18 Years Young, a Revamped Law & Order Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

By Wednesday of any given week, classes seem like they’ll never end, homework assignments threaten to go unfinished several days after they’re due, and that big term paper looms on the horizon. But just when it seems like you can’t take any more, Wednesday night offers the guaranteed one-hour relief of Law & Order.

The original Law & Order returned on Jan. 2 with a double episode and the gift of some of the only new scripts on television. These opening two story lines served to set the tone for the 18th season, a newer, flashier version of the classic procedural. Introducing Detective Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto) as Detective Edward Green’s (Jesse L. Martin) new partner, the premiere established that each character would have more depth and intensity than ever before, while simultaneously setting a precedent of convoluted and fantastical, barely believable detective work.

While shows like CSI and Law & Order spin-off Law & Order: Special Victims Unit have found great success in depicting likeable characters and their stories, many other serial shows have often failed at this same tactic. Law & Order aims to change this by opening the season with an investigation centered primarily on the suicide of Detective Lupo’s brother. The emphasis on Lupo’s personal life creates an intimate setting, softening the courtroom scenes with relatable interactions between family members.

That being said, the highly emotionally-charged first episode is also pretty boring, and it seems old hat when the message turns to assisted suicide. The plot is also marred by a severe acting disparity. Sam Waterston’s turn as District Attorney Jack McCoy seems completely natural, so much so that it serves as a distracting contrast to the absolutely atrocious overacting of Linus Roache as Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter. This interplay is only more contrived in the second half of the season’s premiere, which features a much more interesting plot line, but way too much Cutter.

Combining family ties, corporate corruption, and current events, the second episode of the premiere highlights all that is great about serial crime drama. Concentrating on the home invasion of a wealthy family during a blackout, the plot turns contemporary when the detectives uncover a huge energy company conspiracy—the very man whose home was invaded and whose family was taken hostage is the cause of the city-wide blackout with which the episode begins.

While a little far-fetched, this kind of reaching is what Law & Order does best—catching the bad guys before finding out that someone far worse is behind it all. To be honest, while all that touching content in the first half of the premiere shows the versatility of the usually emotionless show, it is all relatively useless. Unseen twists and complications, illegal searches jeopardizing entire cases, and a man with an aching conscience, plus a healthy dash of New York City—that’s what Law & Order is all about. Even with the fairly ridiculous acting of ADA Cutter.

Unlike the newer spin-offs, the original Law & Order reliably splits its hour-long time slot between the detectives’ investigation and courtroom drama, giving a certain balance before justice can be served. While this season would benefit greatly from less time in the courtroom and more time out in the field, the tradition ingrained in this old classic is what makes the show a favorite. As much as it updates itself, conforms to the emotional standards of fellow dramas, and draws from the headlines, Law & Order will still fulfill the promise of a neat conclusion. And when the weekend shimmers as a seeming oasis in an ocean of open-ended obligations, the constancy of Wednesday’s Law & Order is a welcome reprieve. Dun dun!