User Reviews

I was really looking forward to this original Law & Order returning. But, I'm beyond disappointed. The characters are just not likable, and the writing is awful. The new DA is a self absorbed person who always thinks he'd right, and Sam Waterson's character doesn't really challenge him, and just gives in. Jeff Donovan's character is the worst. Jeff was terrific in Burn Notice. In this, he comes off as an nasty cop with a really bad attitude, and a bigot to boot. Time to fire the writing staff and do some recasting.

I am giving an 8 as the prior seasons this was generally an excellent show. What I like about Law and Order is that it is a show that made you think about the issues being presented and you could formulate your own thoughts about how you thought the issues should play out. The show never outright told you how to think or feel about things. And sometimes the characters would do things you disagreed with but you understood them enough to know where they were coming from.

But with this revival since the cancellation, it is unbelievable how poor the writing is. I do not fault the actors like some people are here. The dialogue and scenarios they are put in are so ridiculous and cringe worthy that great actors like Pacino or Deniro couldn't save this. As one example, the recent issues of abortion and Roe Vs Wade being overturned, it would make sense to incorporate this into a storyline and abortion stories have been done before in the show which I felt were well done. But definitely not now, the show tells you exactly how we are on the wrong side of history and how this is creating so much anger and extremism in society. And the thing is I agree with the sentiment but there is nothing to think about or consider. The show and writers are pushing their ideological message in such an overt and obvious way that it becomes laughable. I no longer see this show as something that is worthy of sparking debate and I will simply watch the original series as they are worth going back to.

I'm in my 30's and only just recently started watching L&O by accident, thanks to letting my tv play in the background while I work. I really enjoy it and for the most part, the storylines and acting are great.

But the reboot...yikes. I was so looking forward to it, but it's majorly lacking the same feel that the older episodes had. No real drama, no action. It just seems too straightforward and boring. They also seem to be pushing social issues a lot harder, which, while I think they need to be addressed in shows like this, there's a point where it feels too forced, and that tends to just irritate people instead of just planting the seed and letting people think about it later.

So...I'm disappointed in the reboot so far, but I'll probably keep watching anyway.

To be honest, I didn't become a real fan of the series until Jerry Orbach (Detective Briscoe)and Sam Waterston(EADA McCoy)came into the picture. This is when the series starts to pick up steam. Watching the show, you can't help but laugh at Briscoe's remarks or feel the passion of McCoy. Both of these men want justice, and will do everything within limits to bring the wrongdoers to justice. What I really like about the show is the wonderful twists and turns that they throw to the audience, as well as the "ripped from the headlines" episodes. Even though you have 2 more in the "Law And Order" franchise, the original is STILL the best!

Here's how you can tell, (sort of), which season a rerun of this show was originally part of. Most of us watch the reruns even more than the regular show and even discovered the regular show through the re-runs so I thought this might be helpful for the newbies.

1988: The pilot has a grainy look to it. The offices of the lawyers are more proletarian that the wood-paneled hives they now work in. The big thing is that the DA, (as opposed to the Executive Assistant DA- let's call him the EADA, or the assistant DA- let's call her the ADA), is played for the one and only time by Roy Thinnes, who must have finally escaped from 'The Invaders'. It's about the Masucci Crime Family, (who will be back), corrupting public officials and ends will a lengthy scroll about the ongoing fight against corruption, etc.

1990-91: Short, heavy-set, balding George Dzundza is the cynical older cop. Dzundza left because he preferred to live and work where it was warmer and his character, (played by his stand-in), gets bumped off in the first episode of the second season.

1991-92: Paul Sorvino plays his replacement, nice-guy Phil Cerretta. The show actually began the next year with the same cast but Sorvino wanted to leave to become an opera singer so poor Phil got shot by a black-market arms dealer in November, 1992 and was replaced by the classic dog-faced flatfoot, Jerry Orbach as Lenny Briscoe.

1993-94: It had been an all-male cast so they brought in Jill Hennessy to replace Richard Brooks as the ADA. But Brooks was black so they had to bring in another black character, (my interpretation) so out went the excellent Dann Florek as Lt. Cragan, to be replaced by S. Epatha Merkerson, (I can always remember her name but not the characters).

1994-5: Michael Moriarity had come apart due to, (from what I've read), alcohol and chronic mental problems that resurfaced. He was replaced this season by Sam Waterson, who came over from 'I'll Fly Away' as the EADA. Meanwhile perennial malcontent, (again from what I've read), Chris Noth either wanted out or was wanted out and his character, Mike Logan, slugs another corrupt public official on the steps of the courthouse, (after the smug perp gets off), and is banished to Staten Island, later to return in a TV movie.

1995-96: The year of the first true 'Homicide' cross-over, (Noth as Logan had done a cameo the previous year), and the rare L&O episode that was about the regulars, who witnesses an execution and then spend the day and night drinking it off. It all ends with Hennessy's character, Clare Kincaid, dying in an auto accident. RIP.

1996-98 Carey Lowell replaced Hennessy. Dick Wolf had apparently decided to get ready for the next abrupt departure by creating a sub-plot for each character to explain why they might leave: Adam Schiff was facing a tough election, (and his wife was dying), McCoy was up on ethics charges, (finally). Jaime Ross's sleazy ex-husband was trying to win custody of their child by claiming she was working too hard. Van Buren was suing the city for discrimination in promotions. Lenny Briscoe's daughter gets rubbed out by a dope ring. Rey Curtis' wife has MS. So what happened? Nothing. Everyone stayed.

1998-99: Lowell DID leave, for a similar reason as her character's- she had a baby with Richard Gere and wanted to spend time with her child. Angie Harmon, a real firecracker, came in to replace her.

1999-00: Bratt left to spend more time with HIS movie star other half, Julia Roberts, (it didn't last). Jesse Martin replaced him.

2000-01: Hill finally left to be replaced with Diane Wiest.

2001-02: Harmon left to be with her new hubby, football star Jason Sehorn, to be replaced by the much maligned, (and under-rated), Elizabeth Rohm. 9/11 made it an interesting season to come in.

2002-04: Senator Fred Thompson replaces Wiest.

2004-05: By bye Lennie Briscoe. Hello Dennis Farnia. Does it even matter that his character's named Fontana?

Sooo…Thinnes= '88 pilot. Dzundza = 1st season (90-91). Sorvino = 2nd season or early third, (91-92). Orbach reporting to Florek = 3rd season, (92-93). Moriarity working with Hennessy = 4th season, (93-94). Waterson and we still have Noth= 5th season, (94-95). Bratt and we still have Hennessy = 6th season, (95-96). Carey Lowell is either the 7th season, (96-97) or 8th season, (97-98). Harmon and we still have Bratt = 9th season (98-99). Martin and we still have Hill = 10th season, (99-00). Wiest working with Harmon = 11th season, (00-01). Wiest working with Rohm = 12th season, (01-02). Thompson and we still have Orbach = 13th, (02-03) or 14th, (03-04) season. Farina, so far = 15th season, (04-05).

My dream cast? I'll take the crusty but forceful Thompson over the merely crusty Hill as the DA. I like Moriarity's Stone somewhat more than Waterson's McCoy. They are two of the finest actors of their generation but I prefer Stone's idealism to McCoy's 'winning is everything' attitude. Actually, I wish the series had both of them and had them alternated, with their different approaches. Hennessy's intelligent sensitivity and expressive face made her the best ADA. Florek is the classic middle manager who gets it from both sides. Orbach fits like an old glove. Noth's emotionalism made him more exciting that the other young cops. There was never a season when they were all together but the fourth season, 1993-94 was about the best.

Terrible writing! Terrible casting! Hugh Dancy is just plain awful in his role. In episode 5, his witness "hangs himself" while in custody, and when he's told he shakes his head up and down while having a dumb look on his face! That's just one of many horrible pieces of acting!

The stories are poorly written, and the character played by Jeff Donovan is just unlikable, and I'm a big fan of his and his starring role in Burn Notice.

I'm HOPING that they get better writers and recast Hugh Dancy. This show has a proud history. It deserves better treatment!

My rating is based on the original. Can't punish 20 seasons for one, huge dud. For 20 seasons this was a fantastic show. Loved the cast and storylines. Even the cast changes were fine. I miss most of them. The show is a classic. The reboot sucks. What were they thinking with that cast? Sam Waterson and Anthony Andersen are just fine but beyond them, the cast is horrible.

...because I could write several paragraphs on each season alone, it's that good. What made this show work for twenty years was that its focus is on the case, not the private lives of the detectives and prosecutors. The structure of each show is simple and over twenty years it does not vary. The first half consists of the discovery of the crime and the determination of suspects that can be charged. Here the focus is on the two police officers - usually a young cop/old cop dynamic - and their supervisor. The second half focuses on trial of the suspect and thus the prosecutors, the D.A. himself/herself in small doses, and large doses of the executive and assistant D.A.'s.

There have been almost thirty people play the six starring roles in this series over the years with probably the door revolving the most in the person of the assistant D.A., which is what you would expect in real life. Special mention has to go to a few of the long-timers though - Sam Waterston first as executive D.A. and then D.A., as well as Jerry Orbach who played the role of Lennie Briscoe, the "old cop" from 1992-2004 and probably the most beloved character in the series' history. Lennie had his private life intrude on the show more than any character, since Lennie had a colorful history of alcoholism, multiple divorces, and a daughter who shared her father's substance abuse problem. Then there is Jesse L. Martin as Ed Green, who was first the "young cop" starting in 1999 and then the "old cop" as senior partners came and went. At first his rather blustering style took some getting used to, but by the time he exited in 2008 I was as sad as when Lennie left. It seemed like the guy had been there since day one. Steven Hill had practically a cameo role as the actual elected D.A. for ten seasons, yet his wit and wisdom during his brief sessions on case strategy added a real touch of spice.

This show is practically a time capsule of important American legal issues and current events from 1990 -2010, and it is interesting to see the changing attitudes of the times reflected in the show. Even now, twenty years later, the oldest episodes hold up under the test of time. As long as human nature remains as it is and always has been, as long as there are people seeking shortcuts and the easy way out, as long as things aren't always as they first appear, I can't see this show losing its appeal no matter how much time passes.

I was so looking forward to this show coming back, but I've got to say I'm disappointed. Jack McCoy is in his eighties and clearly way too old for his position as D. A. He was brilliant back in the day, no argument from me, but that was then. It appears he has trouble enunciating and walking, not to mention comprehension.

And this new prosecutor (whoever he is) isn't half the guy McCoy was. It struck me tonight as I watched episode three, when he pulls his furrowed browed, oh so serious face, he'd make a great Stan Laurel impersonator.

Anyway.... despite the above this is still a show worth watching. Better than any lame, scripted 'reality' show any day.

Law And Order is a testament to the intelligence of the American viewing public that if police drama and courtroom drama is presented intelligently doesn't need crazy car chases nor choreographed police shootouts to become a hit. It has stayed at the top of the viewing public's taste because of the intelligent way it presents the criminal justice system and the issues of the day.

The typical Law And Order episode will have a murders the cops will investigate and arrest their suspect and then the District Attorney will take over. The ADA be it Michael Moriarty, Sam Waterston, or Linus Roache will have some obstacle tossed his way by smart defense lawyering or a judge that will hinder the prosecution. They will have to overcome it and most of the time they do. But not always, defense lawyers do win, it's why they command the fees they do and folks this is not Perry Mason.

The show's concept has struck a resonating tone with the public, it has to be the concept because no other show in the history of television drama has undergone as many cast changes as Law And Order. Even the boss has changed with New York County having four District Attorneys in the time of the show with Steven Hill, Dianne Weist, Fred DaltonThompson and now Sam Waterston moved up through the ranks. Hill was clearly based on the District Attorney in Manhattan for almost 40 years Robert Morgenthau.

The police are also an interesting lot. I think the show really lost something when Jerry Orbach left and died. Lennie Briscoe had the map of New York written across his face and I used to live for Orbach delivering Briscoe's cynical, but uncanny observations about life and love. There were good actors before and after Orbach, but none ever really got the essence of New York in their character.

Three regulars have died on the show, ADAs Jill Eikenberry and Annie Parisse, and Detective George Dzundza. Two of the ADAs Richard Brooks and Carey Lowell have become defense attorneys and have come back to the show on a few occasions. One I've been waiting to come back as a defense attorney was Elizabeth Rohm. When Fred Dalton Thompson fired Rohm and said she was more suitable as a defense attorney and after she confessed that she was a lesbian, I've been waiting for her return.

One of the other things I liked about the show was the steady semi-regular cast of defense attorneys who would appear now and then. Of the group I liked the late George Grizzard, Tovah Feldshuh, and Bob Dishy. And it was a special episode indeed when the late William Kunstler did a cameo role to defend a Sixties radical who was now in custody.

This show spun two successful other Law And Order franchises, Special Victims and Criminal Intent. Those shows have their points, but I think Law And Order sticks far more to reality than the others. Both the two spin-offs are likely to come up with some really wacky scenarios that go far beyond the scope of the shows.

This show could run forever as it apparently isn't dependent on any one player to succeed. And it has a never ending supply of plots taken from real life. What could be better?

I am a huge original Law & Order fan. I often watch repeats from the first 20 years. The new season suffers from unconvincing acting (perhaps except for Anthony Anderson), forced story lines, and poor scripts. I hope they will abandon the scripts based on the current big name headlines.

I'm rating the series overall but dropped some points because the latest season is atrocious.

The cast in this newest season overact to the point of being caricatures. Most of the unknown guest actors are more believable than the main cast. And as most other reviewers have stated, the pounding down your throat of woke culture is so annoying.

I ended up falling asleep while watching this, woke up during the 6th episode. I laughed through the episode, and it's not supposed to be funny. I really like Anthony Anderson in comedies, but as a serious actor he is not good. At one point a man him and his partner were interrogating called them "boys", Anderson's character retorts "Boys? We are men!" I laughed so hard, it's like Anderson tries to be serious but just can't pull it off.

I have loved L&O from the start until it started it's latest incarnation. It's really skip-worthy now. It has a definite point of view and makes its points WITH. A. HAMMER. The show runner must think everything today is a nail. New writers too please. Or just watch old episodes again. ADA Stone FTW.

No chemistry between actors.

Really bad acting.

Camryn Manheim just does NOT FIT HER ROLE. PAINFUL TO WATCH.

Procescutor and ADA are soooo bad. I cannot watch this show. Both actors are stiff and look uncomfortable working together. I am not sure if they are just bad actors or if they are not Comfortable in their roles but the result is awful.

I have not missed episode of Law & Order since it started. Was indeed one of the longest running, truly dramatic programs with a top shelf cast, no matter who came and went. The quality of the show always remained intact and was terrific. Year after year after year...

This new version is just AWFUL. Has no redeeming qualities. Sooo disappointing.

This has been a legendary show, one of television's greatest and one of my top favorites ever, portraying a raw and rugged NYC with all the shortcomings of a underfunded police department and tricky legal system, great performances, moral dilemmas, unpredictable and smart scripts and visceral characters and actors made from their roles in it. It is a real shame to see its current overstylized condition, with the production investing in beautified characters and elementary dialogues, highly predictable narrative, flat and suspense-free content and bad acting instead of keeping the original flowy feel...it just feels so fake and stuck up and if Waterston wasn't in it, it would be unwatchable...i guess it reflects the state of the city as a whole and its gentrified demise, but they could at least make it more believable...real shame.

The original L&O was...overall legendary. My rating is for the first 20 seasons. Sure, it had its missteps during its 20 season run. But I never gave up on it. I just can't get on board with S21.

I don't like the casting. I never thought I'd hate a casting decision more than I hated that beauty queen detective that one year she was on. I was wrong. Donovan makes me want to stab ice picks in my ears and eyes.

The new season lacks everything the original 20 seasons had. The characters don't connect, the stories don't flow, I don't care about any of these new people at all. And it's so bad, I don't even care about the couple of old characters that showed up.

I'll just stick to reruns.

The new version is wayyyy too woke.

If you wanna make a woke cop show, this is not the right one!

Create something new and stop using Law & Order to do it.

Anthony Anderson can create his own darn show.

You don't have to look far to find quality TV. Law and Order has been doing it for almost 20 years. Forget about CSI and Cold Case and other imitators out there nothing tops Law and Order. Even though recently new characters that have been coming into play (almost the entire cast has changed in just the last 3 seasons leaving Lt. Van Buren and new DA Jack McCoy as the only long standing characters with Detective Ed Green's sudden departure last season)the show is still going strong and is still interesting. Even the reruns are great to watch. There are some episodes that you can really just get into.

If you haven't seen it then check it out. It is still one of the best shows out there 10 of 10

I'm rating this a 7 because this show was once great and it's now simply mediocre so 7 is the average. Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston, and others from the "old" cast are wonderful. The stories were interesting.

The current iteration of the show is lacking. I think Anthony Anderson does a great job and my attention perks up when Waterston appears on screen. I find the other characters not compelling at all, often awkward, and, really, kind of annoying. The storylines seem to be a second thought, with the show resting on the excitement that Law & Order is back. Nearly all the episodes thus far seem "ripped from the headlines" or very obviously inspired by real-life people and events.

I hope that future episodes will be closer to the quality of previous seasons.

There are many shows that are known for some sort of drama. For example, for the genre SCI-FI is Stargate: SGI or even STAR TREK. For the Drama area would be Law & Order. Lined up through drama from the 27th precinct to the court-room and the DA'S office, it is everywhere. The show is designed in a specific design. The first half of the show focuses on the police of, now in its eighteenth season, has Detective Ed Green and Detective Curtis Lupo under Lieutenant Van Buren. The second half deals with the DA'S office which, now in its eighteenth season, has ADA Cutter with ADA Rubirosa under DA McCoy, who originally since season five was the ADA. All the drama for anything comes from this show. This is the show to look up to, with all the success and popularity it has had everywhere. It is the most known Crime-Drama show ever and currently the most long-running show on television.

For every right there's a wrong. For every action there's a consequence. For every weeknight there's a Law & Order . Here we meet the Detectives and Prosecutors with a duty to bring Law & Order to New York City , in this series appears prestigious actors as Jerry Orbach, Jesse L Martin , Sam Waterston, Epatha Markeson ,Michael Moriarty , Elizabeth Rohm , Carolyn MacCormick ,Carey Lowel, Leslie Hendrix, Dennis Farina , JK Simmons , Anne Parish and many others . Protagonists of the series' longest-serving cast members that were not there when the series ended lasted far longer than the ones that replaced them. Interesting and overlong TV series dealing with investigation of heinous crimes presented from the perspectives of an expert police force and the prosecutors who accuse at criminal court . As 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 . As the toughest cases requires the toughest justice when dealing with the worst criminals meet the people who deal with them on their level. Long running TV drama produced by Dick Wolf, Warren Leight ,Rene Balcer , Arthur Fornier ,Ted Kotcheff and usual musical score by Mike Post , it tells the stories of two different yet equally important teams , the main : the cops who investigate crimes , carried out by the law enforcement and the public attorney at law who prosecute the offenders . The matter is then taken over by the prosecutors of the Manhatten District Attorney's office, who discuss deals and plea bargains, prepare the witnesses and evidence all whilst conducting the people's case in the trial of the accused. Dealing with the cops pursue the delinquents and the subsequent criminal justice system with spectacular trials . In NYC the dedicated detectives that investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite special of expert policemen . In the complex process of determining guilt and innocence, lives often hang in the balance.

Nice show that follows a murder , from two separate vantage points, the police investigation and the prosecution in court , including judge , jury , solicitor and prosecutor ; it delves into the more ominous offenses and grisly killings , investigating the crimes committed in NYC , usually adapted from current headlines, . Many people mistake this to mean that they are based on real events. In reality, the slogan is referring to the show's practice of coming up with stories that are partially inspired by recent headlines.. Both teams , Cops and Prosecutors , work together as well as with the Medical Examiners Office, Crime Lab and Police and District Attorney psychologists or psychiatrists. At the same time the protagonists are attemting to balance the consequences of the investigations on their own lives .

The series displays great actors , many of the actors on Law & Order were also regular cast members on HBO series The Wire . It is well starred by Jerry Orbach (274 episodes) as cop Lennie Briscoe until his death , Jesse L. Martin as cop Ed Green (198 episodes) , Dennis Farina as cop Joe Fontana ( (46 episodes) , their chief S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren (391 episodes) and prosecutors as Sam Waterston , Elisabeth Röhm as Serena Southerlyn (85 episodes) ,Fred Dalton Thompson as Arthur Branch (116 episodes) , Steven Hill (229 episodes) , Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Forensic Elizabeth Rodgers (143 episodes) . All three of the series' longest-serving cast members lasted far longer than those they replaced: Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe) (1992-2004) lasted twelve years and replaced Paul Sorvino (Sergeant Phil Ceretta) who lasted only a year and a half (1991-1992); S. Epatha Merkerson (Lieutenant Anita Van Buren) (1993-2010), was with the series for seventeen seasons, replaced Dann Florek (Captain Don Cragen), who lasted three years (1990-1993); Sam Waterston (Executive District Attorney/District Attorney Jack McCoy) (1994-2010), who was with the series for sixteen seasons, replaced Michael Moriarty (Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone), who lasted four years (1990-1994) .The series is well directed by good filmmakers as Ernest Dickerson ,Gabrielle Beaumont , Kristopher Tabori, alan Taylor , Eric Stoltz , Bruce Seth Green , Rick Wallace , Adam Bernstein , Fred Gerber , David Platt , Richard Dobbs , Matthew Penn , Jean de Segonzac , Michael Pressman , Arthur W. Forney ,Tony Goldwyn James Frawley , Vincent Misiano , John Whitesell and many others .

Other series about Law and order produced by Dick Wolf are the following ones : the first ¨Law and Order : special victim unit ¨ and following ¨Law and order : Criminal intent ¨ , ¨Law & Order: Trial by Jury¨, ¨Law & Order: Los Angeles¨ , ¨Ley and Order , True Crime: El caso Menéndez ¨(2017). Furthermore , a British version of the long running series produced by Dick Wolf , Rene Balcer , starred by a new elite force headed by Jamie Bamber , Ben Daniels, Freema Agyeman , Bill Paterson , Harriet Walter .

This was an incredibly resilient show. It survived the departure of a multitude of actors and lasted 20 years. That's on account of its reliant not on the characters, but on the stories. It proved to be a winning formula.

The show follows a rip-from-the-headlines crime story. The first half of the show concentrates on the investigation of the crime by the police, and the second half follows the prosecution of the crime in court.

They reinvented the crime procedural. Scripted show just don't last this long. That's thanks to the structure of the show. If not for the proliferation of all the TV channels and the need for ever more cheaper production, this could have lasted another 20 years.

I wish I could rate each season individually, as "Law & Order" began as a 10 star television series in 1990, but gradually deteriorated into virtually unwatchable by the time it left the air.

This series, created and produced by Dick Wolf, took the formula first appearing in the 1963 series "Arrest & Trial" and honed it to perfection.

The original cast was wonderful. George Dzundza provided comic relief, Chris Noth was his young sidekick, Dan Florek was the tough captain, Michael Moriarty was the no-nonsense executive DA, Richard Brooks played the always-serious assistant DA, and Steven Hill was their irascible boss.

In the second year, Paul Sorvino replaced Dzundza. Not quite as good, but no slouch. The third year, however, the series struck gold, as Sorvino left and was replaced by Jerry Orbach. Orbach's character would result in this series becoming an institution. Only with Sam Waterston's emergence in season five would Dick Wolf again find a character that would benefit the series for the better.

Sadly, it was in season four that NBC, in their infinite wisdom, decided to stick their fingers into the formula and start "Law & Order" on its slow but steady decline. The brilliant minds at NBC came to the conclusion that more people would watch the show if you had more females in lead roles. And, with the exception of S. Epatha Merkerson, "females" in NBC's mind meant "pretty faces". This parade of pretty faces started with Jill Hennessey and then Carey Lowell, both of whom performed adequately, but were far from the believable assistant DA character that Richard Brooks had created. It is with the third and fourth pretty faces, however, that things really started a decline. Angie Harmon chewed up the scenery, and her replacement, Elisabeth Rohm appeared at most times to be reading off cue cards. Rohm was proof that all NBC wanted was a pretty face. Acting ability was not required.

With the exception of the weak performers in the role of assistant DA, however, the series kept rolling every week with brilliant scripts, and top notch production.

At the end of season ten, Dianne Wiest replaced Steven Hill. Certainly no "Adam Schiff", the DA's character became a bit of a non-entity while she was in the role. But it got worse. She was replaced after two seasons by Fred Thompson, whose character was an obnoxious blow-hard, just as the actor playing him.

Lennie Briscoe's (Jerry Orbach's) sidekick changed a couple of times over the years as well. Benjamin Britt replaced Chris Noth almost seamlessly. But Jesse L. Martin, while playing his role well, presented us with another rather obnoxious character.

In spite of all this, the series continued to be entertaining, if not top shelf, week after week. That is, until Jerry Orbach had to leave the series due to illness. (Sadly, he passed away shortly thereafter.) At this point, the casting director appears to have just given up. Dennis Farina, who replaced Orbach, was extremely bland, and the casting continued to get worse. The performances of Michael Imperioli, Annie Parisse, Milena Govich, Anthony Anderson, Alana de la Garza, Jeremy Sisto, and Linus Roache were enough to make any junior high school acting teacher cringe. The series was finally killed after 20 years, but should have been put out of its misery about 5 years earlier.

"Law and Order" will still go down in television history as one of the greatest dramas of all time. But sadly, like series such as "The Andy Griffith Show" (which went three seasons too long), it too will be remembered as a series that would have been more of a classic if it had quit while it was ahead.

I thoroughly recommend catching "Law & Order" in reruns if you did not see it during its original run. But pay attention to the version you are watching. If the lead detective isn't George Dzundza, Paul Sorvino, or Jerry Orbach, its a good time to go do the laundry.

I don't get it either. Is it the writing? Acting? Direction or editing? All of the above? Compared to any other season or variation of the Law and Order series, season 21 falls flat on its face. If so many fans of the series notice the same, why don't the people who make it see it? Weird.

Television in Western society has become something of a cultural and imaginative wasteland, with the lowest common denominator now firmly in charge. As attempts to create something imaginative or different get cancelled faster than Mike Tyson can embarrass the sport of boxing, the drivel that we call Reality TV just keeps on keeping on. Which makes those of us with an active brain in our heads all the more grateful that a simple two-act series about criminal prosecution can last for fourteen-plus years.

The premise is as refreshing as it is simple. Before Law & Order, the majority of television shows about lawyers showed defense lawyers doing the police's job and solving cases for them. Competent police or prosecution lawyers did not exist in this highly fictitious setting, so Law & Order turned that on its head. Law & Order begins with a witness running into a victim, or a victim coming forth after some kind of unspeakable act. First, the police, almost always represented by two particular detectives, gather evidence and make inquiries. Then the district attorneys attempt to prosecute the case. Very simple at first, but it is the complex relationships between the regular cast, as well as the quirks of the guest stars, that make the show what it is.

Like any long-running television series, Law & Order has had its ups and downs. I doubt that anyone is going to look upon the era in which Jill Hennessy was replaced by Carey Lowell, indisputably the worst Bond girl of all time, with any great kindness. Indeed, the true golden era of the show was with Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, Jill Hennessy, and Sam Waterston. Now that three of this foursome have left the show, and no less than three attempts to fill the very big void left by Hennessy have failed, it looks like Law & Order has long passed its apex. Not that this is necessarily bad. All good things must come to an end, even if many would prefer a bad Law & Order to a good Survivor.

Aside from the cast dynamic, the stories are what makes the show truly work. Although they are quite relevant to the modern era, they show no signs of dating, with a story from the first season often seeming as current as a story from the most recent, changes in prices, fashions, or cultures notwithstanding. Although many of the stories are uniquely American in nature, a fair percentage are of the kind that could literally happen anywhere.

Another aspect that sets Law & Order apart is its ability to show that even the simplest of cases do not always have a happy ending. Blatant murderers go free because someone at the lab screws up a test, people we sympathise with in spite of their guilt are sent to prison and meet grisly fates, or some of the inequities of the system are displayed in such bold colour its a wonder the show hasn't been clamped down upon by the current President. This is a good thing, however, as a less sugar-coated version of the system makes for much more compelling viewing. In the end, one gets to see that while the system is not perfect, it works hard to protect everyone, which is just the way it should be. It is not a coincidence that many of the District Attorney characters who quit often wind up coming back in guest appearances... as defense lawyers. Even the excruciating Carey Lowell made a half-decent fist of such a return.

Were I giving Law & Order a score, it would be a solid ten out of ten. In spite of some woeful casting decisions, it has never had a truly dull moment. Maybe soon it might even find a second wind, relatively speaking.