# "Law & Order" brings in a new ADA **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690 "2005-01-20T06:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/1 "2005-01-20T06:45:42Z")
Gotta love the character’s last name – Borgia. Calls to mind some real Italian badasses of yesteryear. As for the actress? I keep flashing between “wow, she’s hot” and “eh, maybe not so much.” ---
**Author:** ![Vaioman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ecccb3/32.png) [@Vaioman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaioman)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/2 "2005-01-20T09:29:31Z")
“wow, she looks like Cher” came to mind a few times. We need Angie Harmon back 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/3 "2005-01-20T12:48:48Z")
Sam Waterson looks like he is about to have a stroke. His mouth seems to slant towards one side, even though his speech is clear. I noticed the camera angles seem to favor the other side. I wonder if he has something and is hiding it, like Michael J. Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/4 "2005-01-20T12:50:49Z")
I would have been impressed if the producers had brought in a man to be the new ADA… ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/5 "2005-01-20T12:53:02Z")
> [@Vaioman](#): > > “wow, she looks like Cher” came to mind a few times. We need Angie Harmon back 😃 Angie was nice, that’s true. 😃 I personally don’t think she looks like Cher. Hell, _Cher_ doesn’t even look like Cher anymore. (apologies to Jay Leno) ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/6 "2005-01-20T13:47:03Z")
I know it was the first episode with the _new girl_ :rolleyes: ,I thought the chemistry was lousy between all the characters and her esp. Sam. I remember seeing her on **As the World Turns** , her character on the soap went insane, she played it pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/7 "2005-01-20T15:12:23Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I would have been impressed if the producers had brought in a man to be the new ADA… Wasn’t the original ADA a black man? Who later came back as an activist / defense attorny. Still, 4 women in a row, on just this one version. The SVU version has women as both the ADA and the DA (or is she simply a more senior ADA? How many DAs can a city have?). What position does that smooth guy on CI hold? Is there something special about ADAing that suits a woman better? Or is it just a case of the producers in a mental block? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/8 "2005-01-20T15:46:58Z")
There’s only one DA, that’s Branch (Fred Thompson). The are ADA (assistant district attorneys), like McCoy and DADA (deputy assistant district attorneys) like Borgia. At least in the “Law and Order” universe. That role will likely be a female for as long as the show is on. The show was all male at the beginning. It was good, but its ratings started to take off once women became part of the cast. It helped the show appeal to a wider demographic. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/9 "2005-01-20T17:35:17Z")
Had it been established that Elizabeth Rohm’s character was a lesbian before she asked Fred Thompson if that was why she was fired? I know that’s a legitimate question sometimes but in that case he had explained clearly what their thinking was and she still said it. It seemed very reactionary and gratuitous. Also, since it was established years ago that McCoy always sleeps with his female DADAs, continuing to have females means an assumed but thankfully non-explicit sexual angle that some viewers may enjoy. Too soom to tell with this one. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/10 "2005-01-20T17:58:25Z")
Can someone post a pic of the woman playing the ADA? ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/11 "2005-01-20T18:10:09Z")
_Law and Order_ also has to find some way of incorporating females in a balanced way if they don’t want the shows demographics to go haywire. When you look at the core teams, two cops and two lawyers, somewhere in there you needed a woman on the team. When the show first started it was practically an old boys club across the board: Two male cops (Noth and Dzundza) and their male boss, Capt. Cragen (Dan Florek), two men for Executive ADA/ADA (Michael Moriarty and Richard Brooks) and crusty old DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). No women (other than in recurring roles, like the psychologist.) The cop buddies – the “cynical old timer + handsome leading man” – was a successful formula. Especially once Lenny was on board. Then it was “Lenny and the Other Guy” Noth, Bratt, whoever. Now that Lenny is gone it _is_ possible that they could try to introduce a female cop, because the formula is changing a bit. But otherwise, in such a small core cast of four, the ADA role opposite Waterson is the only lead spot left. The formula works well that way – arrogant bastard and shrewd legal chick. I’d still have liked to see a female version of the “been there, done that, seen it all”, chain-smokin’, Cagney&Lacey detective. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/12 "2005-01-20T18:55:10Z")
I missed the episode in which the blonde DADA left. What reason was given for her leaving? And dang, she was a lesbian? It would have been good to know that from the start. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/13 "2005-01-20T19:15:22Z")
There was a long thread about Serena’s dismissal if you want to look for it. Essentially, Branch took her aside after a case and told her that she wasn’t dispassionate enough as a prosecutor. She let her emotions show too much. He thought she would be better suited in a different setting. So he fired her. Then she asked if she really got fired because she was a lesbian and Branch said, “No.” We all know that she got fired because Elisabeth Rohm couldn’t act. ---
**Author:** ![BigDummy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@BigDummy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDummy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/14 "2005-01-20T22:48:55Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > We all know that she got fired because Elisabeth Rohm couldn’t act. Maybe it’s just me, but there were a couple of times there when I thought the new girl made Rohm look like a master thespian. I suppose she could grow on me. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/15 "2005-01-20T22:50:30Z")
My ears are burning ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/16 "2005-01-20T22:53:54Z")
> [@BigDummy](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but there were a couple of times there when I thought the new girl made Rohm look like a master thespian. I suppose she could grow on me. I actually changed the channel on the poor girl. COuldn’t take it anymore. It was like a Jon Lovitz cameo. I was expecting her to swing her arm out and say “I’m only… ACTING!” ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/17 "2005-01-20T23:39:47Z")
This is not totally on topic, but did anyone else feel like the 240 year sentence was a bit harsh? Not that the guy deserved a walk, but life in prison seemed like it would be ok. YMMV Oh - and I sort of like the new DA - I always found Serena’s character a bit annoying - and not because she’s a lesbian! ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/18 "2005-01-20T23:46:56Z")
I just watched the episode so I could check out the new talent, but I’ve taken the show out of the queue for my DV-R to record on a regular basis. But it’s an overall thing. I miss Steven Hill’s crotchiness and Jerry Orbach’s cynicism. ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/19 "2005-01-20T23:49:20Z")
Wow, I must be the only person who actually liked Elizabeth Rohm as the DADA. Maybe it’s just because I have a soft spot in my heart for any alumnus of “Angel”, but I honestly think her acting was not that bad. As for the harshness of the sentence, it _has_ seemed lately, at least within the past season, that the prosecution has been ridiculously harsh in its approach to criminal matters. Isn’t justice supposed to be tempured with mercy and all that jazz? IMO Jack has repeatedly come off as a jerk in many episodes. I wonder if I’m just being a liberal pantywaist or if the writers are actually going somewhere with this. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690/20 "2005-01-20T23:56:08Z")
I think McCoy is following the lead set by Branch who is definitely much more of a hard liner when it comes to justice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order-brings-in-a-new-ada/285690.md?page=2)