Why, L&O?

Law and Order is a show that is now, has been, and forever shall be, story driven. I like Lupo and Bernard as much as the next guy, but in the 400 years that L&O has been on television, they have solved one zillion cases, thrown at the viewer two zillion twists, and that guy who voiced Lumiere was a star for more than a few years. Lumiere! It was amazing watching them integrate a candelabra week-in/week-out. It was nice for someone to finally break through the candelabra glass ceiling that has been so very prominent in TV through the years. Sure there was always that subplot that if his wicks ever burned down he would suffocate and we couldn't Be His Guest, but that just made the show that much more exciting! That Lumiere sure could sing, though. I miss Jerry Orbach.

I just can't understand why this season they have introduced the undercurrent of Van Buren's cancer. I have seriously seen every single episode of L&O (most multiple times) and I can't remember a single time where they had some sort of ongoing personal story arc like this. When they killed off police officers or DA's after they had been on the show for 1-5 years they would forget about that by the end of the freaking episode. Detective Green was on the show for oodles of seasons and the reference to his departure was "he something something police something". That's about as much explanation as they gave his character.

I find it very depressing and completely unnecessary to incorporate the personal story of cancer into the show. I also find it upsetting that this problem I have with the show has caused me to say cancer in back-to-back posts. I know that they're setting up for some sort of Benjamin Bratt return and it will likely be related to Van Buren's cancer, but let's get back to supermodel murder, pawn shop suspects, and in the end the supermodels younger sister did it because she wanted to marry the husband of the supermodel, kill him, and then take the life insurance policy of her sister and her new husband. Cancer just makes things too confusing.