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Positive:
19
Mixed:
9
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews
Mar 7, 2013
Season 1 Review:
The first four episodes, made available for preview, indicate that Law and Order could climb quickly to the top echelons of the genre, right up there with "Crime Story" and "Hill Street Blues." [13 Sept 1990, p.C26]
Jun 11, 2013
Season 6 Review:
I've noticed a drop in the quality of the writing. Too many cases derive their initial inspiration from real events (the Susan Smith case, and even, recently, that of Patty Hearst), with slight, facile alterations. Then too, the dialogue, once a model of hard-boiled terseness, is all too often now a jumble of gabby cliches. ... But you never know when L&O will let loose a corker.
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Jun 10, 2013
Season 3 Review:
Orbach has restored to Law & Order the grit it was starting to lack at the end of its '92 season. As Det. Lennie Briscoe, Orbach displays a smoky voice, impatient manner, and perennial air of hangdog cynicism that adds some realistic rust to L&O's gleaming efficiency.
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Mar 7, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Nothing if not serious, and nothing if not good, NBC's Law & Order nevertheless seems a victim of one particular TV tyranny. Its stories are too long for the one-hour format into which they are stuffed. Otherwise the series... has all the ingredients associated with quality television: strong scripts, relevant themes and a cast that qualifies as first-rate-plus. [13 Sept 1990, p.D1]
Feb 22, 2022
Season 21 Review:
“Law & Order” is as clever as ever. But this narrative ingenuity can, at times, make certain of the show’s attempts to speak to issues feel hamhanded and clumsy. ... What is most novel about “Law & Order” 2.0 — the element that makes it clearest that we’re not simply picking up where we left off — is in its ability to turn the gaze towards how its cops operate.
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Feb 23, 2022
Season 21 Review:
It doesn’t help that the writing has all the subtlety of a cab ride down Ninth Avenue. Still, despite these shortcomings it’s a tidy hour with just enough strong performances and compelling scenes to keep things moving. The cops side of the hour is stronger than the courts side.
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Feb 24, 2022
Season 21 Review:
The original Law & Order is the TV comfort food we need right now. Whether the show will really go deep into examining the reality of policing in the post-George-Floyd era is still to be determined. But, judging by the first episode, it’s going in the right direction.
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The Daily BeastFeb 24, 2022
Season 21 Review:
Law & Order fans looking for their usual fix will not be disappointed by this revival; the process of making these series appears to have been perfected to a science, and the formula clearly still works. Those looking for a little something more, however, might need to stay tuned for a few more dead bodies on the sidewalk to find out.
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Mar 7, 2013
Season 1 Review:
Missing here is the complexity that makes shows like "L.A. Law" or "Hill Street Blues" fun to watch. Executive producer Dick Wolf has said Law & Order is not an ensemble show. What it is is a show about police and legal procedures -- and they're recounted in almost documentary fashion. Of course, as with so much TV law, time is collapsed and these complicated procedures are neatly wrapped up by the show's conclusion. [9 Sept 1990, p.H1]
Feb 22, 2022
Season 21 Review:
The resurrected "Law & Order" is influenced far more by its own spinoffs than its old fans would probably prefer. Neither the dialogue nor the acting is subtle. The points made are obvious, the tone leaden and the old wryness (I really miss Jerry Orbach ) is all but absent.
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Feb 24, 2022
Season 21 Review:
Nobody functions as an intriguing foil to anyone else because there’s no chemistry. Scenes play out like clunky Twitter exchanges rather than two people talking with human inflection. The unwavering paradigm of a white male lead prosecutor paired with an extraordinarily gorgeous female helpmate is played out.
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Feb 23, 2022
Season 21 Review:
The two-act structure, the “separate but equally important” intro, the Mike Post theme music and the dun-dun are still there. But the hallmarks of the show at its best — urgency, tricky plotting, bourbon-dry humor and, especially, powerful but economical acting — are missing. Maybe someone can subpoena them before the season’s over.
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Mar 7, 2013
Season 1 Review:
All the masturbation jokes in the world don't help a script that is as inherently stale and as turgidly moralistic as "Dragnet"...This program only makes me want to shut the TV off, not put a foot through the screen. [12 Sept 1990, p.51p]
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