Wendy Battles Movies

As it entered its 13th season on the air, Law & Order also entered the history books as the longest-running TV program of its genre. This, however, did not satisfy series producer Dick Wolf, who had every intention of keeping the series in production for at least another eight years, long enough to smash Gunsmoke's status as the longest-running dramatic series of all time. Wolf also refused to rest on his laurels by concentrating on his "baby" alone: In addition to the original Law & Order, he was also churning out spin-offs Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as the documentary/reality series Crime & Punishment, with an updated revival of the classic Dragnet still in the wings. The basic Law & Order cast from season 12 was still in place, with one very significant change. After two years of service, interim District Attorney Nora Lewin (Dianne Weist), who'd replaced the venerable Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) in 2000, was herself replaced by DA Arthur Branch, played by Fred Dalton Thompson, an erstwhile actor better known to the public as a former Republican senator from Tennessee. The avuncular, home-fried conservatism of Branch -- who, unlike his strictly-business predecessors, was inclined toward long-winded anecdotes and rustic homilies whenever making an important point of law -- was frequently at odds with the intense liberalism of ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and the studied seriousness of McCoy's assistant Serena Southerlyn. So much for the "Order" portion of the program. Back on the "Law" end of the spectrum, producer Wolf had promised viewers that there would be more friction between detectives Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Eddie Green (Jesse L. Martin); as it turned out, however, Briscoe and Green developed into something of a comedy team, with Green playing off of the witty comments and abysmal puns invariably dropped by Briscoe at each murder scene. Similarly, the detectives' sober-sided superior, Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), became a bit more wry and light-hearted than she'd been in previous seasons. As always, Law & Order kept abreast of the times with stories based on actual events and persons. The aftermath of 9/11, the saga of "American Jihad" John Walker Lindh, the shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder, the Lacy Peterson murder case, the Martha Stewart inside-trading imbroglio, pop star Michael Jackson's display of parental recklessness from a balcony, the criminal charges against the NBA's Jayson Williams, and the "D.C. Snipers" case were all grist for the writers' mill. The 13th-season finale of Law & Order was lavishly publicized as the series' 300th episode. Technically, however, it was the 301st, but NBC seldom acknowledged the series' pilot episode because it had been financed by CBS. Ironically, that selfsame pilot show was rebroadcast by NBC May 21, 2003, the same night as the "300th" installment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rock singer dies of an apparent drug overdose. The detectives and lawyers determined that what appears to be an accident is actually murder, possibly perpetrated by a disenchanted cohort of the deceased. Further complicating the case is the omnipresence of detective-turned-bestselling novelist Mike Foster (Tony Lo Bianco), who is hard at work on a tell-all book about the dead woman's former husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A body fished out of the East River turns out to be that of Karen Hall, a criminal investigator with the State Attorney General's office. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Greene (Jesse L. Martin) launch their investigation by questioning Hall's boss Conroy (Nestor Serrano), who theorizes that Karen was kidnapped and killed while on a case. Things change dramatically when the facts surrounding Conroy's tempestuous private life (and his hold over three different women) come to light. Writer Fran Lebowitz makes the first of several cameo appearances as Arraignment Judge Goldberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

With the departure of series regular Angie Harmon at the close of season eleven (it was explained that her character, Assistant DA Abbie Carmichael, had accepted a job with the U.S. Attorney's Federal Major Crimes Task Force), season twelve of Law & Order was ushered in with a new face in the DA's office. Elisabeth Rohm was added to the cast as ADA Serena Southerlyn, who had requested the appointment because she wanted to tackle grittier cases than the "white-collar crimes" which had been her forte. The scriptwriters wasted little time in providing Serena with a baptism by fire: in the episode "DR 1-102," she courageously defused a dangerous hostage situation -- only to face the loss of her license to practice law because she failed to follow accepted legal procedure. The rest of the cast remained the same as in season eleven, though it was already established that Dianne Wiest's character, interim DA Nora Lewin, would be written out as soon as a permanent district attorney could be elected. (It was not that Wiest was unhappy with her role, nor that the producers were dissatisfied with the character; she just didn't want to be artistically confined to series television.) Likewise maintaining the Law & Order status quo was the series' predilection for stories based on current headlines, beginning with the season opener "Who Let the Dogs Out?," which was transparently inspired by a real-life California case involving a killer pit bull. The arrests of actor Robert Blake and rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs and the disappearance of congressional intern Chandra Levy, likewise provided grist for the series' story mill. In addition, the terrible events of September 11 loomed large over the proceedings, notably in the season-closing episode "Patriot." Finally, by 2001, Law & Order had become something of franchise. The series' first spin-off, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, was entering its second successful season. Both this show and its parent series were joined in the fall of 2001 by Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which chronicled crime and punishment from the perpetrators' point-of-view. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four people are cold-bloodedly killed in a jewelry store. The suspect, a most charming and persuasive young man, insists upon representing himself in course. Thanks to his emotional display of regret and contrition, the accused murderer may well be able to sway the jury -- or at least one of the jurors, a woman who cannot take her eyes off the man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The murder of a young violinist is at the center of this episode. The detectives have quite a time choosing a likely suspect, since several of the dead woman's colleagues clearly resented her quick rise to fame. The outcome boils down to a war of wills between D.A. Lewin (Dianne Weist) and an antagonistic judge (Ron McLarty), who seems to have a personal grudge against A.D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide