law and order

Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990. Set in New York City, the series follows the professional and to a lesser extent the personal lives of several police officers and prosecutors who represent the public interest in the criminal justice system. The characters frequently encounter dilemmas and frustrations as cases go through the stages of investigation, arrest, negotiation and trial. Matters are rarely resolved easily, or for the people involved, satisfactorily.

The success of the series has led to the creation of additional shows under the Law & Order franchise. It is the longest-running primetime drama currently on American television.

FORMAT

The program generally follows a two-tiered format, with the first portion of each episode devoted to the investigation of a crime and the second portion depicting its prosecution. The format is almost identical to a 1960's series titled Arrest and Trial, although the similarities are considered to be coincidental. Law & Order creator Dick Wolf was reportedly unaware of them when he created his series. Most Law & Order episodes are self-contained, with only a few exceptions over the many years of production.

The following statement, narrated by Steven Zirnkilton, is spoken at the beginning of nearly every episode:

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.
The cold open or lead-in segment of the show usually shows a slice of New York life (walking a dog in Manhattan, jogging in Central Park, etc.) apparently unrelated to the main story until the (usually non-recurring) characters in the scene suddenly discover, witness, or become victims of a crime (most often, murder). Careful attention to these opening segments often reveals subtle connections or hints foreshadowing key aspects of the case. The scene immediately cuts to the police making a preliminary examination of the crime scene in which the featured detectives make their first observations and theories followed by a witty comment or two before the title sequence begins.

The police are represented in the show by the police lieutenant of Manhattan's 27th precinct and two homicide detectives, a senior partner and a junior partner. The detectives move to investigate the crime, collect evidence and interview witnesses, reporting regularly to the lieutenant. The evidence eventually leads to the arrest of one or more suspects. The matter is then taken over by the prosecutors of the Manhattan District Attorney's office, comprised of the district attorney, the executive assistant district attorney and an assistant prosecutor. Together they discuss deals, prepare the witnesses and evidence and conduct the people's case in the trial. Both the detectives and prosecutors work with the medical examiner's office, the crime lab and psychiatrists from the police and district attorney offices.

The prosecution portion of Law & Order is unusual in that it shows more legal proceedings than just a trial. The second half almost always opens with an arraignment and then proceeds to trial preparation. However the show does on occasion deviate from this format and centers on either indictment proceedings before a Grand Jury, a motion hearing, or an allocution upon entering a plea of guilty, usually in consideration for a plea bargain. It is very uncommon for legal dramas to show Grand Jury proceedings. This format is usually seen once or twice per season, with a trial being the norm. Grand Jury episodes focus on the difficulty of obtaining an indictment for a particular accused and often end with a guilty plea and allocution to wrap up the show quickly.

The plots often have a resemblance to actual cases, such as in the 1998 episode "Tabloid", in which a woman is killed in an auto accident after being pursued by a gossip reporter. This followed the similar death of Princess Diana the previous summer. This "ripped from the headlines" nature can also be seen in the opening credit sequence which flows from newspaper headlines, print copy, and photographs into photographs of the actors that evolve from newspaper halftones into high resolution photos. Promotional advertisements of episodes with especially close parallels to real-life cases often use the actual phrase "ripped from the headlines," although a text disclaimer within the actual episode emphasizes that the story and its characters are fictional. The format lends itself to exploring different outcomes or motives that similar events could have had under other circumstances.

Because of the nature of the format, the detectives rarely encounter a simple murder where the perpetrator does little to hide his guilt (which is actually very common). Instead, the detectives often have few or no good clues to start with — they may not even know the identity of the victim — and must chase down several dead ends before finding a strong suspect. Towards the middle of a show, the police begin working with the prosecutors to make the arrest, and an arraignment scene is usually shown. The police may appear again to testify in court or arrest a subsequent suspect, but most investigation in the second segment is done by the assistant DAs, who always consult with the District Attorney for advice on the case.

The format includes not delving too much into the private lives of the recurring characters. Some personal information is given, but it is usually incidental, such as conversation that goes on during the course of an episode. In contrast to many other detective shows (Perry Mason and Matlock, for example), the protagonists of Law & Order do not always win their cases; episodes frequently finish without full resolution. Sometimes the true facts of the crime are left ambiguous to the audience. Sometimes the case against the offender is won, but justice still seems lacking. Often the viewer identifies with the defendant and wonders whether punishment under the law is even appropriate. For example, in the first-season episode "Subterranean Homeboy Blues", a woman shoots 2 black teenagers, who she claims were going to attack her. In a 1990 episode, "The Reaper's Helper", an HIV-positive man is found dead and it is revealed that he asked a friend to kill him, to avoid developing full-blown AIDS. At the time, there were few effective treatments for HIV infection.

Another show staple usually occurs during either a confession to police or at trial, or a 'rationalization' by the defendant's actions at trial, guilt notwithstanding. The dramatic moment, sometimes jerking tears and pulling heartstrings, is always accompanied by dramatic music, building to a point. Whether it is given as an account of the crime by a witness or a trial confession by the defendant, it drives home the raw humanity of the event, sometimes drawing sympathy for the defendant.

**wikipedia.org