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Law & Order is an American television police procedural and legal drama set in New York City. Created by Dick Wolf, the award-winning Law & Order is broadcast on the NBC network and syndicated on other US networks, as well as worldwide.

Law & Order first appeared on the NBC network in 1990, and its success has resulted in the creation of additional shows under the Law & Order franchise. It is the longest-running primetime drama currently on American television; only one other current primetime series, The Simpsons, has been on the air longer.

The pilot episode was produced for CBS in 1988, but never aired on that network. Instead, it aired as episode number 6 on NBC in 1990. *

Law & Order can be seen in the United States on Wednesdays on NBC (however in the upcoming fall season it will be seen on Friday nights at 10PM EST), in Canada on CTV, with reruns seen regularly each weeknight on TNT (U.S.) and weekdays & weeknights on Bravo! (Canada). It can be seen in the UK with new episodes on Five or Sky One with reruns showing on Hallmark.

Description

The following statement is spoken at the beginning of every episode:

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

The show follows a small team of New York City homicide detectives from the fictional 27th Precinct who occasionally investigate other serious crimes. Generally, about halfway through the hour-long program the focus shifts from the investigation of the crime to the prosecution of the offender, which is always handed over to the same small team of lawyers from the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Two-tiered format

The two-tiered format of the program, with investigation of the crime and prosecution of the crime, is almost identical to a 1960s series entitled Arrest and Trial, although the similarities are considered to be coincidental. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf was reportedly unaware of them when he created his series.

Show format

Most Law & Order episodes are self-contained, with only a few exceptions over the many years of production.

The cold open or lead-in segment of the show usually shows a slice of New York life (walking a dog in Manhattan, jogging in Central Park, etc.) apparently unrelated to the main story until the usually non-recurring characters in the scene suddenly discover, witness, or become victims of a crime (most often, murder). Careful attention to these opening segments often reveals subtle connections or hints foreshadowing key aspects of the case. The scene immediately cuts to the police making a preliminary examination of the crime scene in which the featured detectives make their first observations and theories followed by a witty comment or two before the title sequence begins.

Because of the nature of the format, the detectives rarely encounter a simple murder where the perpetrator does little to hide his guilt (which is actually very common). Instead, the detectives often have few or no good clues to start with - they may not even know the identity of the victim - and must chase down several dead ends before finding a strong suspect. Towards the middle of a show, the police begin working with the prosecutors to make the arrest, and an arraignment scene is usually shown. The police may appear again to testify in court or arrest a subsequent suspect, but most investigation in the "order" segment is done by the assistant DAs, who always consult with the District Attorney for advice on the case.

The same detectives always working with the same prosecutors is not a realistic depiction of the legal system, nor is the number of high-profile, highly complicated cases taken on, nor their success in solving all of them. In the actual legal system, trials often take several months to complete, whereas trials on Law & Order tend to take no more than a week. Furthermore, most real cases do not go to trial and are settled with a plea bargain, whereas the trial is a signature part of nearly every Law & Order episode. However, the characters and process depicted can be seen as amalgams of the entire legal system, and the technically unrealistic legal process as a simplifying plot device necessary for the show to be possible, thus maintaining suspension of disbelief.

The format includes not delving too much into the private lives of the recurring characters. Some personal information is given, but it is usually incidental, such as conversation that goes on during the course of an episode. In contrast to many other detective shows (Perry Mason and Matlock, for example), the protagonists of Law & Order do not always win their cases; episodes frequently finish without full resolution. Sometimes the true facts of the crime are left ambiguous to the audience. Sometimes the case against the offender is won, but justice still seems lacking. Often the viewer identifies with the defendant and wonders whether punishment under the law is even appropriate.

Stylistic touches

Local color

The series has a number of distinctive stylistic touches. The show is shot on location in New York and is known for its extensive use of local color. In recent seasons, NYC Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg have both appeared on the show, adding a realistic dimension to the program.

The card

Most scene changes are preceded with a card indicating the location and date of the events to be portrayed. In episodes where the passage of time is an element, the time to the seconds is also shown. Perhaps best known is the Law and Order music string.ogg (a dramatic form of musical sting) that accompanies each card. It has been described as a "dun DUN" sound. It was originally developed to sound like a barred door in a jail cell slamming shut.

In promos for Law & Order SVU reruns on the USA Network, actor Dann Florek refers to the sting as the "doink doink."

Portrayal of characters

The show's cast of police and lawyers are portrayed as basically honest professionals, very rarely straying from the boundaries of accepted procedure and usually solving crimes by the book, although occasional cases hit home and the detectives and/or ADAs become somewhat personally invested in the case. With the exception of several episodes at the end of Season 8, the show does not employ subplots, and the private lives of the characters are only mentioned in passing. Perhaps the scenes involving lawyers stray from reality a little more, with a far higher proportion of cases going to trial than in real life (although plea bargaining plays a far greater role than in other television series), and with trial lawyers sometimes acting as pseudo-detectives.

Revolving cast

Law & Order is noted for its revolving cast: none of the original six stars are still regulars, and many stay for only a few seasons before moving on. This continual replacement of actors has not appeared to harm the program's popularity. In fact, it has been speculated that the transforming cast has contributed to the series' longevity. Also, the regular appearance of new faces in the cast has constantly changed the show's dynamic, allowing it to effectively reinvent itself repeatedly. Four long-serving exceptions are Steven Hill (1990–2000) as District Attorney Adam Schiff, Sam Waterston (1994–present) as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy, the late Jerry Orbach (1992–2004) as Detective Lennie Briscoe, and S. Epatha Merkerson (1993–present) as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, who is the show's longest-serving actor/actress. Steven Hill was the last member of the original cast to leave the show, though even he did not appear in the series' original pilot episode.

It is widely believed that the Adam Schiff character was based on real life New York County District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau who still serves in the post, aged 86.

Cast changes were announced in 2004 when longtime performer Orbach left the series at the end of Season 14 to star in the spinoff, Trial by Jury. Orbach died shortly after producing the first two episodes after a long battle with prostate cancer. Dennis Farina joined the cast as Detective Joe Fontana in L&O. In addition, Elisabeth Röhm, who played Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn for three and a half years, left the series midway through the 2004-2005 season; her successor was Annie Parisse, who played ADA Alexandra Borgia.

In December 2004, Michael Imperioli was announced as a temporary replacement for Jesse L. Martin for the last four episodes of the 15th season. This was in order to allow Martin to fulfill a movie contract (the film version of Rent which Martin starred in on Broadway); Martin returned for the 16th season. In the show, Det. Ed Green is wounded in a shootout and takes medical leave in order to recuperate. Michael Imperioli appeared as the same character in a guest-starring role in one episode late in season 16.

On April 26, 2006 Fox News reported that Parisse had quit her role as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia on Law & Order amid rumors of the show's imminent cancellation. The show, however, has been renewed for a seventeenth season. This departure was followed, on May 30, 2006 by the announcement that Dennis Farina would be leaving the cast as well in a story reported by the Associated Press. * Farina will be replaced by Milena Govich, who played one of the assistant district attorneys on series creator Dick Wolf's drama series Conviction. This will be the first time that a woman has played one of the main investigating police officers. On June 16, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Annie Parisse will be replaced by Alana de la Garza. De La Garza appeared on CBS' Miami for the 2005-2006 season as the wife of Miami cop Horatio Caine (series star David Caruso); her character was gunned down by drug dealers.

Past and present cast

"Law" and "Order" have been represented by the following casts:

Law

Order

Notes

  • Though Jesse L. Martin has been on the show since 1999, his character wasn't bumped up to "Senior Partner" status until 2006 at the beginning of the show's 17th season.
  • In the pilot episode, which was filmed in 1988 but aired as season 1 episode 6 (1990), the role of DA Alfred Wentworth was played by Roy Thinnes. This is the only time this character has appeared, although Thinnes has returned to the series several times since then, in other roles.

Recurring supporting cast

Carolyn McCormick has had star billing (for most of season 3 into season 4) as a psychologist, Elizabeth Olivet, Ph.D. J.K. Simmons's character Emil Skoda later became the staff psychiatrist, though this did not mark the end of Olivet's appearances. There are several other recurring characters, among them John Fiore as Det. Tony Profaci, Lorraine Toussaint as Defense Attorney Shambala Green, Tovah Feldshuh as Defense Attorney Danielle Melnick, Josh Pais as Assistant Medical Examiner Borak, John Cariani as CSU Tech Julian Beck*, and Leslie Hendrix as Medical Examiner Elizabeth Rodgers M.D., who is easily the show's most regularly appearing character outside of the six stars.

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Awards won

Emmy Awards:

  • Outstanding Drama Series (1997)

Screen Actors Guild:

Awards nominated

Emmy Awards:

  • Outstanding Drama Series (1992-1996, 1998-2002)
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Sam Waterston (1997, 1999-2000)
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Jerry Orbach (2000)
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Michael Moriarty (1991-1994)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Steven Hill (1998-1999)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Benjamin Bratt (1998)

Golden Globe Awards:

  • Best TV Series-Drama (1992, 1994-1995, 1998-1999)
  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series-Drama Sam Waterston (1995)
  • Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series-Drama Michael Moriarty (1994)

Screen Actors Guild:

  • Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (1995-2002, 2004)
  • Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series Sam Waterston (1998)

DVD releases

DVD Name
Release dates
Region 1
Region 2
Region 4
The Complete 1st Season October 15 2002 June 16 2003 April 14 2003
The Complete 2nd Season May 4 2004 February 28 2005 January 19 2005
The Complete 3rd Season May 24 2005 November 21 2005 March 8 2006
The Complete 4th Season December 6 2005 July 17 2006 N/A
The Complete 14th Season September 14 2004 N/A N/A

Future of Law & Order

In late March 2006, the show witnessed a drop in ratings after NBC moved new episode showings to a different time slot.* However, speculation still exists that it may reach the record for longest-running American prime time drama, currently held by Gunsmoke (1955-1975). According to news reports in 2005, the Law & Order franchise (including all the different series) generates around $1 billion in annual revenues for NBC Universal and its cable partners (a February 2005 NBC financial presentation states that NBC's share of this revenue (including syndication and advertising) is more than $550 million).

On April 5 2006, the show returned to its old timeslot. This produced an improvement of ratings. [http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-ratings040506,0,1270406.story?coll=zap-tv-ratings-headlines

NBC announced on April 27 that all three shows under the Law & Order banner have been renewed through early 2007. *

The show lost 1.8 million viewers in the sixteenth season.

Related series

Spin-offs

The show's popularity has resulted in a Law & Order franchise with the creation of three other television dramas under the same brand: Special Victims Unit (1999), and Criminal Intent (2001). These two shows focus more on the police side of a case. A short-lived spinoff, Trial by Jury (2005), which lasted only 12 episodes, focused almost entirely on courtroom drama, but was pulled off due to low ratings, becoming the first series of the franchise to be cancelled. Every spinoff uses the same theme music as the original series, albeit with differing arrangements (harder guitars for the Criminal Intent theme, for instance).

The latest and now canceled spinoff, Conviction, was only loosely related to the original. While the appearance of one character from Special Victims Unit and a cameo by Fred Dalton Thompson tied it into the same continuity, it did not bear the "Law & Order" title, nor did it use the Law & Order theme music and scene transitions. In addition, Conviction had no coverage of the police investigations and followed the prosecutors' entire lives, rather than just the cases they argue in court.

Cross-overs

Law & Order crossed over six times with other NBC shows:

  • "Baby, It's You – Part I" (L&O ep 8-6), continued in "Baby, It's You – Part II" (Homicide: Life on the Street ep 6-5)

  • "Sideshow – Part I" (L&O ep 9-14), continued in "Sideshow – Part II" (Homicide: Life on the Street ep 7-15)

  • "Entitled – Part I" ( Special Victims Unit ep 1-15), continued in "Entitled – Part II" (L&O ep 10-14)

  • "Tombstone" (L&O ep 15-20), continued in "Skeleton" ( Trial by Jury ep 1-8)

  • "Design" (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ep 7-2), continued in "Flaw" (L&O ep 16-2)

While not considered a cross over episode, Chris Noth appears in the before-the-credits sequence of the Homicide episode "Law and Disorder" (H:LotS ep 3-15). Taking place entirely in a Baltimore train station, Logan hands off a prisoner (John Waters) to Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). The two detectives engage in some friendly banter about which city is better: New York City or Baltimore. They argue over topics such as Babe Ruth and Dorothy Parker.

TV movie

There was also a TV movie called A Law & Order Movie (1998), which featured the fate of Mike Logan (played by Chris Noth), one of the popular characters who departed the series. Noth has now returned in the role of Detective Mike Logan for the 2005-2006 season of Criminal Intent.

Reality series

The producers crafted a reality television series, Crime & Punishment (also sometimes called Law & Order: Crime & Punishment) (2002), which focused on actual trials.

Computer games

In addition, there are three computer games of Law & Order in which the player investigates crimes and then prosecutes the resulting cases:

Trivia

International

See also

External links

1990 introductions | 1990s TV shows in the United States | 2000s TV shows in the United States | Crime television series | Law & Order | Legal television series | NBC network shows | TV shows that use Descriptive Video Service | Television shows set in New York | NBC Universal Television shows

Law & Order | Law & Order | New York District | חוק וסדר | Zákon a poriadok | Kova laki

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Law & Order".

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