JUDGE RUBINSTEIN

Earlier tonight on the season premiere of 'The Mentalist', the show - without realizing it, of course - gave me a trivial nugget to be stored away for future use in linking shows together.

I saw John Rubinstein's name in the opening credits, but tucked away nearly at the end of the run and lumped together with others, rather than being trumpeted in a solo credit for the star he once was. It turned out that his role was something of a glorified cameo in which he played a judge arbitrating an investigation dispute between the CBI and the FBI.

His judge was never named in the scene.

Rubinstein is no stranger to playing judges on television, although he's usually appearing as a doctor. Over the course of his career he's played at least four judges, but unfortunately we can't use any of them because they were presiding over courts in other states:

• Judge Randy of 'Harry's Law'(Cincinnatti, Ohio)
• Judge Crawford of 'CSI'(Las Vegas, Nevada)
• Judge Schuyler of 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'(New York, New York)
• Judge Joseph Papp of 'Boston Public' & 'The Practice'(Boston, Massachusetts)

What's needed is a judge in California in order for us to make the claim that Rubinstein was the same character in both shows. Your Toobmeister is a patient man, though. Eventually one will turn up.

In the meantime, if worst comes to worst, Toobworld Central does have a candidate - John Rubinstein played Professor Wendell Peterson in one episode of 'The Paper Chase'. 

Professor Peterson was being considered for a tenured position, along with three other candidates; only there was only two openings available. Peterson was a phenom in the classroom, inspiring his students, but he was not up to snuff when it came to "publish or perish".  It could be that he finally left Harvard to accept a judgeship back in California.

But if not, I can wait for a better option.....

BCnU!

PS:
You know what's great about the timing of this story?  It's the First Monday in October!