingness to ingore the reality of the situation, to try to make up excuses for Stan, it was great writing, and well done acting.

And how the hell did I not know there was a Homicide movie? How did I miss that? Was it any good? The write-up on Wikipedia makes it sound... dubious.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:59 PM on October 16, 2013

And how the hell did I not know there was a Homicide movie? How did I miss that? Was it any good? The write-up on Wikipedia makes it sound... dubious.

I like to pretend that season seven of Homicide doesn't exist, but because it does exist - for the Tim Bayliss goes entirely off-the-rails story, the movie is a great way to wrap up the series.

And everyone's in it! Every single main cast character! Even the dead ones!
posted by crossoverman at 6:50 PM on October 16, 2013

He's such an interesting actor. Whenever I think of him, I'm reminded of his brief cameo as the video show host in The Big Picture.
posted by ovvl at 7:24 PM on October 16, 2013

And how the hell did I not know there was a Homicide movie? How did I miss that? Was it any good? The write-up on Wikipedia makes it sound... dubious.

Nah, it's good. Nice closure. Good to see everyone back again. Do yourself a favor and watch it. It's a great chaser for the shit sandwich that was the final season of the show.
posted by CommonSense at 8:42 PM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]

I NEED TO DOWNLOAD THIS EPISODE, BECAUSE SPOILERS!
posted by crossoverman at 9:20 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

Munch's final episode was co-written by Julie Martin, a long-time writer on Homicide. She also co-wrote the first episode that featured a crossover by a Law & Order character to Homicide - when Detective Mike Logan hands over a fugitive that had fleed from Baltimore to NYC. (The fugitive was played by John Waters.)
posted by crossoverman at 9:36 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

He'll always be a rooster on acid to me.

 
posted by Herodios at 8:10 AM on October 17, 2013

And how the hell did I not know there was a Homicide movie?

Huh, I also did not know this somehow.

In case anyone missed it, I'd also like to point out there's a Whit Stillman-directed episode. Yes, with Chris Eigeman.
posted by zbsachs at 9:49 AM on October 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

So many great film directors directed Homicide episodes: Barry Levinson, Martin Campbell, Michael Lehmann, Tim Hunter, Ted Demme, Peter Medak, Whitney Ransick, Leslie Libman & Larry Williams, John McNaughton, Jean de Segonzac, Uli Edel, Mary Harron, Barbara Koppel, Kathryn Bigelow.

Lots of great TV directors got their start there, too - Alan Taylor and Clark Johnson (who was in the show, of course).
posted by crossoverman at 2:57 PM on October 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

My favorite trivia about Belzer is that before his television career, the industry was reluctant to hire him due to his unrestrained standup routine.

Funny how things change.
posted by djrock3k at 3:28 PM on October 17, 2013

Oh, I totally just remembered - you wanna know how awesome John Munch is?

He got an actual crook to surrender to him in real life.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:57 PM on October 17, 2013 [2 favorites]

He doesn't singlehandedly do any such thing..

posted by crossoverman

I was going to mount an argument against what you said.. but your name intimidates me. It makes me think you are an archivist or television historian who has closely studied the crossover/universe merging powers of Munch.
posted by mediocre at 4:29 PM on October 17, 2013

Maybe he can teach at Hudson University.
posted by drezdn at 4:41 PM on October 17, 2013 [2 favorites]

It makes me think you are an archivist or television historian who has closely studied the crossover/universe merging powers of Munch.

I'd link to my website, but it's down - so I'll point you to this grid that I made, and to Wikipedia's intro to the Tommy Westphall Hypothesis.

It could well be the Munchiverse - he is in lots of shows. But I like to think of it as the Tommyverse, since it's all in his head - and Tom Fontana (St Elsewhere, Homicide, Oz) thinks of it that way.
posted by crossoverman at 6:29 PM on October 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

A legend in our midst.
posted by mkb at 6:37 PM on October 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

I just saw this episode, and it was very snappy. Characters like Rollins and Fin had more personality, and were making jokes. Quite different from Law And Order standard.
posted by Kevin Street at 8:47 PM on October 17, 2013

I want to go to one of those parties.
posted by flaterik at 9:07 PM on October 17, 2013

I don't want to put any spoilers here, but how would it be physically possible to set up something like that? Imagine hauling all the furniture and bottles in that party up and down a slippery metal ladder, and making sure nobody saw you.
posted by Kevin Street at 9:37 PM on October 17, 2013

In honour of John Munch's retirement, Tommy Westphall lives. The original website lay fallow for many years (and now it's gone) and I don't think I ever want to update the grid again, but the master list is now huge and occasionally there are connections worth writing about.
posted by crossoverman at 2:32 PM on October 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

I'll bet you could programmatically make a grid, sort of like the friend graphs on Facebook.
posted by mkb at 3:48 PM on October 18, 2013