Product Details

• Actors: George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks
• Writers: Brad Markowitz, Nancy Miller, Carl Nelson, David Streever, Scott Tobin
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• DVD Release Date: October 15, 2002
• Run Time: 1044 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JLFV
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,077 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Law & Order: The First Year" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From its gritty documentary look to its signature note-knocking "tching-tching" that signals scene changes, Law & Order was a groundbreaking cop show when it debuted in 1990. It has since earned Emmys for Best Dramatic Series and spun off satellite franchises, and reruns of the original series are as omnipresent in syndication as those of I Love Lucy. Devoted fans and those who came late to the series can catch it from the beginning with this six-disc set that contains all 22 episodes from the inaugural season.

Law & Order is television's most resilient series. It has survived wholesale changes to its ensemble. One of the secrets of the show's durability: its compelling structure. The first half of each hour-long episode is classic police procedural in which "Law," personified in the first season by partners Greevey (George Dzundza--and be sure to catch the interview segment with series creator Dick Wolfe to learn how to pronounce his name) and Mike Logan (Christopher Noth, the future "Mr. Big" on Sex and the City) investigate a crime and make an arrest. The second half chronicles the ensuing trial, as prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) under the supervision of Steven Hill's Adam Schiff (more feisty and animated here than in later seasons).

Law & Order is also distinguished by its superb writing. Several episodes take their inspiration from the headlines, including "By Hooker, By Crook" about a socialite-run call-girl ring, and "Indifference," which recalls the tragic Lisa Steinberg child abuse case. Others deal with such hot-button issues as abortion ("Life Choice") and AIDS ("The Reaper's Helper"). Another plus is the talent pool of character actors who lend their verisimilitude. Guest stars include Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman ("The Violence of Summer"), The West Wing's John Spencer ("Prescription for Death"), Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon ("Subterranean Homeboy Blues"), and The Sopranos' Dominic Chianese ("Sonata for Stolen Organ"). --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

Arguably the most intelligently written, ingeniously plotted series in the long history of televised crime drama, Law & Order began with a bang in 1990. Part of the program's enduring appeal is its unique premise: police investigate an urban crime during the first half, and prosecutors work the resulting trial during the second half. Meet, for the first time, detective Mike Logan (Chris North), assistant district DA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), their colleagues, and the crooks who keep them busy. Over 17-1/4 hours on 6 DVDs.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

105 of 113 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best shows ever finally on DVD! September 29, 2002

A Kid's Review

Format:DVD

Law & Order now enters its 13th season on NBC. For all those years no one's been able to get it on commercial recording, save the 6-episode VHS set that came out in 1999. But this wasn't satisfactory to represent a show with so much history.

Now you can get the first season of this hit drama on DVD! With its renewal through 2005, you'll probably be getting the "15th Year" on DVD soon. By then Law & Order will be the longest-running police show and second longest-running drama in the history of television.

With season one you get the first appearance of Lorraine Toussaint as the infamous Shambala Green (Subterranean Homeboy Blues), both the CBS original pilot with Roy Thinnes (Everybody's Favorite Bagman) and the NBC pilot with Steven Hill (Prescription for Death), moving episodes (Indifference), and mainly the beginnings of a show that would become one of the most popular dramas of the 1990's.

The original cast features George Dzundza as Sergeant Max Greevey, the amicable but strong lead detective, Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan, Greevey's liberal and young partner, Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen, the no-nonsense but humorous boss, Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone, whose dispassionate prosecution has become a trademark, Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette, the passionate black Assistant under Stone, and Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff. Only one phrase can describe Schiff: "You have no case. Make a deal."

For me, this item is at the top of the wish list. If you like L&O, there's no passing this up!

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Season 1 = Great acting, slower action, features missing. April 17, 2004

By D. Parvin VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

The first season of Law and Order lacks the bang-bang short attention span plot advances and twists of the later years, but more than makes up for it by deeper plots and better acting, along with some nice background. Unfortunately, the DVD quality isn't what it could be, which is why this is 4 stars and not 5.

From season 3 or 4 on, the Law and Order formula came into full flower. Every 'donk-donk' signifies a quick advance in the plot as a year-long investigation and trial gets compressed in an hour, except for those delicious times when it reverses in a wild plot twist. Three spinoffs prove this works regardless of who is in the role. Season 1 isn't quite like that. For instance, it often meanders slowly, spending 4 or 5 minutes at the beginning actually witnessing the crime, having the cast walk down the street talking to each other rather than going from one interview to the next. (This actually gives some great background - you finally see the full precinct room and DAs office!) The slower pace even reflects in the way the guest stars seemly act - an L&O trademark is to have an interviewee continuing to do their job while the cops grill them. Not so here. No quick hot dog lunch for meetings between the Captain and the detectives. Logan even complains when someone doesn't give them their full attention!

While not having the formula down means that action slows down, it allows for better acting and better plot development. The 'ripped from the headlines' aspect remains as large as it ever was, with the Mayflower Madam, Tawana Brawley claiming rape, the Lisa Steinberg child abuse case, and city council corruption along with several cop corruption cases. The difference is that because the actors aren't forced to move through hoops they actually get to perform.... Robinette gives a soul searing performance in the the Brawley case (Half-Light) and the corruption case (Bagman) as he examines his race versus his job - and race and class in general get explored a lot more than in later years (in episodes like Homeboy Blues and Poison Ivy.) Logan acts like a rookie as he screams at people who don't help him, and nearly comes to blows with Greevey over their views on abortion and morality in Life Choice and Kiss the Girls. Stone shows actual rage in Indifference, and Schiff is a motivated caring boss and not just his normal fun cantankerous let's-cut-our-losses self. Finally, the caliber of the guest stars before they became big (Cynthia Nixon, William Macy, Epatha Merkerson!) helps as the give and take is unrestrained. This is a fair tradeoff for a slower show.

My only objection to the DVD set is the transfer is somewhat mediocre, especially for the first few episodes where you get flecking. I can't believe the original tapes weren't in better shape. Also, the features side borders on the unacceptable. Dick Wolf does talk about the original development of the show, for about 10 minutes. Other than that, nothing - except for an unbelievable ad about the Law and Order game! I can't believe there aren't outtakes or they couldn't get someone from the cast to walk through the episodes ala the Simpsons DVD sets. Definitely worth marking down a star for that.

Still, a great beginning to a great show. Read more ›

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great television series finally arrives on DVD August 31, 2002

By Jesse Baker

Format:DVD

One of tv's longest running and more critically acclaimed series is now available on DVD. "Law and Order: The First Year" collects the entire first season of this quality show. Featuring the show's original cast of characters (ADAs Ben Stone and Paul Robinette and Detectives Mike Logan and Max Greevey), the First Season contains classic "Ripped From the Headlines" styled episodes including "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" (about a woman who may or may not have shot a trio of black teenagers in self-defense), "By Hooker, By Crook" (which has Stone prosecuting a socialite/madam who is based upon the "Mayflower Madam" Sydney Barrows), and "Out of the Half-Light" (where the cops try to debunk a black teen's false accusations of rape at the hands of white police officers and prevent an Al Sharpton-inspired character from using the girl to advance his political adgenda)....

Other original story episodes includes "Poison Ivy" (where Logan and Greevey investigate the death of an Ivy League college student who was a drug dealer and who may have had a gun planted on his dead body by the police officer who shot him), "Indifference" (Logan and Greevey investigate the death of a upper class child and discovers that the child was regularly raped by her father and beaten by her drug using mother), "Prisoner of Love" (which has Stone prosecuting a city commissioner and a weathly socialite/part-time dominatrix over the death of the commissioner's gay lover, who died during kinky sex), " The Torrents of Greed Parts 1 and 2" (which has ADA Stone obsessively attempting to bring down a mob boss after the mob boss is aquitted of murder), "Mushrooms" (Stone must decide whether or not to take a plea bargin from a teenager who killed a baby and paralyzed another teen when the shooter offers to testify that a powerfull mob boss ordered the killing), "The Secret Sharers" (Stone faces a hot shot Texas attorney who's client murdered a drug dealer who raped his fiance), "The Serpent's Tooth" (in which two innocent brothers are wrongfully accused and arrested for the Menendez Brothers-esque murder of their parents while Stone believes that the ultra-violent Russian Mob may be the real culprits), "Troubles" (which has Stone going after a famous Irish terrorist who arranges for the principal witnesses against him murdered before they can implicate him in court), and "The Blue Wall" (the season finale, which has Logan and Greevey investigating a conspiracy inside the police department that resulted in evidence against corporate executives on trial disappearing and discovering that a friend of theirs, Captain Donald Cragen may have been involved in the conspiracy). Read more ›