Dick Wolf's here, with the newest members of his "Law & Order" "class" -- he meant to say cast, but then admitted he thinks of them as a class, which certainly explains why so many people have graduated over the years.

He's been principal forever. So don't expect him to remember all their names. Though he might. Or at least what they got paid.

Jeremy Sisto's here for the "Law & Order" mothership, Alicia Witt for "L&O: Criminal Intent," where she's signed to do six episodes, and Adam Beach for "L&O: SVU."

And now we hear that Linus Roache is joining the mothership as a prosecutor.

Sisto and Roache worked together on NBC's "Kidnapped," and it turns out that Wolf, who doesn't necessarily believe in serialized dramas -- for business reasons, if nothing else -- was nevertheless a fan: "It looked like a movie to me."

Wolf, who likes to pull stuff out of his pockets -- usually it's stats proving that the "Law & Order" "brand" is now available 24/7 throughout the solar system -- was prepared today for the Fred Thompson "equal access" question.

If you've managed to avoid this issue, some have been wondering how "L&O" would deal with a Thompson presidential candidacy, given that there are no "Law & Orders" lying around starring, say, Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuilani. (Although Rudy's got an old "Seinfeld" on his credits.) So theoretically, any other candidate could demand equal time on NBC if Thompson's character continued to pop up on broadcast TV.

Update on July 20: Former TV critic Jill Vejnoska, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, points out that Rudy does have a "Law & Order" credit . (t's right there on IMDB.com, but I managed to miss it).

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's been on the show twice, she adds.

I can't type as fast as Wolf reads, but here's basically what he said:

The rule only applies to declared candidates, and Thompson hasn't declared. "If Fred Thompson formally announces his intentions to run for president," NBC won't schedule any more of his episodes, the reruns of which conclude, anyway, on Sept. 1

"Equal time," according to Wolf, doesn't apply to cable networks, so Thompson -- who's left the show, by the way, clearing the way for Sam Waterston's character to finally move up to DA -- will likely still show up there.