Law and order

Don1- L&O Criminal Intent is like olives.........it grows on you. I too, did not like the show at first, but as time goes on, I am enjoying it more and more.

I don't know when it will air in the UK, but there is going to be a 4th show- Law & Order, Trial by Jury. Jerry Ohrbach will be reprising his role as Lennie Briscoe

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-25938/

Phoenix, If it has lennie brisco or any of the players that went before it is great to us brits but d'nofrio (I probably spelled that wrong) doesn't work

I find, like Phoenix, that Criminal Intent grows on you...Vincent is fun...gotta love someone that knows EVERYTHING...lol...

willow_tl- I know that they are not similar people, but the way that Vincent stands, and the way he cocks his head, his scruffy appearance, reminds me of Peter Falk's Columbo!

Interesting observation Phoenix, I never thought of that...maybe as an actor he took that license...I find him sexy...though i never found columbo that sexy..lol..Peter Falk either lol..but I can't get enough L&O..it drives my roommate batty...:-)

I have been known to spend entire evenings, watching reruns, going between TNT (L&O) & USA (L&O SVU). My husband will come in and say, "you saw that one 5 times already". I don't care. I still enjoy the show. It beats most of the other stuff on TV. Then there are always the new episodes on NBC!

the only thing that beats my obession with L&O is Buffy the Vampire Slayer :-)

I watch all three L&Os diligently, and I love them all. Actually, CI is my favorite, but mostly because of Vincent D'Onofrio. He makes that show great, I think; his acting is wonderful, and the character they chose to write for him is perfect. Similarly, it is wonderful to watch Ice-T kicking ass in SVU.

Now, as you all probably know, the thre L&Os all focus on very different things. The original probably has the best all-around depiction of the system, as they spend time on the crime, the investigation, the interrogation, the trial, and (sometimes) the impact of the verdict. SVU had some courtroom action, but it is mostly about the investigation. The characters in SVU are mainly tough guys, but it works well related to the nature of the crimes and the plots in general.

CI is pretty much only about D'Onofrio's character. His partner doesn't really do much, especially compared to the pairings in the other versions of L&). Also, as the name would suggest, you see a lot of D'Onofrio trying to figure out the motives and really get in the mind of the criminal. His character is very well educated, crafty, and almost manipulative. The ADA and the captain both serve very little purpose in the show; they are simple advisers. CI has very few courtroom scenes. It really is entirely about D'Onofrio, and he really does grow on you.

I have heard of a college lecture that compared L&O and to other popular shows, such as Friends. The professor said, as I understand it, that Friends, while it had very talented writers, became mainly about the actors by the end, which is why they were making a million dollars an episode. Without any one of the characters, Friends would have been a failed show. L&O, though, has little character development, to keep the writers as the most important part of the team. This is what allows for such a turnover in actors, and might even be one of the causes of it.

But, CI is an interesting case, especially related to this theory. Without D'Onofrio, the show would fall apart entirely, I believe. Remember last season when his partner was out on maternity leave? No one really cared, and the ratings didn't suffer at all. In fact, over that time, as more people were growing accustomed to D'Onofrio, I bet the ratings even increased. If he were to leave, though, there would be no more CI, I am sure. His characters has also been developed fairly well, as you often see into his mind and his thoughts (for example, his strong opposition to the death penalty, which was brought back in greater detail this season). Sure, in the other L&Os, there is some character development (such as the main guy from SVU coming to terms with the first time he killed someone while on duty, and then the seeming ease with which he was able to fatally shoot someone again). Nothing compares to the character sketches of D'Onofrio in CI, though.

As you might be able to tell by now, I really do love all the L&Os, and I have thought about the issue of CI a lot recently, so this thread was just the place for me to write my ideas!

So....in short: CI takes some getting used to, is very much unlike the other L&Os, and relies heavily upon D'Onofrio.

Basically it is the plots that are the stars of the show. A turnover of actors DOES keep the shows fresh. But I do have to admit, that I was very upset when Mike Logan (Chris Noth) left.

You do grow attached to the actors, generally, but the plots are the real stars, yes.

Again, CI is a different case.

Willow, It is knowing everything that makes him irritating, knowing everything worked with Sherlock Holmes because back then it was a new idea, but for me anyhoo this doesn't work.

I also like the first two because of the court scenes which you dont get in C.I.

Short to say in my view:

Law and Order itself is the best series ever. I watch the original episodes and it's great.

Criminal Intent: Also very good. Especially with one of the best actors Vincent D'Onofrio.
SVU,altough, is not felicitous. It is too calculable and a short version of the trial.

I'm looking forward,to watch L&O.Trial by Jury. Good that Orbach will be back.
This will be in all probability a success,too.

I always loved Jerry Ohrbach's character of Lenny Briscoe on L&O. It reached a point though, where he seemed too old for the part. In some of the episodes, it looked like he might have a coronary running after a perp.
I thought that it was time to give him a promotion to a desk job.

So who do they replace him with? Dennis Farina, who is not much younger. I think that Lenny should have been replaced with a fifty something, who had some physical mileage left in him!


P.S. Just checked. Jerry was born in 1935, Dennis in 1944. But I think that Dennis appears older than he is!

I think, that Jesse L.Martin and Dennis Farina as the detectives is a good casting at present.

I think that Jesse Martin is great. I could not stand Julia Robert's old boyfriend, what's-his-name!

I still enjoy Law and Order, but I have never watched Criminal Intent. The show that I love the most is Monk. It's the only fresh approach to a detective type series that I have ever seen.

Monk is very funny when i do get the opportunity to watch it...great show

The idea of the show is good.

But in my view are the cases too low.

Which show are you referring to, Thok?