I feel that my not having watched a ton of old-school Law and Order is actually helpful in these situations
(It was a Jamie-era episode. I started watching L&O first run during the Jamie era [the only thing past 10pm I was allowed to watch, because it was ~educational~. lol, parents]! That is - yeah. It probably is helpful.) I mean, it was right down to Lennie/Brooks both saying, "So - can we do this my way now?" that's how bad for me it was. Like, it was BEAT FOR BEAT in some situations. Which, I think, almost made me sad that the affair ended up being a random instead of, you know, HARRIET WALTER, since I spent an entire instant of "!!!! OMG" wondering if the show would actually go there - thus collapsing characterization onto itself, sort of, but yet making it distinct. AND YET. It stuck to the source material.
THAT BEING SAID, I think Matt got a lot more development than the original (with Curtis). SO THERE IS THAT.
which is a dynamic I don't really get from any of the other shows
This! Although - and I think this is why I feel tempted to make meta. It's actually sort of amazing the developments original L&O makes from S4 - S8 (and yes, I am including S4 solely for the supplanting of Ben Stone for McCoy). If anything, after S8, it... sort of... stops making character development! IT DOES. Like, Jack McCoy sues gun makers and HMOs and all of that business, but his only development comes literally when he gets promoted in S18? That is wild and crazy. (Which is why I love The Mike and Connie Show: IT REMEMBERS THAT OCCASIONALLY CHARACTERS MUST GROW.)
...
Wait.
You have seen the full oeuvre of the Jack/Claire S5/S6 era, RIGHT? Right?
I like that the UK version's spin on The Formula is to make it more of an ensemble drama with character development and stuff. No one's staying in their little half-hour boxes anymore!
You have seen the full oeuvre of the Jack/Claire S5/S6 era, RIGHT? Right?
Um, no. The first season of original Law and Order I actually made a point of watching was...um (*googles*) S16.*
Yes. (However. It's entirely possible I *did* watch earlier seasons, and just don't remember them, like with the first season of Homicide and [I'm pretty sure] several seasons of Star Trek: TNG.)
*LOL, season sixteen! You know, I used to think these shows could not possibly be on forever, and then I read this NY Times article, and...yeah. Law and Order: the franchise that will never, ever die.
Now I want to do meta even more now. Because the thing that I think that I'm clinging to about L&O UK - and the thing that you recognize - is that, in its way, it's the old L&O. Like, for example, Season 8 has ACTUAL STORY LINES. There's Jack's alcoholic post-Claire haze of prosecutorial misconduct (nearly! gets! fired!); Van Buren sues the department because she doesn't get promoted, and everyone suffers the consequences; Jamie has custody of her kid woes. If anything L&O UK reminds me of L&O S8 hardcore.
I mean. The episode where Claire dies? End of S6? It's... AN HONEST TO GOD CHARACTER PIECE. There isn't a case. There isn't a murder of any kind (except by the state)! It's... a character piece about characters reacting to witnessing an execution, and then Benjamin Bratt sleeps with Jennifer Garner. IT HAPPENS.
I am not kidding. Season 5 - Season 8? Worth. It. So damned worth it.
(It was a Jamie-era episode. I started watching L&O first run during the Jamie era [the only thing past 10pm I was allowed to watch, because it was ~educational~. lol, parents]! That is - yeah. It probably is helpful.) I mean, it was right down to Lennie/Brooks both saying, "So - can we do this my way now?" that's how bad for me it was. Like, it was BEAT FOR BEAT in some situations. Which, I think, almost made me sad that the affair ended up being a random instead of, you know, HARRIET WALTER, since I spent an entire instant of "!!!! OMG" wondering if the show would actually go there - thus collapsing characterization onto itself, sort of, but yet making it distinct. AND YET. It stuck to the source material.
THAT BEING SAID, I think Matt got a lot more development than the original (with Curtis). SO THERE IS THAT.
which is a dynamic I don't really get from any of the other shows
This! Although - and I think this is why I feel tempted to make meta. It's actually sort of amazing the developments original L&O makes from S4 - S8 (and yes, I am including S4 solely for the supplanting of Ben Stone for McCoy). If anything, after S8, it... sort of... stops making character development! IT DOES. Like, Jack McCoy sues gun makers and HMOs and all of that business, but his only development comes literally when he gets promoted in S18? That is wild and crazy. (Which is why I love The Mike and Connie Show: IT REMEMBERS THAT OCCASIONALLY CHARACTERS MUST GROW.)
...
Wait.
You have seen the full oeuvre of the Jack/Claire S5/S6 era, RIGHT? Right?
Reply
You have seen the full oeuvre of the Jack/Claire S5/S6 era, RIGHT? Right?
Um, no. The first season of original Law and Order I actually made a point of watching was...um (*googles*) S16.*
Yes. (However. It's entirely possible I *did* watch earlier seasons, and just don't remember them, like with the first season of Homicide and [I'm pretty sure] several seasons of Star Trek: TNG.)
*LOL, season sixteen! You know, I used to think these shows could not possibly be on forever, and then I read this NY Times article, and...yeah. Law and Order: the franchise that will never, ever die.
Reply
Now I want to do meta even more now. Because the thing that I think that I'm clinging to about L&O UK - and the thing that you recognize - is that, in its way, it's the old L&O. Like, for example, Season 8 has ACTUAL STORY LINES. There's Jack's alcoholic post-Claire haze of prosecutorial misconduct (nearly! gets! fired!); Van Buren sues the department because she doesn't get promoted, and everyone suffers the consequences; Jamie has custody of her kid woes. If anything L&O UK reminds me of L&O S8 hardcore.
I mean. The episode where Claire dies? End of S6? It's... AN HONEST TO GOD CHARACTER PIECE. There isn't a case. There isn't a murder of any kind (except by the state)! It's... a character piece about characters reacting to witnessing an execution, and then Benjamin Bratt sleeps with Jennifer Garner. IT HAPPENS.
I am not kidding. Season 5 - Season 8? Worth. It. So damned worth it.
Reply
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