I’ve read many references to “Law and Order” on this board, and I think it’s broadcasted on french TV, but with an entirely different name. Out of curiosity, I would like to know if I’m correct.
So, could you give me some basic infos about it (location, usual plot structure, lead actor) so that I could know?
Errr…does it go “doink doink”? (If it is you’ll probably know what I mean…I don’t think you can translate that 
)
The location is usually lower Manhattan and the plot structure basically, in the first half the two cops try and solve a murder and in the second half the DA and his assistent try to procecute him. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Here’s a big clue; if there’s a guest star that’s done any notable film work, they’re the killer and are quite guilty.
“Lead Actor” is a bit difficult, as there have been many cast changes over the years. But here some of the longest-running and most obvious characters/actors:
Detectives:
Chris Noth as Mike Logan
Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe
Benjamin Bratt as Rey Curtis
Jesse L. Martin as Ed Green
Attorneys:
Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone
Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy
Jill Hennessy, Angie Harmon, Carey Lowell, and Elizabeth Rohm as the good-looking female ADA.
Or, you can just listen for the “doink doink.” 
Well, the original Law & Order has gone through multiple cast changes. This site lists the various actors. Steven Hill, Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterston were each on the show for more than ten years, though only Waterston is still appearing. Here is an obituary of Jerry Orbach from a French website.
Law & Order is broadcast on French television under the name New York District. There are three spin-off shows:
[ul][li]Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (L&O: SVU). In France, known as New York Unité Spéciale (NYUS)[/li][li]Law & Order: Criminal Intent (L&O: CI). In France, known as New York Section Criminelle (NYSC)[/li][li]Law & Order : Trial by Jury (L&O: TbJ). I don’t think this has been broadcast in France, as it is still in its first season and has been (or soon will be) cancelled.[/ul][/li]
Among the four L&O shows, the charactors tend to move around pretty freely, as they all exist in the same “universe”. Since Fred Thompson plays the District Attorney for Manhattan, he could appear on any of the four programs.
All of the Law & Order shows take place in and around Manhattan. The typical structure of an Law & Order episode is that the first thirty minutes are spent with the police, investigating the crime, and the last thirty minutes are spent with the lawyers, conducting the trial. The other three shows vary, with L&O:SVU and L&O:CI concentrating almost exclusively on the police and L&O:TBJ concentrating almost exclusively on the trials.
This French website offers far more detail, including forums discussions. The OP is definitely not the only L&O fan in the republic.
I wonder how well Lenny’s ‘gotchas’ translate?
Indeed, that’s what I was thinking about. Thanks you all.
But I’ve no clue about the “boink, boink!”… 
Oh my god, did they edit out the doink doink for French TV?!?!
When there’s a scene change on L&O, there’s this sound. I always heard it more as DUM DUM. It’s supposed to sound dramatic, and it’s sort of emblematic of the show. One of the cable networks that runs L&O reruns all day (slight exaggeration) even had ads for the show the revolved around the DUM DUM.
I consider it more of a “duh-duhn.” It’s the sound you can here when the screen turns to black with white letters stating the location.
The first season of L&O:SVU didn’t even have a regular ADA (remedied when Stephanie March was cast as Alex Cabot in the second season). L&O:CI at least had a regular ADA from the get-go, although in both shows’ cases, the ADA’s primary function is to wander in every now and then and complain about not having enough evidence to prosecute.
I think that’s why everyone calls it the doink doink. In the add, Dann Florek (aka Captain Cragen) cheerfully says “It’s the doink doink!”