Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

gaylefriedman After watching this episode of Law & Order SVU, I didn't like this idea of young Teenagers getting Pregnant either. This rude, crude Mother who was so wrong to write these emails, she should be charged for this unnecessary act! Now for the Prosecutor, she really had absolutely no reason to belittle this woman, who was a problem for the start. Honestly, she, the Prosecutor deserved a good smack in the face for saying anything! I'm not good for anyone to speak to me without RESPECT!!!! Especially Law!!! Don't you like RESPECT from others? These Prosecutor's that get away with any and all matters deserve a couple of weeks in a Jail Cell like these Bad Boys & Girls!

Dotaz Both, original Law and Order and SVU are for me the most consistent on quality level...of course it all has to do with pretty similar set up in every episode in terms of plot construction but still - you can watch 200- 300 episodes without feeling that show drop on quality level too much. And this fact is very important when you consider those shows with super first seasons but very cheap last ones or late (good example is Dexter or Lost)...writers and actors just stick to their routine throuought all those years and you can enjoy "down the Earth" cop show. Unlike "cool cops" in all the CSI, this is performed the way I really believe this is how real police work can look. Best characters in my opinion from both shows - Ben Stone, Jack Mckoy, Lennie Briscoe and John Munch.

calvinnme ...because I could write several paragraphs on each season alone, it's that good. What made this show work for twenty years was that its focus is on the case, not the private lives of the detectives and prosecutors. The structure of each show is simple and over twenty years it does not vary. The first half consists of the discovery of the crime and the determination of suspects that can be charged. Here the focus is on the two police officers - usually a young cop/old cop dynamic - and their supervisor. The second half focuses on trial of the suspect and thus the prosecutors, the D.A. himself/herself in small doses, and large doses of the executive and assistant D.A.'s.There have been almost thirty people play the six starring roles in this series over the years with probably the door revolving the most in the person of the assistant D.A., which is what you would expect in real life. Special mention has to go to a few of the long-timers though - Sam Waterston first as executive D.A. and then D.A., as well as Jerry Orbach who played the role of Lennie Briscoe, the "old cop" from 1992-2004 and probably the most beloved character in the series' history. Lennie had his private life intrude on the show more than any character, since Lennie had a colorful history of alcoholism, multiple divorces, and a daughter who shared her father's substance abuse problem. Then there is Jesse L. Martin as Ed Green, who was first the "young cop" starting in 1999 and then the "old cop" as senior partners came and went. At first his rather blustering style took some getting used to, but by the time he exited in 2008 I was as sad as when Lennie left. It seemed like the guy had been there since day one. Steven Hill had practically a cameo role as the actual elected D.A. for ten seasons, yet his wit and wisdom during his brief sessions on case strategy added a real touch of spice.This show is practically a time capsule of important American legal issues and current events from 1990 -2010, and it is interesting to see the changing attitudes of the times reflected in the show. Even now, twenty years later, the oldest episodes hold up under the test of time. As long as human nature remains as it is and always has been, as long as there are people seeking shortcuts and the easy way out, as long as things aren't always as they first appear, I can't see this show losing its appeal no matter how much time passes.

Robert J. Maxwell It's pretty original for a TV series. "Law and Order" is the proper title because the first half has a pair of cops investigating a crime and the second half shows us the DA's office prosecuting the wrong-doers. The writers seem to know something about their subject too, which is a refreshing change. I can't count the number of humdrum police series in which the officers refer to the perpetrators as "crooks" and use other lingo lifted straight out of comic books. This one is different. The cops deal with criminals matter-of-factly, shoving them around once in a while, but shrugging and wisecracking over corpses. And the episodes stick to their subject, without dragging in a lot of time-consuming personal problems and dreary romances. There's very little in the way of a musical score -- mainly that sforzando PLONK PLONK of a chord when there's a significant change in scene.Of course the show has been going on for many years and there have been a lot of cast changes. It's important because we get to spend a lot of time with the two investigating detectives and the two or three people in the DA's office, so, over time, we get to know them rather well.Some of the cast changes has been improvements. As the police lieutenant, S. Epatha Merkerson is probably better than Dann Florek, who appeared in the earlier episodes. As the Assistant DA in charge of the cases, Michael Moriarty and Sam Waterston are equally good. As their chief assistant, Richard Brooks was replaced (to good effect) by a series of babes: Jill Hennessey, Cary Lowell, Angie Harmon, and Elizabeth Roehm. The assistants that followed were barely adequate.The original detective team was George Dzundza and Christopher Noth and both were fine. Dzundza was replaced by Paul Sorvino and then Jerry Orbach, both equally good. I can't imagine why Chris Noth was let go (suddenly and without warning) because he seemed ideal in the part.The stories haven't declined in quality much, but the signs of exhaustion are apparent. Earlier episodes were often borrowed from real-life high-profile cases and it was interesting to watch them spun out in fictional form. And they tended to reflect what anyone would think to be the experiences of ordinary detectives. The plots took the cops into the ghettos and crummy back alleys and louche places where junkies and miscreants hung out. And, again, both the characters and settings were convincingly projected. That's changed. More often now the cops work in middle-class or high-end milieus, as if the show itself were losing touch with its roots.And, to an extent, it is getting lost. It jumped the shark a few years ago, after Jerry Orbach left the cast. No satisfactory replacement has been found. Too many of the cast are beginning to look like rich actors rather than like the characters they play.Lately, my impression is that, like all systems, it suffers from creeping entropy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics. From it has sprung forth so many spinoffs that the format is finally feeding on its own flesh. I don't bother watching the show any longer. And I always wished that the producer, Dick Wolf, would have ditched that corny wolf howl at the end of each show.At it's best, though, "Law and Order" is one of the most gripping and convincing police shows that has appeared on TV.