Sunday, February 28, 2010

Law and Order

Law & Order is my favorite show ever. I can watch reruns an endless number of times and never get tired of it. I even buy the show on DVD because I love grading papers and writing scholarly articles to it. Yesterday, we spent the entire day watching Season 7 on DVD.

When I first started watching it many years ago, I became convinced that New York is a horribly criminal city. The first time I went to visit New York, I fully expected to find a dead body under every bush. I refused to walk even 100 feet and insisted on taking a cab everywhere. When the people travelling with me suggested we go to Central Park, I was terrified. In Law & Order, there are always tons of cadavers lying all over Central Park, so I was appalled that my friends would suggest I go to such a scary place.

Of course, with time I realized that New York isn't that scary at all. I never found any dead bodies or severed body parts there. I did, however, encounter a set where the show was being filmed on my very first visit. Now, I can enjoy the show without worrying about the poor people of New York who have to live in the midst of all that criminality.

I don't know what I'll do if the show gets cancelled (there have been rumors to that effect).

7 comments:

KT said...

My favourite TV show was Boston Legal on ABC before it was eventually cancelled. I have not seen Law and Order but I've heard so many friends talk about it. Is it like CSI? Maybe I'll get it.

But if you can get Boston Legal (Seasons 1-5), do so. It is the frankest tv series I've seen that explores all areas of human endeavour from friendship, dating, homosexuality, abortion, women's rights to the legal system, politics, fishing, Canada and a whole lot more. Watch out for spectacular performances by Canadian William Shatner and Boston actor James Spader. I love it.

Clarissa said...

I also liked Boston Legal. But it kept coinciding with Law and Order and I don't like it that much. :-)

Law and Order is very different from CSI in that the second part of the show is dedicated to the trial. You get to learn a lot about the US legal system. The show is also based on real cases that made the headlines at the time it was filmed, so it sounds very relevant.

Izgad said...

I had very mixed feelings about Jerry the Asperger character on Boston Legal.

In terms of Law and Order, I lived in Washington Heights for five years so it was fun to see the episodes that took place in that neighborhood.

Clarissa said...

I had no idea there was an Asperger's character on that show. Am I going to be annoyed by the show and its portrayal of Asperger's?

I need to know because I just placed the entire show into my Netflix queue.

Boston Legal enthusiasts, do help.

KT said...

I didn't know anything about Asperger's until I saw the show, and I do believe that the traits could have been quite exaggerated, especially because Jerry the Asperger's guy had some personal issues of himself as well.

I had mixed feelings too, but only after meeting someone with Asperger's, I found that they didn't all hop, or make funny gestures with their bodies when they talked or walked, or keep an inflatable doll in their closets.

I hope you don't hate the show because of this because Jerry is one of the nicest characters in the show, even though he was given so many personal issues to deal with which are not all related to his Asperger's syndrome. On the bright side, if you do hate it, I will get the benefit of reading a blogpost here about your perceptions, and I will be educated.

:)

Clarissa said...

No, there is no inflatable doll in my closet. :-)

You are right, Kola, I will watch it and write a post about the way the image of an Aspie is constructed on television.

Izgad said...

Jerry becomes an lead member of the cast in season 4.