John Munch: Difference between revisions

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[[File:john munch 6563.jpg|frame]]

What we have here is a small, semi-just-for-fun page for the character with the single most appearances outside his own series this side of a [[Public Domain Character]], making him the king of the [[Intercontinuity Crossover]]. In every appearance, Munch is portrayed by [[Richard Belzer]], who outside of this role is [[Tom Hanks Syndrome|better known as a stand-up comedian]]. At the end of the 13th (and current) season of ''[[Law and Order SVU]]'' Belzer will have played Munch for 19 years and 20 consecutive seasons as a regular on two different shows (along with [[The Cameo|cameos]] and [[Crossover|crossover appearances]] on 8 others) which has him tied (though technically one year behind chronologically as the first season of ''Homicide'' premiered mid season) with Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (on ''[[Cheers]]'' and ''[[Frasier]]''), James Arness as Matt Dillon and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams (both of ''[[Gunsmoke]]'') as [[Long Runners|American television's longest running live action character.]]

What we have here is a small, semi-just-for-fun page for the character with the single most appearances outside his own series this side of a [[Public Domain Character]], making him the king of the [[Intercontinuity Crossover]].

In every appearance, Munch is portrayed by [[Richard Belzer]], who outside of this role is [[Tom Hanks Syndrome|better known as a stand-up comedian]]. As of 2020, Belzer will have played Munch for 27 years and 28 consecutive seasons as a regular on two different shows (along with [[The Cameo|cameos]] and [[Crossover|crossover appearances]] on at least 10 others) which has him tied (though technically one year behind chronologically as the first season of ''Homicide'' premiered mid season) with Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (on ''[[Cheers]]'' and ''[[Frasier]]''), James Arness as Matt Dillon and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams (both of ''[[Gunsmoke]]'') as [[Long Runners|American television's longest running live action character.]]

Munch has become the only fictional character, played by a single actor, to physically appear on 10 different television series, on 5 different networks, and crossing over

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* ''[[The X-Files]]'' - As the Baltimore cop interrogating the future [[The Lone Gunmen|Lone Gunmen]]. There's also a hilarious scene in SVU where a reporter refers to Munch and Novak as Mulder and Scully. So...

** Not only that but in one episode of ''Homicide'', Munch mentions that a character is probably watching ''The X-Files''.

* ''[[Law & ~~Order|Law and~~ Order]]''

* ''[[Law & Order]]''

** Munch's appearance on the original Law and Order as part of a Homicide cross-over is partly what got him the job on SVU. Belzer originally pitched to Dick Wolf that Munch join Law and Order as Briscoe's new partner. The role had been filled, so Wolf transplanted Munch to SVU instead.

** Munch's appearance on the original Law and Order as part of a ''Homicide'' cross-over is partly what got him the job on ''SVU''. Belzer originally pitched to Dick Wolf that Munch join Law and Order as Briscoe's new partner. The role had been filled, so Wolf transplanted Munch to ''SVU'' instead.

* The Beat

* ''The Beat''

* ''[[Law & Order: Trial by ~~Jury|Law and Order Trial By~~ Jury]]''

* ''[[Law & Order: Trial by Jury]]''

* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' (credited [[Character as Himself|as himself]]), as a "[[Paper-Thin Disguise|Professor of Scrapbooking]]"

* ''[[The Wire]]'' (ironically, former Baltimore Police Department detective Jay Landsman, the real-life inspiration for Munch, plays a recurring role).

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*** If that's not enough, ''[[The Wire]]'' has a character named Jay Landsman who was also inspired by the real Jay Landsman, and was played by yet a third actor.

* ''[[Sesame Street]]'' (the skit, "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5121VjLwqZM Special Letters Unit]", a spoof of ''[[Law and Order Special Victims Unit]]'', is the one time the character is not played by Richard Belzer.

** This puppet returns in [[Elmopalooza]] as the 'Richard Belzer stunt puppet', accompanied by Belzer himself.

** This puppet returns in [''[Elmopalooza]]'' as the 'Richard Belzer stunt puppet', accompanied by Belzer himself.

* And then there's the character's appearance in the French version of ''[[Law and Order: Criminal Intent]]'', which is what tipped the character into a trope-on-his-own territory.

* And he's now gotten a subtle [[Shout-Out]] in London police drama ''[[Luther]]'' -- "Send the details to Detective Munch in Special Victims Unit, New York." [[Celebrity Paradox|Munch might get a surprise]] if he met the eponymous British cop face to face though, since he's the absolute ''spit'' of Stringer Bell from ''[[The Wire]]''...

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** A joke book about [[Stupid Crooks|stupid criminals]] recounted a story about a robber who stumbled into a taping of ''Homicide'' and surrendered to John Munch.

*** Which is actually true. I heard it from the horse's mouth (well, in an interview with him on Youtube). However, the reports that he testified in court is just a rumour.

* In an episode of ''[[30 Rock]]'', Belzer and Ice-T show up as their L&O:SVU characters for a joke. It's more than just an incidental cameo because it's clearly not a real episode of SVU.

* In an episode of ''[[30 Rock]]'', Belzer and Ice-T show up as their ''L&O:SVU'' characters for a joke. It's more than just an incidental cameo because it's clearly not a real episode of ''SVU''. Belzer later appears as himself in the series finale

* Pete Munch, supposedly John's father, is an astronaut who appears in the "Minions of the Moon" backup in ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. III, Century: 1969]]''. Like John he is a conspiracy theorist but since this world of the League he's actually probably right about most of his ramblings.

* In ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]'', there is an episode where the characters watch a fictional ''Law & Order'' spinoff episode starring Munch.

* In a 2009 episode of ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]''. Richard Belzer was interviewed as himself, then does an impromptu scene as Munch with Kimmel and [[The Soup|Joel McHale]].