Law And Order

Yeah, it's a franchise....and a franchise that has lived a long full life. Pasture, anyone?Sam Waterston is still brilliant as the scratchy curmudgeon district attorney, but most of the rest of the luminaries have slowly been replaced by lesser stars. The loss of Jerry Ohrbach was massive -- his cranky cop attitude, his acceptance and struggle with his alcoholism, his wise-guy demeanor and smart mouth, his decaying relationship with his offspring, his reluctance to give in to age...all facets of an intriguing and compelling character.

The guys that replaced him and Jesse L. Martin (fine actors and exemplary citizens in their private lives, I am sure) just didn't have it. I couldn't make myself care about them. And Waterston hasn't had a good foil since Angie Harmon (whose unyielding press for hardline justice made him seem almost gooey). The blond (Elizabeth Rohm) never became more than a bimbo (and no, it's not just because of the hair (although it might have been the pouty lips (kidding, kidding))). I really think it had much more to do with her wooden approach to acting. Couldn't at least one director suggest she employ a facial expression or two?

And who knew how central Steven Hill was? His tough but pragmatic approach to justice brilliantly counterpointed Sam Waterston's inflexibility, creating a weekly dynamic that only grew more sizzley as the years went on. Fred Dalton Thompson just seems hard-assed and unemotional.

Is there hope for this franchise? Maybe, yeah...but I fear (since I watch so little television, anyway) that I won't be around to see it. Very few shows make my short list of must-sees...and "Law and Order" is no longer on that list.