My votes:
Adam Schiff as D.A. (duh!)
Ben Stone as E.A.D.A.
Jamie Ross as A.D.A. (by a sliver over Charmichael)
Donald Cragen as Capt.
Mike Logan as young Detective
Lenny Briscoe as the old Detective
Dr. Emil Skoda as the shrink
Honarable mention to Max Greevey, loved that guy, but Briscoe is just so great.
Samoething about Olivet always bugged me, and I don’t like McCoy’s irrational and unpredictable behavior. Great show, and I hope to see more mini movies about the shows older characters, especially considering that they tend to keep the characters in circulation somehow.
Missy, about that episode, it was the season finale for that year, not sure which. That is one of my all time favorite episodes because the whole thing really opens up the characters, and doesn’t incorporate any crimes, just the characters reflections on the high profile excecution. Claire was killed off, and there is no explicit follow up of the episdoes events. All you need to know is Claire died of her injuries, and was replaced by Jamie Ross in the following season premiere.
He went on a rant, as I recall, about how dreadful television programming is and how above it all he was. Then went on to a supporting role in Psi Factor: Tales of the Paranormal. Oh yeah, quite the step up from L&O.
I’m always out Wed nights so I never get to see the new shows. A&E seems to be two or three seasons behind and I’ve seen all of their library already. I swear, if they show the one with the psychiatrist sleeping with her patient again…
I’m a pretty recent devotee as well, but I’m partial to Claire Kincaid (Hennesey). In fact, if I could find a picture of her on the internet, I’d print it off and take it to my stylist so I could have that haircut. (I know it’s pretty self explanatory, but just to be sure, because she always has such good hair.)
You have to try on this badge so the Ugliness Man can decide if you’re just as embarassing as we think; we have to be sure about this…
Actually, he turned into a conspiracy theorist. I can’t remember exactly what the article I read said (and, of course, I can’t find it), but apparently there was some incident where he actually thought he was really a lawyer. He then had a big confrontation with Janet Reno. I did find this article, which, from what I read previously, really glosses over the whole Reno incident (not mentioning his delusions about his imaginary role on television). In part it says…
[/end hijack]
I still liked Ben Stone better than Jack McCoy.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank
In the car crash episode, it was McCoy, not Stone. McCoy spent the day in a bar shooting pool and reminiscing about his dad, who it turns out was a cop and a wife-beater, and alwasys expected McCoy to win at whatever he tried.
Beside the loss of Claire, there were a couple of later references. Olivett is worried in a later episode that McCoy is just throwing himself into his work and ignoring anything else in life - a hint that he and Claire were seeing each other?
As well, Curtis’ marriage goes on the rocks for a while, since he tells his wife that he slept with the college girl he met in the park that day. Curtis and his wife got back together, and then she found out that she had MS, which ultimately was the reason he transferred out of the unit.
My only condition is that the love of my life, Angie Harmon, must be in it. {sigh}
McCoy is an obvious choice, and I think Lenny and Logan are the way to go on the detectives.
For the police lieutenant, I think they should throw in a twist and import Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue. He would get along famously with Lenny.
And Dr. Emil Skoda must be on the show.
P.S.- What’s up with all of the reruns all of the sudden?! Wednesday night is home to two of the three prime-time shows I watch on a regular basis (L&O and The West Wing…The Sopranos being the third), and when they’re reruns it ruins my entire week.
“History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” -Winston Churchill
Bricker, I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a long time. Whew, is my face red. Sam Donaldson . . . * Note to self: I will not post toasted. I will not post toasted . . . *
Stone beats McCoy by a long shot in my book. So passionate about what he does (on the show) without losing control.
For detectives, I have to go with Briscoe and Logan but Lenny just barely beats out Max Grievey.
Of course, I have to go with Anita VanBuren.
I, too, miss Dr. Olivet.
For the D.A. assistant, I have to go with Claire Kincaid but just slightly over Paul Robinette. (Paul just always seemed a bit constipated or strained–I always wanted him to actually yell something!)
“You don’t have insurance? Well, just have a seat and someone will be with you after you die.” --Yes, another quality sig custom created by Wally!
I don’t think you can really seperate Stone and Robinette- Stone was such a passionate realist with Robinette being such a quiet idealist that they complemented each other perfectly. I think they had a give-and-take that worked much better than any of McCoy’s assistants, although McCoy and Kincaid came close in a lot of the episodes. I think I’ll have to go with Stone and Robinette (and, to continue the bizarre tangent, I think Robinette potrays deep confusion or suspicion through a single raised eyebrow much better than Sam Donaldson).
For the cops- I think Briscoe and Logan had the best repartee between them, though I’d be intrigued as hell by a Greevy/Cerretta team-up. I think Van Buren was a more interesting Lt. than Cragen, but I also think that Van Buren got more and better screen time, so I think that’s only natural.
Haven’t seen enough of the latest season to say anything about the new psychiatrist. I like Martin’s character a lot, though- a good cop with serious flaws, sort of a Briscoe in training. Cool.
Oh, and to Lissa- Robinette got kicked out and the series of female assistants brought in not to appeal to male viewers but to appeal to female viewers- apparently, the honchos at NBC felt that L&O’s low ratings among women were because there weren’t any recurring female roles for women viewers to identify with. Thus, bye-bye to Lt. Kragen and Robinette, hello to Kincaid and Lt. Van Buren.
I too am a fairly recent devotee. I really liked the mini-marathon that A&E did a while back that did the first and last episodes of the main characters.
The biggest problem is the the night A&E showing is at 11:00 pm here and that means I am up until Midnight. I like getting to sleep earlier than that.
I agree with a couple of the line-ups that were mentioned. I do like Angie Harmon, though the last assistant weren’t too bad neither. But I think I like seeing the change in the cast over time. It proves that the show is a good show and is not based on any character, but on the concept. Few shows can lose a main character and continue for very long, yet almost every position has been replaced at some point and the cops and the assistant DAs several times. Yet, the show is still a good show.
I like McCoy and Carmichael. I like Briscoe and Curtis (but Logan ain’t bad). I like Van Buren too. My wife got me into this and we watch SVU too.
The last episode I saw had a woman in a coma, having been strangled and injected with Demerol.
At the trial, McCoy asks the detective about his “theory” as to who did it. That’s an inapproriate question; the police may testify about the evidence they find, but they may not testify about who or what they think. The job of the jury is to decide guilt. Moreover, what an officer “thinks” is not relevant to the guilt of the accused. Amazingly, defense counsel sits there like a bump on a log, while I’m on the couch at home muttering, “Objection,” to myself.
During closing arguments, the defense lawyer refers to evidence that the judge suppressed. This is improper. The judge refuses to issue a curative instruction to the jury, and refuses McCoy’s request for a sidebar. In response, McCoy also discloses suppressed evidence to the jury during his closing. He doesn’t stop even after the judge orders him to. He inveighs against the judge for being “gutless and weak”.
Lawyers may not introduce evidence. They may only argue that the presented evidence calls for a certain inference. No judge I have ever seen would permit the kind of behavior shown. McCoy would be risking contempt charges, jail time, and action from the discipline commitee of the state bar.
It was very dramatic, don’t get me wrong. But it was also very unrealistic.
Okay, Bricker, I have to give you that, I saw that episode,and I’m just a mom, no lawyer (though I have to settle disputes!), and I thought to myself, ‘oh, I don’t think he’d get away with that.’
But, you gotta give Sam points that Ben Stone didn’t have, and that’s passion (and Sam is cuter too, BTW)
I don’t like the new Law and Order, they seem to go out of their way to make it as horrific as possible, and the female detective, can she be more offended? The * faces * that woman makes all the time. The guy was pretty cool and I liked his family, and how they interacted was nice. But, I still prefer the regular Law & Order, and I ** still miss Logan! **