Law & Order (1990 – 2010): More Than Imagination – It Had a Long Run

Fact: Law & Order tied the record for longest-running drama series on U.S. primetime television.

It is hard to please the public at the best of times, but a great cast and plot has been known to do it now and then. The original Law & Order not only spawned several hit spinoff investigative series, it tied the record previously held by Gunsmoke for longest-running primetime drama series with its 20th season opener 9/25/09. Fans anticipated Marshal Dillon, Chester, and Miss Kitty would be left in the dust when L&O opened season 21. Instead, an announcement in spring 2010 that the series would not be back for the 2010 – 2011 season wiped out the chance to break the tie. Longest cast-members for the series include Sam Waterston (District Attorney Jack McCoy 1994 – 2010), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren 1993 – 2010), and Jerry Orbach (Detective Lennie Briscoe 1992 – 2004).

Listed facts:

The show (Special Victims Unit) is shot entirely on location in New York. Furthermore, some of the major actors that we know of today arose from Law & Order. The original show was supposed to be shot in Los Angeles but Dick Wolfe convince NBC to shoot in NYC.

The trademarked sound from the opening credits come from a dozen different sounds. One of those sounds are monks stomping on the ground. Also, Law and Order was world renowned for not giving any background story of their characters in any episodes. In 1995/96, viewers wanted to know if there were any hints of romanticism between Jack McCoy and Claire Kincaid. Soon after, it was revealed in an episode.

Some well-known actors played on the show. For instance, Edward D. Murphy played 12 characters in the first 10 seasons.

In recent reruns of the tv show on TNT, the insertion of ads have been made. The most notable, Coca Cola!