whats so bad about Elisabeth Rohm? She isn't a good actress, granted...but none of her predecessors were, either. The role calls for an attractive woman to more or less sit and watch McCoy win the case, and occationally spout off some legal terms.

I guess I am the only one who hasn't noticed a drop-off in the show's quality since she joined...

Just different tastes. What you said certainly holds true when it is an unrealistically attractive ADA filling the space since S3 (although Angie Harmon as Carmichal was terrific).

Like I previously said, I much preferred it when it was a boys club back when it was Cragen and Robinette instead of Van Buren and Rohm (or any of the other girls).

I agree with the previous poster on Greevey, just didn't mention it since he was so short lived. Max Greevey was a great character, and I would have loved to see him stay.

Harmon was attractive to look at, but her voice always made me want to clear my throat.

I think the show has peaked, but it's still better than 90% of the stuff on tv and premium channels now. Plus it has 2 soon to be 3 spin-offs at the same time and still pulls in good ratings. What other show can claim that?

I really think the Law side lost a lot once they got rid of Cragen. Florek and Noth were really great at playing off each other. Cragen's constant unhappiness with the cops mirrored Schiff's "You have no case. Make a deal" mentality.

As for the EADAs, I have to give the nod to Stone because he came across as a very thoughtful, nuanced character. McCoy is a bit too histrionic for my tastes, but I will admit that it helped Kincaid's character when he showed up. It elevated her from an underling to an equal.

When I first got L&O S1 DVD I was watching it for the the first time (before that I had only seen the newer seasons on TNT), and was hating it because of Stone, but now that I have re-watched several times, I have really done a 180, and would now rank him and Waterston as strong and likeable characters. I guess Ben Stone grows on you after a while.

Still dislike Rohm, Bratt, Jamie Ross, and Makerson (Van Buren), though, but it doesn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the show every time.

By the way, coudn't agree with you more concerning the loss of Cragen. He is the ONLY reason I have L&O SVU S1 on order.

This is my favorite show on TV hands down!!

I've been a fan since Season 3 and went back and discovered it in reruns on A&E. I've been a fan ever since!

Amazing some of the observations here? What's with the Rohm hatred?? I have never understood this? Is she a great actress, no! Where any of the other ADA'S? NO! Why single her out?

I loved Jamie Ross as she was a great counter to McCoy and that's a much missed aspect of the show. I HATED Abby Carmichael!! God... she was so annoying! She had this really annoying, smart-assed personality and I was all too glad that she left! The only problem I see with Rohm is that her character wasn't set from the day she got there! Only recently do you have a glimpse into her. I did like Claire Kincaid (let's face it Jill IS HOT!!) but was uncomfortable when they were hinting to she and McCoy as that had really "nothing" to do with the show!

As for my favorite cast? My favorites would be:

Logan
Briscoe
Cragen

Stone
Ross
Branch

I have to single out Moriarity as Stone. I LOVED the character of Ben Stone! He was everything you could hope for in a prosector. He was actually interested in justice and the rights of the victims and their families. McCoy? Well part of his edge is that he WAS self serving. Now... they've made him so passe that he's almost boring!

I want seasons 1-5 because of the Ben Stone character along with Logan too! I think those seasons were it's strongests though the show continues to be strong today and very much watchable. It has evolved over the years but thankfully the concept is still pretty much in tact!

I am amazed that anybody likes CI over SVU??? I haven't gotten to watch SVU this year as it's pitted against NYPD BLUE (sorry but gotta have priorities) but the show has been and the episodes i've seen this year rank it sooooooooo over CI it's not funny? CI I originally liked but how many times can we hear Goran drone on and on and I hate the interragations where he never stops and the defense attorney just sits and never says anything???? What's with that?? I wish they would restrain Goran then I might be able to digest it!

As for the box sets...

I think it's interesting that they are releasing Season 14 next however I can't disagree with the logic behind it. Those episodes have never hit syndication so the likelyhood is that those that want the season will collect it right away as opposed to the older seasons which have been repeated "ad infinitum"! However, I do hope this is a one time deal as I'm really looking forward to seasons 3-5. I have 2 and will get 1 eventually but those were the glory years as far as I'm concerned on the show!

Jill Hennesey and Carey Lowell are Oscar-worthy actress compared to the robotic Rohm. Rohm is quite possibly the worst actress I have ever seen in a drama - certainly the worst I have ever seen in a critically-acclaimed drama. Angie Harmon was not the greatest actress but I think she filled the role of Carmichael adequately.

The role of ADA is certainly more than what you describe. Jamie and Claire were far more than eye candy.

for me, it's:

Van Buren
Briscoe
Curtis

McCoy
Carmichael
Schiff.

i agree that Greevey was a great character, though.

I must agree with both of your on this one. It was pretty obvious when they dumped Richard Brooks (Robinette), that they were going for an "eye candy" replacement (and kept it up ever since S3). No males have been in that role for 9 years, but several girls have. I don't think that's a coincidence.

However, regarding acting ability, the role has changed slightly over the years, and although the girls aren't as "involved" as Robinette was when he was in their position, they still do more then just stand there furing the show.

I think that Rohm gets singled out as she is the current one, and possibly, just not a very likeable character. Personally, I think she looks and acts too young in her role, but I could be wrong. Like I said earlier, although I thought Abbie Carmichael was a great character (and played well by Harmon), I think that Brooks Robinette character was the best assistant ADA that the show ever had.

Note I said 'more' than that. I fully admit that Dick Wolf looks for attractive females to fill that slot (also to keep a certain demographic pct), and I certainly don't have any problem with that - as long as they are decent actresses as well. I think Carey Lowell and Angie Harmon are 2 of the most beautiful women to grace network television in the last decade. Jill Hennesey was a good looking woman too. Personally, I don't find Rohm all that attractive - not into pale blondes as much and I find that she has a 'Joker' mouth.

My thoughts: I think Rohm gets singled out because (a) she's a mediocre actress and (b) the writers aren't giving her any help. They have done a TERRIBLE job of developing the character. Even within the limited characterizations with get in the L&O universe, Rohm is noticably boring and generic. You could give her lines to anyone and it wouldn't make a lick of difference.

Another issue, I think, is that people were getting to really like Angie Harmon in her role, and she left far too quickly. Plus, the show is getting a bit stale lately anyway.

All of this leads to a very anti-Rohm stance among many fans.


Personally, although I love the show, I wouldn't mind seeing them wrap it up in the near future. Maybe focus on the spinoffs more and put the original to bed. It may be time...

The scariest thing is that after next season (S15), Rohm will have the longest tenure of anyone to serve in that slot.

Rohm is not a mediocre actress. She is a horrible actress. Harmon was a mediocre actress. However, I do agree that the writers have done her few favors with the character. That being said, there have been times where she expresses an opinion and her delivery is just so robotic. In contrast, when Abby was pleading with Adam to string some guy up, you could almost believe that Angie Harmon actually felt that way.

Angie replaced my beloved Carey Lowell, and even though I had a hard time accepting that, I never thought the way I do about her that I do with Rohm.

New info on the DVDs from www.tvshowsondvd.com

Officialy announcement came that Universal releasing L&O and the other two spinoffs (SVU and CI) most current season on 9/7 (14, 5, and 3 respectively).

Last week we gave you the heads-up about this, and quite frankly some of our readers didn't believe it. But it's true, and not just for the original series, either.

September 7th will see a wave of Law & Order releases, as all three popular series from Dick Wolf see DVD season sets arrive. However, instead of continuing in order from the beginning, Universal Studios Home Video has elected to bring out the recently completed seasons instead, from the 2003-2004 broadcast year.

For Law & Order, that means that The Complete 14th Season will arrive at a $59.98 suggested retail price, with all 24 episodes on a 3-DVD set (each will be a double-sided disc).

For Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, that means that The Complete 5th Season will arrive at a $59.98 suggested retail price, with all 25 episodes on a 4-DVD set (each will be a double-sided disc).

For Law & Order: Criminal Intent, that means that The Complete 3rd Season will arrive at a $59.98 suggested retail price, with all 21 episodes on a 3-DVD set (each will be a double-sided disc).

Why jump seasons to bring out just the latest? The studio hasn't spoken up about this, nor has Dick Wolf, but we suspect that the goal here is to hit with these while the marketing for the newest episodes are fresh on the consumers' minds, and try to lead into the next season which will be starting up in that fall timeframe. We'll try to find out if our thinking is correct, or if something else is at work here. For the original show, we suspect that the departure of a major character may have a bit to do with it, too.

No further details are available this early, but stay tuned! We'll bring you updates on this - and cover art, too - as the studio releases more information about this.

That sucks, i wish they would just release them in order! I guess that means more waiting....

New info and cover art from www.tvshowsondvd.com

Here is the info on the 2004 Seasons of L&O coming to a DVD store near you:

Recently we reported that Sept. 7th would see the DVD releases of Law & Order - The 14th Year/2004 Season, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - The 5th Year/2004 Season, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent - The 3rd Year/2004 Season.

Many fans expressed disbelief that Universal Studios Home Video would do this: the original series has the first 2 seasons already out, and the 3rd was expected next. Likewise, both spin-offs had the rookie season in release, and the second season was expected to be the follow-up, especially where Criminal Intent is concerned, since it's only just finished airing its third season.

Not to worry, our sources say! Retail sources have confirmed what our thoughts were here all along: that NBC-Universal is trying to market on DVD the just-finished seasons of each show at the beginning of the Fall Premiere timeframe, to help promote the new seasons of each series. But for the next release of each show, current plans are to return to the in-order lineup of series, picking up where each show left off. The thinking is that there are fans who want the entire set of episodes from the very beginning of the run, but that there are also fans who want to see more of what's been happening recently with their current favorite characters.

So relax, sit back, and enjoy the latest that these fine shows have to offer. Here's a first look at the cover art of all three, clearly promoting that these are from the 2004 Season of the show. Hopefully we'll be back soon with full-size versions of each package:



Like I said earlier, I really don't care what order they're released in, so long as ALL eventually come out.

I'll be there on the street date to get the original and SVU!

gee, its great that the boxes look nothing like the current releases for the respective series. [/sarcasm] lets hope they revise the art

I picked up the first season of the original series a while back, without ever seeing an episode. I have been hooked since, buying the first two of the original, and each 1st season of the others. I'll probably pass on the most recent ones, but plan to keep getting the original and CI sets, in order.

Geez, the least they can do is maintain some continuity with the cover art.

tvshowsondvd.com posted some larger images of the upcoming L&O sets due out Sept. 7...





honestly i do not understand this at all. the design and layout work was done when they completed the art for years one and two. all they had to do was swap out the old images for new ones and do some text editing to come up with the art for the new releases. instead they wasted their time and came up with these less than attractive sets of box art. the spine wording doesn't even match. very disappointing. i'm not saying the previous art was painted by Monet but they should at least act like they give a damn. hopefully this art is similar to the Kill Bill early art and they are going to redo it.

The "2004 Seaon" thing should be a sticker on the shrinkwrap. NOT part of the box art. And definitely NOT on the damn spine.

Universal.

The spine makes it look like Orbach and Waterston are going to kiss.