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

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User Rating: 8.3/10 (2,922 votes)
Photos (see all 43 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2 videos )
IMDb Coverage of Comic-Con 2008

Overview

Creator:
Dick Wolf
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Seasons:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 more
Release Date:
13 September 1990 (USA) more view trailer
Genre:
Crime | Mystery | Drama more
Tagline:
The Story Is Everything more
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. full summary
Awards:
Nominated for 6 Golden Globes. Another 40 wins & 145 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(333 articles)
Stage Star Adler Dies (From WENN. 25 July 2008, 10:40 AM, PDT)
Agyeman, Walsh, Bamber for 'L&O: UK' (From digitalspy. 23 July 2008, 8:49 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
The Good Guys Win Too Much!!!! more

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 6 of 2026)

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)
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Law & Order Prime (USA) (informal title)
Law and Order (USA) (alternative spelling)
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Runtime:
60 min (including commercials)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
UK:PG (season 3 DVD) | UK:15 (seasons 1-2 DVD) | Netherlands:6 | Iceland:12 (some epiosodes) | Singapore:M18 (season 5) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | USA:TV-14 | Argentina:13
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 44% since last week why?
Company:
Wolf Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At the time of the show's creation, one-hour dramas were going through a slump, with sitcoms being more popular and much more likely to get strong syndication deals for re-runs. Dick Wolf thought that it might be easier to sell the show in 30-minute segments and came up with the concept of the first half of the show being the police investigation and the second half the legal procedure. Dramas started rebounding in popularity shortly after Law & Order debuted, so this never ended up becoming an issue with re-run deals. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Throughout the series members of the New York Supreme Court (which is a trial court) are referred to as "Judge" when in reality they are referred to as "Justice". Only members of the New York Court of Appeal (the state's highest court) are called "Judge". more
Quotes:
Jack McCoy: [a judge in L.A. has just ruled to nullify an extradition order] Speak up, Your Honor. There are some people in the Bronx who didn't hear you. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Commercial Parodies (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
I'm Not Driving Anymore more

FAQ

When does Law & Order's 18th season premiere?
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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful:-
The Good Guys Win Too Much!!!!, 5 July 2007
10/10
Author: dataconflossmoor from United States

This is a television show which has a lot going for it, the format is pretty cut and dry... These emotionless figureheads, who work for the law, have to divide their time between plea bargaining, and becoming nauseated, yet detached, from the situations that they must cope with!! .. What is so realistic about this show is their astute depiction of due process!! The monotony involving the burden of proof becomes relegated to cumbersome nuisances which many city workers and appointed officials must expedite, in order to maintain peace and tranquility, or, as the show is entitled, law and order!!!! It is only for the television audience's benefit that the district attorneys in this show deviate from the norm, and demonstrate even a modicum of vigilante fervor!! The deals that the state makes with the defendants wind up being an in veritable jackpot of justice for the city of New York!! This is because the T.V. viewer has an insatiable craving to witness something which is remotely similar to a happy ending!! I give this series credit for being realistic in it's accurate portrayal of the arraignments, the trials, and the deliberation processes which inevitably adhere to an acceptable limit of legal authenticity!! Hence, the show later proceeds to indulge the prosecution with an eleemosynary generosity for purposes of conveying some sort of socially responsible message to the viewer!! While the scenario becomes a situation of "The good guys winning too much" these victories by the prosecution are candidly conditional, and therefore, very relevant in their overall premise!! You (The viewer) can thoroughly conceptualize how deliberations through the judicial system operate in New York City by watching "Law & Order" .... That is something you can count on!!! ABSOLUTELY!! No question about it!! This is one of the essential purposes of "Law & Order"

"Law & Order" has lasted for seventeen seasons, and is still one of the best television shows on the small screen!!! I think the dialog is extremely gripping, and the lethal oblivion to moral imperatives have left a crystal clear indication of how accommodating justice requires many dubious and distasteful compromises!! The district attorney must acquiesce to deals with a very sordid and nefarious cross section of felonious criminals in order to stay within the guidelines of statutory budget appropriations!!! Sometimes, the most apocalyptic and pitiful situations are what determine the outcome of a case!! The cacophony of hateful emotional hang-ups almost serve as a precarious form of vindication for the purveyors of the various and heinously orchestrated crimes that this series continuously manufactures !! Regardless of what happens, officials of the law have to bite the bullet, hold their noses, and look the other way!! Primarily, this is the obligatory scourge that the public officials on this show must capitulate to!! Such a plight correlates to actual dilemmas that our nation's public officials must struggle with!! One of the most prolific statements uttered on "Law & Order" was (I am paraphrasing) "The wealthy do not have an extreme overabundance of justice, the goal of due process is to simply raise the level of justice for the common man" I wholeheartedly agree with that statement!! It is a fact that in so many instances, with so many trials, plausibility for manifesting reasonable doubt has become intensely convoluted, and thus, has become an egregious bastardization of the American legal system!! Whether we like to admit it or not, television is an informative element of social exposure for the average American. "Law & Order" is a program which delves into prosecution proceedings at a rudimentary level of societal poignancy!! In it's own right, it ("Law & Order") throughout it's entire run, has auspiciously changed much of the formulae of television programming by elevating it to a relatively significant degree of egalitarian accuracy!! Most shows do not possess the fortitude to be that influential, not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever!! The ensuing spin-offs of "Law & Order" have been very excellent as well!!

I like the series "Law & Order" ... In particular, I like some of the cast members like Chris Noth, Dennis Farina, and Chris Meloni!! Both Sam Waterson and Michael Moriarity have been excellent on this show too!! The directing, producing and particularly, the writing, have been sensational on "Law & Order" I believe this is one of the top 50 shows ever to hit the airwaves....A definite trophy in the small screen drama showcase!!!

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Season 6 DVD??? munnp001
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