credit: amazon.com
Cast:
Paul Sorvino”¦.Detective Sergeant Phillip Cerreta
Jerry Orbach”¦.Detective Lennie Briscoe
Chris Noth”¦.Detective Mike Logan
Dann Florek”¦.Captain Donald Cragen
Michael Moriarty”¦.Executive A.D.A Benjamin Stone
Richard Brooks”¦.Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette
Steven Hill”¦.District Attorney Adam Schiff
The Show
Law and Orde’s umpteenth seasons really owe their success to the third season. It may not have been the best season, there were some ups and downs over the course of the season. But it was what established the formula for success that would be emulated years later. In the middle of season three L&O lost another cast member, Paul Sorvino. Sorvino had replaced George Dzundza who only appeared in the first season. Having that many casting changes could have been the death blow.
The producers wisely chose the late Jerry Orbach to replace Sorvino. Years later Orbach would be the only one left of the cast from season three. Over the next couple of years Law and Order proved it could undergo major cast changes and keep a fan base.
The first eight episodes, of 22 total, feature a detective team of Logan and Cerreta (Noth and Sorvino.) I have always been a fan of this pairing and seeing them together again felt like going back in time.
The first episode of the season,”Skin Deep,” was fun to watch because of a young Claire Danes and a young Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under.) “Conspiracy,” “Wedded Bliss” and “Self Defence” were all very solid episodes. “Prince of Darkness”, the episode where Cerretta is shot is probably the most memorable of the first eight.
“Extended Family” dealt with sexual molestation in an interesting light, “Right to Counsel” was a very interesting episode where Stone took a plea he feels may have been coerced and “Mother Love” showed the impact a drug addict can have on their family.
“Jurisdiction” is where Briscoe really started to take over. This is where he busts a dirty cop who got a false confession from a mentally challenged male. “Conduct Unbecoming” had a young Juliana Margulies (ER) as a Naval officer, “Virus” has dated badly and is amusing to watch with the old computer technology in use back then.
“Manhood” was perhaps the best episode of the season with a young Sam Rockwell playing a gay cop who testifies after another gay cop is left to die by his fellow officers.
Score
7
The DVD
Video
Featuring Full Frame 1.33:1 the video is okay, not great but the grainy and darkness of the video adds to the tone and texture of the show though.
Audio
Dolby Digital 2.0 is just fine for L&O. No complaints here.
Special Features
One problem I had was the total lack of Sorvino’s face on anything related to season three. Even disc one which has no Orbach epsidoes has Orbach and Noth on the cover, which makes no sense really.
There are 6 episodes with deleted scenes. I thought they were all solid and not overdone as sometimes can happen with deleted scenes. The special tribute to Jerry Orbach was excellent and well-timed to honour the great man.
Most interesting aspect of that was someone mentioning that Noth did not get along with Dzundza or Sorvino.
Score
7
