HTF Review: Law and Order - The Third Year (1 Viewer)

[Jason Perez]

Law and Order: The Third Year




Studio: Universal
Year: 1992 - 1993
Rated: Not Rated
Film Length: 17 Hours and 25 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Full Frame (1.33:1)
Captions: English
Subtitles: French and Spanish
Audio: English - Dolby Digital (2.0)





Release Date:
May 24th, 2005



As I have already written in previous reviews of this series’ sets Law & Order, the brainchild of Dick Wolf, is terrific television programming…not that I needed to tell anyone who has watched the show that! The show has not only enjoyed along run of success on its own, but has also spawned three very successful spin-offs in their own right: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Trial By Jury.

The thing that has always made this acclaimed series so great is its seamless combination of hard-nosed police work with courtroom drama, which takes viewers through an investigation from the point an alleged criminal is apprehended right through their trial. Early on, series mainstay Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and his various partners (usually older), who work under Captain Cragen (Dann Florek), did the dirty work, and tried to bring down suspects by conducting thorough investigations. In “the Third Year”, the illustrious title of older partner would apply to Detective Lenny Briscoe (the late, great Jerry Orbach), who was easily one of the series’ most enduring and popular characters.

After the detectives gathered their evidence, the district attorneys, including Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone, would work the legal end of the case, to try and make the charges stick. It is also important to note that the powerful stories in each episode are usually culled from the headlines of the newspapers, and treat with whatever issues are hot at the time, which makes the series an interesting take on real life.

Through creative and effective writing, these two very different worlds (the police investigations/trials) are each given plenty of attention. Generally, the show’s tense and exciting first half deals with the detectives and their investigation, while the second half-hour usually provides both drama and closure, through the activities of the District Attorney's office. Obviously, such a shift in arenas could easily undermine the effectiveness of the show, but Law & Order somehow manages to keep viewers engaged, and the storyline intact, despite the change in pace that occurs about halfway through each episode.

Before I move on to an overview of the episodes from the Third Year, let’s talk a little bit about how the series changed in its third season, mainly in terms of Jerry Orbach joining the cast as a regular. Those who have been with the series for a while probably know that Mr. Orbach actually made an appearance in the series’ Second Year as a defense attorney. Upon joining the series for good, he was cast as detective Briscoe in roughly the middle of the year, to replace the departing Paul Sorvino, beginning with the episode “Point of View”.

In my opinion, this marked a shift in the series’ tone, as I believe that the chemistry between Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth was absolutely wonderful, to the point it would make me want to tune in just to see them play off of one another. As I have said before, Law and Order is one of the few series I managed to squeeze into my very busy schedule, and watching the pairing of detectives Briscoe and Logan was a big reason why.

In terms of storytelling, this season is also quite strong, with the writers tackling some interesting subjects, such as cyber crime, assisted suicide, and an investigation into a Nigerian diplomat who is attempting to hide behind a shield of diplomatic immunity. These stories are treated with great respect, from both the criminal aspect and the legal aspect, which makes them interesting and entertaining from beginning to end. Bottom line, this is a very solid season of Law and Order, and one that fans of the series will definitely want in their library!

The following is a breakdown of the episodes included in this “Third Year” set for Law and Order:

DISC ONE (Side A):

--- “Skin Deep” – Air Date 9/23/1992
In the inaugural episode to Law and Order’s Third Year, a photographer is found murdered, and as the investigation into his death proceeds, the models he was shooting turn out to be the most likely suspects.


--- “Conspiracy” – Air Date 9/30/1992
This episode centers on the assassination of a prominent African-American, which results in the arrest of a man whose ex-wife was believed to have had a romantic relationship with the deceased.


--- “Forgiveness” – Air Date 10/07/1992
In “Forgiveness”, a defense lawyer plays the race card to defend his client, a young man of Hispanic descent, against the charge that he murdered an ex-girlfriend.


--- “The Corporate Veil” – Air Date 10/14/1992
In this installment, the investigation into a teenager’s heart attack casts suspicion on both his pacemaker manufacturer and their supplier.


DISC ONE (Side B):


--- “Wedded Bliss” – Air Date 10/21/1992
“Wedded Bliss” kicks off with the discovery of a woman’s corpse in a river, which later leads to an investigation into an illegal sweatshop operation where the owners use young immigrants as laborers.


--- “Helpless” – Air Date 11/04/1992
In this episode Assistant District Attorney Stone uses the newspapers to his advantage, in an attempt to lure a sadistic doctor out from hiding.


--- “Self Defense” – Air Date 11/11/1992
This story places detectives Cerreta and Stone on opposite sides of an investigation into a shopkeeper who killed two burglars and is claiming that his actions were in self-defense.


--- “Prince of Darkness” – Air Date 11/18/1992
In “Prince of Darkness”, Cerreta poses as an arms dealer to help Stone build a case against an assassin, but the deal they set up to catch the cold-blooded killer takes an unexpected turn, and the detectives are put in jeopardy.


DISC TWO (Side A):

--- “Point of View” – Air Date 11/25/1992
This episode marks a turning point in the series, as detective Logan gets a new partner in Lenny Briscoe, and Assistant District Attorney Stone faces an old friend from law school in the trial of a woman accused of gunning down a small-time hood.


--- “Consultation” – Air Date 12/09/1992
In “Consultation”, an engineer and a tribal chief become the principal suspects in the death of a Nigerian woman who died while attempting to smuggle heroin – inside of her body.


--- “Extended Family” – Air Date 1/06/1993
This troubling episode (I cannot stand child abuse/molestation stories) involves the investigation of the apparent abduction of a little girl by her natural mother, which later becomes complicated by charges of molestation.


--- “Right to Counsel” – Air Date 1/13/1993
After Stone accepts a plea bargain from the young lover of a wealthy elderly woman found murdered in her apartment, he begins to question whether or not he sent the right person to prison, especially as he looks into the lawyer who settled the woman’s estate


DISC TWO (Side B):


--- “Night and Fog” – Air Date 2/03/1993
In this episode, the claim made by an elderly man that he helped his wife commit suicide begins to look fishy, when rumors of a dark secret in the man’s past come to the surface.


--- “Promises to Keep” – Air Date 2/10/1993
This time out, the detectives look into the murder of a young physician, and discover an unorthodox relationship that her fiancée had entered into.


--- “Mother Love” – Air Date 2/24/1993
In “Mother Love”, a drug addict who stole from her family to fund her habit, is murdered, but the investigation is hindered by the absence of a murder weapon.


--- “Jurisdiction” – Air Date 4/07/1993
Assistant DA Stone locks horns with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office over jurisdiction, as both offices attempt to pursue charges against a mentally challenged man who has confessed to killing two women.


DISC THREE (Side A):

--- “Conduct Unbecoming” – Air Date 3/10/1993
In this episode, Stone and company try to solve the death of a female Naval officer, who died during a party in a posh Manhattan hotel.


--- “Animal Instinct” – Air Date 3/17/1993
“Animal Instinct” revolves around a group of animal activists, who are accused of using violent methods to further their cause, when their group is linked to the killing of a prominent researcher.


--- “Virus” – Air Date 4/21/1993
While looking into multiple deaths at a diabetes clinic, detectives Briscoe and Logan come to suspect that hackers may have tampered with the clinic’s computer systems.


--- “Securitate” – Air Date 5/5/1993
This episode centers on the death of a businessperson, who dies after being dragged behind a speeding car. As you might expect, however, the investigation has some interesting twists and turns, as what starts out as a suspected carjacking turns into an investigation of another sort when the victim’s family is found to have some secrets of their own.


DISC THREE (Side B):


--- “Manhood” – Air Date 5/12/1993
In “Manhood” statements made by a criminal who survived a gun battle that killed a policeman causes Logan and Briscoe to a suspect that the officer may have died because he was gay and his colleagues were hesitant to back him up.


--- “Benevolence” – Air Date 5/19/1993
In the final episode from the series’ Third Year, detectives Logan and Briscoe investigate the death of a hearing-impaired young woman, and turn their attention to her two most recent boyfriends.






SO, HOW DOES IT LOOK?
As is the case with previous releases in the series, each of the episodes from Law and Order’s third year are presented by Universal in the full-frame (1.33:1) aspect ratio in which they were broadcast, and the results are generally impressive. In particular, colors appear nicely saturated in most scenes, although in really sparsely lit building interiors they can look a bit flat, and on rare occasions whites were a touch too bright. However, even the boldest and most vivid colors only exhibit a very slight amount of dot crawl. Blacks are also deep and well defined, so detail extends well into the shadows.

Further, overall image clarity and detail appear to be dramatically improved over the television broadcasts (reruns in my case), although the source material does exhibit its share of grain from the equipment and methodology used to record the show during these early years. Lastly, although a bit of edge enhancement is detectable at times, haloing against light-dark transitions really does not prove to be too much of a distraction. A very solid effort on the whole!



WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
Once again, I can tell you that the stereo Dolby Digital (2.0) mix provided for each Law and Order episode will not give your speakers too much to do, but the source material is reproduced in fine fashion. More specifically, dialogue is reproduced in a clear and robust manner in each episode, free of sibilance, distortion, or other distractions.

Similarly, the extremely sparse score, and occasional sound effects, are recreated in a realistic enough manner, even though the soundstage is not what I would call expansive. Like most TV product, the overall sound is less than dynamic, but all things considered, I think the vast majority of this show’s fans will be more than satisfied with the presentation of the series’ audio information.


EXTRAS, EXTRAS!!!


Disc One.

Deleted Scenes:
There are deleted scenes available from the episodes “Forgiveness” and “Helpless” available on disc one.

Disc Two:

Deleted Scenes
There are deleted scenes from the episodes “Promises to Keep” available on disc two.

Disc Three:

Deleted Scenes
There are deleted scenes from the episodes “Conduct Unbecoming”, “Animal Instinct”, and “Manhood” available on disc three.


Tribute to Jerry Orbach
The homage to the late Jerry Orbach, which runs approximately eleven minutes in total, is comprised of two different parts. The first, a “tribute” is made up of comments about the man from his co-stars, and some footage of him in action. Next up is the “Jerry Orbach Profile”, which features an interview with Jerry himself, where he chats about the Law and Order series and the role he played in it.



SCORE CARD

(on a five-point scale)
Episodes: :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2
Video: :star: :star: :star: :star:
Audio: :star: :star: :star: 1/2
Extras: :star: :star: :star:
Overall: :star: :star: :star: :star:



THE LAST WORD
In my opinion, in terms of overall brilliance (writing, storytelling, acting, and structure) the only shows in this genre that have been able to give the Law & Order family of shows a run for its money are the CSI shows. Undeniably, although I favor Crime Scene Investigator, Dick Wolf's Law and Order franchise is deserving of both its success and its place in pop culture history. This is particularly true of the original series, which broke new ground in the area of gritty and realistic crime drama.

Indeed, late-night dramas like NYPD Blue and CSI owe more than a little of their success to the Law and Order series, which helped make edgy, grounded-in-reality detective shows fashionable. In the middle of this season, Jerry Orbach joined the cast on a permanent basis, as detective Lenny Briscoe, which kicked the series up yet another notch.

If you like this series, picking this set up is a no-brainer, for even though it is light on extras, the A/V quality is quite good, the episodes from the Third Year are great, and the ability to watch them without the constant interruption of commercials should leave all of you Law and Order buffs in heaven (for at least 17 hours and 25 minutes, anyway)! Highly recommended!


Stay tuned…