I thought it jumped when Chris Noth left. It hasn't been near as good since.
I read a rumor in "The Globe" or the "Star" or one of those cheesy celeb magazines that they may replace the unpredictible, quirky Vincent O-whats-his-name with Chris Noth in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
Anybody else notice that all the police/crime dramas are dreadfully "overwritten"? Used to be they could just lay out the facts and see the trail lead to the perpetraitor.
No more. The trail looks like it's heading that way, but then it has to take at least 3 turns before we can see how it's going to turn out.
The child dies. Looks like the mother did it, but no, it's more likely the father, no, no, the milkman is a real psycho and surely must have done it. But no, it turns out in the last 2 minutes that the mother's lesbian lover (who we've never heard of until then) did it because the kid kicked her dog.
Convoluted, contrived, and just plain bad writing seems to be the order of the day for "Law and Order", "Crossing Jordan", and especially "Third Watch". I guess that's why I spend so much time watching "Antiques Roadshow"...
What I found irritating about a recent episode of "Law & Order" a few weeks ago was when they ended the episode on a (yawn ) "cliffhanger" - before the final verdict was read. I guess the viewers were expected to take some poll to determine the final outcome.
Of course I forgot to watch it the following week. Along with the plot.
George wrote, "Anybody else notice that all the police/crime dramas are dreadfully 'overwritten'? Used to be they could just lay out the facts and see the trail lead to the perpetrator.
"No more. The trail looks like it's heading that way, but then it has to take at least 3 turns before we can see how it's going to turn out."
The first courtroom show formula I figured out was "Perry Mason". There would always be some minor character introduced early in the show who would drop out of sight, not to be seen again. That character would always turn out to be the one who did it. My wife would get psuedo-mad at me for correctly predicting the culprit, based not on the evidence given, but on the writers' devices.
It's always a dead give-away, too, when some high-powered, big bucks star is in the show, and doesn't seem to have a very big role. In that case, the big star usually turns out to be the bad guy, especially if he/she has been portrayed as all sweetness and light. That's more of a Jessica Fletcher give-away.
My favorite cop show is "Reno 911". It would be interesting if they added a courtroom phase to it. Maybe they could marry "Reno 911" with "Texas Justice" :-D
John Laroquette could come back on as the prosecutor.
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Mister P-Mosh
Oh, she was no lesbian, the dirty dirty whore...
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Hope R.
Def - yeah - that sorta took me by surprise, too. But ya know - they always have a surprise ending on "Law & Order".
I never heard anything about her character being a lesbian either. Frankly, I don't think that comment was necessary.
Jumped the Shark? That happened when Lenny Briscoe left and Jerry Orbach died.
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Pirate1974
I thought it jumped when Chris Noth left. It hasn't been near as good since.
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TheInvisibleDan
I read a rumor in "The Globe" or the "Star" or one of those cheesy celeb magazines that they may replace the unpredictible, quirky Vincent O-whats-his-name with Chris Noth in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"
That would be a good move.
Danny
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George Aar
Anybody else notice that all the police/crime dramas are dreadfully "overwritten"? Used to be they could just lay out the facts and see the trail lead to the perpetraitor.
No more. The trail looks like it's heading that way, but then it has to take at least 3 turns before we can see how it's going to turn out.
The child dies. Looks like the mother did it, but no, it's more likely the father, no, no, the milkman is a real psycho and surely must have done it. But no, it turns out in the last 2 minutes that the mother's lesbian lover (who we've never heard of until then) did it because the kid kicked her dog.
Convoluted, contrived, and just plain bad writing seems to be the order of the day for "Law and Order", "Crossing Jordan", and especially "Third Watch". I guess that's why I spend so much time watching "Antiques Roadshow"...
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TheInvisibleDan
What I found irritating about a recent episode of "Law & Order" a few weeks ago was when they ended the episode on a (yawn ) "cliffhanger" - before the final verdict was read. I guess the viewers were expected to take some poll to determine the final outcome.
Of course I forgot to watch it the following week. Along with the plot.
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Steve Lortz
George wrote, "Anybody else notice that all the police/crime dramas are dreadfully 'overwritten'? Used to be they could just lay out the facts and see the trail lead to the perpetrator.
"No more. The trail looks like it's heading that way, but then it has to take at least 3 turns before we can see how it's going to turn out."
The first courtroom show formula I figured out was "Perry Mason". There would always be some minor character introduced early in the show who would drop out of sight, not to be seen again. That character would always turn out to be the one who did it. My wife would get psuedo-mad at me for correctly predicting the culprit, based not on the evidence given, but on the writers' devices.
It's always a dead give-away, too, when some high-powered, big bucks star is in the show, and doesn't seem to have a very big role. In that case, the big star usually turns out to be the bad guy, especially if he/she has been portrayed as all sweetness and light. That's more of a Jessica Fletcher give-away.
My favorite cop show is "Reno 911". It would be interesting if they added a courtroom phase to it. Maybe they could marry "Reno 911" with "Texas Justice" :-D
John Laroquette could come back on as the prosecutor.
Who would be the defense attorneys?
Love,
Steve
P.S. - I love all the shenanigans in "Chicago".
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