Law and Order Discussion - ADA McCoy will put all of you in jail

[Rezza]

So I just started watching Law and Order, and it was one of the early season of SVU. My question is, should I start to watch both L&O and SVU, or should I just watch the SVU? Because that's a lot of hours I have to watch, and I don't have much to spare

 

[Rumpled Foreskin]

So I just started watching Law and Order, and it was one of the early season of SVU. My question is, should I start to watch both L&O and SVU, or should I just watch the SVU? Because that's a lot of hours I have to watch, and I don't have much to spare

I would recommend the original L&O to the point where they replace Jerry Orbach.

I would recommend SVU to the point where Mariska Hargitay’s plastic surgery becomes readily apparent.

Bonus points for Criminal Intent, mainly because of Vincent D’onofrio, but the story structure and the way it is portrayed is wildly different from OG and SVU.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

The first five seasons of Criminal Intent are my favorite, though it's more Columbo-esque in that it's apparent who the perpetrator is early on and it's more about how they'll be caught. Regular L&O is decent up until Jerry Orbach's departure, as already said. SVU I never really got into much; I lost interest in it after the first season or two when it went from a decent ensemble show to the Benson & Stabler show.

If you want a really good police show I'd actually instead recommend the first four or five seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street.

 

[khaine]

The best Law & Order waifu is unequivocally Serena “is this because I’m a lesbian?” Southerlyn.

She looks hot, but her tits are really disappointing

Spoiler

 

[frozenrunner]

So I just started watching Law and Order, and it was one of the early season of SVU. My question is, should I start to watch both L&O and SVU, or should I just watch the SVU? Because that's a lot of hours I have to watch, and I don't have much to spare

SVU becomes quickly unwatchable after a couple of seasons. L&O slides in quality too, but it's higher quality for longer.

They're both procedurals that become more and more formulaic as time goes on, up to and including the soundtracks. But SVU is worse in that regard after, like, season two or three.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

So I just started watching Law and Order, and it was one of the early season of SVU. My question is, should I start to watch both L&O and SVU, or should I just watch the SVU? Because that's a lot of hours I have to watch, and I don't have much to spare

I'd day watch all 3 (including criminal intent). There are continuity related things with all 3 shows and on some occasions put two or three shows together in one episode.

Years 1 and 2 of L&O have Craigen as the Captain until year 3 when they replace him with the black lady. The story is that Craigen got transferred to a different place, and that place happens to be SVU. However, the first appearance of the OG L&O guys on SVU are when the black guy detective came into the picture. Logan got replaced by the spanish dude some time in the earlier years of L&O (which i persoanlly don't like because the spanish dude is such a stick in the mud) and winds up in criminal intent. In fact Logan has his own movie which is worth watching. The jew comedian that everyone loves made his first appearance on the OG L&O for a case that was related to two completely different states. He eventually wants to work in NY and joins the SVU team.

Keep in mind though that the very early seasons have other continuity issues like how Jerry Orbach was once a defense attorney now all of a sudden he's a cop. Or how Casey Novak was one a suspect (and even got arrested) and now all of a sudden she's an ADA when Alexandra Cabbat went under witness protection. if there's one criticism I can give to Dick Wolf is that he re-uses his cast like fucking underwear.

 

[frozenrunner]

if there's one criticism I can give to Dick Wolf is that he re-uses his cast like fucking underwear.

Seriously. The actress for the black female chief you mentioned, S. Epatha Merkerson, actually guest stars on the show before in a different role as the mother of a criminal teen. (And it's the episode with IMO the best laugh-out-loud shock moment of the entire show when she unexpectedly bitchslaps her arrogant kid and bellows, "DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, NIGGA BOY!") They reuse actors so often it became an expected thing you just have to overlook.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I think it’s pretty hilarious that Law & Order is still on the air, while Ice-T is doing car insurance commercials with his signature voice.

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

Keep in mind though that the very early seasons have other continuity issues like how Jerry Orbach was once a defense attorney now all of a sudden he's a cop. Or how Casey Novak was one a suspect (and even got arrested) and now all of a sudden she's an ADA when Alexandra Cabbat went under witness protection. if there's one criticism I can give to Dick Wolf is that he re-uses his cast like fucking underwear.

He got sick of defending scumbags and decided to clean them up permanently.

 

[Puddleduck]

I would recommend SVU to the point where Mariska Hargitay’s plastic surgery becomes readily apparent.

Lol she's not had plastic surgery. I mean this in the nicest way possible but looking at her now it's quite clear she's not had any...

 

[Racist Trash]

l&O gets played a bunch from like (12noon to 6pm weekdays) here and gotta say the Jerry Orbach + Black guy were the best duo.

 

[MirrorNoir]

I really wish they had left this shit dead. I mean how many damn Dick Wolf shows does NBC need? And they really should have brought Alana de la Garza back as the new DA instead of the Hannibal manlet.

Wolf's Chicago shows never caught on like OG Law and Order and Law and Order SVU did.

Also, flagship L&O fans had a major rivalry with SVU fans as far as there being LONGSTANDING hatred for how SVU didn't get canceled but Law and Order did along with a serious hate boner towards NBC for the behind the scenes bullshit that got OG Law and Order canceled (TL;DR it was canceled because of the fallout from the disastrous decision of NBC not to just 100% cut ties with Jay Leno and giving him the 10PM timeslot; meaning L&O lost it's timeslot and floundered all over the schedule before canceling, along with the fact that there is a longstanding NBC executive who favored and gave SVU preferential treatment because he is obsessed with the actress who plays Benson; hence why Benson is still on the show as the executive basically keeps backing up huge trucks full of money to keep her on the show).

Ironically, in it's final years, Law and Order went hardcore right wing. And it seems they are keeping that bent in the revival, which is good I guess since it ensures the two shows (OG and SVU) are fundamentally different tone-wise.

The best Law & Order waifu is unequivocally Serena “is this because I’m a lesbian?” Southerlyn.

Disagree. She was way too passive and wishy washy, especially after Carrie Lowell and Angie Harmon's stints on the show. She had some good episodes towards the end of her run on the show and there are bits in her last season that clearly can, in retrospect even though her coming out line was a literal last minute addition to get people talking about the show, be seen as her being gay (the one where McCoy gets gay marriage banned in NYC and where they are investigating a teenager who murdered her lesbian lover to keep her from outing her after nearly getting raped).

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

l&O gets played a bunch from like (12noon to 6pm weekdays) here and gotta say the Jerry Orbach + Black guy were the best duo.

You mean bald-headed dude from Law & Order?

 

[Montalbane]

Obligatory THEY LEVELED UP post.

 

[Kerr Avon]

Law and Order went hardcore right wing.

Some examples would be nice

 

[draggs]

I miss Jerry Orbach

All the ADA waifus were hot but Claire Kincaid will always be my girl

 

[Megaroad 2012]

Reminder how to watch current SVU with head cannon: Olivia is secretly trying to kidnap more children like Noah to form a surrogate family, at the same time she's completely confused and baffled or just constipated whenever included in a conversation because Mariska can't act.

there is a longstanding NBC executive who favored and gave SVU preferential treatment because he is obsessed with the actress who plays Benson; hence why Benson is still on the show as the executive basically keeps backing up huge trucks full of money to keep her on the show).

Explains why she's still around.

 

[MirrorNoir]

Some examples would be nice

>>Abortion doctor that got shot turned out to be doing post-birth abortions
>>Guy that tries to murder Not-Anne Coulter because of Not-Ann Coulter got a research facility working on stem cell treatment for that disease Michael J Fox has shut down, causing him to try and assassinate her and going off his meds for sympathy being treated 100% as the bad guy
>>An episode based around James O'Keefe being murdered and ACORN being the ones who carried out the hit, with O'Keefe being portrayed 100% virtuously and the ACORN people pure evil
>>McCoy getting gay marriage banned in New York to stop a politician who murdered his wife from hiding behind spousal privilege after he got gay married
>>The arc involving Not-Elliot Spitzer

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

I need more of Daddy Esparza.

Is he going to appear on the new show.

 

[MirrorNoir]

You mean bald-headed dude from Law & Order?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZRfDgnapUAw

No, Jesse Martin. He was hired to replace Benjamin Bratt and had a lengthy run on the show for the bulk of the 00s.