Law And Order At It's Best !!! - Law & Order (1990) Discussion

[–] thepansybastard 10 years ago

It's hard for me. I love Elizabeth Rohm, I don't know why I've heard negative things about her being wooden, etc. I thought she was excellent. Seasons 9-14, and then 18-20. I LOVE Mike Cutter (Linus Roach) and Connie Rubirosa(Alan De la Garza). And the last two seasons in particular, when Cassidy was gone.

I really wish they had found a female detective that wasn't odious, and one that would have lasted more than one season.

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[–] jabell 10 years ago

I hated the first two seasons when they were all men; I didn't care for George Dzunda or Paul Sorvino (although it might have been interesting to see him paired with a young female detective played by Mira Sorvino!). I had liked Steven Hill in Mission: Impossible (first season only; then he was replaced by Peter Graves) but I didn't care that much for him on L&O.
Once S. Epatha joined the show and then Sam Waterston joined, I really loved it. I never cared much for either Michael Moriarty or Robinette. My favorite ADA was Elisabeth Rohm, followed by Alana De la Garza.

Am I the only one who remembers that Michael Imperioli replaced Jesse L. Martin for 5 episodes, playing Fontana's partner Detective Nick Falco? Or that he played Falco again in a later episode in which he was framed for murder? (He had guested in an earlier season and turned out to be the killer!).

There are a number of women who play strong female detectives on other shows, like Alana on Forever, Elisabeth Rohm on Angel, Angie Harmon on Rizzoli and Isles (gee, all ADAs on L&O!). They could have found someone better than Milena when they wanted a female cop.

Boo Hoo! Let me wipe away the tears with my PLASTIC hand!--Lindsey McDonald (Angel)

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Adolan62-520-949845 10 years ago

Oh yes, I remember Falco/Imperioli. I thought he had great chemistry with Fontana. At the time I was actually a little disappointed when Green came back. I hated what they ended up doing to Falco's character. I wanted there to be a chance that he could come back to one of the L&O shows.

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[–] mawsis 10 years ago

Best seasons are 1-4 with EADA Ben Stone and his assistant Paul Robinette.

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[–] Eddysfitzboy 10 years ago

I haven't read all the comments on this thread so I apologize if this, or something like it, has already been said. I'm watching L&O on Sundance right now and "Mother Love" is currently on. I must admit that I am not too fond of Michael Moriarty or Richard Brooks. I checked on how many episodes these guys were on and much to my chagrin, it was 88 and 69 respectively.

I even went as far as checking the upcoming episode and thankfully, they're not in chronological order.

I know this doesn't really answer your questions but I wanted to say something about those two actors. After watching this show, my dislike for them has been strengthened. I'm surprised (and glad) that L&O lasted past those two knuckleheads.

"The hard part about playing chicken is knowin' when to flinch"
Capt. Bart Mancuso

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[–] Doug-Oh 9 years ago

I haven't read all the comments on this thread so I apologize if this, or something like it, has already been said. I'm watching L&O on Sundance right now and "Mother Love" is currently on. I must admit that I am not too fond of Michael Moriarty or Richard Brooks. I checked on how many episodes these guys were on and much to my chagrin, it was 88 and 69 respectively.

I even went as far as checking the upcoming episode and thankfully, they're not in chronological order.

I know this doesn't really answer your questions but I wanted to say something about those two actors. After watching this show, my dislike for them has been strengthened. I'm surprised (and glad) that L&O lasted past those two knuckleheads.

Those years, the first five seasons, are when the show won EMMYS.
The writing seemed better than closer to the middle of the series, though the first five years of Jack McCoy's character were fine too

McCoy was good, no issue there, but Ben Stone helped build the show.
Personally, I prefer Van Buren over Cragen, though Cragen was fine too.

It's doubtful there would've been a Law & Order had it not been for the work the early cast did.

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[–] Adolan62-520-949845 10 years ago

I enjoyed all the seasons, but my favorite group of characters and actors was season 5. Every role was filled perfectly imo.

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[–] speedy1383 10 years ago

Season 5 was definitely the best. You had the best cop tandem in Logan-Briscoe. You also had the best law tandem in McCoy-Kincaid. Best DA and LT in Schiff and Van Buren. It didn't have the best shrink. I have become to appreciate the humor of Skoda over the humanity of Olivet. I think I tend to favor Seasons 4-10. It started to go a bit downhill when Schiff left. I couldn't stand Nora. Her stances at times infuriated me. Branch wasn't much better with his home spun tales. Elisabeth Rohm/Serena was not a great actress on the show. Fontana, Borgia and Cassady also weren't great characters. I don't think they ever explained how Fontana could dress so nicely on that salary.

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[–] mollys-lips 10 years ago

Everything you just said. Season 5 was just amazing...it had the best cast and the best storylines...Mac Rangers (Performance), Cruel and Unusual, Competence, Pride. It was just an amazing season.

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[–] Doug-Oh 9 years ago

Season 5 was definitely the best. You had the best cop tandem in Logan-Briscoe. You also had the best law tandem in McCoy-Kincaid. Best DA and LT in Schiff and Van Buren. It didn't have the best shrink. I have become to appreciate Season 5 was a great season.
The Ben Stone episodes were also strong, along with Paul Robinette & McCoy.

[quote]I think I tend to favor Seasons 4-10. It started to go a bit downhill when Schiff (left?).

For me, the best years were seasons 1-10, which had both Ben Stone & Jack McCoy.

I admit I didn't watch the show as closely in the second decade. Others have their favorites & that's fine.

I couldn't stand Nora. Her stances at times infuriated me. Branch wasn't much better with his home spun tales. Elisabeth Rohm/Serena was not a great actress on the show. Fontana, Borgia and Cassady also weren't great characters. I don't think they ever explained how Fontana could dress so nicely on that salary.

This is true too.

Personally, I think the writing began to suffer in the last half of the series.

The earlier years, S 1-8, often won Emmys for script work. Some of the plots in latter years, after Orbach left, seemed trite or contrived, IMO.

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[–] denis-38 9 years ago

I'm watching a season 1 marathon now, and I have to say, it's damn good. Much grittier and more realistic than it was in what most fans think of as the "glory years." The show kept me reasonably entertained until the end, even during the Dennis Farina era. But that fresh, raw streetwise energy is something to see in the early days. (But I guess that vibe can never last--just as "SUV" became more of a soap opera, less of an ensemble, less about the crimes.)

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[–] dunlap-mark64 9 years ago

One of my favorite individual episodes was Season 2, Episode 1, "Confession." One of the few gripes I have with that story was that I believe the judge should have granted the defense motion for a mistrial.

Another favorite story is not just one episode, but three consecutive ones that carried on an extended story: Season 7, Episodes 15, 16, and 17; this was the story of the Hollywood mogul decapitated by her ex-husband; loosely based on the O.J. Simpson murder case. So many things about that story clicked perfectly well.

It's very hard to choose which of seasons 5, 6, or 7 was the best, but because of ruling out how many of the episodes for each of those seasons were relatively uninteresting, I'd say season 7 was the best. That season had the highest number of very good episodes, and among them was that three-part story.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Doug-Oh 8 years ago

For me seasons 11-17, which included weaker (IMO) casting choices Jesse L. Martin, Dianne Wiest, Elisabeth Rohm, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dennis Farina and Milena Govich, constitute the least interesting period of the show. I rarely watch those episodes when they're on.

Those seasons, on the whole, do seem weaker, much like the latter years of MASH, after Frank and Radar left.

For me, I'll watch any ep. from the first 9-10 seasons, the ones with Adam Schiff, Stone, McCoy, Robinette, Kincaid, Carmichael, the original male detectives, Logan, Briscoe, Curtis & Green.

The first five seasons were grittier and more realistic, IMO.

I can't stand some of the actors in the later years.
They may have been fine actors, but the scripts weren't as interesting and overall, the show was weaker.
The changing of writers, like what happened with MASH and The Andy Griffith Show, really harmed the show.

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