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{{infobox television || show_name = Law & Order| image = | caption =| format = Police procedural; legal drama| starring = Season 18 cast:
[Jesse L. Martin
Jeremy Sisto
S. Epatha Merkerson
Linus Roache
Alana de la Garza
Sam Waterston|picture_format = [480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)] 1990| website = http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/| imdb_id = 0098844| tv_com_id = 180|-->

Law & Order is an [United States police procedural and legal drama Television program created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990. Set in New York City, the series follows the professional and to a lesser extent the personal lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in the criminal justice system. The characters frequently encounter dilemmas and frustrations as cases go through the stages of investigation, arrest, negotiation and trial. Matters are rarely resolved easily, or for the people involved, satisfactorily.

The success of the series has led to the creation of additional shows under the Law & Order franchise. It is the longest-running primetime drama currently on American television.

Broadcast The Television pilot episode was produced to be sold to CBS in 1988, but was rejected by that network. When NBC picked up the series in 1990, the pilot aired as episode six. The show is produced by Universal Media Studios, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Television, and Studios USA. It has been Television syndication on other United States networks since 1994, as well as worldwide. According to news reports in 2005, the Law & Order franchise (including all the different series) generates around $1 billion in annual revenues for NBC Universal and its cable partners (a February 2005 NBC financial presentation states that NBC's share of this revenue (including syndication and advertising) is more than $550 million).

Law & Order has been shot on film in widescreen format since at least 1994, as evidenced by the anamorphic widescreen episodes present on The Fifth Year DVD set. This also presents the unique oddity that since reruns of older seasons began broadcasting in HD in 2005, they have provided more (previously cropped) material than when the episodes were first run broadcast in 4:3. Since 2002, first run episodes have also aired in HD.

The series is broadcast in Canada on CTV Television Network. Reruns can be seen regularly each weeknight and weekday afternoons on Turner Network Television (U.S.) and weekdays at 1:00 p.m. and weeknights at 11 p.m. on Bravo! Canada (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 (channel) and repeats of the early seasons are being shown on the Hallmark Channel (UK). It was recently announced that the Law & Order franchise would be screened on Five US.{{cite web ], a shift of time slot resulted in a significant drop in ratings. Although a return to the original time slot, on April 5 2006, triggered an improvement of ratings, over its sixteenth season the show lost 1.8 million viewers.

For the 2006-2007 season, both Law & Order and Criminal Intent were placed in new time slots. In its current slot — Fridays at 10pm — Law & Order averages 9.3 million viewers, down again from 11.6 million in the previous season. By comparison, Criminal Intent averages 9.7 million viewers on Tuesdays at 9pm and SVU averages 12.9 million viewers during its timeslot.

On May 14 2007, the network announced tentative plans for an eighteenth season. Under NBC's agreement, Law & Order will premiere its 18th season on NBC in January 2008 while new episodes of Criminal Intent will now premiere on NBC Universal's USA network with reruns slated to appear on NBC. This is an unusual role reversal in NBC and USA's Television syndication arrangement. When the future of the Law & Order stable was in doubt, Turner Network Television, which airs re-runs of the show, emerged as a contender to become the new home either of Law & Order or Law & Order Criminal Intent.

Despite its recent ratings troubles, producer Dick Wolf expressed optimism about the show's future, also saying that his "ultimate dream" is for the series to continue long enough to surpass Gunsmoke (1955–1975) as the longest-running network drama series on American television.

Format The program generally follows a two-tiered format, with the first portion of each episode devoted to the investigation of a crime and the second portion depicting its prosecution. The format is almost identical to a 1960s 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. Most Law & Order episodes are self-contained, with only a few exceptions over the many years of production.

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.

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 police are represented in the show by the police lieutenant of Manhattan's 27th precinct and two homicide detectives, a senior partner and a junior partner. The detectives move to investigate the crime, collect evidence and interview witnesses, reporting regularly to the lieutenant. The evidence eventually leads to the arrest of one or more suspects. The matter is then taken over by the prosecutors of the Manhattan District Attorney's office, comprised of the district attorney, the executive assistant district attorney and an assistant prosecutor. Together they discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence and conduct the people's case in the trial. Both the detectives and prosecutors work with the medical examiner's office, the crime lab and psychiatrists from the police and district attorney offices.

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.

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 Diana, Princess of Wales the previous summer. This "ripped from the headlines" nature can also be seen in the opening credit sequence which 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 (television series), 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 or the case against the offender is won, but justice still seems lacking.

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. Whether 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.

Stylistic touches Local color The series has a number of distinctive stylistic touches. The show is shot on location in New York City and is known for its extensive use of Regionalism (literature). In recent seasons, New York City mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg have both appeared on the show as well as Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano, 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 (Law & Order) are often used for college settings and The New York Ledger (Law & Order) 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 theatre in the evening or between engagements.

The card, and the sound Most Scene (fiction) changes are preceded with a black screen with white text at the bottom. This title card indicates the location and date and time of the events to be portrayed. The time always advances one minute during the title card.

This is accompanied by a tone, which 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). 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 Jack McCoy and Serena Southerlyn) 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 (law) lawyers sometimes acting as pseudo-detectives.

Cast and characters Law & Order is noted for its revolving cast; in fact, none of the original six cast members are currently on the program. Though many cast members stay for only a few seasons, the continual replacement of actors has not appeared to harm the program's popularity. Some have speculated that the transforming cast has contributed to the longevity of the series because the regular appearance of new faces 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 (fictional character), Sam Waterston (1994–present) as Jack McCoy, Jerry Orbach (1992–2004) as Lennie Briscoe, and S. Epatha Merkerson (1993–present) as Anita Van Buren, who is the show's longest-serving actor. Steven Hill was the last member of the first season cast to leave the show, though even he did not appear in the series' pilot episode.

It is widely believed that the Adam Schiff character was based on real life Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau who still serves in the post, aged 88.

Major cast changes began in 2004 when long-time 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 filming the first two episodes after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.Dennis Farina replaced Orbach, joining the cast as Joe Fontana (Law & Order). 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 (musical), in which Martin starred on Broadway theatre); Martin returned for the 16th season. In the show, Det. Ed Green is wounded in a shootout and takes medical leave to recuperate.

Richard Brooks, who played ADA Paul Robinette, has reappeared on the show as a defense lawyer, usually in cases involving African American defendants, where the case has political overtones. As well, the various judges on the show have, in some cases, turned into recurring roles, which gives the show a sense that its world is both real and self-consistent.

On April 26 2006 it was reported that Parisse had quit her role as Alexandra Borgia amid rumors of the show's imminent cancellation. This departure was followed on May 30 2006 by the announcement that Dennis Farina would be leaving the show. With Farina's departure, Jesse L. Martin's character was promoted to Senior Detective. Milena Govich, who previously played one of the ADAs on Dick Wolf's drama series Conviction (TV series), joined the cast as Nina Cassady. This was the first time that a woman has played one of the main investigating police officers. Annie Parisse was replaced by Alana de la Garza as Connie Rubirosa.

Many main cast members 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. 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". Michael Imperioli made a guest appearance as a limo driver who murders one of his clients, an up-and-coming model with whom he is infatuated, in the 6th season episode "Atonement". 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.

On May 30, 2007, Fred Thompson asked to be released from the show after five seasons, potentially in preparation for a President of the United States bid, which would have required him to leave the show anyway (under the equal-time rule).Associated Press and Cameron, Carl. "Fred Thompson Quits 'Law & Order,' Moves Closer to 2008 White House Bid", Fox News (2007-05-31). Then on June 1 2007 he formed a presidential exploratory committee regarding his possible United States presidential election, 2008. On September 5, 2007 Thompson announced on The Tonight Show: "I'm running for president of the United States." Bloomberg.com: Worldwide. Retrieved September 6, 2007.

Milena Govich left the show after one season on June 1, 2007, and will be replaced by Jeremy Sisto, who will play Cyrus Lupo.

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. On July 17, 2007, it was announced by Dick Wolf that Linus Roache will join the cast as the new Executive Assistant District Attorney, Michael Cutter.

{]| Max Greevey (George Dzundza)] (Chris Noth)] (Dann Florek)] (Richard Brooks (actor))| rowspan="4"| Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty)] (Steven Hill)]| Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino)]| rowspan="12"| Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach)]| rowspan="15"| Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson)] (Jill Hennessy)]| rowspan="13"| Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)]| rowspan="4"| Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt)]| rowspan="2"| Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell)]|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 9)| rowspan="3"| Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)]| rowspan="7"| Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)]| rowspan="2"| Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest)]| rowspan="4"| Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)]| rowspan="5"| Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson)]|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 15)| rowspan="2"| Joe Fontana (Law & Order) (Dennis Farina)]| Alexandra Borgia (Annie Parisse)]| rowspan="2"| Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)] (Milena Govich)] (Alana de la Garza)]| Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto)] (Linus Roache)] (Sam Waterston)|}

Episodes {| class="wikitable"|-! Season !! Start !! End !! # of episodes|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 1)| September 13 1990 [1991| [September 17 1991 [1992| [September 23 1992 [1993| [September 15 1993 [1994| [September 21 1994 [1995| [September 20 1995 [1996| [September 18 1996 [1997| [September 24 1997 [1998| [September 23 1998 [1999| [September 22 1999 [2000| [October 18 2000 [2001| [September 26 2001 [2002| [October 2 2002 [2003| [September 24 2003 [2004| [September 22 2004 [2005| [September 21 2005 [2006| [September 22 2006 [2007| [January 2008| —|}

Awards and nominations Awards won Emmy Awards:

Screen Actors Guild:

Edgar Awards:

Writers Guild Award

Silver Gavel Award (American Bar Association)

Peabody Award, 1997

Norman Felton Award (Producers Guild of America), Producer of the Year, (1996)

Awards nominated Emmy Awards:

Golden Globe Awards:

Screen Actors Guild:

DVD releases {| class="wikitable"|- style="background: #f2f2f2;"! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Title! colspan="3" scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Release dates|- style="background: #f2f2f2;"! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 1! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 2! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 4|-! scope="row" | The Complete 1st Season | October 15 2002 [2003 [2003 [2004 [2005 [2005 [2005 [2005 [2006 [2005 [2006 [2007 [2007 [2004| N/A| N/A|}

Related media Spin-offs The show's popularity has resulted in a Law & Order franchise with the creation of three other television dramas under the same brand: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001). These two shows focus more on the police side of a case. A short-lived spinoff, Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), which lasted only 12 episodes, focused almost entirely on courtroom drama, but was pulled off due to low ratings, becoming the first series of the franchise to be canceled. Every spinoff uses the same theme music as the original series, albeit with differing arrangements (harder guitars for the Criminal Intent theme, for instance).

The latest and now canceled spinoff, Conviction (TV series), was only loosely related to the original. While Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) from SVU was one of the lead characters, and a cameo by Fred Thompson tied it into the same continuity, it did not bear the "Law & Order" title, nor did it use the Law & Order theme music and scene transitions. In addition, Conviction had no coverage of the police investigations and followed the prosecutors' entire lives, rather than just the cases they argue in court.

Crossovers Law & Order fictional crossover six times with other NBC shows:













While not considered a cross over episode, Chris Noth appears in the before-the-credits sequence of the Homicide episode "Law and Disorder" (H:LotS ep 3–15). Taking place entirely in a Baltimore train station, Logan hands off a prisoner (John Waters (filmmaker)) to Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). The two detectives engage in some friendly banter about which city is better: New York City or Baltimore. They argue over topics such as Babe Ruth and Dorothy Parker.

Jerry Orbach and Jesse L. Martin appeared as Detectives Briscoe and Green in the episode "Poison" (ep 1–7) of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

TV movie There was also a TV movie called Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998), which featured the fate of Mike Logan (Law & Order) (played by Chris Noth), one of the popular characters who departed the series. Noth has since returned to the role of Detective Mike Logan starting in the 2005–2006 season of Criminal Intent.

Reality series The producers crafted a reality television series, Crime & Punishment (also sometimes called Law & Order: Crime & Punishment) (2002), which focused on actual trials.

Computer games In addition, there are three computer games of Law & Order in which the player investigates crimes and then prosecutes the resulting cases: There is also a computer game based on the "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" Franchise.



Books Law and Order: Dead Line When a woman's body is found at the bottom of a hotel air shaft in Times Square, it looks like a routine suicide. Enter Detectives. Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green. Something about the woman seems out of place in the tourist trap. Her clothing suggests wealth. No socialite would be caught dead in a place like this. The trail leads to an about-to-be published tell-all novel destined to be a best-seller. Now Briscoe and Green have to find out what's in it that's worth murder. Following the exact format and pacing of the TV show, this original novel is a must for the millions of L&O viewers.

Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion (published 11/99 by) The Unofficial Companion was written with the cooperation of the show's creator and executive producer, Dick Wolf, and features interviews with the stars, producers, and writers. It is the first-ever guide to this popular, Emmy award-winning police drama. You'll get the inside scoop on: the past and current stars of the show-including Paul Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Chris Noth, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, Carey Lowell, Angie Harmon, and Michael Moriarty; and find out who was fired, who left willingly, and who remains; the show's continued problems with censorship issues and advertiser fallout; the behind-the-scenes anecdotes about cast regulars, including the fights, both verbal and physical, that have peppered the production; how Wolf was forced to increase the estrogen and decrease the testosterone on the show; the detailed history behind the creation and development of the show; and season-by-season critiques of each episode through the entire 1999 season.

Law & Order: Crime Scenes (published 12/03 by Sterling) written by Dick Wolf describing the setup, and the thoughts that goes into producing the crime scenes.

True Stories of Law & Order (published 11/06 by Berkley/Penguin) chronicles 25 real cases that inspired some of the most popular "ripped from the headlines" episodes of the show. Authors Kevin Dwyer and Juré Fiorillo discuss famous cases including the Bernie Goetz subway shootings, the murder of Jennifer Levin in Central Park, and the San Francisco dog mauling of Diane Whipple, as well as lesser-know crimes such as the death by exorcism of Torrance Cantrell and the tragic murder of Anthony Riggs, a soldier who returned from the Gulf War only to be ambushed by a hitman hired by his wife. The book also includes interesting facts about police and legal procedure.

References See also

External links

{{infobox television || show_name = Law & Order| image = | caption =| format = Police procedural; legal drama| starring = Season 18 cast:
[Jesse L. Martin
Jeremy Sisto
S. Epatha Merkerson
Linus Roache
Alana de la Garza
Sam Waterston|picture_format = [480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)] 1990| website = http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/| imdb_id = 0098844| tv_com_id = 180|-->

Law & Order is an [United States police procedural and legal drama Television program created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990. Set in New York City, the series follows the professional and to a lesser extent the personal lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in the criminal justice system. The characters frequently encounter dilemmas and frustrations as cases go through the stages of investigation, arrest, negotiation and trial. Matters are rarely resolved easily, or for the people involved, satisfactorily.

The success of the series has led to the creation of additional shows under the Law & Order franchise. It is the longest-running primetime drama currently on American television.

Broadcast The Television pilot episode was produced to be sold to CBS in 1988, but was rejected by that network. When NBC picked up the series in 1990, the pilot aired as episode six. The show is produced by Universal Media Studios, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio, Universal Television, and Studios USA. It has been Television syndication on other United States networks since 1994, as well as worldwide. According to news reports in 2005, the Law & Order franchise (including all the different series) generates around $1 billion in annual revenues for NBC Universal and its cable partners (a February 2005 NBC financial presentation states that NBC's share of this revenue (including syndication and advertising) is more than $550 million).

Law & Order has been shot on film in widescreen format since at least 1994, as evidenced by the anamorphic widescreen episodes present on The Fifth Year DVD set. This also presents the unique oddity that since reruns of older seasons began broadcasting in HD in 2005, they have provided more (previously cropped) material than when the episodes were first run broadcast in 4:3. Since 2002, first run episodes have also aired in HD.

The series is broadcast in Canada on CTV Television Network. Reruns can be seen regularly each weeknight and weekday afternoons on Turner Network Television (U.S.) and weekdays at 1:00 p.m. and weeknights at 11 p.m. on Bravo! Canada (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 (channel) and repeats of the early seasons are being shown on the Hallmark Channel (UK). It was recently announced that the Law & Order franchise would be screened on Five US.{{cite web ], a shift of time slot resulted in a significant drop in ratings. Although a return to the original time slot, on April 5 2006, triggered an improvement of ratings, over its sixteenth season the show lost 1.8 million viewers.

For the 2006-2007 season, both Law & Order and Criminal Intent were placed in new time slots. In its current slot — Fridays at 10pm — Law & Order averages 9.3 million viewers, down again from 11.6 million in the previous season. By comparison, Criminal Intent averages 9.7 million viewers on Tuesdays at 9pm and SVU averages 12.9 million viewers during its timeslot.

On May 14 2007, the network announced tentative plans for an eighteenth season. Under NBC's agreement, Law & Order will premiere its 18th season on NBC in January 2008 while new episodes of Criminal Intent will now premiere on NBC Universal's USA network with reruns slated to appear on NBC. This is an unusual role reversal in NBC and USA's Television syndication arrangement. When the future of the Law & Order stable was in doubt, Turner Network Television, which airs re-runs of the show, emerged as a contender to become the new home either of Law & Order or Law & Order Criminal Intent.

Despite its recent ratings troubles, producer Dick Wolf expressed optimism about the show's future, also saying that his "ultimate dream" is for the series to continue long enough to surpass Gunsmoke (1955–1975) as the longest-running network drama series on American television.

Format The program generally follows a two-tiered format, with the first portion of each episode devoted to the investigation of a crime and the second portion depicting its prosecution. The format is almost identical to a 1960s 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. Most Law & Order episodes are self-contained, with only a few exceptions over the many years of production.

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.

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 police are represented in the show by the police lieutenant of Manhattan's 27th precinct and two homicide detectives, a senior partner and a junior partner. The detectives move to investigate the crime, collect evidence and interview witnesses, reporting regularly to the lieutenant. The evidence eventually leads to the arrest of one or more suspects. The matter is then taken over by the prosecutors of the Manhattan District Attorney's office, comprised of the district attorney, the executive assistant district attorney and an assistant prosecutor. Together they discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence and conduct the people's case in the trial. Both the detectives and prosecutors work with the medical examiner's office, the crime lab and psychiatrists from the police and district attorney offices.

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.

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 Diana, Princess of Wales the previous summer. This "ripped from the headlines" nature can also be seen in the opening credit sequence which 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 (television series), 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 or the case against the offender is won, but justice still seems lacking.

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. Whether 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.

Stylistic touches Local color The series has a number of distinctive stylistic touches. The show is shot on location in New York City and is known for its extensive use of Regionalism (literature). In recent seasons, New York City mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg have both appeared on the show as well as Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano, 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 (Law & Order) are often used for college settings and The New York Ledger (Law & Order) 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 theatre in the evening or between engagements.

The card, and the sound Most Scene (fiction) changes are preceded with a black screen with white text at the bottom. This title card indicates the location and date and time of the events to be portrayed. The time always advances one minute during the title card.

This is accompanied by a tone, which 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). 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 Jack McCoy and Serena Southerlyn) 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 (law) lawyers sometimes acting as pseudo-detectives.

Cast and characters Law & Order is noted for its revolving cast; in fact, none of the original six cast members are currently on the program. Though many cast members stay for only a few seasons, the continual replacement of actors has not appeared to harm the program's popularity. Some have speculated that the transforming cast has contributed to the longevity of the series because the regular appearance of new faces 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 (fictional character), Sam Waterston (1994–present) as Jack McCoy, Jerry Orbach (1992–2004) as Lennie Briscoe, and S. Epatha Merkerson (1993–present) as Anita Van Buren, who is the show's longest-serving actor. Steven Hill was the last member of the first season cast to leave the show, though even he did not appear in the series' pilot episode.

It is widely believed that the Adam Schiff character was based on real life Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau who still serves in the post, aged 88.

Major cast changes began in 2004 when long-time 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 filming the first two episodes after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer.Dennis Farina replaced Orbach, joining the cast as Joe Fontana (Law & Order). 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 (musical), in which Martin starred on Broadway theatre); Martin returned for the 16th season. In the show, Det. Ed Green is wounded in a shootout and takes medical leave to recuperate.

Richard Brooks, who played ADA Paul Robinette, has reappeared on the show as a defense lawyer, usually in cases involving African American defendants, where the case has political overtones. As well, the various judges on the show have, in some cases, turned into recurring roles, which gives the show a sense that its world is both real and self-consistent.

On April 26 2006 it was reported that Parisse had quit her role as Alexandra Borgia amid rumors of the show's imminent cancellation. This departure was followed on May 30 2006 by the announcement that Dennis Farina would be leaving the show. With Farina's departure, Jesse L. Martin's character was promoted to Senior Detective. Milena Govich, who previously played one of the ADAs on Dick Wolf's drama series Conviction (TV series), joined the cast as Nina Cassady. This was the first time that a woman has played one of the main investigating police officers. Annie Parisse was replaced by Alana de la Garza as Connie Rubirosa.

Many main cast members 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. 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". Michael Imperioli made a guest appearance as a limo driver who murders one of his clients, an up-and-coming model with whom he is infatuated, in the 6th season episode "Atonement". 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.

On May 30, 2007, Fred Thompson asked to be released from the show after five seasons, potentially in preparation for a President of the United States bid, which would have required him to leave the show anyway (under the equal-time rule).Associated Press and Cameron, Carl. "Fred Thompson Quits 'Law & Order,' Moves Closer to 2008 White House Bid", Fox News (2007-05-31). Then on June 1 2007 he formed a presidential exploratory committee regarding his possible United States presidential election, 2008. On September 5, 2007 Thompson announced on The Tonight Show: "I'm running for president of the United States." Bloomberg.com: Worldwide. Retrieved September 6, 2007.

Milena Govich left the show after one season on June 1, 2007, and will be replaced by Jeremy Sisto, who will play Cyrus Lupo.

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. On July 17, 2007, it was announced by Dick Wolf that Linus Roache will join the cast as the new Executive Assistant District Attorney, Michael Cutter.

{]| Max Greevey (George Dzundza)] (Chris Noth)] (Dann Florek)] (Richard Brooks (actor))| rowspan="4"| Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty)] (Steven Hill)]| Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino)]| rowspan="12"| Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach)]| rowspan="15"| Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson)] (Jill Hennessy)]| rowspan="13"| Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)]| rowspan="4"| Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt)]| rowspan="2"| Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell)]|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 9)| rowspan="3"| Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)]| rowspan="7"| Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)]| rowspan="2"| Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest)]| rowspan="4"| Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)]| rowspan="5"| Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson)]|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 15)| rowspan="2"| Joe Fontana (Law & Order) (Dennis Farina)]| Alexandra Borgia (Annie Parisse)]| rowspan="2"| Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)] (Milena Govich)] (Alana de la Garza)]| Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto)] (Linus Roache)] (Sam Waterston)|}

Episodes {| class="wikitable"|-! Season !! Start !! End !! # of episodes|-| List of Law & Order episodes (season 1)| September 13 1990 [1991| [September 17 1991 [1992| [September 23 1992 [1993| [September 15 1993 [1994| [September 21 1994 [1995| [September 20 1995 [1996| [September 18 1996 [1997| [September 24 1997 [1998| [September 23 1998 [1999| [September 22 1999 [2000| [October 18 2000 [2001| [September 26 2001 [2002| [October 2 2002 [2003| [September 24 2003 [2004| [September 22 2004 [2005| [September 21 2005 [2006| [September 22 2006 [2007| [January 2008| —|}

Awards and nominations Awards won Emmy Awards:

Screen Actors Guild:

Edgar Awards:

Writers Guild Award

Silver Gavel Award (American Bar Association)

Peabody Award, 1997

Norman Felton Award (Producers Guild of America), Producer of the Year, (1996)

Awards nominated Emmy Awards:

Golden Globe Awards:

Screen Actors Guild:

DVD releases {| class="wikitable"|- style="background: #f2f2f2;"! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Title! colspan="3" scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Release dates|- style="background: #f2f2f2;"! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 1! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 2! scope="col" style="text-align: center;" | Region 4|-! scope="row" | The Complete 1st Season | October 15 2002 [2003 [2003 [2004 [2005 [2005 [2005 [2005 [2006 [2005 [2006 [2007 [2007 [2004| N/A| N/A|}

Related media Spin-offs The show's popularity has resulted in a Law & Order franchise with the creation of three other television dramas under the same brand: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001). These two shows focus more on the police side of a case. A short-lived spinoff, Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005), which lasted only 12 episodes, focused almost entirely on courtroom drama, but was pulled off due to low ratings, becoming the first series of the franchise to be canceled. Every spinoff uses the same theme music as the original series, albeit with differing arrangements (harder guitars for the Criminal Intent theme, for instance).

The latest and now canceled spinoff, Conviction (TV series), was only loosely related to the original. While Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) from SVU was one of the lead characters, and a cameo by Fred Thompson tied it into the same continuity, it did not bear the "Law & Order" title, nor did it use the Law & Order theme music and scene transitions. In addition, Conviction had no coverage of the police investigations and followed the prosecutors' entire lives, rather than just the cases they argue in court.

Crossovers Law & Order fictional crossover six times with other NBC shows:













While not considered a cross over episode, Chris Noth appears in the before-the-credits sequence of the Homicide episode "Law and Disorder" (H:LotS ep 3–15). Taking place entirely in a Baltimore train station, Logan hands off a prisoner (John Waters (filmmaker)) to Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). The two detectives engage in some friendly banter about which city is better: New York City or Baltimore. They argue over topics such as Babe Ruth and Dorothy Parker.

Jerry Orbach and Jesse L. Martin appeared as Detectives Briscoe and Green in the episode "Poison" (ep 1–7) of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

TV movie There was also a TV movie called Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998), which featured the fate of Mike Logan (Law & Order) (played by Chris Noth), one of the popular characters who departed the series. Noth has since returned to the role of Detective Mike Logan starting in the 2005–2006 season of Criminal Intent.

Reality series The producers crafted a reality television series, Crime & Punishment (also sometimes called Law & Order: Crime & Punishment) (2002), which focused on actual trials.

Computer games In addition, there are three computer games of Law & Order in which the player investigates crimes and then prosecutes the resulting cases: There is also a computer game based on the "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" Franchise.



Books Law and Order: Dead Line When a woman's body is found at the bottom of a hotel air shaft in Times Square, it looks like a routine suicide. Enter Detectives. Lennie Briscoe and Ed Green. Something about the woman seems out of place in the tourist trap. Her clothing suggests wealth. No socialite would be caught dead in a place like this. The trail leads to an about-to-be published tell-all novel destined to be a best-seller. Now Briscoe and Green have to find out what's in it that's worth murder. Following the exact format and pacing of the TV show, this original novel is a must for the millions of L&O viewers.

Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion (published 11/99 by) The Unofficial Companion was written with the cooperation of the show's creator and executive producer, Dick Wolf, and features interviews with the stars, producers, and writers. It is the first-ever guide to this popular, Emmy award-winning police drama. You'll get the inside scoop on: the past and current stars of the show-including Paul Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Chris Noth, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Waterston, Carey Lowell, Angie Harmon, and Michael Moriarty; and find out who was fired, who left willingly, and who remains; the show's continued problems with censorship issues and advertiser fallout; the behind-the-scenes anecdotes about cast regulars, including the fights, both verbal and physical, that have peppered the production; how Wolf was forced to increase the estrogen and decrease the testosterone on the show; the detailed history behind the creation and development of the show; and season-by-season critiques of each episode through the entire 1999 season.

Law & Order: Crime Scenes (published 12/03 by Sterling) written by Dick Wolf describing the setup, and the thoughts that goes into producing the crime scenes.

True Stories of Law & Order (published 11/06 by Berkley/Penguin) chronicles 25 real cases that inspired some of the most popular "ripped from the headlines" episodes of the show. Authors Kevin Dwyer and Juré Fiorillo discuss famous cases including the Bernie Goetz subway shootings, the murder of Jennifer Levin in Central Park, and the San Francisco dog mauling of Diane Whipple, as well as lesser-know crimes such as the death by exorcism of Torrance Cantrell and the tragic murder of Anthony Riggs, a soldier who returned from the Gulf War only to be ambushed by a hitman hired by his wife. The book also includes interesting facts about police and legal procedure.

References See also

External links



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Law & Order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990.

 

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