Law & Order is a long-running 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, since its debut on September 13, 1990, and syndicated on other US networks since 1994, as well as worldwide. The show is produced by Universal Media Studios, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Television, and Studios USA.
Law & Order first appeared on the NBC network in the fall of 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.
The pilot episode was produced to sell the show to CBS in 1988, but was rejected by that network. When NBC picked up the series in 1990, the pilot aired as episode six.
Law & Order's seventeenth season on NBC began on Friday, September 22, 2006, at 10 p.m. EST, and continued as an anchor of the network's Friday lineup throughout the 2006-2007 season; the show had aired on Wednesdays since 1992, and on Tuesdays before that. On May 14, 2007, the network announced tentative plans for an eighteenth season, with its start to be delayed until January 2008, as well as a shift to Sundays.
The series is broadcast in Canada on CTV. Reruns can be seen regularly each weeknight on TNT (U.S.) and weekdays at 1:00 p.m. and weeknights at 11 p.m. on Bravo! (Canada). It can be seen in the UK with new episodes first showing on the cable and satellite channel Sky One and later on Sky Two with a terrestrial airing on channel Five and repeats of the early seasons are being shown on the Hallmark Channel. It was recently announced that the Law & Order franchise would be screened on Five US.
Overview
The following statement, narrated by Steven Zirnkilton, is spoken at the beginning of nearly 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.
In New York City, when a crime is committed, the victims are represented by two distinct yet forever intertwined forces. There's the police department, represented here by the 27th precinct Homicide Detectives: Senior Homicide Detective Edward Green (Jesse L. Martin) and his partner Detective Nina Cassady (Milena Govich). Both report to their boss Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). It is their job to investigate the crime, collect evidence, interview witnesses and then, when the evidence points to a suspect or suspects, place the suspect(s) under arrest. The matter is then taken over by the prosecutors of the Manhattan District Attorney's office, Executive Assistant District Attorney John James "Jack" McCoy (Sam Waterston) and assistant prosecutor Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza). Their boss is Manhattan District Attorney Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson). Together they discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence and conduct the people's case in the trial. Both teams work with the Medical Examiner's Office, Crime Lab and Police and District Attorney psychiatrists. Matters are rarely resolved easily, or for the people involved, satisfactorily. Crimes are committed which frequently create public unrest and controversy, which is often incorporated into the show.
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 1960's series titled 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.
The prosecution portion of Law & Order is unusual in that it shows more legal proceedings than just a trial. The second half almost always opens with an arraignment and then proceeds to trial preparation. However the show does on occasion deviate from this format and centers on either indictment proceedings before a Grand Jury, a motion hearing, or an allocution upon entering a plea of guilty, usually in consideration for a plea bargain. It is very uncommon for legal dramas to show Grand Jury proceedings. This format is usually seen once or twice per season, with a trial being the norm. Grand Jury episodes focus on the difficulty of obtaining an indictment for a particular accused and often end with a guilty plea and allocution to wrap up the show quickly.
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.
The plots often have a resemblance to actual cases, such as in the 1998 episode "Tabloid", in which a woman is killed in an auto accident after being pursued by a gossip reporter. This followed the similar death of Princess Diana the previous summer. This "ripped from the headlines" nature can also be seen in the opening credit sequence which flows from newspaper headlines, print copy, and photographs into photographs of the actors that evolve from newspaper halftones into high resolution photos. Promotional advertisements of episodes with especially close parallels to real-life cases often use the actual phrase "ripped from the headlines," although a text disclaimer within the actual episode emphasizes that the story and its characters are fictional. The format lends itself to exploring different outcomes or motives that similar events could have had under other circumstances.
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 second segment is done by the assistant DAs, who always consult with the District Attorney for advice on the case.
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. For example, in the first-season episode "Subterranean Homeboy Blues", a woman shoots 2 black teenagers, who she claims were going to attack her. In a 1990 episode, "The Reaper's Helper", an HIV-positive man is found dead and it is revealed that he asked a friend to kill him, to avoid developing full-blown AIDS. At the time, there were few effective treatments for HIV infection.
Another show staple usually occurs during either a confession to police or at trial, or a 'rationalization' by the defendant's actions at trial, guilt notwithstanding. The dramatic moment, sometimes jerking tears and pulling heartstrings, is always accompanied by dramatic music, building to a point. Wether it is given as an account of the crime by a witness or a trial confession by the defendant, it drives home the raw humanity of the event, sometimes drawing sympathy for the defendant.
References and Similarities to Other Media
That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore
Critics have often compared 30 Rock to The Mary Tyler Moore Show, with parallels especially being drawn between the relationship of Liz and Jack and that of Mary Richards and Lou Grant. It has also been compared to That Girl. Like That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore, 30 Rock is a sitcom centering around a single, brunette career woman living in a big city where she works in the television industry. 30 Rock, however, uses a more droll style of humor and is much less upbeat.
The title sequence used in 30 Rock's pilot (which was not used in later episodes) was stylistically reminiscent of the opening sequences to That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore. A promotional video formerly included on NBC's 30 Rock website depicted a montage sequence of Liz struggling at romance while an updated version of "Love is All Around" (the same version featured in Mary and Rhoda) played in the background.
3rd Rock from the Sun
The show's name is similar to 3rd Rock, the commonly used short title for 3rd Rock from the Sun, another NBC sitcom created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumni. At the 64th Golden Globe Awards, Tim Allen mispronounced the show's name as 3rd Rock when mentioning Alec Baldwin had been nominated for the Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical Award
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, New York City mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg have both appeared on the show, adding a realistic dimension to the program.
While most of the locations are real, there are two notable exceptions. The fictional Stuyvesant College (which resembles New York University) and Hudson University are often used for college settings and The New York Ledger is typically the tabloid newspaper mentioned and is heavily based on the real-life New York Post. In one episode The Sentinel was used as a competing paper similar to the The New York Times. All are amalgams of actual New York institutions.
The real-life New York Daily News has also appeared in the series.
On September 14, 2004 in New York City, a road leading to Pier 62 at Chelsea Piers (where the series is mostly shot) was renamed "Law & Order Way", in tribute to the long-running series.
Legitimate theater talent
Because both the interior and exterior filming all occur in New York City, the series has access to a wide variety of regular and guest actors who perform in the legitimate theater. Many times these actors are available for shooting during the day while performing on Broadway in the evening or between engagements.
The card, and the sound
Most scene changes are preceded with a black screen with white text at the bottom. This title card indicates the location and date of the events to be portrayed.
This has been described as a "DUN dun" or "thunk thunk" sound. It was originally developed to sound like a barred door in a jail cell slamming shut (Law). Other fans think it sounds more like a gavel (Order). In promos for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit reruns on the USA Network, actor Dann Florek refers to the sound as the "doink doink", while Richard Belzer refers to it as the sound of a judge's gavel. According to Imdb.com, it "was created by combining close to a dozen sounds, including that of a group of monks stamping on a floor."
Portrayal of characters
The show's cast of police and lawyers are portrayed as basically honest professionals who rarely stray from the boundaries of accepted procedure and usually solving crimes by the book, although occasional cases hit home and the detectives and/or ADAs (most notably Executive ADA Jack McCoy who has been tried in front of a BAR association. Assistant ADA Serena Southerlyn once deceived a man to save a hostage and was tried as well) 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.
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 nearly all of them (and with their failures often a result of societal prejudice or by unethical actions by the plaintiff or opposing counsel). In the actual legal system, 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 (though a large number of cases are indeed resolved in plea bargains). Nonetheless, the characters and process depicted can be seen as amalgams of the entire legal system, and the technically unrealistic legal process (the same 4 people investigating and trying every high-profile murder in New York) as a simplifying plot device necessary for the show to be possible, thus maintaining suspension of disbelief.
Alternatively, viewers can take this point of view: the cases depicted on the show are not all the ones the detectives handle, but only those in which they are working with the specific prosecutors. Likewise, the cases depicted may not represent all those on which the prosecutors work, but only major, complicated cases which proceed to trial. A significant amount of time compression (compressing events that may occur over a period of months into a one-hour show format) may also be assumed. There is usually a date on the cards used for scene transitions, supporting this theory.
The lawyers, police, accused, perpetrators, defendants, judges, psychiatrists, and forensic experts on the show, as well as the victims and witnesses of crimes, speak in pithy, perfunctory sentences (usually with a tone of arrogance) that help to expedite the plot with a minimum of dialogue, even when the same characters are visibly upset or under cross examination. Frequently, questioning of key witnesses lasts a minute or less, even in real time. Expert witnesses typically perform infallibly under cross examination without equivocation. Nevertheless, the defense's expert witnesses, particularly psychiatrists, are regularly shown to be advocates of controversial or fringe ideologies such as Repressed memory or Black rage. Forensic experts are portrayed as almost omniscient and forensic evidence is rarely portrayed as botched or questionable; acquittals are generally gained in the face of forensic evidence only when a defense lawyer successfully argues for its inadmissibility on a sophistic or cynical "technicality". Like many legal dramas the show has thus been accused of providing an unrealistic portrayal of the criminal justice system (see the CSI Effect).
In addition to the issues regarding accuracy in relation to the legal system in general, the show inaccurately represents the judicial system of New York County specifically. While the death penalty is often a significant plot point in Law and Order episodes, no one has ever been charged with capital murder in Manhattan during the period when New York had a functional capital punishment statute. Likewise, the election of a conservative Republican in the mode of Arthur Branch, is virtually inconceivable in overwhelmingly Democratic Manhattan.
Revolving cast
Law & Order is noted for its revolving cast; in fact, none of the original six regulars are with the show any longer, and many stay for only a few seasons. 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's longevity. Also, the regular appearance of new faces in the cast has constantly changed the show's dynamic, allowing it to repeatedly reinvent itself.
Four long-serving exceptions are Steven Hill (1990–2000) as Adam Schiff, Sam Waterston (1994–present) as Jack McCoy, Jerry Orbach (1992–2004) as Det. Lennie Briscoe, and S. Epatha Merkerson (1993–present) as Lt. Anita Van Buren, who is the show's longest-serving actor. Steven Hill was the last member of the original cast to leave the show, though even he did not appear in the series' pilot episode, but appeared in all the rest of the series' episodes. The role of Alfred Wentworth was played by Roy Thinnes. This is the only time Alfred Wentworth appeared, although Thinnes has returned to the series several times since then (in other roles).
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 87.
Cast changes were announced in 2004 when longtime performer Orbach left the series at the end of Season 14 to star in the spinoff, Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Orbach died shortly after producing the first two episodes after a prolonged bout with prostate cancer. Dennis Farina replaced Orbach, joining the cast as Det. Joe Fontana. In addition, Elisabeth Röhm, who played Serena Southerlyn for three and a half years, left the series midway through the 2004–2005 season; her successor was Annie Parisse, who played 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 to allow Martin to fulfill a movie contract (the film version of Rent, in which Martin starred on Broadway); Martin returned for the 16th season. In the show, Det. Ed Green is wounded in a shootout and takes medical leave to recuperate. Michael Imperioli appeared as the same character, Det. Nick Falco, in a guest-starring role in a later episode in Season 16.
On April 26, 2006 Fox News reported that Parisse had quit her role as Alexandra Borgia on Law & Order amid rumors of the show's imminent cancellation. The show, however, has been renewed for a 17th season. This departure was followed, on May 30, 2006 by the announcement that Dennis Farina would be leaving the cast in a story reported by the Associated Press. With Farina's departure, Jesse L. Martin's character was promoted to "senior partner" status. Milena Govich, who played one of the assistant district attorneys on series creator Dick Wolf's drama series Conviction joined the cast the "junior partner," Nina Cassady. This was the first time that a woman has played one of the main investigating police officers. As of the beginning of the seventeenth season, Annie Parisse has been replaced by Alana de la Garza.
Fred Thompson asked May 30, 2007 to be released from the show after five seasons. It is widely suspected that he will officially declare his candidacy for President of the United States, which would have required him to leave the show anyway (under the equal-time rule).
Milena Govich left the show after one season on June 1, 2007, and will be replaced by Jeremy Sisto.
On June 7, 2007, it was confirmed that Sam Waterston's character, Jack McCoy, would be replacing Fred Thompson's character, Arthur Branch, as District Attorney.
Many main cast members had previously appeared in earlier episodes as different characters, a phenomenon known as "same actor, different character", which has been much discussed on Internet forums such as Jumping the Shark. Fans sometimes refer to these actors as "repeat offenders." S. Epatha Merkerson made a guest appearance as the grief stricken mother whose children were shot in the 1st season episode "Mushrooms." Jerry Orbach made a guest appearance as a defense attorney in the 2nd season episode "The Wages of Love." Annie Parisse made a guest appearance as a stripper in the 12th season episode "Attorney Client." Milena Govich made a guest appearance in the 16th season episode "Flaw." In addition, new cast member Jeremy Sisto played a defense attorney in the 17th season finale "The Family Hour." Therefore, Sisto will be the first Law & Order actor to go from being a guest star in one episode to being a permanent cast member in the very next episode.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
Watch It!
