Ideal Law & Order Cast List: A Silly Season Post

We probably shouldn't confess this publicly, and it's somewhat off-message, but it's the End Of Dog Days and the Silly Season, and so we'll confess that we've been a huge fan of the TV series Law & Order (the "mother ship" series, not its spinoffs) since its debut. As all the world knows, the series was cancelled by NBC this year after twenty continuous years on the air, the longest running crime drama in TV history and, along with Gunsmoke, TV's longest running drama series ever. Just between us chickens, near the end of its run the series had gotten somewhat rote and stale, even lame, and it was time to go. Actually, for us, it was really time to go by the close of Season 15 although the series had its occasional moments over the next two years or so (the final three years were an unmitigated disaster).

The cancellation of the series had little effect on viewers such as ourself as L&O lives in syndication on cable TV (TNT), and not a day goes by that one cannot see at least a couple episodes of the series, and so we can easily get our L&O fix daily if we wish. That we've seen most of the 456 episodes over the past twenty years makes little difference as, for us, L&O is quite a bit like comfort food and we never tire of it, especially the second half of each hour-long episode which, in the L&O formula, is the Order or lawyer and courtroom part of L&O, the first half of the hour being the Law or cops-'n-robbers part (yes, we know, the labels should be the other way round, but that's how the series defines them in its opening credits).

As with all TV series, the running main characters are of utmost importance, and over its twenty years L&O has been notable (some would say notorious) for changing one main character or another almost every season of the series's existence, there being only two times in the series's twenty seasons when the entire cast of main characters remained the same for two consecutive seasons. Constant viewers quite naturally have their best and worst candidates for each of these main characters of which there are only six: Police Commanding Officer, Senior Detective, Junior Detective, District Attorney, Executive Assistant District Attorney, and Assistant District Attorney. We of course have ours, and have over the years compiled our ideal cast list for those six main characters — not as easy a job as it might seem at first.

Tossing the worst of the lot was, of course, no problem at all. Instantly out of the running were (and we here use character names, not the names of the actors who portrayed them):

Detectives: Nina Cassady, Nick Falco, Cyrus Lupo, Kevin Bernard
DA: Nora Lewin
Exec ADA: Michael Cutter
ADA: Paul Robinette, Serena Southerlyn, Alexandra Borgia, Connie Rubirosa

Choosing the best of the lot, however, proved difficult because there was no hands-down best in any of the six main character slots although DA Adam Schiff (played by veteran actor Steven Hill) who was DA for the first ten of the series's twenty years came pretty damn close as he was the quintessential Manhattan DA, modeled, or so it's said, on longtime and legendary Manhattan DA, Robert Morgenthau. We also had a problem choosing between EADAs Ben Stone (played by Michael Moriarty) and Jack McCoy (played by Sam Waterston) as Ben Stone reminded us more of a Main Line Philadelphia prosecutor than a Manhattan one.

That being said, herewith our Ideal L&O Main Character Cast List (character name followed by the name of the actor in parentheses):

Police Commanding Officer: Capt. Donald Cragen ((Dann Florek)
Senior Detective: Sgt. Max Greevey (George Dzundza)
Junior Detective: Mike Logan (Chris Noth)
District Attorney: Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)
Executive Assistant District Attorney: Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty)
Assistant District Attorney: Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)

Yes, we know. Except for Abbie Carmichael, that's the original L&O cast. We didn't intend it that way. That's simply what the list ended up being. So sue us.

We of course also have our favorites among certain recurring characters such as judges and defense attorneys, but that's a list for another posting, perhaps at the End Of Dog Days Silly Season 2011.

So, there you have our Ideal L&O Main Character Cast List. What might yours be? We open comments for a week for any who would care to share.

Comments

[Art Scott]

Florek, Orbach, Noth, Thompson, Waterston, Harmon.

Briscoe & Logan the best tv cop team since Joe Friday & Frank Smith. Hill's raspy, world-weary, I've-been-in-this-job-too-long routine got to be wearisome. Thompson, not an actor, created a character with much more range. Likewise, Moriarty's relentlessly humorless Ben Stone was one-note compared to Waterston's Jack McCoy. I loved Abby Carmichael's unwavering "string the scum up on the nearest lamppost" attitude.

[isaac]

AC,

You and I haven't disagreed this much in YEARS! Angie Harmon can't act. Give me Jill Hennesee or however you spell it any ole day.

I think the ideal cast was definitely
Merkerson, Orbach, Noth, Hill, Waterson, Hennesey.

I would accept a substitution of Bratt for Noth, but definitely not Florek for Merkerson. The post-Hennesey years have been an embarrassment all around. Angie Harmon only appears like a good actor when compared with the constant horrorshow that came after her.

[A.C. Douglas]

Nice to see you here, Isaac.

Re, Hennessy, it's a matter of credibility. She was certainly lovely to look at, but unconvincing as a NYC ADA. Harmon fit that role perfectly in my estimation. Credibility was also the issue in the Florek v. Merkerson case even though Merkerson is the far more nuanced actor. I however have to agree with you in the matter of the ADAs subsequent to Harmon. It was indeed a horror show where they were concerned.

ACD

[JBBaldwin]

Florek, Orbach, Noth, Hill, Moriarty, and Hennessey.

I enjoyed the world-weariness of the performances by Florek and Hill and the dry delivery of Moriarty. Only Orbach could deliver the groaners without actually causing groans (especially in comparison to the actors on the spin-offs).

[isaac]

AC,

You mean that Florek was more cop-like even though Merkerson was a better actor? I might buy that. I wouldn't mind seeing George Dzundza in the commanding office role, honestly. He seemed the most cop-like of all the cops.

BTW, I know you seldom venture to New York, and thus you've probably never seen the incredibly creepy subway ads about how Jerry Orbach donated his eyes to an eye-bank so that people could get eye-transplants. Said creepiness is due to the fact that they photoshopped his eyes so they glow horrifically.

[A.C. Douglas]

Isaac—

Re, Florek: Yes, that's precisely what I mean. And I agree with you totally about Dzundza. Most decidedly the most cop-like of all the L&O cops. Even Orbach, as genuinely cop-like as he was, couldn't really completely fill Dzundza's shoes in that role.

ACD