"Law & Order" (1990)TV series 1990-????

Creator:

Dick Wolf

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Release Date:

13 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Tagline:

The Story Is Everything

Plot:

The show follows a crime, usually adapted from current headlines, from two separate vantage points. The first half of the show concentrates on the investigation of the crime by the police, the second half follows the prosecution of the crime in court.

Plot Keywords:

Law And Order | Jewish Cop | New York City | Italian American Cop | Female District Attorney

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Golden Globes. Another 40 wins & 145 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 25	6:00 PM	TNT	Whose Monkey Is It Anyway	#11.10
Fri. July 25	7:00 PM	TNT	Deep Vote	#11.24

Cast

Steven Zirnkilton	...	Narrator (410 episodes, 1990-2008)
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren / ... (346 episodes, 1991-2008)
Sam Waterston	...	Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy / ... (323 episodes, 1994-2008)
Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe / ... (274 episodes, 1991-2004)
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff (229 episodes, 1990-2000)
Jesse L. Martin	...	Detective Ed Green (198 episodes, 1999-2008)

Also Known As:

Law & Order Prime (USA) (informal title)
Law and Order (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | UK:PG (season 3 DVD) | Singapore:M18 (season 5) | UK:15 (seasons 1-2 DVD) | Iceland:12 (some epiosodes) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-14 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Wolf Films

Trivia:

Law & Order episodes are often advertised as being "ripped from the 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. However, with almost no exceptions, only a fairly small portion of the episode will resemble the real incident or incidents that it is inspired by. There might be a few scenes that resemble a well-known headline while the majority of the episode goes in a different direction, or there could be one character that is based on a famous individual but the circumstances the person encounters are largely made up.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In more than one episode, characters refer to the District Attorneys of various New Jersey counties. New Jersey has County Prosecutors, not District Attorneys. However, this error is very common.

Quotes:

Jamie Ross: Killers are protected by the church, the law says two people can fire the same bullet and now the victim's mom forgives the murderer. You figure it out.
Jack McCoy: You don't think you could?
Jamie Ross: Forgive him? No.
Jack McCoy: Neither could I. What does that say about us?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Alec Baldwin/Christina Aguilera (#32.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

I'm Not Driving Anymore

Gritty and Compelling Ensemble Drama That Works

This intense drama, now in its 15th season and still going strong, set the stage for ensemble drama, in which the cast plays a secondary role to the story. Law & Order, as originally conceived, drew the viewer into the process by which American law enforcement and litigation works, or doesn't, depending on the viewer's opinion. The first half-hour is devoted to the investigation of a crime, the second to its prosecution. Cases are made or lost by evidence, lack thereof, a technicality, or even judicial whim. Dick Wolf made it clear from day one that the cast was expendable; no prima donnas here. The first cast was all male, with one African-American. Wolf apparently caved to fan pressure for a more politically-correct spectrum, but it really didn't matter so long as the actors could carry the story forward. His best casting choice was Jerry Orbach, his worst Elisabeth Rohm, but with or without these people, the drama continues. In recent years, L&O has lost some of the grittiness that made it so compelling, and I do miss actors such as Steven Hill, Michael Moriarty, Chris Noth, Jill Hennessy and now Orbach, but the show is still far superior to the majority of what passes for prime-time programming. It only suffers in the rare episodes when a politically-correct message is pushed into the story, i.e., whenever it deviates from its original format of presenting how the criminal justice system works. Ignore the spinoffs; the original Law & Order is still the best.