Sexylocher Masterful Movie

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!

JohnLeeT Upon the debut of Law and Order in 1990, a team of fresh, inspired writers and a truly gifted ensemble of stunning actors brought one of the most uniquely superb dramas to television. The writing was some of the finest that would ever grace the screens in America's homes and the performances would be among the most incredibly memorable ever given before any audience anywhere. The original cast included young actors at the peak of their form and older actors such as Steven Hill who anchored the proceedings with arguably the most consistent brilliance in series history. Law and Order was blessed with an outstanding pool of artists from the New York theater community, actors who would not only contribute a uniquely talented list of guest actors, but guest stars who would give the performances of a lifetime on a regular basis. Week to week, home audiences would be overwhelmed with greatness as one episode after another crashed though formulaic barriers and offered controversial, explosive presentations of shocking power and dramatic excellence. The first half of each show was hardly the usual police procedural as breathtaking crimes challenged detectives to demonstrate the full spectrum of genius offered by the New York Police Department. With no clear-cut border with the second half, the police and District Attorney would work together to bring the criminal to justice in court room scenes more dramatic, suspenseful, and brilliant than any others ever filmed in any medium. In a nod to the realism of this unique series, the District Attorney would not always be triumphant and a guilty, monstrous murderer would escape justice. The public, political, and personal tensions involved in such a high-pressure job were routinely explored with incisive writing and the personal lives of those involved, while rarely touched upon, exploded on the screen when they were sometimes revealed in unbelievable acting and the finest writing television has ever known. Several episodes that offered insights into the characters involve performances never to be forgotten and writing so electric that it seared the emotions of the audience and brought tears to the eyes of millions of viewers. Law and Order is one of those rare accomplishments in televisions that was not only long lasting but consistent in its excellence throughout its entire run. It was appointment television to the very end and the source of several successful offspring, most notably Law and Order: Criminal Intent, that introduced audiences to the acting powerhouse of Vincent D'noffrio as well as one of the most gifted actors in television and theater history, Kathryn Erbe. The often repetitive and tasteless Law and Order: SVU, lacked the inspiration and acting talent of the original but offered many recognizable actors the chance to play against type. However, it is the original Law and Order that made television history in longevity, creativity, performances, writing, and iconic presence. After similar efforts have passed into the cloud of mediocrity, Law and Order will remain the award winning series that lives on as an acclaimed example of the very finest dramas television has ever offered.

jdc121 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.

dwr246 At one point, I saw Sam Waterston asked in an interview why Law & Order was so popular. He seemed a bit surprised by the question and responded that it was the story lines. While he has a point in that they do come up with some unusual twists and turns in their storytelling, the writers had some big problems in how they developed their characters, particularly Waterston's.The premise of the show is that it depicts the criminal justice system from the view of both the police and the courts. Consequently, the shows always start with the discovery of a crime, usually, but not always, murder. We then follow the detectives (Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Benjamin Bratt, Chris Noth, S Epathat Merkerson) as they solve the crime, eventually finding a suspect that they arrest and bring to trial. At that point we go to the DA's office, and follow Executive ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), a smug and arrogant man who conflates his desires with the law, and winning with justice, and his assistance of the season (Angie Harmon, Alana De La Garza, Elisabeth Rohm) as they work to bring the case to trial. Occasionally the DA (Dianne Wiest, Fred Thompson) gets brought in on the action. Eventually, the case goes to trial, and in the end, a verdict is brought in, although not always the one expected.This is another show that suffers from some really unpleasant characters. While the police detectives are generally a likable lot, and seem to be doing the best they can, once things get to the DA's office, things take a turn for the worse. In general, the assistants are usually likable and compassionate people, as was DA Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest). Unfortunately, once Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson) took over as DA, the DA stopped being quite so sympathetic a character. And the writers are to be congratulated in creating the worst villain ever in Jack McCoy. The only problem is, Jack McCoy is the one you're supposed to be rooting for. And his character, as well Arthur Branch's could have easily been humanized by the occasional mention of a family, a hobby, a favorite cause, anything to make them look as though they cared about something other than only winning their case. As it stands, once the crime has been solved, the show becomes painful to watch.By and large, I find the acting to be pretty good. Dianne Wiest did a nice turn in her time as a DA. Jesse L. Martin was especially good as a detective, and S. Epatha Merkerson was wonderful as the head of the detectives. Angie Harmon did a nice job as McCoy's assistant, and Elisabeth Rohm was outstanding in that capacity. Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy is a puzzle to me, as Waterston is perfectly capable of creating a likable character, even when the character's actions aren't necessarily likable, e.g. in Finnegan Begin Again. However, there is absolutely nothing likable about Jack McCoy, and I'm inclined to think that is the fault of the writing, as I think Waterston could have pulled it off. Worst however, was Fred Thompson, who clearly was playing Fred Thompson. His departure from the show was a blessed relief.Clearly the show was successful, and spun off several equally successful series. I just can't help thinking how much more successful it could have been had they worked a little harder to make the main characters people that you wanted to follow week in and week out.

salackar How can people stand this show? It's so unrealistic, formulaic and lacking in emotion and substance. I just can't believe it's lasted so long, let alone become a franchise.People going about their business find a body. Usually that scene has some "social commentary". Detectives arrive at the scene and say something clever. Credits. They interview family members and friends, who are saddened but not much, either because they're talentless actors or the writers realized a realistic depiction of grief every episode would overwhelm the audience. The usual suspect is discarded, then they arrest the unusual suspect. Then arraignment, then a bunch of motions where McCoy has to clean up the detective's mess because every episode they violate someone's civil rights. Then a couple of witnesses testify a whole minute (pleeease!) and then the verdict. That is, of course, after the very realistic and thought-out two minute long closing arguments.Yeah, one episode = one trial. It's not like trials take weeks or months IRL, and apparently the cops always make an arrest within days.And I say, why not make this show realistic and depict what a week in the detective's and prosecutor's life at work would be like (working many cases, which develop at different speed)? Damages appears to be the only realistic legal drama out there when it comes to time. Seriously, if you watch this garbage you're part of the problem.It's time we, as an audience, demand some respect and stop supporting shows that insult our intelligence.