>I'm sure they'll address the "Keith as Sheriff" thing next
>week. I'd bet that they called him in as a short-term
>solution until the next election or something. The Neptune
>higher-ups have called him in to assist the Sheriff's
>Department in the past--they know that he's the most suitable
>for the job.

That's what I figured too. It's probably playing fast-and-loose with the rules over how sheriffs are appointed in situations like this, but I can't imagine those rules are consistent county-to-county. The E-string Strangler case and some of Mayor Woody's special appointments are sufficient fictional precedents for the idea that Keith might have been tapped because it was an emergency.

>I hope that it isn't a long-term thing, though...noir is all
>about the P.I., son!

Totally. But I think this might be the most Chandler-esque mystery they've done in the entire show. Secret affairs, ex-husbands, etc. It's the good kind of conventional.

>Good episode, btw--I was genuinely shocked. Lamb was a great
>character.

I'm going to miss him a lot. He got a couple nice moments this season, but not as much screen-time as the previous seasons. What I couldn't believe was that they didn't hint at a death AT ALL in the promos. What could whoever does those possibly be thinking? There are shows like Law and Order and CSI that are totally premised around murder cases that still try to advertise as though this case (unlike the previous 700 cases) is a personal and shocking murder.

They've dropped the ball on promos all season. The only one that was genuinely exciting was the "Spit and Eggs" promo, and (surprise!) that was the highest rated episode of the season and second in the show's history. I'm pretty much reconciled to the fact that the show will never be a hit and in fact is probably not long for the television world. But it's really disappointing to see the least interesting aspects of the show mentioned from week to week while the casual fans start watching whatever else is out there.