Law & Order The Fourth Year

Law & Order is great drama! Cliche, I know. But there is no other way the show could have stayed on the air since 1990; that’s fifteen years. I’ve watched episodes on and off for years, usually catching reruns on TNT at 7pm or 8pm on weeknights. I never had the pleasure of watching an entire season, so, to me, the episodes were always lone cases, solved and prosecuted in one hour. Now, after watching the 4th Season in its entirety, I’m addicted. For one, the show is better without commercial interruption. Watching 22 episodes back-to-back gives you great insight into the characters and the lives of detectives and prosecutors in New York City. Slowly, but surely, the writing delves beyond the cases and gives you a flavor for each of the characters’ backgrounds and beliefs.

The Fourth Year introduced S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren and Jill Hennessy as Ass’t District Attorney Claire Kincaid. Both are extremely capable actresses and I enjoyed the strength and feminimity they brought to the show. Before these two ladies were brought aboard, their respective roles were played by men. They set the tone for the remaining years, with one female Police Lt. and a continually changing female ADA. They joined a cast that already consisted of Chris Noth as Det. Mike Logan, Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe, Michael Moriarty as Exec. Ass’t District Attorney Ben Stone, and Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff. Noth, Moriarty, and Hill were original cast members from the 1990-1991 season and Orbach had joined in season three. Orbach became a staple on the show for a decade and I love watching him perform in his earlier years. Lest we forget that he was also the voice of Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, not to mention a multi-talented star of the screen, television, and stage. Everyone does a wonderful job.

Det. Logan and Det. Briscoe have great comraderie and share a cynical, dry wit that works well in crime scenes, and has since become a staple with all detectives on the show. Executive ADA Stone is just that, a stone. He shows more emotion on the DVD cover than he does in any of the 22 episodes. At times, you sense the slightest bit of humor, but overall he is stoic and emotionless; a prosecutor I would never want to face, even on the pettiest of crimes. Together, throughout the hour, they work extremely well off each other.

With 22 episodes, you’ll always get a few hit and miss, but overall the season is strong and gripping. The best of the season were episode 4, which had James Earl Jones guest star as a lawyer defending an admitted racist serial killer; episode 8, which featured Zeljko Ivanek as a conniving, extremely intelligent murderer who gets

a chance to defend himself eight years after his conviction at the hands of Stone; and episode 17, when Briscoe and Logan handle a workload of multiple homicides and a serial killer, all within 24 hours.

Law and Order The Fourth Year is a great DVD set for lovers of the show. If you haven’t seen earlier episodes, then pick up one of the earlier seasons and enjoy. My only complaint is the lack of extra features in the box set. There are numerous deleted scenes, but there are no interviews, commentaries, or documentaries. I would have liked to have seen some background material on the show and its actors. But hey, it’s a great show and it gives work to thousands of New York actors and actresses.

Season Grade: A – (across the board for the season)

DVD Features Grade: F (there’s nothing to note)

Overall Grade: B+ (the DVD is very well worth it for the quality episodes and acting)