Law & Order: Trial by Jury

It's hard to believe how much Jerry Orbach has aged from the time he left the original Law & Order series to the beginning of Trial by Jury. His hair was completely gray and his voice was a little gruff. I wish he were still around to portray Lennie Briscoe on any L&O series, but unfortunately, that won't happen. I just wish the writers of the original series would mention the fate of Lennie Briscoe since retiring from the 27th precinct to show how the other characters felt about their friend and co-worker. I've watched Trial by Jury and even after Jerry Orbach passed away, I don't think the writers ever mentioned his character's death through the other characters, such as Hector Salazzar or Lt. Anita Van Buren from the original series.

I am a huge fan of the all the different Law and Order shows. Of course, my favorite would have to be SVU.

When Trial by Jury came out I thought I would give it a try and really fell in love with it. The main actress Bebe Neuwirth is amazing - I believe she has been in a few of the other Law and Orders for small parts. Over time, I actually found I began to like it better than even Criminal Intent.

Without trying to sound too dramatic, I must admit I am a little frustrated they decided to cancel it. It didn't really have a fair chance I felt and especially for the time frame. Perhaps statistics show differently... I don't know, but to me... Friday night TV can't be good at 10pm - a lot of people are out on the town then.

I'm a long time fan of Jerry Orbach, and all the Law & Order series, and couldn't wait for this to start, even tho Jerry had died before it was aired. Based on the second half of the title "Trial by Jury", I was expecting to see jury involvement as they deliberated to reach their verdict. That never happened. I watched the entire run and what I saw was disappointing. Outside of Jerry, and Amy Carlson there were no likable characters. The BIGGEST problem was the lead actress Bebe Neuwirth. While she was great on Cheers and Fraiser, she looked, and came across, cold and hard and unlikeable - and this show needed "likeable" after it lost Jerry. Her wardrobe, makeup, and hair style didn't help either, she just appeared as a cold hard Bitch. What this show needed was Angie Harmon, or Carey Lowell to keep your interest and hold the show together. For me it just came across as a watered down copy of the original, and I wasn't surprised when it died.

I cannot say enough about Jerry Orbach; I loved the guy and the way he delivered his lines, always believable of his character even if they weren't always great lines. I looked forward to seeing him on Trial by Jury, still pending at this moment. Also if only once or for a season, if Trial by Jury brings back Carey Lowell who has such natural beauty and who always delivered her lines as Jamie Ross as if it were all real and not acting, without chewing the scenery, talking out of the side of her mouth (Joisy?) or "reciting" woodenly, it's worth the viewing. I just wish Jerry O. had had that prostate exam; I could have watched him work forever. Maybe he could have even been allowed to sing "Try to Remember". I can dream, can't I?

The original Law & Order was 50-50 a cop/lawyer show. SVU is 90% cops. This one is 90% lawyers. The biggest innovation is that we get to be a fly on the wall as the defense attorney plots his/her defense, which has absolutely nothing to do with truth or guilt. It's all playing the system. Tony Bill, in the premiere, calmly describes how he killed the victim and the attorney, Annabella Sciorra simply listens as if this is background information that might come up in the trial and have to be dealt with.

I'm a big Perry Mason fan, where the hero is obsessed with truth and guilt and all his clients are innocent, so this is quite a change. Mason represents what we'd like our justice system to be about. However Sciorra represents who we would want to hire if we committed a crime. She clearly sees her job as getting her clients off: that's what she's paid to do.

Frankly, I think the accused has a right to an aggressive defense that forces the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a shadow of doubt. But if the lawyer knows the client is guilty, responsibility should shift to dealing with extenuating circumstances that might lead to a self-defense or insanity plea or a reduced sentence. That might be better for the client than insisting on a not guilty verdict. And what must the feeling be for a lawyer who knows he/she got a guilty man off. If it's one of satisfaction, there is something wrong.

As to the show, it's promising. I'm hoping that not all defendants turn out to be guilty, (even though all of Perry's clients were innocent), as it kind of sends the wrong message. One of the things I liked about the original show is that they weren't always right and they didn't always win.