Chalk a line around it: Law & Order is dead | reviews, news & interviews
Chalk a line around it: Law & Order is dead
Chalk a line around it: Law & Order is dead
Long-running 'tec show hangs up its cuffs
Monday, 17 May 2010
American television network executives more concerned about remaking old dramas (Rockford Files 2010, anyone?) than maintaining a powerhouse drama which has wowed critics and fans for 20 years have finally killed off Law & Order.
Custom has not staled the infinite variety of Dick Wolf's show, which has been kept fresh by revolving casts. Stalwarts have included Jerry Orbach, S Epatha Merkerson and Sam Waterston, while Jeremy Sisto, Chris Noth (of Sex and the City fame), Angie Harmon and Carey Lowell have been among the young turks.
L&O is no ordinary 'tec show; for a start, it has run for over 400 episodes. Second, it is not concerned with characters' back stories, which are only mentioned in brief asides - it is all about the crime and justice (or lack thereof). And third, it is entirely formulaic - which is its strength, not its weakness.
Every week, a body is discovered somewhere in New York City within the first five seconds; two detectives oversee the crime scene and crack wise before the credits. Their hard-bitten lieutenant sends them to interview witnesses. A suspect is arrested at the half-hour mark and the last half is spent in the trial, conducted by the assistant district attorney and his assistant, under the sardonic instruction of the DA. Within the last two minutes, the murderer is unmasked.
What has made L&O so successful is its ability to transcend this formula, to see it as a challenge to break through, thus each episode is kaleidoscopically different from the last. Every stratum of life and society is examined, from pricey Park Avenue doctors to up-town gang members. Complex legal strategies are thrown about (I think I could conduct a trial in New York now). And there are more twists than a funfair's corkscrew ride.
I would say that I will miss Law & Order, except the perpetual repeats on Hallmark, with a plenitude of episodes to choose from, guarantee that the distinctive 'chung-CHUNG' between scenes will remain for years to come.
L&O is no ordinary 'tec show; for a start, it has run for over 400 episodes. Second, it is not concerned with characters' back stories, which are only mentioned in brief asides - it is all about the crime and justice (or lack thereof). And third, it is entirely formulaic - which is its strength, not its weakness.
Every week, a body is discovered somewhere in New York City within the first five seconds; two detectives oversee the crime scene and crack wise before the credits. Their hard-bitten lieutenant sends them to interview witnesses. A suspect is arrested at the half-hour mark and the last half is spent in the trial, conducted by the assistant district attorney and his assistant, under the sardonic instruction of the DA. Within the last two minutes, the murderer is unmasked.
What has made L&O so successful is its ability to transcend this formula, to see it as a challenge to break through, thus each episode is kaleidoscopically different from the last. Every stratum of life and society is examined, from pricey Park Avenue doctors to up-town gang members. Complex legal strategies are thrown about (I think I could conduct a trial in New York now). And there are more twists than a funfair's corkscrew ride.
I would say that I will miss Law & Order, except the perpetual repeats on Hallmark, with a plenitude of episodes to choose from, guarantee that the distinctive 'chung-CHUNG' between scenes will remain for years to come.
more TV
Baby Reindeer, Netflix review - a misery memoir disturbingly presented
Richard Gadd's double traumas are a difficult watch but ultimately inspiring
Anthracite, Netflix review - murderous mysteries in the French Alps
Who can unravel the ghastly secrets of the town of Lévionna?
Ripley, Netflix review - Highsmith's horribly fascinating sociopath adrift in a sea of noir
Its black and white cinematography is striking, but eventually wearying
Scoop, Netflix review - revisiting a Right Royal nightmare
Gripping dramatisation of Newsnight's fateful Prince Andrew interview
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World Season 2, BBC Three review - fun, friendship and big talents
Worthy and lovable winners (no spoilers) as the best stay the course
This Town, BBC One review - lurid melodrama in Eighties Brummieland
Steven Knight revisits his Midlands roots, with implausible consequences
Passenger, ITV review - who are they trying to kid?
Andrew Buchan's screenwriting debut leads us nowhere
3 Body Problem, Netflix review - life, the universe and everything (and a bit more)
Mind-blowing adaptation of Liu Cixin's novel from the makers of 'Game of Thrones'
Manhunt, Apple TV+ review - all the President's men
Tobias Menzies and Anthony Boyle go head to head in historical crime drama
The Gentlemen, Netflix review - Guy Ritchie's further adventures in Geezerworld
Riotous assembly of toffs, gangsters, travellers, rogues and misfits
Oscars 2024: politics aplenty but few surprises as 'Oppenheimer' dominates
Christopher Nolan biopic wins big in a ceremony defined by a pink-clad Ryan Gosling and Donald Trump seeing red
Prisoner, BBC Four review - jailhouse rocked by drugs, violence and racism
Sofie Gråbøl joins a powerful cast in bruising Danish drama
Add comment