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Customer Reviews of Law & Order - The First Year

Crime Stories
The first season of NBC's long running Law & Order is a solid, but not spectacular season. The show's now familiar format of telling the story from the police side in the first half-hour and lawyers side in the second half-hour is intact, but the show hadn't found its footing. That's not to say that these shows aren't any good (they are), they just don't measure up to the incredible high standards that the series set in later seasons. The police side is made up of Chris Noth as Mike Logan, George Dzundza as Max Greevey and Dann Florek as Don Cragen and the law side is made of Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone, Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette and Steven Hill as Adam Schiff. Mr. Noth's & Mr. Dzundza's characters never really click. Obviously the producers thought so as well as Mr. Dzundza's character is killed off the show and was replaced by Paul Sorvino in season two. The teaming of Mr. Moriarty & Mr. Brooks works better and their work is more fruitful. The two season one standouts are Mr. Hill & Mr. Florek. Mr. Hill would enjoy the longest run of any character on the show and his work from season one on was exemplary. He was the rock of the show and his absence has been felt since he left. Mr. Hill was not the original choice to play the D.A., the failed pilot that was produced for CBS appears as episode six and Roy Thinnes played the D.A. Alfred Wentworth. Series creator and producer Dick Wolf made an incredibly wise decision to employ Mr. Hill in the D.A. role. Mr. Florek plays Captain Cragen with perfect balance. He is a by-the-books cop who stands by his men, but adds a sense of humor to tense situations. He was also missed upon his departure after the third season and Mr. Wolf wisely revived the character for series spin-off Law & Order: SVU. Season one also features a plethora of then unknown actors who would rise to fame in either television or films including William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Patricia Clarkson, Christine Baranski, Courtney B. Vance, Gil Bellows, future co-star of Mr. Noth on Sex & The City, Cynthia Nixon, Six Feet Under star Frances Conroy and future Sopranos stars Dominic Chianese and Aida Turturro. Also making a guest appearance is S. Epatha Merkerson would become a series regular in season four as Lt. Van Buren. She plays a different role in the Mushrooms episode.

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One of the Best
I began watching Law and Order when I was in eighth grade and have been a loyal viewer ever since. I have seen nearly every episode and at one point could name every actor who ever starred in the show and their character's name. I think that, although the show is heavily story-driven, it is the chemistry between the leads that makes the show so memorable, as well as the great storytelling and the intriguing look at morality and politics.

The show's chemistry wasn't what it was in later seasons. The show would hit its stride once Jerry Orbach came on as Lenny Briscoe in the show's third season. Nevertheless, it was not due to bad acting. George Dzundza has always been great and he is definitely believable, if not incredible, as Detective Max Greevey. Chris Noth was very memorable (especially with Orbach) as Mike Logan, a hotheaded cop who would eventually be outed for assaulting a man in public. Dann Florek played Captain Cragen, a perfect CO that supported his people but was also tough enough so that they would get the job done. On the Order side, we have Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks, and Stephen Hill. Moriarty was great in his years as ADA Ben Stone, especially in his confrontations with frequent defense attourney Green. That relationship always dripped with conflict. Brooks played Paul Robinette, Stone's partner. He would occasionally give performances of great power, such as the episode in which he is forced to come to terms with one of his African-American heroes being a corrupt swindler (Subterranean Homeboy Blues). Stephen Hill was the heart of the series for many years, always bringing the legal matters into perspective, often with a bit of wry humor. One of the show's most beloved characters of all time, he is at his best here as DA Adam Schiff, helping Stone appropriate justice fairly and responsibly.

The show's first season occasionally produced some truly fantastic episodes. Indifference, for one, is unforgettable. It has been a favorite of mine ever since I bought the VHS collection a few years ago. It is a truly haunting, disturbing look at a very depraved and irresponsible man. The aforementioned Subterranean Homeboy Blues, also, is fantastic.
The Reaper's Helper is a painfully provocative episode about AIDS and euthanasia. By Hooker, By Crook is also an interesting look at a call-girl ring.

All in all, Law and Order not only rips from the headlines, it also precedes them. I remember watching a show on pedophile priests from the early nineties that I couldn't help but remember when the scandal broke last year. This show deserves to be in your DVD library.

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The beginning
When Dick Wolf's innovative prime time cop drama hit TV in 1990, few, if any, could have predicted the longevity and impact that Law & Order would accomplish. Each hour long episode begins with partners Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) investigating the crime and making the arrests, while the second half focuses on the ensuing trial, prosecuted by assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) under the supervision of Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). These 22 episodes contained herein display the series in it's early stages; having not yet perfected it's now patented style, but on it's own it still manages to be an above average cop drama that would lay the groundwork for brilliant future seasons, spin-off's, and other shows that attempted to mimic it's style; many of which failed while Law & Order kept rolling, even when it suffered wholesale changes to it's cast season after season. Look for guest appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and William H. Macy.