Law & Order

:This article is about the television show "Law & Order". For the political term, see law and order (politics).

Trivia

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.

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The show's format generally never changes, which includes not delving too much into the private lives of the recurring characters.

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• 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. Spoiler warning. 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).

Cast Appearances

The Season One episode "The Troubles" is the only one in which the entire credited cast (George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks and Steven Hill) appear in a scene together.

Related Topics:
George Dzundza - Chris Noth - Dann Florek - Michael Moriarty - Richard Brooks - Steven Hill

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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.

Related Topics:
Steven Hill - Roy Thinnes

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• 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.

Related Topics:
Dann Florek - Captain Don Cragen - Carey Lowell - Assistant District Attorney Jamie Ross - Richard Brooks - Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette

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

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

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• Adam Schiff with Max Greevey, Mike Logan and Don Cragen in "The Troubles".
• Adam Schiff with Don Cragen in "The Blue Wall" and "The Fertile Fields".
• Adam Schiff and Anita Van Buren "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".

Spin-offs & Cross-overs

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

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• 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 makes guest appearances on SVU.
• 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 three times:

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• 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) and Leslie Hendrix (Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers) are the only actors to play the same character on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, ', ' and ').

Related Topics:
Jerry Orbach - Jesse L. Martin - Leslie Hendrix - Law & Order

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• This is one of six series in which the character Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. The other five are ', The X-Files, ', The Beat and '.

Longevity

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

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• Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe) (1992-2004) lasted almost twelve years while Paul Sorvino (Sgt. Phil Ceretta) lasted only a year and a half (1991-1992).
• S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren) (1993-), who will have been with the series for thirteen seasons as of September 2005, replaced Dann Florek (Captain Don Cragen) who lasted three years (1990-1993).
• Sam Waterston (Executive District Attorney Jack McCoy) (1994-), who will have been with the series for twelve seasons as of September 2005 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.

Related Topics:
Claire Kincaid - Jill Hennessy - Assistant district attorney - Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone - Jack McCoy

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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 in appear in 300 episodes when the series reaches its 366th episode in Season Sixteen.

Related Topics:
Steven Hill - District Attorney Adam Schiff - Jerry Orbach - Detective Lennie Briscoe - S. Epatha Merkerson - Lt. Anita Van Buren - Sam Waterston - Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy - Season Sixteen

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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:

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• Jerry Orbach played a defense lawyer, Frank Lehrman, in the second season 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 '/Law & Order crossovers before being cast in '.
• Ice-T had a small supporting role as Seymour Stockton in ' before joining the cast of ' 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 '.
• Diane Neal played Amelia Chase, a female rapist, in the episode "Ridicule" on '. Currently she plays ADA Casey Novak on the same show.

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.

Related Topics:
Cynthia Nixon - Dylan Baker - Kelli Williams - Jennifer Garner - Allison Janney - Philip Seymour Hoffman - Samuel L. Jackson - Amanda Peet - Maura Tierney - Edie Falco

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