Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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62 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Scene cuts unacceptable, and you're better off buying next year in HD, June 28, 2005
As a fairly serious Law and Order fan, I do not two star the fourteenth season of Law and Order lightly. (Read my 5 star reviews of the early seasons if you don't believe me.) Unfortunately the DVD version of this season is really not worth buying unless you simply can't wait. At best this would have been 4 stars given the plot writing has gone downhill, but what really irks me are the lack of special features and even lack of certain scenes (costing another star) and the fact that there was no real reason to release this year in anything less than the eye-candy high definition it was broadcast in (costing yet another). If you aren't planning on upgrading to HD for several years and are a true L&O junkie, this might still be worth a buy; otherwise, wait.
There's been a lot said about how recent seasons of Law and Order have "jumped the shark" and to some extent I agree. It is still better than many shows on television, but in general only a precious few episodes live up to the quality of the glory years from seasons 3 to 9 or so. Some point to the cast, although in fairness watching the end of season 15 with Annie Parisse flatlining scenes should make most reconsider if Elisabeth Rohm really was that bad of an actress. (While she wasn't great, in fairness she had a very tough comp following Angie Harmon, who was just as stunningly beautiful but surprised everyone by arching her eyebrows and drawling her lines out in a way that took over scenes from even Sam Waterston.) To me, its just that the actors don't have a lot to work with as the writing has become incredibly predictable. (If you don't think Jesse Martin can act, watch him shine in Christmas Carol; he might not be Chris Noth but he doesn't have Noth's lines either.) After 300 episodes, there are a lot of 'new' episodes that are rehashes of older ones, and the quick turnaround by the writers once they get fresh material from the ripped-from-the-headline stories (in this set, Bounty, Blaze, Darwinian, Hands Free, Evil Breeds among others) means you know you're going to get some stupid error by the cops or the ADA to throw the story off just enough so that NBC doesn't get sued. That's not to say that there aren't a few well written episodes in season 14. Gaijin has a very nasty and in charge DA, Embedded has some unusual plot twists, and Identity takes a plausable current crime (identity theft) and turns it into a pretty compelling case. It's just in general writing in the earlier years was better, so this was 4 stars at best even if the set was perfect.
It's not. I was equally disturbed to discover the New Yorkerish cartoon presented to Briscoe at the end of the series wasn't in the episode. (I haven't found anything else but I'm looking.) Moreover, the special features that you'd buy a DVD set for here are again lacking. Season 3 did a far better job of extras, finally including several deleted scenes. The combination of lack of extras and the missing scene is unacceptable and costs another star.
Finally, this season was broadcast in glorious high definition and DVDs can't hold HD programming - meaning the DVDs will be obsolete in a year at most. (In fact, as TNTHD mercifully switched over to displaying HD-shot L&O reruns in true HD last month, it's obsolete now if you have a DVHS recorder and can archive them.) Once next-generation Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs hit the market in late 2005/early 2006, you should be able to buy a dual format disc that contains both DVD and high-def versions meaning it is a better value even if you haven't yet upgraded. Law and Order has been shot in 16:9 film since at least 1997 (meaning it can and is being converted to HD-quality for reruns), so there's no reason to buy any L&O set on DVD past season 8 as the primary reason to buy them - better picture quality than broadcast TV - doesn't apply. Another star off for the value proposition from this as there's no reason Universal shouldn't have just waited 18 months rather than put out a set with a miniscule shelf life.
Still, if you're a L&O junkie, this will hit your fix, and there are a few good episodes in this season. You're better off waiting until this season shows up on HD-capable discs, however, or buying this used for cheap once they become available.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I paid for the full package, not 90% of it, April 7, 2005
After reading all seventeen of the reveiws, I find it odd that not a single person has noticed this dvd set's crucial flaw: the episodes you see are not the episodes that were first shown on TV. Instead, they are the episodes that were shown as re-runs, which means that some of the original content is not there any more.
At least two of the episodes have missing scenes. "Patient Zero" is missing a crucial moment when it is discovered that the defendant's wife wanted the victim dead. And Dectective Briscoe's last episode, "C.O.D", is missing the part where Green hands Briscoe a characture drawing of himself.
These are the only ones I noticed, but there might be more. I enjoyed this dvd set, but I paid to get all of the original content, not 90% of it. Am I the only ones who noticed this?
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18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sad to see Lenny go, September 15, 2004
In looking over the previous reviews I felt the need to "add my two cents." First and foremost I am very disappointed at the decision to release the seasons out of order. 1, 2, 14?! Come on!! Stop the madness! Go back to chronological order. Anyone not seeing in these in order, who is a latecomer to the francise is missing valuable information and insight into the motivation of these characters. How do you understand Green's comment to Briscoe about having children if you haven't seen earlier episodes to know why that comment was significant?
Having dispensed with that issue I have to disagree with most of the previous comments about the characters. Without a doubt Briscoe is my favorite character. He has been since his arrival (I've watched from the beginning). I am so sorry to see him go and find it highly improbable that Dennis Farina will come close to filling the gap. I was not a Logan fan...he was written as way too much of a hot head from the beginning and came across as way too smug and short sighted. (Though I did like it when they brought him back for an episode later and would love to see them do that some more.) I am a Green fan. I like his low key approach and his dry humor. (Being a huge theatre fan I also just love the pairing of Orbach and Martin!!)
As far as the "Order" part of the franchise I MUCH prefer McCoy to Stone. Stone was so damn "holier than thou" that I wanted to reach into the TV and slap him!! I prefer the more realistic portrayal that I believe McCoy delivers. No one is as saintly as Stone was written, especially in a job like that. Angie Harmon's Carmicheal is by far my favorite ADA. Please bring her back!!! Southerland was way too mouthy and condescending from the very first episode. Sorry...no one would behave that way day one in a new job. It's gotten worse from there. (Maybe it's the writers' perceptions of blondes?!) I kind of like DA Branch because it does reflect the political realities of the times. (Little too close for comfort that it reflects Thompson's recently finished US Senate tenure but...)
So all in all I liked Season 14 as reflected here...but please let's go back to season 3 and work our way back up from there!!
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