Craving for more courtroom drama after the Corona trial?
Now that the Corona impeachment trial is over, viewers who are suffering from withdrawal symptoms can get relief by revisiting the courtroom on the TV drama series, "Law & Order" and its many spin-offs: "L&O Criminal Intent," "L&O Special Victims Unit (SVU)," "L&O Los Angeles," and "L&O UK." The prosecutors are not after erring chief justices though they do run after crooked public officials from time to time.
If you miss the 23 senator-judges, the series has a 12-man jury that decides on the fate of the accused. Unlike the senate court, the jurors are not allowed to question witnesses and there is no Miriam Defensor-Santiago to berate the prosecution. The best part is that instead of five months, it only takes just 60 minutes to hear the decision.
Complications sound familiar
Usually, the first half of the show is devoted to law enforcers solving a crime and apprehending the perpetrator(s). The second half focuses on the prosecutors presenting evidence and arguments to convict the accused while the defense tries to have the defendant acquitted.
The formula seems simple enough but several complications get in the way—for example, illegally obtained evidence, teary eyed testimonies, witnesses prevented from testifying, conflicts on interpretation of the law…. Do those things sound familiar?
Most of the time, the series deals with murders. Whodunits are crowd pleasers and it's exciting to follow how the prosecutors usually triumph in the end despite overwhelming odds. Unlike other series, however, the good guys don't always win. The district attorney sometimes loses a case or he has to strike a deal with the defense.
Hot-button issues
Many of the episodes are based on real events or hot-button issues, even though there is a note at the opening and closing credits of the show that "no actual person or event is depicted."
After Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, was accused of sexual assault by a chambermaid, the series ran an episode of .an Italian diplomat accused of rape by an African immigrant.
Then, there was an episode about a basketball coach charged with sexually abusing his players, loosely patterned after an assistant football coach of Penn State who now faces charges of child sex abuse. Of course, the series tweaks the stories considerably but the parallels are obvious.
Impressive cast
Outstanding performances are turned in by the following regular cast members. Sam Waterston is an assistant district attorney who will go to any length provided by law to convict the accused. Mariska Hargitay is a detective who empathizes with victims of sexual predators because she herself is the product of a rape. (For trivia buffs, she is the daughter of the late Hollywood bombshell, Jayne Mansfield and Mickey Hargitay, a former Mr. Universe.)
Vincent D'Onofrio is the hardened police detective with an analytical mind who almost always catches the bad guy. (He was later replaced by big screen actor Jeff Goldblum.) Former U.S. senator Fred Thompson plays a right-leaning district attorney.
Also worth mentioning are other cast members like the late Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt (Julia Robert's former beau), Chris Noth (Mr. Big in "Sex and the City") and Dianne Wiest.
Before they were famous
I am also impressed at the many famous stars of today who guested on the show when they were just starting—William Macy, Claire Danes, Juliana Margulies, Jennifer Garner, Samuel Jackson, and Cynthia Nixon, to name a few.
Despite the complicated storylines, the show manages to tell a compelling tale in the limited time available. There's no time wasted on extended action scenes, histrionics from the crime victims or lengthy courtroom arguments. And we're never sure if the accused will be found guilty.
"Law & Order" has the distinction of being the longest running crime series on American TV. It premiered in 1990 and ended its run in 2010.
The spinoff "Law & Order: SVU," which first aired in 1999, has just been renewed for its 14th season.
With more than 900 episodes, L&O reruns are shown in multiple cable channels: Universal, Diva Universal, Fox Crime, Fox Channel and Chase.
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
