Law & Order
has been one of the most successful, original and engaging drama
series on television for over 15 years and this 22 episode third
season was a landmark in that it picked up one of its most
valuable and long running cast members, the late Jerry Orbach.
There are now many spin offs on this franchise, but this is the
third year of the original Law & Order, the one that got it
all started. Law & Order is a crime drama that constructs
each hour-long episode in the same manner: there is a crime, the
crime is investigated by the detectives, they follow leads and
follow up on hunches, they apprehend and arrest the suspects, and
the district attorney’s office prosecutes them through the court
of law. There are many variations and surprises along the way,
but each episode throughout the 15-year span of the show has this
basic breakdown.
The series has
engaging and compelling storylines, most are ripped from actual events
or variations on actual events, and the series boasts a strong cast
with strong characterizations. The third season is, again, most
notable for the mid-season replacement of Detective Phil Cerrata (Paul
Sorvino) with Detective Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). Cerrata is
badly hurt in a bust that went bad and while he’s laid up in the
hospital Briscoe is teamed up with Cerrata’s partner, Detective Mike
Logan (Chris Noth). Briscoe and Logan
butt heads right off the bat, but they manage to find a way to work
together effectively once it’s known that Briscoe will be around for a
while. The detectives all work under Captain Cragen (Dann Florek).
The legal side of things is headed up by the New York district
attorney (Hill) and the top two Assistant D.A.s, Stone (Michael
Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks).
CRITIQUE
Law & Order
is a staple of crime drama, one of the longest running and popular
shows in television history with a simple formula matched with great
writing and a terrific cast. The way the episodes are structured and
unfold will keep you riveted, while the storylines are always
exciting, gripping and astute (ripped from the headlines). This has
kept the show going strong, along with two key players in the cast.
The first one is Jerry Orbach, who is introduced in this third year
and the second is Sam Waterston as D.A. Jack McCoy who isn’t
introduced until season 5. It’s that great formula mixed with the
solid writing, gripping episodes, and Orbach’s introduction that make
this third season a thrilling one. Though there is definitely a big
hole left in that Waterston is yet to be introduced, making the legal
side of the episodes less engaging and exciting than in later
seasons.
The first few
episodes in the set when Cerreta and Logan are teamed up are good but
fail to generate as much power or excitement as when Briscoe comes
onto the scene. There is really only one true standout episode during
this time (The Corporate Vail). But once Briscoe is introduced, the
season takes off. Briscoe and Logan make a terrific pair. I actually
thought this team of Orbach and Noth was the best detective team in
the series entire run. They really worked perfectly together;
creating some needed tension in the beginning and then building up a
trusted partnership throughout the rest of the season. Orbach is a
brilliantly solid and believable actor, he uses his unique charm and
charisma mixed with a moral intensity to flesh out Briscoe and, in
turn, creating one of TVs most popular detectives. Noth is also an
exceptional actor and he bounces off Briscoe with ease and assurance.
Moriarty is the best of the bunch on the legal side of things as the
Assistant D.A. He inhabits the character with brimming intensity and
intelligence, and his character is the most developed of the bunch.
Hill and Brooks are average actors who have a few solid moments but
don’t leave much of an impression. The whole legal side is missing
something, really someone, they just don’t live up to Jack McCoy. I
found most of the courtroom scenes and D.A. office scenes to be a bit
dry and lifeless (with the exception of Moriarty). The series fixes
that by season six and never turns back.
The episodes are
very well structured and written, and many of the topics were still
fresh and engaging. There is one episode about computer crime, which
at the time wasn’t prevalent at all. There are episodes about a cop
killer, pacemakers, homosexuals in law enforcement, drugs, gangs…you
name it. Law & Order is the kind of show you can catch an
episode at any time and be fully engrossed in it without needing any
background info and this third season is no exception. There are many
surprises throughout the season where episodes that seem to be going
in one direction take you by surprise with their conclusions. The
characters throughout the season are all fully developed and
interesting, and once Briscoe is introduced the series gains momentum
and energy and never looks back.
THE VIDEO
Law & Order
is one of the first shows to use hand held cameras, which has always
added energy and grit to the series so although the episodes are
grainy and rough in spots it works. The 22 episodes are spanned over
three discs with a multitude of extras and you would be hard pressed
to tell me these episodes are over 10 years old. Even with the
grainy, slight issues, they look quite good. Presented in full frame
1.33:1.
THE AUDIO
This third season
is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound and while the
dialogue sounds crisp and clear, there is little to no surround as the
show was actually a very quiet. I wish this were presented in a more
dynamic presentation like in 5.1 Surround, put Universal chose to keep
it simple (probably because the original cuts were 90% dialogue).
THE EXTRAS
The extras are very
brief and limited:
Deleted Scenes–
There a bunch of deleted scenes (eight to be exact) from various
episodes throughout the season. This felt like some serious filler as
none of these really add anything to the episodes nor are they very
interesting.
Jerry Orbach
Profile
– This is about a 5 minute extra with Jerry Orbach discussing his
character and the series in general. Orbach was originally trained in
the theater and had a real eye for character development and
background. This is a far too brief extra, I wish there would have
been interviews with other cast members discussing the introduction of
Briscoe and what he brought to the character and the series as a
whole.
Jerry Orbach
Tribute
– This is a series of clips throughout the series of Orbach’s
character and interviews with cast members he’s worked with.
Interviews with Chris Noth, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson, Dann
Florek, Fred Dalton
Thompson, and Bebe Neuwirth. This is a very touching tribute to a
great actor and a staple of television crime drama. I actually wished
it was a bit longer and included more interviews (like Benjamin Bratt,
Sam Waterston, etc).
FINAL THOUGHTS
This third season
of Law & Order had engaging and interesting storylines with
some nice surprises and twists played by a strong cast (although not
as strong as in later seasons) with the introduction of one of the
series most beloved characters (Lenny Briscoe).
