In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by............ (Law and Order)

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	Law and Order
Date:	15/01/09 (145 review reads)
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Law and Order is the longest running crime drama going, and whilst long running doesn't necessarily mean successful, in my opinion it is also the most successful crime drama ever.

~The Programme~

Each programme begins with

"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."


Set in New York, each week it follows a new crime which as been committed. Initially we are shown the work of the police detectives assigned to the case, how they being to investigate the case, how they narrow down the suspects and process the evidence.

Once the detectives have enough evidence against someone the focus is moved to the 'order' side of solving a crime. In this case its the District Attorneys office. The district attorney, or more likely the assistant district attorney with the DA hovering in the background, are responsible for putting a case together for the courts, from the initial arraignment, right through to the verdict, or plea agreement.

The show blends both sides of the criminal justice system effortlessly, and shows how one cannot function without the other.

~Characters and Cast~

Law and Order has been running for 18 seasons at the time of writing, the detectives and the assistants for ADA Jack McCoy change every few seasons, so it would be impossible to give each cast member a mention without this review turning into War and Peace.

However, there are a few characters that deserve a special mention;

ADA Jack McCoy played by Sam Waterstone

Jack seems to have been in the series from the beginning, but in fact only joined in season 5 as the Assistant District Attorney. I have called him ADA McCoy, even though in season 17 he was promoted to DA. Sam Waterstone has the right characteristics for this role, and he plays the character so well you could actually imagine him in a court room in real life.

Lt. Van Buren as played by S. Epatha Merkason

Van Buren is not the longest serving character, but is the character with the most appearances in the show. She is firm but fair lieutenant at the 27th precinct. As the longest serving lieutenant she has seen her fair share of detectives coming and going. Again S. Epatha Merkason is the ideal choice for this character, and plays her to a T.

The final mention has to go to the legendary Lennie Briscoe played by the late Jerry Orbach. Briscoe was a detective in the 27th precinct for 12 seasons, he also starred in Law and Order:Special Victims Unit, Criminal Intent and Trial By Jury. He's a detective with a slightly dodgy past, he was an alcoholic for many years, and his daughter from one of his failed marriages is a drug abuser. His alcoholism comes back to haunt him when he falls of the wagon, and ADA Kincaid dies as a result. This sobers him up for good.

Jerry Orbach was a superb actor, he delivered Briscoe's one liners with absolute perfect timing, a great shame that he was stuck down with cancer.

~My Thoughts~

I love this programme, I have to say I haven't watched every single episode, there are many of the earlier ones which I missed. And I'm waiting for the Hallmark channel to re-run them at some point. I also missed seasons 16 and 17 for one reason or another, but luckily its one of those programmes where you an dip in and out without losing the thread. Basically because each episode is a story in itself. Occasionally there are references to earlier cases, or to the characters private lives, but these are few and far between and don't impact on that particular episode at all.

One of my favourite things about this show is the fact they don't always get their man. Unlike 'cop shows' of the 70's and 80's where the bad guy always got his comeuppance, the detectives and attorneys in Law and Order sometimes make mistakes. Or sometimes they have worked their socks off, and got all the evidence they can, but the jury don't agree with them.

Because of this, when the judge asks the defendant to stand at the end of the trial, you are sitting there wondering, will he be found guilty, will he be let off? Rather than knowing from the off set that he's going down for a long time.

For the most part the movement of characters isn't as annoying as it sounds either. Generally if there is a change, one detective survives from one season to the next, and the second detective is replaced. This means you only have to get to know one new character, because there are always the old stalwarts like Jack McCoy to keep the familiarity.

Occasionally you'll get to like a character (in my case I liked the dynamic between Briscoe and Ed Green (played by Jesse L. Martin), and its a shame when they decide to move on. But that's a problem with pretty much any long running show.

I am looking forward to the Law and Order:London spin off, it will be interesting to see if they can cross the Atlantic with this format.

I would definitely recommend this programme to anyone who likes crime drama.

Summary: In my opinion a must see series.