Law and Order for All
by licensed television critic Farrell ChildeThe attractions of the perennial hit TV show Law and Order are not difficult to figure out. First of all, the plot has more twists than a bag of pretzels. In the first half hour, suspicion is transferred to a new suspect about every two minutes. In the second half hour, a new legal complication pops up about every two minutes, and sometimes new suspects appear, too. What Law and Order has done is compress an old-style fifteen-episode cliffhanger movie serial into sixty minutes.
Besides the original Law and Order there are now also Law and Order: SVU and Law and Order: CI. The newcomers both use the device of the tortuous plot, however. It not only helps to keep your attention, but also distracts you from inaccuracies and wild improbabilities.
Interest is also maintained by turning the characters over. Actors, some of them really good ones, are whipped in and out of continuing roles so quickly you don't have a chance to get tired of the simple characters they are required to play.
Or perhaps I should say that the continual changing of actors prevents you from noticing that they don't really have any characters to play at all . The police characters function mainly as means of furnishing plot information. The chief difference between them is in the length of their tempers. An attempt is made to generate personality conflicts between the lawyer characters, but to do that they would first have to have personalities.
Early on in the original series a decision was made to have some of the characters furnish pulchritude. Paul Richards was replaced by a model, Jill Hennessy, who in turn was replaced by a model; Ms Hennessy could act, though. There has always been a babe on board since. I'm not an expert on male looks, but it's obvious Benjamin Bratt appeared beautiful to much of the female community. Perhaps others of the men have been beautiful, too.
In other words, Law and Order is good, old-fashioned entertainment. Good actors in simple, rapidly moving stories featuring babes. It can't miss.
Earlier I mentioned inaccuracies and wild improbabilities in the plots and how the twists in the plots distract attention from them. Just to be clear about this, I believe this characteristic to be a Good Thing. Law and Order is a detective story. A chief part of the attraction of the detective story is that you know what form the story will take. Because you know the form of the story, you can more easily lose yourself in it. Distracting attention from obstacles that will prevent you from doing this is good.
In fact, a problem with Law and Order: CI is distraction created by the portrayal of the lead male character as a polymath. Oh, of course an NYPD detective would know all about early Sumerian breakfast food, Renaissance keychains, and the history of the oud, and furthermore would be able to discuss these topics in either Old English or medieval Gothic. Every time buddy appears on the screen I think "Yeah, right." He strikes a jarring note.
Although I do appreciate the high quality of the acting in Law ond Order: SVU, its subject matter makes me queasy. So that leaves me watching the original.
I am one of those people who prefer the police half of the show. When the second half of Law and Order used to conflict with The Avengers, I'd watch the first half of Law and Order and then switch to Steed and sidekick. I don't mind the second half of the show, but the plot conflicts are more contrived. Many people prefer the second half, however, and no doubt they have reasons. As I said, it's good old-fashioned entertainment; there's something for everyone.
Law and Order is taken a bit too seriously by the critics, but then almost everything on television is taken too seriously. I suppose many of us have to justify watching a cop show to ourselves. Some of us feel less guilty about having fun, though.
Law and Order ain't Shakespeare, but what kind of ratings does Shakespeare get, eh? Until they start re-running The Sweeney, Law and Order rules.
Law and Order for All © Coolth, 2002
November 14, 2002
