Law & Order: Encyclopedia II - Law & Order - Trivia

Law & Order - Trivia

Law & Order - Format

The words of the opening narration (spoken by Steven Zirnkilton):

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

The one time this narration was changed was for the first episode following the September 11, 2001 attacks, airing September 26, 2001. That episode's opening dedicated the show's 12th season to the victims of the attack.

Except to accommodate cast changes, the show's title sequence has only been changed twice. The video footage during the sequence was changed significantly for syndication, though the theme music from the pilot was kept unchanged for three seasons. Between Seasons 3 and 4, the sequence was shortened from about 1 minute to about 45 seconds. The theme music was, thus, shortened but also perceptibly remixed. The video component of the title sequence was also changed between Season 3 and Season 4, but mostly by removing footage. This change in the intro also coincides with the cast change from Capt. Cragen to Lt. Van Buren. One easy way to tell the "old intro" from the "new intro" is the shot of a police car during the siren-like sound worked into Mike Post's theme music. The "pilot intro" is easy to pick out (visually) for anyone familiar with the syndicated intros.

The show's format rarely changes and is one of the best known features of the show, most shows split roughly equally between investigation and prosecution, as the opening narration suggests. There are many other more subtle aspects of the format that rarely change. The lead-in segment almost always depicts non-recurring characters going about mundane daily activities and either discovering a dead body or witnessing a violent crime. Careful attention to these opening segments often reveals connections or hints foreshadowing key aspects of the case.

Because of the nature of the format, the detectives rarely encounter a simple murder where the perpetrator does little to hide his guilt (which is actually very common). Instead, the detectives often have few or no good clues to start with - they may not even know the identity of the victim - and must chase down several dead ends before finding a strong suspect. Towards the middle of a show, the police begin working with the prosecutors to make the arrest, and an arraignment scene is usually shown. The police may appear again to testify in court or arrest a subsequent suspect, but most investigation in the "order" segment is done by the assistant DAs, who always consult with the District Attorney for advice on the case.

The format includes not delving too much into the private lives of the recurring characters. Some personal information is given, but it is usually incidental, such as conversation that goes on during the course of an episode.

A notable exception was the season six finale episode, "Aftershock" (1996), which abandoned the usual formula in favor of a story focusing on a day in the life of Jack McCoy, Claire Kincaid, Lennie Briscoe, Rey Curtis, and Anita Van Buren that begins with them witnessing an execution and follows them as they question the decisions they have made both professionally and personally.

The episode includes strong indications suggesting that Jack and Claire are having an affair (subtle signs of which were present in previous episodes; the affair was confirmed in a later episode). It ends with Claire's vehicle being hit by a drunk driver and the ADA being fatally injured (though her death would not be confirmed until the next season).

The same detectives always working with the same prosecutors is not a realistic depiction of the legal system, nor is the number of high-profile, highly complicated cases taken on, nor their success in solving all of them. Furthermore, most real cases do not go to trial and are settled with a plea bargain, whereas the trial is a signature part of nearly every Law & Order episode. However, the characters and process depicted can be seen as amalgams of the entire legal system, and the technically unrealistic legal process as a simplifying plot device necessary for the show to be possible, thus maintaining Suspension of disbelief.

Law & Order - Cast Appearances

The only episode in which one of the credited cast members does not appear is the original pilot, "Everybody's Favorite Bagman," in which Steven Hill (District Attorney Adam Schiff) does not appear. Instead Roy Thinnes appeared as D.A. Alfred Wentworth.

• This episode also features the sole onscreen appearance of narrator Steven Zirnkilton, who plays a detective. He appears briefly in a scene where NYPD officers are conducting covert surveillance of corrupt politicians who are dining at a restaurant. His only line is, "Look at that. Do you believe these guys?"

Dann Florek (Captain Don Cragen), Carey Lowell (Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross) and Richard Brooks (Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette) are the only cast members to appear on the series after their departure.

• As Jill Hennessy was on location for the Homicide: Life on the Street crossover episode "For God and Country" and unavailable to shoot the courtroom scenes for the episode "Corpus Deliciti", her identical twin sister Jacqueline Hennessy made an uncredited appearance for her as Claire Kincaid.

Throughout the series, there are only nine known scenes in which the District Attorney shares a scene with a cop:

• Adam Schiff with Max Greevey and Mike Logan in "The Troubles".
• Adam Schiff and Don Cragen in "The Blue Wall", "The Fertile Fields" and "Conduct Unbecoming".
• Adam Schiff and Anita Van Buren in "Sweeps" and "Pride".
• Adam Schiff and Rey Curtis in "Savages".
• Adam Schiff and Lennie Briscoe in "Corruption".
• Arthur Branch and Anita Van Buren in "Gaijin".

Law & Order - Spin-offs & Cross-overs

Each spinoff has at least one character from the original show:

• Dann Florek reprises his role as Capt. Don Cragen on SVU since 1999
• Fred Dalton Thompson plays DA Arthur Branch on L&O and, for a short time, Trial by Jury. He also has made guest appearances on SVU and CI.
• Chris Noth reprises his role as Mike Logan on Criminal Intent.
• Jerry Orbach was playing his signature role as Det. Lennie Briscoe in Trial by Jury prior to his death. He had also made guest appearances on the other two spinoffs.
• Carey Lowell appeared in two episodes of Trial by Jury as Judge Jamie Ross, having been appointed to the bench in the years since the character appeared on the original show.

There are also scenes in which the District Attorney shares scenes with a cop from the Law & Order spinoffs. This has happened at least four times:

• Adam Schiff and Don Cragen in part 1 of the SVU crossover "Entitled."
• Nora Lewin and Robert Goren in the Criminal Intent episode "One."
• Arthur Branch with Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler in the SVU episode "Shaken" and briefly again in the episode "Goliath."

Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green), Fred Dalton Thompson (District Attorney Arthur Branch) and Leslie Hendrix (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers) are the only actors to play the same character on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury).

• This is one of six series in which the character Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. The other five are Homicide: Life on the Street, The X-Files, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Beat and Law & Order: Trial by Jury.

As a result of the vast number of spin-offs, The Simpsons features a parody, Law & Order: Elevator Inspectors Unit, who investigate faulty lights in lift-cars ("Here's the deal. The number 5 doesn't light up!" "I think I'm going to be sick!").

Law & Order - Longevity

All three of the series' longest serving cast members lasted far longer than those which they replaced:

• Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe) (1992-2004) lasted almost twelve years while Paul Sorvino (Sgt. Phil Cerreta) lasted only a year and a half (1991-1992).
• S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren) (1993-), who has been with the series for thirteen seasons replaced (Captain Don Cragen) who lasted three years (1990-1993).
• Sam Waterston (Executive District Attorney Jack McCoy) (1994-), who has been with the series for twelve seasons replaced Michael Moriarty (Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone) who lasted four years (1990-1994).

Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) is the only assistant district attorney to work with both Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone and his successor, Jack McCoy.

Steven Hill (District Attorney Adam Schiff), Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren) and Sam Waterston (Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy) are the only actors to appear in 200 or more episodes of the series while Merkerson will become the first actor to appear in 300 episodes when the series reaches its 366th episode in Season Sixteen.

Law & Order - Before they were series regulars

Because the show is filmed in New York City and requires a large number of guest stars for each episode, many actors —- often from the Broadway stage —- return in different roles, often becoming regular cast members:

• Jerry Orbach played a defense lawyer, Frank Lehrman, in the 1991 episode "Wages of Love" before returning to the show in his signature and popular role of Detective Lennie Briscoe, who intensely dislikes defense lawyers for protecting the "scum of the earth."
• S. Epatha Merkerson appeared on "Mushrooms" in the first season (1991) as Denise Winters, the mother of a young teenager before becoming a regular as Lt. Anita Van Buren.
• Annie Parisse also appeared in the Season 12 (2002) episode "Attorney Client" as Jasmine Blake before she assumed the role of Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Borgia in Season 15's "Fluency" (2005).
• Michael Imperioli appeared in the Season 6 episode "Atonement" as Johnny Stivers before going on to play Det. Nick Falco in Season 15.
• Richard Belzer was featured in several Homicide: Life on the Street/Law & Order crossovers before being appearing in the same role as a regular on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
• Ice-T had a small supporting role as Seymour Stockton in Exiled: A Law & Order Movie before joining the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in season 2.
• Courtney B. Vance played Mr. McKee, an aide of the mayor, in "By Hooker, By Crook" and as a stockbroker named Benjamin "Bud" Greer in "Rage". Currently he plays ADA Ron Carver in the spin-off Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
• Diane Neal played Amelia Chase, a female rapist, in the episode "Ridicule" on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Currently she plays ADA Casey Novak on the same show.
• Amy Carlson appeared in "The Dead Wives Club" on the original show, and in "Asunder" on SVU, before joining the cast of Law & Order: Trial By Jury as ADA Kelly Gaffney. She and Courtney B. Vance are the only "multi-repeat-offenders" (those who played two or more roles before joining a show's permanent cast) so far.
• Bebe Neuwirth played Nina Lazlo, head of a modeling agency, in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 1 episode "Or Just Like One" before joining the cast of Law & Order: Trial by Jury as ADA Tracey Kibre.
• Annabella Sciorra played Maggie Dettweiler, a defense attorney, in the episode "The Abominable Showman" on Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Currently she plays Detective Carolyn Barek on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Sciorra's appearances mark the shortest amount of time between characters: six months.

• Several actors appeared in episodes before they were well known; Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Baker, Kelli Williams, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Amanda Peet, Maura Tierney and Edie Falco are among them.

• In 1973, Sam Waterston and Michael Moriarty starred together in a TV movie version of The Glass Menagerie. Coincidentally, Waterston replaced Moriarty as the Executive Assistant District Attorney in 1994 after Moriarty quit the show.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Trivia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki