apocrypha

Last Additions to Law & Order: Los Angeles - Wanda de Jesus, Regina Hall

2010-07-31T11:14:00.001-04:00

The cast is now complete:

NBC's new series Los & Order: Los Angeles has locked in its cast, with one day to spare. CSI: Miami alumna Wanda De Jesus has landed the last regular role on the crime procedural, which starts production on Monday. She will play Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales, the cool and authoritative captain of the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division. De Jesus, managed by Bob McGowan, joins previously cast Skeet Ulrich, Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Corey Stoll and Regina Hall, who was locked in Friday. Hall will play DDA Eva Price, a gorgeous and brainy bombshell with a strong sense of moral rectitude. One of Hall’s first acting gigs was a guest spot on New York Undercover co-created by Dick Wolf. She had a co-starring role on Ally McBeal and went on to work mostly in features (Scary Movie, Death At A Funeral). She is repped by ICM and Principato Young.
Molina and Howard will alternate as Deputy D.A.s, while Ulrich and Stoll play Detective Rex Winters and TJ Jaruszalski, respectively.

Terrence Howard to LOLA

2010-07-30T14:36:00.002-04:00

This is great news; Howard is a true star. Unfortunately, that also could be complicated once he runs into Dick Wolf's "my way or the highway" take on running the "L&O"s:

Terrence Howard is boarding NBC's upcoming Law & Order spinoff, Law & Order: Los Angeles, joining Alfred Molina, Skeet Ulrich and Corey Stoll.
Howard will play a new Deputy D.A. who will work alongside Deputy D.A. Morales (Molina). I hear Howard and Molina will be splitting the workload, each appearing roughly in the half of the episodes thus allowing the show to feature big feature names and the actors to stay active in movies.

More here.

Dick Wolf Goes Literary with Law and Order

2010-07-27T00:57:00.002-04:00

For those who can't get enough of original recipe "Law & Order," soon Dick Wolf will be providing new stories ... in the form of books:

Law & Order creator/exec producer Dick Wolf has made a deal to write two novels for the Harper Collins imprint William Morrow, in a deal the publisher is announcing today. Though Wolf's latest Law & Order is being transplanted to Los Angeles, he's using his old stomping NYC grounds for the first book. Though as a New Yorker, I'm not thrilled the plot revolves around a terror scare in Gotham. The novel's an untitled suspense thriller about a major terrorist attack planned for New York City during the July 4 weekend. The Joint Terrorism Task Force and an NYPD detective is the only hope to thwart the attack in a thriller in the tradition of The Day of the Jackal and Three Days of the Condor. The deal was made by Morrow exec editor David Highfill, who got the book exclusively from 3 Arts' Richard Abate and UTA, where Peter Benedek has long repped him.

More here.

Hopefully, they'll be better than the terrible 1990s L&O "books" that took place outside the canon and were apparently written by someone who maybe watched two episodes of the show.....

The Living Dead: Will "Law & Order" Rise Again at AMC?

2010-07-07T20:52:00.002-04:00

Don't count on it, but who knows?

AMC has already shown its propensity for zombies with its upcoming thriller series The Walking Dead. And now comes word that the network has shown some interest in another stumbling corpse: Law & Order. Sources tell Vulture that the home to groundbreaking hours Mad Men and Breaking Bad has approached NBC Universal about the possibility of producing new episodes of Dick Wolf’s long-running and recently canceled drama. The high price associated with making Wolf's show means that any AMC deal is a long shot, but the fact that conversations have taken place at all is a sign that, even after two decades, the original L&O still might not be ready for burial.

When we last left the saga of L&O in late May, NBC had decided to cancel the so-called mother ship of the franchise, citing low ratings and (relatively) high production costs: According to sources familiar with the matter, the show costs around $3 million an episode. NBC was willing to keep it going, but only if Wolf agreed to reduce his per-episode producer fee from $350,000 per episode to around $150,000 per episode. Wolf, who'd already made other financial concessions to NBC, balked, and L&O was declared over. Refusing to concede defeat, Wolf issued a statement declaring that his show was "in a medically induced coma" and that he was "hoping for a cure." That led to buzz that TNT might step in to save the day, as they have first right of refusal to make new episodes for cable; that talk was quashed when the network issued a statement flatly saying it was "not interested in a Season 21."

(more at link here)

Cusick to SVU, Ulrich to LOLA

2010-07-07T17:15:00.004-04:00

Law & Order news! Alas, not the mothership ... but here's a bit of info on "SVU" and "LOLA":

'Law & Order: SVU' is already the most popular and critically acclaimed of the vast NBC 'L&O' empire. Did it really need to add the brilliant Henry Ian Cusick to the cast? Maybe its going for "most beautiful" as well.

The former 'Lost' star has signed for at least two episodes for this fall, according to TV Guide. Executive producer Neal Baer says they were looking for someone who is "a sharp, smart leader and very charismatic." Already a fan of 'Lost,' he thought of Cusick.

(more at the link)

Skeet Ulrich ('Scream') will reportedly star in NBC's upcoming legal spinoff 'Law & Order: Los Angeles.' Ulrich will play Rex Winters in the series, an ex-Marine who gained experience during the Rodney King riots. Five additional roles, including Ulrich's co-lead detective, have yet to be cast. (from here)

Or ... does it?

2010-05-13T23:09:00.003-04:00

Maybe the reports of the demise of "Law & Order" were premature; TV Guide is saying this:

The New York Times reports that Law & Order creator Dick Wolf's production company informed select people involved with the series of its demise, including executive producer Fred Berner and former co-executive producer Ed Zuckerman.

However, the Times and Entertainment Weekly both report discussions were continuing late Thursday between Wolf and NBC.
Reps for NBC and for the show declined to comment. NBC is scheduled to officially announce its 2010-2011 schedule on Monday.

It will be a nail biting weekend!

Law & Order Ends

2010-05-13T17:17:00.001-04:00

Or so it appears, based on this report from Deadline Hollywood:

EXCLUSIVE: This one is a shocker. Veteran crime drama Law & Order will not get its shot at history after all. I hear that after long deliberations, NBC has decided to cancel the long-running procedural, which will end its run at 20 seasons, tied with Gunsmoke. This is very surprising as NBC brass had indicated lately that they would bring L&O for a record-breaking 21^st season. But with strong development, especially on the drama side, and soft ratings for L&O, NBC apparently opted not to keep the aging series, which spawned several successful spinoffs. The latest, Law & Order: Los Angeles, will launch next season. L&O's renewal by NBC was also contingent on securing a sizable commitment from the series' cable home TNT whose off-network deal for the show was up at the end of this season.

I suppose on the plus side it's Los Angeles' turn now....

Unofficial Companion Media Blitz!

2009-10-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

For those who've been wondering, the "Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion" media blitz continues apace. Here, a few links from the recent book party on October 10, and some coverage -- plus thanks to Roger Friedman for highlighting the book on his Showbiz 411 blog!

Loads of great photos here (thanks, Juan Carlos!)

Some nice coverage from John Simon.

The Fabulous Report gets in on the act.

Life magazine!

And Showbiz 411, which also has some interesting insights into the changeups at "Criminal Intent."

And, some nice flowers from "Olivia Benson."

Everybody (except Goldblum) out of the Criminal Intent Water

2009-09-25T12:28:00.001-04:00

Big moves going on at Criminal Intent, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" is planning dramatic cast changes for next season, with four regulars, including star Vincent D'Onofrio, departing.

D'Onofrio is expected to exit sometime during the series' upcoming ninth season, handing over his badge to Jeff Goldblum as the top detective on the major case squad.

Kathryn Erbe, who, like D'Onofrio, has been with the show since its beginning and plays his long-suffering partner Alex Eames, also will be phased out, as will Eric Bogosian, who plays the force's captain, Danny Ross.

As previously reported, Julianne Nicholson, who played Goldblum's partner but has just had a baby, her second, also is leaving. She's being replaced by British actress Saffron Burrows.

Details about D'Onofrio, Erbe and Bogosian's exit are still unclear as the actors' deals are being worked out. The network only recently renewed the Wolf Films/Universal Cable Prods. series for a ninth season, slated to premiere in late spring with a two-parter.

Creator and executive producer Dick Wolf has long said that it is the stories, and not the actors, that form the core attraction of his "Law & Order" franchise.

Yet, like Sam Waterston on the original "L&O," D'Onofrio has long been identified with "Criminal Intent" and has helped set its tone as Det. Robert Goren. His trademark gesture, the in-your-face tilt of his head when he interrogates criminals, is a highlight of each episode, as is his encyclopedic knowledge of the arcane that often helps in fingering the suspect.

But, after originating on NBC, "L&O:CI" migrated to sibling USA, which has put together a cluster of dramas that are lighter in tone and subject matter and have more quirkily upbeat characters, as in "Monk," "Psych" and "Burn Notice."

Goldblum, who brings an easy eccentricity to most of his work, is more in the tradition of Tony Shalhoub's "Monk" than D'Onofrio's brooding and tortured Goren.

Additionally, cost savings always factor in production equations these days, with long-standing actors on a show, like D'Onofrio and Erbe, pulling in substantially more than more recent additions.

The sweeping cast changes on "CI" resemble the 2003 shakeup on ABC's "The Practice" when several key actors, including lead Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle and Kelli Williams, were let go as a way to slash production costs.

The "CI" changes also represent the biggest shift so far for a show that has seen a number of faces come and go since it began in 2001. For several years, Chris Noth, who played detective Mike Logan, has alternated with D'Onofrio in the top role. He exited the Wolf fold at the end of the 2008 season and is now recurring on the CBS freshman series "The Good Wife."

While D'Onofrio is departing as a regular, it is possible for him to reprise his character in guest stints.

UPDATE: Exclusive Content on The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion Web Site!

2009-09-19T12:06:00.002-04:00

Wondering what changes might appear in Season 11's set? Wonder no more: I got a chance to visit the SVU set last week, and was given the full tour of the new "media set."

Check out the exclusive content (not available in the book) available at the Web site ... now!

No. 5!

2009-09-03T13:14:00.003-04:00

Please to note that "The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion" is now No. 5 on Amazon's list of TV show books. Thanks to everyone who ordered one ... or ten!

And if you don't have one, head over here -- they're on sale now.

The Law & Order: SVU Unofficial Companion is here!

2009-08-08T23:21:00.003-04:00

Okay, so it's here in terms of advance copies. The book will be publicly sold in September.

All of us here at apocrypha central appreciate your continued patronage and patience in this matter!

But you can pre-order it at Amazon here.

And just maybe we might have ourselves a little contest to get an early edition in your hot little hands....

So check back here for updates!

Official: Meloni/Hargitay back for 2 years at SVU

2009-06-29T18:16:00.001-04:00

And now it's official:

"Law & Order: SVU" will be returning in the fall with its two stars.

After lengthy negotiations, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have inked new deals to continue on the crime procedural, which is coming back for an 11th season in the fall.

Additionally, Emmy winner Christine Lahti has signed on to play the ADA on the veteran series for the first four episodes. Stephanie March will then return, reprising her role as ADA Alexandra Cabot.

Sources said Hargitay and Meloni, who regularly negotiate their contracts together, have inked one-year deals with an option for a second year.

And, despite the congloms and particularly NBC Universal being in a cost-cutting mode, both Hargitay and Meloni are said to have received salary increases to their most recent paychecks of about $385,000 an episode.

Hargitay and Meloni's deals come a month after NBC closed a deal with Wolf Films for the renewal of "Law & Order: SVU."

At the time, NBC brass said that the show will return with or without its stars as the networks and reps for the actors had been embroiled in intense negotiations.

But, while crime procedurals are more resilient than character dramas in replacing leads, losing both Hargitay and Meloni, considered the heart of the show, would've been a big hit to "SVU."

Hargitay is repped by Paradigm. Meloni is repped by Gersh.

Stephanie March Returns -- Again -- to SVU

2009-06-14T22:14:00.001-04:00

Stephanie March (ADA Alex Cabot) fans rejoice: She's back for Season 11!

According to EW.com:

NBC declined comment, but an SVU insider says March's pact calls for her to appear in a minimum of 10 episodes next season. The show is expected to introduce one or possibly two new characters to fill the ADA void when Cabot isn't around.

"L&O: SVU" 10th Season Finale - NY Times Article & Exclusive Quotes!

2009-06-03T16:02:00.003-04:00

Don't read this unless you've seen the Season 10 SVU Finale!

If you have, go here. If you haven't, stop reading now!

SPOILER SPACE

So if you're still with us, you know now that long-time recurring character CSU Tech Ryan O'Halloran, played by Mike Doyle, was killed in the "SVU" Season 10 finale. He spoke to us about the finale and what he'll be doing next -- this is stuff you won't find in the New York Times piece.

On leaving the show: "To have anything as a regular at 'SVU' has been for me, as an actor, a blessing. To be in New York and do television is a double blessing. It's put my face out there -- someone will approach me and recognize me from 'Oz' or 'SVU' but usually in the form of 'did we go to high school together?' Or recently renting a car, the guys at Enterprise were like, 'You're that guy!' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm that guy.' But more than anything, it's been such a great experience to be part of such a strong family. Ultimately when you're working with the same group of people for a lengthy amount of time you become family and it's nice to have that as a base of operations."

How he found out: "[Showrunner] Neal [Baer] called me, and he just said, 'I want to let you know you're in the finale and your character is getting killed and it has nothing to do with your character, your acting or you, because I love all three, but the show is' – I'm paraphrasing here – 'the show's going to go through some changes and we're going to have some new faces next year and rather than have you peter out we wanted to send you out with a bang.' Which I appreciate. Six years doing anything as an actor was a rarity. At first I was a little sad was my first response, to think about not being with the family, but very quickly I kind of – my feelings were more of freedom in a way. Because, okay, what's next. I'm an actor, we go job to job. And I didn't have the next job at the time, so I was just excited about the uncertain opportunity that lay ahead."

About getting made into a dead guy: "The death was a three-day affair, lying in blood for three days, it was a long, complicated scene. Lying on the ground in sticky red blood. I was dead for two-and-a-half days and then stabbed on the third day. Then on the last day, at the end of every episode, they announce, 'This is an episode wrap' and everyone came out and applauded and I made a little tearful speech and said goodbye and thank you and we all whooped it up at the [season 10] wrap party that night."

Look for Mike to pop up in an upcoming Nicole Kidman-starring film, Rabbit Hole, in 2010.

We'll miss ya, Mike!

Law & Order: BFD

2009-05-20T12:46:00.000-04:00

Law And Order: BFD from This American Life on Vimeo.

Law & Order SVU The Unofficial Companion - Now on Pre-order!

2009-05-20T11:05:00.004-04:00

Any fan of the "Law & Order" series, particularly ones who flock to the "Special Victims Unit" arena should make sure this book is on their shelves the minute it comes out -- which is slated to be September (though the Amazon pre-order currently indicates October). apocrypha naturally has a bit of a bias, as one of your authors here is the co-author on the book, but don't let that sway you! Or, if it makes you buy more, definitely let it sway you.

The book includes an extensive episode guide, interviews with every major player (and a few minor ones) through the years, a set visit during the filming of a full episode, and much, much more.

More to come here once we have any info on bookstore appearances, signings, etc.

Just go here to pre-order now!

More L&O in the news: Filming at the United Nations

2009-03-31T10:10:00.002-04:00

No new revelations -- but expect scenes from the United Nations in an upcoming episode. This, from CNN today (full article here):

The U.N. recently opened the gates of its New York headquarters to the NBC Universal show "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for the filming of an episode scheduled to air Tuesday. The taping marked the first time in its nearly 60-year history that the United Nations has allowed its iconic location to be used as a setting in a major network television production.

Series stars Stephanie March, who plays Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot, and Christopher Meloni, along with nearly 200 other cast and crew members, came to the U.N. on March 7 to film an episode revolving around child soldiers, refugees, warlords and the International Criminal Court.

Meloni described how the U.N. episode "really does kind of revolve around child soldiers, how they've been brainwashed, the horrible journeys that they've had to endure and how they can be assimilated back and be productive. And I think in this particular episode, we're trying to carry on with whatever clout we may possess. We have the medium to shine the light out there and tell this story."

Considering the "ripped-from-the-headlines" and complicated themes regarding conflict in Africa and the ICC, "Special Victims Unit" writers and actors relied on Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast as a consultant throughout the filming.

The Enough Project is an advocacy group committed to preventing genocide, crimes against humanity and other atrocities in six historically tumultuous African nations.

Prendergast explained that he perceived the episode as "one where reality dovetailed quite neatly with fiction, and hopefully more people will understand now what is happening in real life with President Bashir and Sudan, and then the accountability for war crimes because they saw it on 'Law & Order.' "

The "Special Victims Unit" filming was the first official project within Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's newly formed Creative Community Outreach Initiative. The intent of the program is to establish a relationship with international film and television industries to enhance the image of the United Nations and to "raise the profile of critical global issues," according to a U.N. representative.

Eric Falt, director of the U.N.'s outreach initiative, elaborated: "We're starting a program where we're going to say to filmmakers, people who produce television series, that we are essentially open for business. You want to come to the U.N.? Talk to us. We'll make it happen."

Michaela McManus out at SVU, Plus Lots of Speculation

2009-03-30T10:57:00.003-04:00

Over at E! Online, they got some great scoopage from SVU's Neal Baer, who reports that Michaela McManus is out, the season finale won't be until June 2 -- and that somebody's getting killed. Key excerpts:

Someone's going to die on the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit finale..... When we asked Neal if we'd be losing a series regular, he would only say this: "It's a castmember." .... For some reason, Detective Munch's (Richard Belzer) name always comes up whenever the talk turns to SVU departures. Could it finally be time? Being the slick exec that he is, when asked if Munch were leaving, Neal played coy, saying, "I hope not. Well, we'll see." .... When we asked Neal about Stephanie March's future on SVU, he told us: "Stephanie is in the next-to-the-last episode; she's not in the last episode." .... Neal did confirm that Michaela McManus won't be back on SVU, but also that the door is not entirely closed on that other A.D.A. we all love, Diane Neal's Casey Novak. "Well, she was disbarred for a year but as I said, life is unpredictable." ..... One last thing, Neal mentioned another very special guest star coming up. We can't name names just yet, but he reveals that "an Oscar-winning performer is coming on in the next-to-the-last episode."

How real does SVU need to be?

2009-03-12T12:09:00.002-04:00

An interesting discussion of "SVU" surfaced on the great blog Jezebel" the other day.

http://jezebel.com/5168036/law--order-svu-reproducing-rape-myths-or-working-against-them

The discussion presented there is fair; the blog it links to (which started the discussion) seems to paint very broad strokes about the show and is clearly written by someone who hasn't exactly seen every episode.

What do you think?

Also, speaking of "SVU" -- who was happy about the return the other night of Stephanie March?

Stephanie March Returns to SVU

2009-01-09T10:54:00.001-05:00

Well, for about six episodes. Here's what Yahoo is reporting today:

LOS ANGELES – Stephanie March is back on the job as New York prosecutor Alexandra Cabot on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

March will guest star on NBC's top-rated drama for six episodes, beginning Feb. 17, series executive producer Neal Baer said Thursday. The show airs at 10 p.m. EST Tuesday.

The actress compared the program to "an old flame."

"Every time I run into it I think, `Hmmm, what if?' I look forward to spending some time working with a production that has always been so rewarding for me," March said in a statement.

She starred on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for four seasons, leaving the show in 2003 as her character was forced into witness protection because of efforts to break a drug cartel.

In a 2005 episode, Cabot came out of the protection program to testify against the head of the cartel, who ultimately was killed in prison. March also briefly reprised the role of Cabot on NBC's drama "Conviction," which aired in 2006.

As Baer tells it, Cabot wasn't ready until now to put her difficult experience behind her and return to work with her former special victims unit colleagues. He welcomed having Cabot's "commanding presence" back in the courtroom, Baer said.

During Cabot's return, prosecutor Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) will be temporarily on assignment in Washington, D.C., working with the Justice Department.

March, who is married to celebrity chef Bobby Flay, appears in the upcoming movie "This Side of Truth" with Ricky Gervais and has guest-starred in series including "30 Rock," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Rescue Me."

It's unclear what this means for Michaela McManus' character in the long run; why bring on a new actress just to shunt her to the side after half a season? But we'll see....

Back from the set!

2008-07-25T23:44:00.004-04:00

Ah, it's been a busy two weeks, I tell you.

As may have been mentioned before here, Susan Green (of "Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion") and yours truly (best known 'round these parts as half of the apocrypha editorial team) are putting together "Law & Order SVU: The Unofficial Companion" for 2009 publication. And we've just spent the last two weeks on the set while an episode called "Lunacy" filmed.

We really couldn't have been been better treated, from everyone involved -- including the director, the writer (who regularly gave up his director's chair so I could sit in it) to the crew (yay for Teamsters!) to the actors themselves (even if they did require a little chasing down to interview). We went from meat-locker temperatures in the studio (located in beautiful pylon-infested North Bergen, NJ) to muggy, mosquito-filled days in Flushing, but were always made welcome and treated like we were supposed to be there.

I will say it probably took about three days, though, to feel at home in any real sense. There's a rhythm to how everything works -- as in any office -- and inserting yourself and waiting for things to happen isn't always the best way to get around. We'd get driven in from Manhattan in a van with extras or background actors to the studio and then there'd be a lot of waiting around while crew set up the shots, the stand-ins helped the director block the scenes, the actors came in and rehearsed, the shots were taken, then taken again, then taken from another angle, then done in close-up, ad infinitum, until the director yells "Cut! Print! Check the gate!" and you get to move on to the next scene. We were given "sides" every day, which are small paperback book-sized mini-scripts of just the scenes to be done that day, just a few pages.

Most days they did perhaps 5 pages of dialogue, which you look at that and say, "Gee, we should be out by lunch with this little to do" but there's no way to convey just. How. Long. Everything Takes. "Law & Order" shows still use film (as opposed to video or digital video) so it's fairly old-school with lighting and big rigging and it takes an incredible long time to get everything just so. Then there are a hundred things that can go wrong, from the boom being in the shot, to an actor bobbling his lines (very rarely with the regulars), to someone walking in the wrong direction in a shot, to a director just wanting to do things a little different once he sees how it looks in the monitor.

There are eight million details to consider, too -- what kind of mugs do you want to use in this scene? where should the blood spatter appear on a shirt? is the A/C turned off during filming (too much noise)? Is someone sweating? Why are people still talking when we're about to roll? Can you hear that helicopter/airplane/boat noise in the background? There's tons of slang -- I learned what the real meanings of "dance floor," "video village," "honey wagon" are. And then there are the union regulations.

All of this is going into the book in one form or the other, in much greater detail. The episode, as mentioned, is called "Lunacy" and airs as the third episode in the new season, whenever that kicks off. And it's about a dead Belgian lesbian astronaut. What more could you ask for?

L&O CI: Noth Out ... Goldblum in!

2008-06-27T12:04:00.003-04:00

For those of us collective Logan-heads, a big cry of "nooooo!" rings out across the country again today. This, from today's Hollywood Reporter:

Jeff Goldblum has joined "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," replacing Chris Noth, who is leaving the crime drama after three seasons.

Goldblum, whose salary is said to be in the neighborhood of $250,000 an episode, will split starring duties with co-lead Vincent D'Onofrio the way D'Onofrio did with Noth.

"Jeff's presence will add a new dimension to an already successful show," "Law & Order" chief Dick Wolf said.

This was Noth's second tour of duty on the "Law & Order" franchise as Detective Mike Logan. He originated the role in the first five seasons of the mothership series.

"Chris has been a member of the 'Law & Order' family since the beginning, and Mike Logan is one of the most popular detectives in the history of television," Wolf said. "We all wish him the best."

New L&O ADA to replace Diane Neal

2008-06-25T11:59:00.004-04:00

And now we know who our new ADA will be. Ladies and gentlepeoples, meet Michaela McManus. From today's Hollywood Reporter:

"I'm delighted that Michaela is joining the cast of SVU as its newest series regular," "Law & Order" chief Dick Wolf said. "We look forward to her working with Neal (Baer), Ted (Kotcheff) and me to create another interesting and memorable character in the Law & Order universe."

McManus, who recurred as Linsey Strauss on "One Tree Hill," is repped by UTA and Principal Entertainment.

No idea how old she is, but between the OTH connection and her appearance, I'll wager she wasn't more than a babe when the original L&O series debuted. Just sayin'.

Oh, one other detail: E! Online says she used to be the receptionist at the gym where E!'s headquarters are.

Emmy Promotion Time!

2008-05-31T00:38:00.004-04:00

Feel like showing your support for the Law & Order shows? Now you can do it -- literally -- by heading over here and voting for the buttons you'd like to have sent to you. Just hand over your address (there's always a catch) but you can pick as many of the shows' buttons as you like, and there's more than just L&O up there.

I smell collectors items....

Fox Nabs SVU for Syndication

2008-04-29T12:24:00.003-04:00

Good news for SVU! Syndication rights for the show have been sold to Fox. (What does this mean for USA Network, where it currently reruns, though?)

From today's Hollywood Reporter:

Top-rated "Law & Order" spinoff "SVU" has been sold into syndication to Fox-owned stations and will begin airing as a weekday strip in fall 2009.

The Dick Wolf series has sold in 18 of the top 20 markets. In addition to Fox-owned stations, "SVU" has sold to stations owned by CBS, Sinclair, Sunbeam, Belo, Hearst, Granite, Capitol, Local TV and others.

" 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' continues to be one of the highest-rated primetime dramas on TV, and it's a bona fide hit in weekend broadcast syndication this season," said Barry Wallach, president of NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution. " 'SVU' is a successful brand with both viewers and advertisers alike and it will undoubtedly make for a great Monday-through-Friday series for local broadcasters starting in 2009."

"SVU" is the second-highest-rated network crime drama after CBS' "CSI." The series also debuted this season in weekend syndication and improved its time periods.

Two out at L&O: SVU

2008-04-16T20:01:00.003-04:00

TV Guide online has reported that Diane Neal is leaving L&O: SVU:

A show spokesperson confirmed the actress' departure, saying, "Diane spent five years on SVU and was a tremendous addition to the SVU team. She is looking forward to new opportunities and she will be missed."

Neal, who will make her final appearance in next month's season finale, joined SVU in 2003 as ADA Casey Novak, replacing Stephanie March. She had previously appeared in a Season 3 episode as a different character, a female rapist by the name of Amelia Chase.

The search for a new ADA is already under way, and, sadly, bringing March back doesn't appear to be an option. Word is that Dick Wolf is looking to fill the void with an up-and-comer. No disrespect to Neal, but, for my money, SVU is unlikely to ever find an ADA as arresting as Alex Cabot.

What that haven't yet mentioned is that she isn't the only one departing the show, from what we hear. More on that, no doubt, soon.

Jesse L. Martin Out at L&O!

2008-02-21T12:34:00.004-05:00

Jesse is history at L&O, after nine years. According to the Hollywood Reporter article out today, Anthony Anderson is likely to take his place.

From the article:

Martin will film one more episode of the Wolf Films/Universal Media Studios series, in which his character, Detective Ed Green, will be written off, sources said.

The actor had signed on to do the first 13 episodes this season with an option for more.

Jesse, you will be missed! Has it really been nine years?

NBC/Universal Lawsuit Against Dick Wolf

2008-01-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

NBC Universal has filed suit against Dick Wolf over a contract dispute, according to today's Hollywood Reporter:

On Friday, NBC-Universal Network Programming and Universal Network Television filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the "L&O" creator and executive producer asking the court to interpret a contract between the two over the amount of executive producer fees Wolf is entitled to receive for the all three series, which include "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

At issue is an agreement signed in September 2004 by the two sides that included provisions for Wolf's executive producer fees, imputed license fees and other fees and compensation for the "Law & Order" series.

NBC Universal claims the agreement is a "pay-or-play" contract calling for Wolf to be paid executive producer fees in 48-episode blocks upon each order from NBC, regardless of how many episodes are actually ordered.

According to the complaint, Wolf has contended the 48-episode guarantee provides a "kill fee" in which he can be paid for two seasons of episodes of any "Law & Order" series, including ones that are not produced when NBC decides to not order more seasons. NBC Universal claim that Wolf's position would provide him "with an unintended windfall of millions of dollars."

NBC Universal's lawsuit has not changed Wolf's position on the issue.

"NBC Universal is trying to rewrite an existing contract," he said through a representative. "Apparently, our partner is willing to commission rewrites during the strike."

On the one hand, it may not be that big of a deal ... but on the other, is this some way for the network to get out of more "L&O" seasons? That's the big concern from this standpoint....

L&O/CI: Noth spawns!

2008-01-24T17:12:00.001-05:00

For those of you who may have missed the announcement last week (and I'm raising my hand, too), Chris Noth became a father on January 18. The babe's name? Orion.

Here's a blurb from one of the gossip mags:

News: New "Unofficial Companion" Book Coming in 2009

2008-01-12T11:21:00.000-05:00

Exclusive to apocrypha: BenBella Books will be publishing a new "Law & Order" "Unofficial Companion" book, this one devoted to the "Special Victims Unit" show. At the moment, the expected publish date is in 2009, so you'll have plenty of time to save up your pennies.

But the bonus news is that it'll be co-written by Susan Green (author of the original "Law & Order: Unofficial Companion" book (at left), which was last published in 1997 -- and ... well, one of your apocrypha co-editors lo these many years, who you know best as Kitt.

That means apocrypha readers will get updates on the book first, have exclusive access to early pages, and even have the chance to contribute to the book's final content!

Over the next few weeks, we'll be putting up a Web page devoted specifically to the book, and likely either tailor this blog to the book more specifically, or start up a second blog. So be sure to watch this space or sign up to the apocrypha list (if you're not already a member). At that time, we're going to give you an email address where you can send all of the questions you've always wanted to ask about the show, its characters, its writers and so forth -- and if possible, we'll get the answers to include in the book. The fans are what make "SVU" so great -- and we definitely need you guys!

All for now -- more, naturally, coming soon ... but we're going to be very busy -- we have almost 200 episodes to re-watch!

Bloody Good: L&O Gets British Makeover

2008-01-03T12:56:00.000-05:00

From today's Hollywood Reporter:

Original 'L&O' series handles London calls
By Kimberly Nordyke and Nellie Andreeva
Jan 3, 2008

"Law & Order" is getting a British accent.

NBC Universal and Wolf Films are in negotiations to license U.K. format rights to the long-running procedural drama series to British production company Kudos Film & Television, sources said. ITV is set to air the tentatively titled "Law & Order: London," which Kudos, the company behind BBC's "Hustle," will co-produce.

"L&O: London" will mark the first locally produced version of Dick Wolf's original "L&O" series and the first English-language version of any series in the "L&O" franchise outside of the U.S.

Angela Bromstad, president of international television production at NBC Universal, was involved in the deal, her first major move since taking over the new London-based division in September.

While format rights to the original "L&O" had never been sold internationally, Russia already has launched local versions of "Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and France also has its own version of "L&O: CI."

"L&O" had been considered more difficult to translate because of differences in the legal systems in Europe and the U.S.

Wolf previously has indicated a desire to expand the "L&O" brand even further beyond North America and Europe.

"L&O," which had its 18th-season premiere on NBC on Wednesday night, is TV's longest-running crime series and its second-longest-running drama series behind "Gunsmoke."

New Fanfic: Part 2 of "Undercover Love"

2007-12-27T18:17:00.000-05:00

As promised, here's Part 2 of "Undercover Love" -- happy New Year from apocrypha!

Undercover Love, Part 2
By Tara M. Patterson

In which Don Cragen goes undercover in more ways than one.

Ho! Ho! Holiday Stories!

2007-12-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

Just in time for the holidays, apocrypha is serving two steaming new stories (and in the case of at least one, that steam is pretty literal)!

First off, start with the hors d'oeuvres:

Into the Garden
By Fear-ciuil

In which Anita Van Buren reminisces over her father's war record -- in Korea.

Then move on to the main course, the first part of a two-part story (the second, we're hoping to have up before the New Year):

Undercover Love
By Tara M. Patterson

In which Don Cragen goes undercover in more ways than one.

That's right! It's an all Lieutenant/Captain special to keep you warm this season. Enjoy, and keep your eyes posted here -- and on the apocrypha mailing list -- for the alert on Part 2 of "Undercover Love."

Happy holidays, everyone!

Jerry Lives On, Continued

2007-09-16T00:54:00.000-04:00

Jerry continues his posthumous takeover of New York City, and we couldn't be happier. Here's a press release for the event on Monday. And we still miss you, Jerry!

THE CITY OF NEW YORK TO NAME A STREET AFTER LEGEND OF STAGE AND SCREEN JERRY ORBACH

DEDICATION CEREMONY TO BE HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 at 2:30 p.m.
FOLLOWED BY A RECEPTION AT THE JERRY ORBACH THEATRE (210 W 50th St.)

WHAT:
The City of New York will name a portion of 53rd Street at 8th Avenue after legendary star of stage and screen, JERRY ORBACH. A street sign reading "JERRY ORBACH WAY" will be unveiled during a dedication ceremony on Monday, September 17 at 2:30 p.m. on the southwest corner of the block. The beloved actor's widow, Elaine Caniclla-Orbach, Richard Belzer and fellow cast members from "Law & Order" and cast members from the Off-Broadway cast of The Fantasticks will attend. A brief reception will follow at the Jerry Orbach Theater (210 West 50th Street).

Fresh Fanfic!

2007-07-25T21:54:00.001-04:00

Hello there, folks!

Well, the original mission of apocrypha was to publish Law & Order-related fanfic, and we're picking up the mantle yet again to present you with two brand-new stories:

First Comes Love
By McCoylover

In this longer short, go back in time with Jack McCoy and the assistant assigned to him once Sally Bell left the office -- Elizabeth Donnelly -- and discover that a leopard can't change his spots....

Montreal
By Sugar Kane

Ben Stone left the DA's office and took off for points north. So where can he be found today?

For those unfamiliar with our ratings system, go here to explain the icons. And enjoy!

Jerry Gets Theater Named After Him

2007-06-19T11:56:00.000-04:00

This should be lovely: Go if you can! (It's really for press, but you never know....)

THE SNAPPLE THEATER CENTER TO NAME ONE OF TWO THEATRE SPACES AFTER THE BELOVED, LATE ACTOR JERRY ORBACH

DEDICATION CEREMONY TO BE HELD ON THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2007

SAM WATERSON TO SPEAK
KAREN ZIEMBA TO PERFORM

FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES MARISKA HARGITAY, BEBE NEUWIRTH, KELLY BISHOP, CELESTE HOLM, TOM JONES and ANITA GILLETTE TO ATTEND

WHO:
SAM WATERSON, KAREN ZIEMBA, MARISKA HARGITAY, BEBE NEUWIRTH, KELLY BISHOP, CELESTE HOLM, TOM JONES, ANITA GILLETTE, ANTHONY FEDOROV

WHAT:
The Snapple Theater Center (1627 Broadway) will name one of two
theatre spaces after the beloved, late actor Jerry Orbach. The current home
of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway revival of The Fantasticks will be
named The Jerry Orbach Theater at a dedication ceremony to be held on
Thursday, June 21, 2007. An adjacent rehearsal studio will be named in
honor of Mr. Orbach's widow, and Broadway veteran, Elaine Cancilla-Orbach.

WHERE:
Snapple Theatre Center (210 W. 50th Street at Broadway)

WHEN:
Thursday, June 21, 2007

Arrivals / Photo Ops:
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Ceremony:
6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m

Jerry Orbach, best known for his starring role as wisecracking Detective
Lennie Briscoe in the long-running television series "Law & Order," was also
an accomplished Tony Award-winning Broadway and Off-Broadway actor. His
theatre career began in 1960 as El Gallo in the original Off-Broadway
production of The Fantasticks. He later went on to star on Broadway in such
beloved musicals as 42nd Street, Chicago (Tony Award nomination), Guys and
Dolls (Tony Award nomination) and Promises, Promises which earned him the
1969 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. On the silver screen, Mr.
Orbach appeared most notably in the films Prince of the City, Dirty Dancing,
Crimes and Misdemeanors and provided the voice of Lumiere in Disney's
animated feature, Beauty and the Best. Mr. Orbach lost his battle to
prostate cancer on December 28, 2004 at the age of 69.

Located on the corner of 50th Street and Broadway in the heart of Times
Square, the Snapple Theater Center is Snapple's first branded entertainment
center. Since its official opening in May of 2006, The Snapple Theater
Center has been home to two landmark Off-Broadway shows: The Fantasticks,
the world's longest-running musical, and Perfect Crime, the longest-running
play in New York City.

Mothership: Out with Milena, in with Jeremy

2007-06-01T11:36:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Sisto joins the gang!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Sisto flashing 'Law' badge
By Nellie Andreeva
June 1, 2007
Jeremy Sisto is returning to NBC next season with a starring role on "Law & Order."

Sisto, who played the lead on NBC's "Kidnapped" last season, will play a detective on "L&O," which is returning in the fall for its 18th season.

"I've watched Jeremy's career evolve and grow, and I am absolutely thrilled that he has decided to join 'Law & Order,' " "L&O" creator/executive producer Dick Wolf said.

Sisto is not a stranger to the veteran crime drama. He guest-starred on the show's 17th-season finale last month, playing a defense attorney. He now will play a brand-new character, which is expected to replace Detective Nina Cassady (Milena Govich).

Sisto's deal to join "L&O" comes on the heels of Fred Thompson's announcement Wednesday that he is leaving the series, on which he played District Attorney Arthur Branch for the past five seasons (HR 5/31).

Sisto, probably best known for his role on Alan Ball's critically acclaimed HBO drama "Six Feet Under," co-stars in Adrienne Shelly's indie romantic comedy "Waitress."

He is repped by ICM and manager Robert Stein.

Fred Thompson Departs L&O

2007-05-31T11:48:00.000-04:00

From The Hollywood Reporter — Fred is leaving the mothership. Personally, I think it's more than past time that they put McCoy's character in charge, and get someone else as the EADA. Should be interesting the next few weeks.....

Also: The apocrypha interview with Thompson, from 2004 is here.

Thompson leaving NBC's 'Law'
By Nellie Andreeva
May 31, 2007
Fred Thompson is giving up his post as D.A. on NBC's "Law & Order."

Thompson, a former Republican senator from Tennessee who has flirted with the idea of running for president but has yet to announce his candidacy, played District Attorney Arthur Branch on the long-running crime drama for the past five seasons.

"I've spoken to Fred today, and although he told me he has not made a firm decision about his political future, he felt that given the creative and scheduling constraints of the upcoming season, he asked to be released from his responsibilities to the show," "Law & Order" creator/executive producer Dick Wolf said Wednesday. "I will sincerely miss working with him on a regular basis, and I obviously wish him the best of luck with whatever the future holds."

The statement came hours after news reports indicated that Thompson will form a presidential committee this week.

It has been rumored for months that Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy, played by "L&O" veteran Sam Waterston, might be bumped up to Branch's position in the show's upcoming 18th season.

A breakdown being floated has "L&O" potentially adding a D.A. and two detectives next season. There are two police detectives on the series, played by veteran Jesse Martin and Milena Govich. Sources indicated that Govich would not be coming back, while Martin might return for another season.

Through a spokeswoman, Wolf declined to discuss any further casting changes on the show.

Balcer Lands at the Mothership (Again!)

2007-05-18T16:08:00.001-04:00

Hurrah!

Rene Balcer's back! (I thought that might happen, once I heard he was on set at "Criminal Intent" recently, but having him at the mothership again is even better than if he'd taken the helm at CI.)

Two apocrypha interviews with Balcer from over the years:

1998
1999

Balcer back on 'Law & Order' beat
Showrunner returns for 18th season
By JOSEF ADALIAN
"Law & Order" vet Rene Balcer is returning to the mothership, signing on as showrunner for the skein's 18th season.

Deal comes in the wake of "L&O's" last-minute renewal by NBC. In addition to producer changes, "L&O" mogul Dick Wolf is expected to institute some cast changes at the show as well.

Balcer--who developed "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"-- dipped his toes back into the "L&O" waters earlier this spring when he agreed to serve as a consultant on the last few episodes of the season (Daily Variety, March 13).

New deal has him returning full-time, taking over showrunner duties from Nick Wooton.

"Rene's talent has been manifest since the first season of 'Law & Order,'" Wolf said. "It was under his watch that the show won the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy Award and his work on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' was groundbreaking. Rene's return to 'Law & Order' signals a creative renaissance on the mothership that should carry us closer to my ultimate goal of beating 'Gunsmoke'."

Having joined "L&O" during its first season back in 1990, Balcer became showrunner/head writer in 1996. His four-year stint coincided with the skein's emergence as a top 10 hit and its first Emmy win as best drama.

CAA-repped Balcer teamed with Wolf to develop "Criminal Intent," which premiered in 2001. He served as "CI" showrunner until last year, when he handed off the gig to Warren Leight (but remained as a consultant).

More on the good news

2007-05-13T22:12:00.000-04:00

From the original press release about the renewals:

ALL THREE “LAW & ORDER”- BRANDED SERIES WILL CONTINUE ON THE NETWORKS OF NBC UNIVERSAL

NBC CHANGES THE TELEVISION LANDSCAPE ONCE AGAIN,
AS 'CRIMINAL INTENT' MOVES TO TOP-RATED USA NETWORK THIS FALL, WITH A SECOND WINDOW ON NBC

'LAW & ORDER' WILL RETURN FOR UNRIVALED 18TH SEASON ON NBC

AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED, 'LAW & ORDER: SVU' RETURNS TO NBC IN THE FALL

NEW YORK – May 13, 2007 – NBC Universal is bringing back all three "Law & Order'-branded series for the 2007- 2008 television season.

"Law & Order" will return to the NBC network for an unprecedented 18th season. It joins the previously announced "Law & Order: SVU" on the network's prime time schedule. "Law & Order" is the longest running crime drama in television history, and second only to the longest running drama series "Gunsmoke," which ran for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975.

In a groundbreaking move, the acclaimed drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will move from NBC to USA, the top-rated basic cable network, which is owned by NBC Universal. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will return for its seventh season with its premiere runs on USA, followed by an encore play on NBC. USA is the #1 basic cable network, among households, total viewers, and all key demos. For the last six seasons, "Criminal Intent" has run first on NBC and then had its second window on USA. Beginning next year, that scenario flips.

"With this innovative programming move, we have significantly strengthened the already powerful USA network, given NBC maximum flexibility, and in the process have changed the paradigm of prime time television," said Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal's President and Chief Executive Officer. "By changing the traditional way programs are rolled out, we have reinforced NBC Universal's forward thinking approach to new programming strategies and our willingness to embrace bold thinking. In the end, it is all about our viewers. And this will allow our viewers continuing access to the finest programming across the premier networks of NBC Universal." Zucker added, "We are thrilled to continue our successful business relationship with Dick Wolf and his team."

Creator/Executive Producer Dick Wolf said, "I am thrilled and delighted that Wolf Films and NBC Universal will continue the longest running and most successful partnership in television. This is a win-win for everybody. With all three Law & Orders on the air, formats of 'SVU' and 'CI' on in Russia and France, and discussions ongoing in other territories, this new deal encourages and enhances our mutual desire for our companies to become a major force in global television. This is the tip of the sphere of a new media paradigm."

He added, "I am very grateful that 'Law & Order' is coming back for its 18th season on NBC. Creatively, the show is still firing on all cylinders and I have no doubt that the show's quality can and will continue for years to come. We are scheduled to celebrate our 400th episode next season, which is a milestone that is absolutely staggering. And we are now one year closer to my ultimate dream - to become the longest running drama in the history of television, beating Gunsmoke." Wolf continued, "SVU redefined the network/cable broadcast model when it premiered in 1999, by creating a repurposed window on basic cable for a network show. Now Criminal Intent adds a new dimension to that model, with a groundbreaking licensing of a repurpose window in reverse, to the network. CI enjoyed a creative resurgence last season and I expect the new USA/NBC dual broadcast window will bring new life to the show in its seventh year."

"'Law and Order' has remained one of NBC's defining series and dependable performers for its entire, formidable 17 year run." said Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment, "We're so pleased that Dick Wolf and his talented team of producers will continue this legacy of quality storytelling on NBC."

"'Law and Order: Criminal Intent' is perfect for USA -- smart, character-driven programming that's already a proven hit with our viewers," said Bonnie Hammer, president of USA Network and SCI FI Channel. "It's also a blockbuster procedural, a terrific complement to the award-winning 'Monk' and last year's top-rated new show, 'Psych'. Combined with the powerhouse WWE and the rest of the network's dynamic slate, it ensures that USA will continue to dominate the cable landscape and remain #1."

The "Law & Order" brand accounts for the #1, 2 and 3 off-network primetime series on basic cable through the first four months of 2007 in adults 25-54, with "Criminal Intent" on USA (1.020 million adults 25-54), "SVU" on USA (945,000 adults 25-54) and "Law & Order" on TNT (864,000 adults 25-54).

More than 100 million viewers watch the "Law & Order" dramas on cable or broadcast each month, making it television's most-watched drama franchise.

"Law & Order" runs in syndication on TNT. "Law & Order: SVU" is also seen in national syndication on USA, Bravo and on weekends on local broadcast stations. Starting this fall, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will air on local broadcast stations on a Monday through Friday basis, as well as continuing to air on USA and Bravo.

The "Law & Order" franchise is also seen in hundreds of territories around the world and has continued its expansion overseas with new format deals for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (France and Russia) and "Law & Order: SVU" (Russia).

"Law & Order" is the most successful brand in primetime television. The realistic program looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective. Some cases may be simple, but most are multi-faceted. The investigations are challenging, prosecutions are complicated, and decisions about legal procedures and plea-bargaining are vexing.

Fridays at 10 p.m. (ET), the original "Law & Order" has averaged a 2.7 rating, 8 share in adults 18-49 and 9.0 million viewers overall. "Law & Order" has improved the time period versus NBC's year-ago 18-49 average by 12 percent and is Friday's most upscale series on any network (in concentration of adults 18-49 living in homes with $100,000-plus incomes).

"Law & Order: SVU" chronicles the life and crimes of the Special Victims Unit of the New York Police Department, the elite squad of detectives who investigate sexually based crimes.

Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is #1 in the time period in every key ratings category and an original "SVU" hasn't lost the slot in adults 18-49 to regular competition in more than two years. For the season, "SVU" has delivered a 4.2 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 12.0 million viewers overall. This season, "SVU" built on its 18-49 lead-in by 50 percent.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent," takes viewers into the minds of its criminals while following the psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve the crimes.

Tuesdays at 9 p.m. (ET), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" has averaged a 2.8 rating, 7 share in adults 18-49 and 8.9 million viewers overall for the 2006-07 television season. "Criminal Intent" has built on its 18-49 lead-in by 27 percent in adults 18-49.

All three 'Law & Order' programs are produced by Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television Studios.

The wait is over: Good news!

2007-05-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Well, that was a close one: the Mothership and CI will return, although originals of CI will now be on USA Network.

NBC renews 'Law' for 18th season
By Nellie Andreeva
May 14, 2007
After months of intense negotiations, NBC and Dick Wolf closed a deal over the weekend to bring veteran crime drama "Law & Order" back to the network for an 18th season.

Another "Law & Order" series whose future was up in the air, sequel "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," will move to NBC Universal's USA Network this fall, with a second window on NBC.

Additionally, Wolf has extended his overall deal with NBC through 2012.

With its last minute renewal before NBC's upfront presentation Monday, the mothership "L&O" series is closing in on "Gunsmoke," which holds the record for longest running drama series, 20 years.

Meanwhile, "L&O: CI" will return for a seventh season with premiere runs on USA, followed by an encore play on NBC. USA has had syndication rights to "CI," airing reruns of the crime drama.

"With this innovative programming move, we have significantly strengthened the already powerful USA network, given NBC maximum flexibility, and in the process have changed the paradigm of prime time television," said Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal's president and CEO. "In the end, it is all about our viewers. And this will allow our viewers continuing access to the finest programming across the premier networks of NBC Universal."

The move of "CI" to USA follows rumors about a possible migration of the original "L&O" series to TNT, which owns the syndication rights to it.

Dick Wolf, creator/executive producer of the "L&O" franchise, called the deal for "L&O" and "L&O:CI" "a win-win for everybody." The third "L&O" series, "L&O: SVU," was renewed in January.

"With all three 'Law & Orders' on the air, formats of 'SVU' and 'CI' on in Russia and France, and discussions ongoing in other territories, this new deal encourages and enhances our mutual desire for our companies to become a major force in global television," Wolf said. "I am very grateful that 'Law & Order' is coming back for its 18th season on NBC. We are scheduled to celebrate our 400th episode next season, which is a milestone that is absolutely staggering. And we are now one year closer to my ultimate dream -- to become the longest running drama in the history of television, beating Gunsmoke."

The "Law & Order" series rank as the top three off-network primetime series on basic cable through the first four months of 2007 in adults 25-54, led by "Criminal Intent" on USA (1.020 million adults 25-54).

So far this season, the original "L&O" has averaged a 2.7 rating/8 share in adults 18-49 and 9.0 million viewers overall in the Friday 10 p.m. time slot.

All "L&O" series are produced by Wolf Films and NBC Universal TV Studio.

New York Magazine Article on SVU

2007-05-08T21:41:00.000-04:00

New York magazine's John Leonard had a few things to say recently about what he calls the "Donk Donk" dynasty. Well, he doesn't call it that, the headline writer did.

From the piece:

Still, we may have wearied of the Law & Order prototype (in which, week after ripped-from-the-headlines week, in spite of Sam Waterston’s hangdog exasperation, justice is denied by pettifogging, hairsplitting, bleeding-heart judges), and of its Criminal Intent sibling (in which even Eric Bogosian finds himself gasping after Vincent D’Onofrio eats all the air in the room). But Benson and Stabler keep us watching SVU. No other creatures in the Dick Wolf stable are allowed such emotional dishabille. It probably doesn’t hurt that almost every episode of SVU can be counted on to obsess about and drool all over occasions of rape and/or pedophilia.

Meanwhile, the countdown on the fate of the other L&O shows continues. Answer should be known by the end of the week, or Monday at the latest (that's when NBC holds its upfronts and has to say what it'll be plugging into its slots, as it were). It's not a great sign that both shows are hanging by a thread, and it's hard to know how much extra time may be bought if they both survive. But one interesting idea has recently surfaced: Should the mothership be shuttered, perhaps it'll end up on a cable station. No reason why the same thing couldn't happen for "Criminal Intent" ....

Putting the rumor mill into high gear

2007-04-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

For those who might have missed some recent comments by VDOVault, an excellent commenter on these boards, here's some more links about what's going on behind the scenes at Law & Order/Criminal Intent:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268020,00.html#2
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267803,00.html#2

In summary (or, word/aka Fox's Roger Friedman) has it:

1) Should L&O survive being axed, the lead cops will be replaced with less-expensive ones.
2) Chris Noth is likely to be axed from "Criminal Intent."
3) His partner, Julianne Nicholson is pregnant and already out.
4) One producer (Jamie Crowell Blank) at L&O is out.
5) S. Epatha Merkerson is unhappy with a lack of camera time and has made noise about it.

***********

Bear in mind, as we've said before, that this is a Fox gossip columnist (he's very in, but he's not always accurate -- Merkerson hasn't been with the show "from the start," as he says) and he's talking about an NBC show.

Sources close to apocrypha spoke with Merkerson recently and she indicated that people are concerned behind the scenes about what happens next, but didn't voice anything about trying to grab more land for herself. Other sources indicated that Noth's salary is the issue; perception at NBC is that he might be able to carry a show on his own.

And that's what we know, at this point.

Not Good, Not Bad ... Yet

2007-04-19T13:31:00.000-04:00

The news still remains in the air about the fate of "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" -- both of which might not get renewed. We'll know in mid-May. Meanwhile, here's an article from today's "Hollywood Reporter" which looks at the fate of the two shows.

No decision on 2 'L&O' series
After more than a month of negotiations, the future of Dick Wolf's crime dramas for NBC, "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," is still uncertain.

This week began with a flurry of rumors Monday about the cancellation of the mothership series. After an in-person meeting between reps for Wolf and NBC later that day, the fate of the show was moved back into the "undecided" column. Talks between the two sides are expected to stretch into early May before a final decision on the two series is made. (The franchise's third series, "L&O: SVU," was picked up for next season in January.)

"Talks have been taking place and continue to take place about the future of both 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent,' " Wolf said Wednesday. "I think the discussions have reached a productive stage, and it's my finest hope that we will find a way to have both shows picked up. I feel that creatively they are remarkably strong.

" 'Criminal Intent' went through a major face-lift this fall, and I think it really worked. I also think that 'Law & Order' is still doing a great job of telling stories that very few other shows can tackle," Wolf said.

He declined further comment on the negotiations.

"We're in discussions with Dick to explore ways to bring back one or both shows, but no final decision has been made," an NBC spokeswoman said.

From the very beginning, it was made clear by both sides that a renewal for the shows would be a business decision; both "L&O," in its 17th season, and "L&O: CI," in its sixth, are expensive to produce, with ensemble casts and New York-based shoots, while their ratings have held steady but not near the levels from several years ago.

But as negotiations have been going on, NBC's fortunes changed. With "Heroes" still on the bench, the network posted its lowest weekly ratings among adults 18-49 for the past two weeks, with a number of series softening, including once-hot game show "Deal or No Deal."

It is understood that, from a financial standpoint, even with significant cost cuts, "L&O" won't be able continue in its current slot on the low-traffic, low-ad-revenue Friday night. Things look brighter if "Law & Order" moves to another night, with the Wednesday 10 p.m. period — where the veteran drama spent 15 years — as a potential candidate. All of the drama series NBC has put in the time slot since sending "L&O" to Fridays have fared worse than the drama.

It is understood that the "L&O" camp also is hoping for a return of its other series on the bubble, "L&O: CI," to its old Sunday 9 p.m. period after football.

There has been speculation about potential casting changes on "L&O," including Fred Thompson and Milena Govich leaving, but sources said that no decisions will be made until there is a license fee deal.

While its future on the network is still in doubt, the "L&O" franchise is going strong for producers NBC Universal TV Studio and Wolf Films with international format sales and domestic syndication sales. Russian versions of "L&O: SVU" and "L&O: CI" already are on the air, and France is about to launch a local version of "L&O: CI," and "L&O: SVU" recently was sold in weekend syndication for the fall in the U.S.

SVU Family Grows

2007-02-06T19:54:00.000-05:00

Well, there'll be some new developments in the life of our beloved SVU characters soon, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Gail Shister, who reports:

On the Feb. 27 episode, "Philadelphia," Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), who was conceived when her mother was raped, discovers she has a half-brother. He leads her to the father she's never met.

Michael Weston, who terrorized Michael C. Hall's character in HBO's Six Feet Under, will do two episodes as Benson's bro, Simon Marsden. The second, "Florida," will air during May sweeps.

"After eight seasons of searching, we thought it was time for Olivia to have someone to hold onto," says SVU executive producer Neal Baer. "She's been looking all her life for answers to the fact" of her birth.

"She's always wanted to know if there's anybody out there she's related to, as painful as that information might be. She comes to understand her past... . When she finds her father, she finally has closure."

Baer was in West Philly the other day to speak at a luncheon sponsored by Penn's Critical Writing Program. (Full disclosure: This reporter teaches a course in the program.)

Benson's sib surfaces during a DNA "kinship analysis" performed in a rape case she's investigating outside her jurisdiction. She gets a hard time from Roxborough's own Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue), playing a local precinct captain.

Benson tracks down Marsden in prison. "It's an issue of 'Like father, like son,' " Baer says.

SVU runs in Weston's family - his father, John Rubinstein, played a judge in an episode in '05. Weston's grandfather was legendary piano virtuoso Arthur Rubinstein.

Unlike Law & Order and L&O: Criminal Intent, SVU routinely delves into the private lives of Hargitay's Det. Benson and her volatile partner, Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni), among others.

In Dick Wolf's criminal justice system, however, not all creative elements are equally important. He doesn't like personal stories, and he doesn't like stars.

Given that Hargitay and Meloni just re-signed for an un-Wolfish $6.5 million each, how did Baer defang the Wolf on both counts?

"What works for Law & Order may not necessarily work for SVU," says Baer, 50, a Harvard Medical School grad and pediatrician. He was a producer for ER for seven seasons before joining SVU.

For starters, SVU is the most popular of the L&O franchise and is NBC's No. 2 show, Baer says. Also, Hargitay's winning an Emmy for best actress in a drama last year didn't hurt.

"I guess I could write a strictly procedural show, but I'm so interested in characters," he says. "I like to know what makes them tick."

To Baer, Benson "represents the empathy and compassion we all feel for the victims." Stabler: "the rage." Hargitay is the real star, Baer says. They've been friends since she played Anthony Edwards' girlfriend on ER.

Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers) will join SVU next season as new partner to Ice-T's Det. Tutuola. Richard Belzer's John Munch will stick around, Baer says.

P.S. Baer has exactly one TV in his home, which he keeps in a locked guest room so his 16-year-old son can't watch it during the week. It was a gift from Wolf, he says. (The TV, not the guest room.)

Chris and Mariska: Bigger pay, longer stay

2007-01-25T21:17:00.000-05:00

Looks like Chris and Mariska will be sticking around, albiet with fatter paychecks. Yay us! From The Hollywood Reporter:

"Law & Order: SVU" stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have signed lucrative deals, valued by sources at more than $330,000 per episode for each actor.

The two-year pact makes Hargitay the highest-paid actress on television, surpassing "The Closer" star Kyra Sedgwick, who recently secured a rate of
$250,000-$300,000 per episode of TNT's hit police drama.

Meloni would join the top tier of TV actors, closing in on the highest-paid actor on broadcast TV, Charlie Sheen of CBS' "Two and a Half Men."

Sources said NBC and the show's producers briefly considered replacement
scenarios, sending out feelers to several male actors, but they ultimately
opted to stick with the show's original leads. The hit show is currently in its eighth season, and was recently picked up for a ninth.

Through a representative, "Law & Order" franchise creator Dick Wolf declined comment on any specifics of Hargitay and Meloni's deals.

"Obviously, I'm thrilled that Chris and Mariska have decided to stay with a show that they've made an indelible stamp upon as we move into our ninth
season," Wolf said.

At the announcement of the early pickup last week, NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly was asked whether "SVU" could continue without its
two stars.

"The 'Law & Order' brand has proven before that it can be stronger than any one performer if it were to ever come to that," he said. "But they are
stars, and I certainly hope they're going to be our stars for the run of the show."

"SVU," the first spinoff of the long-running "Law & Order," is the strongest of the three "L&O" series ratingswise and the only one already picked up for next season.

Last year, Hargitay and Meloni were nominated for an Emmy for their work on the show, and Hargitay won for best actress in the drama series.

Jerry Lives On

2007-01-09T23:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks to an eagle-eyed apocrypha list reader and, of course, Gothamist, apocrypha has recently learned that Jerry Orbach is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

According to the Daily News article:

Beloved actor Jerry Orbach embodied the quintessential New Yorker, living his life with wisdom, wit and generosity.
Now two lucky women will see the world through his eyes.
The Broadway and TV star donated his eyes when he died in December 2004, giving sight to two women who needed new corneas.
"I cannot remember a day that went by where he didn't say, 'I want to donate my eyes,' " Orbach's widow, Elaine, recalled yesterday.
A prostate-cancer patient at the time of his death at age 69, the Bronx-born Orbach did not donate any other organs, she said. "He never wore glasses. He could read in the dark, practically - just this wonderful vision he was so proud of."
For 12 seasons, he played menschy wise-guy detective Lennie Briscoe on TV's "Law & Order," making him the ideal face of a new donor-recruitment campaign by the Manhattan-based Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, said the organization's spokeswoman, Noel Mick.
"He widely appealed to people," Mick said. "Hopefully, it will increase donations in the New York area. We're in need," she said, noting the bank needs 1,100-1,200 annual donors.
Elaine Orbach said one of the actor's corneas went to a woman who needed a nearsighted eye, and the other went to a woman who needed a farsighted one.
"I wonder if they have an overwhelming desire to watch 'Law & Order' or maybe sing '42nd Street' all of a sudden," she mused.
Radio and TV announcements voiced by Orbach's son Chris began airing two weeks ago, and print versions are running in the Daily News. Subway ads debut this month, Mick said.

Jerry, we still miss ya!

Rene Balcer speaks!

2006-12-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

Rene Balcer, we miss you over at "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"! But we're not the only ones -- in late November, an interview with Balcer, who contributed in one way or the other to three of the four "Law & Orders" over the years, was published over at a "CI" fan site. It's worth taking a look, and remembering one of the most dedicated voices in the franchise over the years.

Hopefully, at some point NBC will come to its senses and hire this man back.

Here's the interview.

We Heart TNT

2006-10-02T15:18:00.000-04:00

So, we're a little behind the times on this, but in case you hadn't been to TNT's L&O site in a while, it's a good time to check it out. The network has made October a Lennie tribute month, with special episodes focusing on the shows the late Jerry Orbach appeared in, and since these are some of the cream of the crop for the show, you should re-arrange your schedule now.

Anyway, that's what brought us there. What's keeping us around are some wonderful items we've long wished were kept in an Internet repository on the show, and a few we didn't even think of. They've got:

Lennie quips
A list of famous cameos
Trivia
Video clips

And our favorite ....

The revelation of Steve Zirnkilton, the voice of all the shows, the one who's really been there since day one. Yes, he's been appearing in "I (Heart) L&O" ads on TNT for a while, but now he even has his own page. Good going, Steve! And thanks TNT.

Now, let's just hope they never get rid of the page.

Mariska Brings It Home!

2006-08-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

Let's hear it for the girl!

Mariska Hargitay, by winning an Outstanding Actress award at last night's Emmys, has done the thus-far impossible: Proved a lead actor can win an award while working on a "Law & Order" show. In 16 years, with 3 shows, no one had done it before (all the other wins had been for guest stars).

And the only other lead actor to get a nomination was Michael Moriarty, in 1990.

We ran into Mariska and her darling husband (and occasional co-star) Peter Hermann at a pre-Emmy party, and they were just aglow and bubbling about their little new one, August. Mariska did not seem nervous in the least, just curious as to how this would pan out. The episode submitted for Mariska? The completely-excellent-until-the-final-"Die-Hard"-ending one, "911." Also hanging around was executive producer Ted Kotcheff, who was delightful to chat with and who has been in the business for half a century. That ought to be worth an award in its own right.

From an article about the win:

Mariska Hargitay, who won the Emmy for lead actress in a drama series, credited the continuous creative strength of the crime drama "Law & Order: SVU," which is going into its eighth season in the fall, for being recognized so late in the series' run. "It's crazy," she said. "Who wins on a police procedural?"
Hargitay's first thought when she heard her name as winner in the lead drama actress category? "That my dad would be very happy," she said, choking up. Hargitay paid tribute to her father, body-builder Mickey Hargitay, for encouraging her to "make dreams happen, make miracles happen."

So congrats to Mariska and of course to Chris Meloni, who didn't win but did get the nom at least, and congrats to "SVU" for breaking the actor curse!

UPDATE: Show additions, subtractions

2006-07-31T12:41:00.000-04:00

Nona Gaye is out, Theresa Randle (above) is in. She has no L&O credits, and is 10 years older than Gaye, not that you could tell it. And, she is smokin' hot. (See below post.)

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Actress Nona Gaye has left the cast of NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" shortly after she signed on to play the new assistant district attorney.
Sources cited creative differences for Gaye's hasty exit, which occurred soon after production began on the crime drama's sixth season.

Gaye, the daughter of late soul icon Marvin Gaye, was quickly replaced by Theresa Randle, whose first day on the set is expected to be Tuesday. Her deal covers just three episodes, with an option to continue on the show as a regular.

Additionally, as was pointed out in a recent comment (and recognized elsehwere in the press) it appears that Julianne Nicholson will replace Annabella Sciorra on Criminal Intent. She has one L&O credit, on the mothership episode "All My Children" from 2001 as "Jessie Lucas."

She looks ... quirky. We like quirky.

Latest Show Additions

2006-07-20T11:38:00.000-04:00

With all of the shakeups going on at the various "Law & Orders," it's been almost hard to keep up. Here's what we know thus far:

Jamey Sheridan will now be replaced by Eric Bogosian, who appeared on "Law & Order" twice, as lawyer Gary Lowenthal in "Night and Fog" (1993) and "Conspiracy" (1992). Like Sheridan's character, Bogosian's will be the new captain of the precinct on "Criminal Intent." Presumably, as a New York City local, he'll stay longer, as Sheridan (who was based out of L.A.) didn't care for the commute.

Nona Gaye, who has no "L&O" credits but will follow in the footsteps of smokin' hot female ADAs who replace handsome, if staid, male ADAs (oh, Robinette, where are you now), has been hired as an ADA on "Criminal Intent" and is set to replace Courtney Vance. Best trivia on Gaye so far is that she is the daughter of Marvin Gaye.

No word yet on who'll replace Annabella Sciorra, who has also left "Criminal Intent," as of yet.

And, because we're very behind on updating (apologies), Alana De La Garza has been tapped to replace Annie Parisse on the original "Law & Order," while Milena Govich (formerly of "Conviction") will take Dennis Farina's place on the original series. De La Garza has no "L&O" credits, but Govich appeared on a 2005 original series episode called "Flaw."

While it's hard to say what acting chops or longevity any of these actors will have (barring Bogosian, who is a strong presence on any stage), the casting of so many overtly attractive women seems to indicate certain things about the series that longtime fans may not be appreciative of. Just one opinion, but this seems to scream "we need higher ratings, so we'll have more hot women" and "we're fading away quickly, so there's no need to adhere to actual reality any more when casting lead roles." The women who have appeared on the "L&Os" up until now have -- with the general exception of the main show's ADA role -- been attractive but never too "Hollywoody" in their appearance. You got the sense that these could be real people in their positions.

No more. A shame. Then again, maybe all of the L&O ladies will prove us wrong.

Farina Departs "Law & Order"

2006-05-30T22:38:00.000-04:00

Annnnnd....he's outta there!

Guess we'll never learn how he paid for his snazzy outfits, after all.

******

Dennis Farina to leave 'Law & Order'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dennis Farina is turning in his Law & Order badge. Farina has decided to leave his role as New York police Detective Joe Fontana after two seasons on the NBC drama to pursue other offers and projects being developed by his production company, his spokeswoman, Lori De Waal, said Tuesday.

The actor's movie credits include Get Shorty,Midnight Run,Out of Sight and the upcoming Purple Violets and You Kill Me.

Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order, said in a statement that he respected Farina's decision and looked forward to working with him again.

Farina's departure isn't the only change for Law & Order, which has a long history of cast turnover. Assistant district attorney Alexandra Borgia, played by Annie Parisse, was killed in the season finale as she investigated a murder case.

Parisse was part of a succession of actresses playing young female prosecutors paired with assistant D.A. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), including Jill Hennessy, Carey Lowell, Angie Harmon and Elizabeth Rohm.

Farina had succeeded longtime series fixture Jerry Orbach, whose Detective Lennie Briscoe was to be featured in a Law & Order spinoff before Orbach's death in 2004.

There was no announcement of cast additions for next season, a Law & Order spokeswoman said Tuesday.

L&O: Gorky Park

2006-05-24T11:32:00.000-04:00

From today's "Hollywood Reporter" magazine:

'L&O' getting Russian treatment

By Steve Brennan

Russian television viewers soon will get their own versions of two of the series in the "Law & Order" TV franchise — replete with cops, criminals and lawyers working in the Russian justice system.

NBC Universal International Television Distribution, Wolf Films and Russian broadcaster NTV have locked in a format deal for localized Russian versions of Dick Wolf's hit series "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Law & Order: SVU." The deal was unveiled Tuesday during the Los Angeles Screenings.

The moves mark the second and third international format deals for the "L&O" brand, with NTV committed to an initial 12-episode order for each series.

A French version of "CI," announced in July, is in preproduction and slated for a spring 2007 launch on TF1.

It also is the first time in Russian history that a U.S. primetime drama series will be remade for local audiences, according to Tuesday's announcement. The Russian versions of both shows are scheduled to premiere this year and are in preproduction in Moscow. They initially will adapt the original American scripts, taking into account language, culture and the local justice system.

The series is being produced by 2V and GATV, on behalf of NTV, in association with NBC Universal and Wolf Films. In order to adapt the series for a Russian audience, 2V's Pavel Korchagin and GATV's Ed Wierzbowski will consult with the shows' creative teams, including Wolf, the shows' writers and producers, along with Leslie Jones, vp international sales and format production for NBC Universal International Television Distribution.

Jones said that because the two shows do not involve as many legal issues as the original "L&O" series, the differences between the U.S. and Russian legal systems does not present a major obstacle. "But it's still very much a challenge," she added.

Wolf added, "Realistically, both series travel better than the mother ship because the legal systems do vary in each country." However, he added that the Russian legal system is "coming closer" to that of the U.S. The U.S. State Department at one point in the past actually sent over 10 episodes of the original "L&O" series to the Russian government as examples of how the U.S. legal system operates.

"This has been a dream for a long time," said Wolf, who has long maintained that the franchise had enormous potential as an international franchise. He added that Jones "deserves more than a pat on the back for this. She has been really working these deals. … This new partnership represents a giant step in the globalization of the 'Law & Order' brand."

Jones said, "We are not just copying the original scripts, we are using them as baselines for the general story line. But the cultural adaptations that are needed not only take account of location, (but of) local sensibilities, the legal system, the culture and the actual language."

She said that the U.S. version of the "L&O" franchises had done well in the Russian ratings in the past. Russian audiences were clearly smitten with the crime show genre, with some local crime shows doing very well.

In addition, first vp and head of programming for NTV Network Eugeni Kucherenko said, "Whatever differences may exist between Russia and the U.S.A., there is one area where we are united — in our strong intent to fight crime. TV is a very influential medium, and this is why we strive to show that evil must not prevail and that law and order will always be on top in the fight. We don't have any doubts that our new series, based on the 'Law & Order' branded formats, will not only entertain, but will serve this noble public cause."

Under the terms of the agreement, NBC Universal will retain exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the new Russian episodes.

Farewell, Captain! (and) Hello, Strangers!

2006-05-15T11:43:00.000-04:00

As viewers of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" may have noticed last night, Jamey Sheridan's character, Captain James Deakins, left the building. For those who were wondering:

1) Is this permanent?
2) Why did he go?

The answers are:

1) Yes, he's gone for good.
2) The commuting schedule (Sheridan, like Courtney Vance, shuttles between coasts) became too wearing, and he decided to move on. (At least, that seems to be the official version.)

And yes, apocrypha didn't see diddly in the press, either. We don't believe an official announcement was ever made, or if it was, nobody reported it.

As for the unasked:

3) Who's replacing him?

That remains to be seen.

Elsewhere: Apparently new cast members are on their way to the original "Law & Order." Obviously, one will replace the exiting Annie Parisse, but apparently there's more than just the one ....

Fox reports problems at L&O, Parisse out

2006-04-25T22:25:00.000-04:00

From Fox News:

Law & Order' in Trouble as Actress Quits
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

By Roger Friedman

Things are pretty dicey over at "Law & Order," NBC's 16-year old police series.
For one thing, the actress who plays the assistant district attorney just quit. For another, insiders from the show are "convinced" that their beloved employment is about to be terminated.

"They're either getting cancelled or getting a one-year renewal," a source said.

One of the many reasons is lower ratings thanks to being up against ABC's powerhouse "Lost" on Wednesdays in the 9 p.m. timeslot. In recent weeks, NBC finally moved "Law & Order" out of harm's way, to 10 p.m., but it may too little too late.

There are, of course, three "Law & Order" shows: the mothership (as it is known), "SVU" (or fondly, SUV) and "Criminal Intent." The latter are still doing well enough that their pick-up seems assured.

Nevertheless, there's been trouble at "Criminal Intent" this week. S. Epatha Mekerson, the Emmy-winning actress who appears on the main show, was written in and then written out of the final episode when she didn't like the way her character was being treated.

"Whoopi Goldberg is the guest star. She plays a con man. Epatha's character was supposed to be her old friend. But Epatha didn't like it that her character was clueless about how evil Whoopi's was," a source said.

To make matters even more complicated, sources tell me that Annie Parisse, the talented brunette who had been playing the assistant district attorney on the main show, has quit.

"She saw the writing on the wall," an insider said. "They never treated her very well. They were always complaining about her hair. And they also thought she looked too young next to Sam Waterson."

Parisse joins a long list of actresses who have played the assistant district attorney over 15 seasons including Jill Hennessey, Angie Harmon, Carey Lowell and Elizabeth Rohm (who discovered her character was a lesbian in her final scene).

The problem now is that creator and executive producer Dick Wolf can't cast a replacement because no one knows if the show is coming back.

There's a significant morale problem, too. Sources say that there have been "a lot" of firings, including a portion of the camera crew.

"None of the original writer-producers are there anymore," a source said. "They've all been replaced by people from L.A. who don't get the show."

And then there's the issue of Jerry Orbach. Everyone I spoke to said the same thing in one way or another: Without the late beloved actor, "Law & Order" isn't the same. "And people don't like Dennis Farina" is the comment I got about the actor who was hired to succeed Orbach even before he died.

If "Law & Order" does get cancelled, or renewed just long enough to do a finale season, it won't be a tremendous surprise. Sixteen years, after all, is twice the length of the run of a regular hit show. Still, insiders blame the constant reruns on TNT for over-saturating the brand.

"Even they're cutting back now," a source said.

And then there were the problems with the show's lead-ins. All three forgettable shows are already gone, as well.

But that doesn't mean we won't be seeing the other two "Law & Order" shows in syndication for years to come.

"The 'CI' deal was too rich," a source said. "It will be on NBC for one or two more seasons definitely."

NBC declines comment except to say: "It is the producers' desire to keep the season finale of 'Law and Order' under wraps because of some surprising developments."

For what it's worth, bear in mind at least two things: No. 1 - NBC has fallen in recent seasons to third place. There are cost cuts everywhere; an article out in today's Hollywood Reporter notes that the network could even consider moving production to a cheaper location, outside New York. No. 2 - Consider the source -- Fox is no doubt perfectly happy to report on shows outside its own network that are slipping or appearing to slip.

At the recent "Inside the Actors Studio" taping, and in a recent conversation for New York Women In Film and Television (NYWIFT), Epatha was candid about going head-to-head with scripts or lines or motivations she didn't feel were true to her character; she noted that after playing her for 12 years (or like Noth playing Logan for so long, or any of them really after a few seasons) they know their characters better than the writers, who tend to have brief tenures. That she would disagree with an appeared dumbing-down of a character seems to make sense.

More as it plays out....

Law & Order: Actors Studio Squad

2006-04-17T21:57:00.000-04:00

For those who want to know: Yes, James Lipton is that self-aggrandizing. And for those who may have wondered: If you go to an Inside the Actors Studio taping, don't have plans for later on in the evening. A show may only last an hour on air, but the taping – with starts, stops, meanderings and digressions – may go on several times that length.

The Actors Studio, for those who've never seen it, is based in the idea that your host/teacher, James Lipton, is teaching a class/seminar in acting – and his subjects, who are visiting, are well-known and well-respected actors and actresses. This well ran dry around the second season, which led to them broadening their focus from, say, Paul Newman and Jessica Lange to, well, Ben Affleck. And then they brought in music artists, and finally deigned to allow television (including a raucous episode with the voices behind The Simpsons). Why it took so long to get to Law & Order is only something they can answer.

In days past, the seminar/episode taped at the New School, in an elongated auditorium with a raised stage. For reasons unknown to at least me, they moved to PACE University down by City Hall and now tape in a smaller, concave room with stadium-esque seating, and the stage down in front. There are three cameras, all stationary, and one on a big boom that sweeps across the audience heads and nestles in the aisle at times. Sit near this thing and you'll have the impression an errant 5 year old has been running around at church service.

We have tickets (we're on a list) and get in ahead of most of the others on line, but since a good half of the seats are reserved with papers taped to them, it's tricky finding a good location with multiple seats next to one another. The four rows at dead front, level to the stage, are entirely reserved for guests of the cast members, so you have everyone from Dick Wolf's daughters to the publicist for the shows. There's a lot of shifting around; they want the more student-y people up front, and when all of the seats don't fill in right they remove the reserved ones and you can shift around. We end up right under the boom mic and at one point one of us nearly gets clocked.

A warm-up guy comes out and tests our audience applause levels ("Give me a 7 level! Now, give me a full-out 10!"), then vanishes. James Lipton – stout in a beige suit and somewhat Mefistofeles-ian with his pointed, manicured beard – strides out and takes his seat at the left of the stage. There are four seats across from his small desk, some of which have tables with water on them. He does a short introduction of the show, then brings out one at a time: Dick Wolf, Chris Noth, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Chris Meloni.

A sidebar here, impossible to ignore at least for these longtime Noth fans. The man simply cannot dress himself. Who lets him out of the house like this? If you were going on TV – with your boss no less – would you wear black pants, boots, a blazer jacket … and a ratty green and white T-shirt? Compare this to Wolf and Meloni, who are almost identically dressed in casual black suits (no ties) and Merkerson, in a cute pink wraparound top and heels. If this was a one-time thing, we'd let it pass but the truth is we've heard stories for years about the craptacular wardrobe Noth has for his public appearances. He doesn't disappoint tonight, either.

So, they all come out. Lipton announces that thanks to a "coin flip," Noth will be the first to be asked questions, and he sets up what will be a pattern for all of them. It's nothing short of an interrogation – Lipton starts at the very beginning ("Where were you born?" "What's the origin of your last name?" "What did your parents do?" "How many siblings did you have?") and goes through with meticulous detail in just about every area of this person's life, getting even more specific once acting comes into the picture. From what I can recall (bear in mind this is almost a week ago), much of the Noth saga is familiar – from Wisconsin, mother a famous news correspondent for CBS, father fought in Korea and came back to sell insurance but wasn't really quite the same, died in a car crash. Alcohol seemed to be a factor, but I can't recall if it was in the crash or just in life. The family moved around a lot, thanks to mom's job – he recalled their being in Russia because mom was doing a story on the educational system there, and they had to basically flee because they were getting kicked out of the country. Back in America he went to school in Connecticut at a fairly liberal-style school (no grades, for example) and noted that there was, for example, skinny-dipping going on amongst the students. Going to college he woke up and had to do some real hard work. After college he batted around New York doing the acting thing, but found not a lot worth doing, so he ended up at Yale and was immersed in the great roles actors always long for. Later on Lipton would talk to all of them about Law & Order itself; the one thing that stands out to me is that Noth took credit for coming up with a) the American flag lapel pin (which he wore because he'd learned cops were at one point told not to wear them, there was a media flap and then the cops were allowed to; he saw it as a way for the young Logan character to be a bit square, by wearing it) and b) the plaid ties (which he said his mother gave him, if I recall correctly. In any case, they're his and he still has them).

Epatha goes next; she's wonderful and lively and has a million stories and tries to keep her mouth under control but lets a few gems fly. She's from Detroit (at which point Lipton breaks the conversational flow and decides to let us all know that's where he's from, that he's waited all these years on this show to refer to the high school they both apparently went to, which of course says a lot about Lipton) and she took dancing for many years, but always got relegated to the chorus girl roles – largely because she was black. The "S" stands for something fairly plain and normal, but she always got called "Epatha" and if she tells anyone what "S" stands for they'll just use the "S" name and she prefers "Epatha." (The IMDb says it's "Sharon.") She just tells people it means "Sweet." Anyway, she got stuck with the chorus girl roles because no one would cast her in a lead – fortunately by the time she got to New York she found a lot of great roles (contrasting with Noth's experience) in black theater, which was then being funded by the government, and she had a lot of people give her hints along the way, including Laurence Fishburne and Denzel Washington. She got the job doing "Mushrooms" on the show in the first season and just loved it – she'd never watched the show before deciding to try out, then watched a few and got hooked – and still feels that's the best job she ever did. When the role came up of Anita, Wolf's daughters remembered her from her Pee Wee's Playhouse role and insisted he hire her. She turned to them and noted that whenever she sees them she thanks them for her job, and there was much laughter from that. Anyway, she's just delightful to listen to, clearly thrilled to be doing what she is, and empowered by it. Again: Contrast with Noth, who just kind of seems to show up. I don't know body language but my friend who was with me noted that Noth sat slumped and hostile in his body language (towards Wolf, not Epatha) the whole night; she was delighted by the interplay going on of things not being said.

Early on in Epatha's interrogation, a strange thing happened: Chris Meloni got up and walked off the stage. At first, this seemed the height of rudeness, but no one onstage really blinked. Lipton turned to the audience and noted that Chris had really been a trooper all evening – apparently he had a terrible stomach bug (so did his family) and he might have to leave the stage from time to time. As it turned out, he just couldn't make it back, and they had to re-shoot the entire opening and re-arrange things so that it would appear they only ever intended to have three people plus Lipton on stage.

Another sidebar: They may have had their reasons, but I got furious at the producers of the show at this point – they knew he was ailing and they made that poor man sit on stage and stare at his shoes for over a half hour before he just had to cut out. Why couldn't that "coin toss" have included Meloni first? What a waste. I'd have been pissed if I was him; he was probably too sick to even think much about it. In any case, while he was on stage you'd never have known there was anything wrong with him – he was calm and quiet and present, if not very involved. I thought he seemed relaxed, right until the moment he left.

Lipton finally got around to Wolf. Things I can recall from that interrogation included that both of his parents worked for NBC before they met; he was a member of the Peanut Gallery (on the Howdy Doody Show, I have to presume) because he had connections, as a kid; he lived in Turtle Bay (on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and although I might have misheard I think Chris's brother now lives in the building where Wolf grew up) and went to the prestigious North Andover Academy prep school. One of his classmates was … wait for it: George W. Bush. And while I think it's safe to say that Wolf is no Bush apologist (though maybe he is in secret), he did say that Bush was the most-liked person in the school at the time, and that he really isn't a dummy, Wolf noted that Harvard doesn't give out MBAs to dummies. Fair enough. Beyond that, I can't recall a whole lot about Wolf.

And then Lipton got into the show itself, and talked to them about the show. My guess is the bulk of that will appear on the Actors Studio show, so I'll skim over that part of things (and plus I don't remember but so much).

Afterwards, they took a break and most (like 98%) of the audience left. They had enough to fill the front four rows with students and guests to ask questions; we came back from a bathroom break to watch from the far back corner and Lipton went into the goofy Proustian questions he always asks: What's your favorite word? Least favorite word? Favorite sound? Least favorite sound? What's your favorite curse? Etc. The ones that stood out to me were Epatha's favorite curse: Muthafucka (which she spelled out for us) and Wolf's least favorite sound: "The CSI Theme." Chuckles all around. Following that, the audience got to ask questions. There were some PACE students, but also some New School ones, and even a few invitees from John Jay college (which has a criminal justice program). After about 6 or 7 semi-interesting questions, we took off.

They let us in for seating around 6:30. We left at 10:45. But incredibly well informed!

Inside the Actors Studio: Law & Order airs Sunday, May 7.

Moriarty's Ben Stone Letter

2006-04-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

The MMUUUHP has a recent letter up from Michael Moriarty (who has been posting essays on the fan page for some time) which appears to reference the letter he sent New York magazine, and which also appears to reference some of the fan response. Not sure if he's been reading apocrypha, the 'zine, but the sentiment feels reflective of some of the posts there since the New York letter to the editor was published.

The MMUUUHP letter, "Saying Goodbye To Ben Stone," is here.

Burning News on Elisabeth Rohm

2006-03-31T12:32:00.000-05:00

In other former "Law & Order" cast news, Lloyd Grove from the NY Daily News has an update today on Elisabeth "Is it because I'm a lesbian?" Rohm's recent doings. Interesting stuff, actually:

Rohm isn't fiddling
as a Bx. flat burns

Elisabeth Rohm, who inspired 'Law' and ardor, is back in New York training as a volunteer for the Red Cross.

When she was an assistant DA on "Law & Order," blond beauty Elisabeth Rohm saved the city from hardened criminals. And now, in real life, the 32-year-old actress is in training to help distressed citizens by volunteering for the New York chapter of the Red Cross.

The other night, Rohm went on a rescue run to the north Bronx.

"There was a kitchen fire in a third-floor apartment of 14-story housing project," she told me yesterday. "The entire kitchen was burned out, so the Fire Department called the Red Cross and we went up there with dinner and water and any comfort we could give. It was four people living in a one-bedroom apartment, and now the Red Cross is putting them up in a hotel. But they were frantic because the cat was missing."

New Yorker Rohm - a celebrity lamb chop in the window for the Red Cross' "Give 100, New York" campaign - is moving back here after eight long months in Los Angeles, having just sold her house in the Hollywood Hills.

"I've just been homesick," she told me, adding that she's planning to spend a lot of time flying back and forth to L.A. for auditions and such.

She has a new boyfriend after her breakup a year ago with NBC legal guy Dan Abrams: It's Manhattan commercial real-estate broker Lance Korman, a match made by Lizzie Grubman. She has a new movie, "Aftermath," a thriller in which she stars opposite Anthony Michael Hall - and which features the late Chris Penn. It awaits a distribution deal. And Rohm recently became a trustee of her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College.

For the first time, in an essay she's writing, Rohm is planning to go public with her teenage experiences in a juvenile detention center upstate and how she managed to overcome her anger issues. "I was scared straight, and I finally got my act together," she said.

Maybe Naomi Campbell should give her a call.

Moriarty Writes NY Magazine

2006-03-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

Unhappy with a recent characterization of his Ben Stone character in a John Leonard review of "Conviction" in New York Magazine as a "Robespierre," Michael Moriarty wrote a lengthy note to the Letters to the Editor section, and it has been published. Here you go (and way to go to Debbie -- he mentions the MMUUUP page!):

Revolutionary Law & Order
A recent plug by John Leonard for Dick Wolf’s latest spinoff [“Television: A Soap in Wolf’s Clothing,” March 6] described my role in the original Law & Order as that of a “Robespierre.” What gives? For those of you who might not know, Maximilien Robespierre was the murderous ideologist of the French Revolution. He was most assuredly not a good man like my character, Ben Stone. Executing France’s aristocracy wasn’t enough for Robespierre, who sent his former comrades to be guillotined during the Terror. Dick Wolf had his own share of purges: I watched the real genius behind Law & Order, executive producer Joseph Stern, leave after two years. Actors Richard Brooks and Dann Florek were summarily fired. Paul Sorvino was eased out because he’d repeatedly suffered from a respiratory ailment after working on New York street locations and wanted to work indoors. Chris Noth was icily informed that his contract hadn’t been renewed at the end of the fifth year. I’m running for president of the United States in 2008 on a third-party ticket, entering the race on a basically comic note, since no one in the mainstream press is taking me seriously, certainly not John Leonard. Or is he? Someone at New York is reading my editorials and articles on enterstageright.com and mmuuuhp.com, or Leonard’s French Revolutionary comparison would never have been made. No, Mr. Leonard, I didn’t play Ben Stone as a Robespierre. If you want to lay a French moniker on me, try Lafayette, who advised George Washington to abolish slavery. As Lafayette cried for an end to slavery, I’m declaring, “End abortion! Overturn Roe v. Wade!” The last great lion, Sir Winston Churchill, suffered from sudden depressions he called his “black dog.” Churchill’s occasional funk will prove a mild case of the blues when compared to the eternal despair about to descend on the American careerists of the Third Millennium. Once the breathtakingly self-evident truth about abortion enters their Princetonian, Yalie, Madison Avenue, spin-doctoring, Rolling Stone, New York Times, exploitative souls, the effect of that light upon their eugenics-inspired darkness will be like rabies in a raccoon. Dick Wolf and John Leonard are minor raccoons swept up in the rabies of American careerism.
michael moriarty,
—Maple Ridge, British Columbia

Variety: "L&O" reruns losing steam

2006-03-17T16:52:00.000-05:00

This doesn't sound good:

From Variety:

'Law' losing rerun steam
Franchise overkill tiring TNT, Peacock auds
By JOHN DEMPSEY

Nothing lasts forever -- not even "Law & Order."

TNT has run the proverbial sprockets out of the more than 300 episodes of "Law & Order" for the past few years, riding reruns of the most durable one-hour series in the history of television to a first-place finish in total viewers among all cable networks for three years straight (2003 through 2005).

But harbingers of decline are starting to crop up in 2006, as TNT continues to rely heavily on "L&O," scheduling it 14 times a week between 7 and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"We're concerned about the ratings," said Steve Koonin, exec VP and chief operating officer at TNT and TBS.

The 7 p.m. strip of "Law & Order" is down 29% in adults 18-49 year-to-date, but Koonin said the show is facing reruns of "CSI" every weekday on Spike TV and reruns of the first "Law & Order" sequel, "SVU," on USA.

Similarly, at 8 p.m., "L&O" is off by 26% in adults 18-49 year to date. Spike TV plays a second daily rerun of "CSI" at 8, directly up against the four "Law & Order" plays (every weeknight except Thursday, when TNT runs NBA basketball). Also at 8, USA weighs in with four runs of the second "L&O" sequel, "Criminal Intent."

Decline on cable coincides with continued ratings decline for the "L&O" mothership on NBC. Season-to-date in adults 18-49, PeacockPeacock's broadcasts of the Wednesday night show are down 14% from last year -- and 33% vs. 2004.

NBC's broadcasts of "Law & Order: SVU""Law & Order: SVU" and "Law & Order: CI" are also down vs. last season, though "SVU" remains a potent player on Tuesdays, regularly winning its 10 p.m. timeslot.

Ratings erosion of "L&O" on NBC can be attributed to the same factors hurting the show on TNT: competition and overexposure.

During 2004 and much of 2005, Peacock went on an "L&O" bender, sometimes airing different versions of the brand up to a dozen hours a week. It's since cut back, but the damage may have been done.

At the same time, two of the three "L&O" brands now face blockbuster competish. The Wednesday original has been challenged by "CSI: NY," while Sunday's "CI" has to battle "Desperate Housewives" and "The Sopranos""The Sopranos" (with low-rated "The West Wing""The West Wing" as a lead-in).

As for TNT, cabler can still harvest a big audience for an individual "L&O" episode, like the 3.56 million viewers who checked out the 9 p.m. edition on Feb. 27, or the 3.54 million who watched the Feb. 28 hour.

But those were the only two "L&O" episodes that cracked the top 50 rated programs for the week ended March 4. During many weeks in 2004 and 2005, a half-dozen "L&O" hours on TNT would show up in the top 50.

Koonin said help is on the way, because TNT will be able to start playing multiple runs of the CBS hit "Without a Trace" in September. And in fall 2007 another CBS hit, "Cold Case," will make its way to TNT for multiple runs on a four-year-plus license term.

TNT also has a large inventory of theatrical movies that could take over one or more nights of the schedule before September. And an elaborate, original eight-hour miniseries, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King," will run multiple times during the summer.

(Rick Kissell in Hollywood contributed to this report.)
Date in print: Thurs., Mar. 16, 2006, Los Angeles

For what it's worth, I can't disagree with the whole overkill thing. I mean, I like the show too, but TNT seems gunshy about showing any L&O's pre, say, 2003. TNT would do well to start showing some of the older ones, for sheer variety's sake. That would get me watching them again. Nothing against Fontana and Green, but some people want Logan/Briscoe/Ceretta/Greevey more than once in a blue moon.

Save "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"

2006-03-10T23:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, so "Criminal Intent" isn't quite over the edge yet. But a recent poster on our list noted that it was up for renewal soon, and that you never know about these things, so -- what the heck. Send a letter to a couple of the big cheeses at the networks to make sure. Go here for some addresses; there's a link on the page for a sample letter which will have much more impact if you personalize it. So hopefully we won't have to be shouting, "Save 'Criminal Intent'!"

After all, Goren would do it for you.

Jesse Goes Motown

2006-02-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Jesse Martin!

From "The Hollywood Reporter":

Hot on the heels of hit films about Ray Charles and Johnny Cash, a project about the final years of Marvin Gaye is set to begin production in May.

"Sexual Healing," an independently financed drama starring "Law & Order" cop Jesse L. Martin as the late Motown icon, will shoot in Hungary and Germany. Lauren Goodman will direct from her own script.

The movie chronicles Gaye's self-imposed exile in Europe after years of battling drugs, domestic issues and label headaches. There, he was rescued by a promoter who helped Gaye record his biggest-selling album, "Midnight Love," which yielded the monster comeback hit, "Sexual Healing."

Gaye's life was cut short the day before his 45th birthday in 1984, when his father killed him.

"More than just being the voice of a generation, Marvin Gaye proved to be its very heartbeat," Goodman said. "As a filmmaker, I was drawn to tell the story of a human being who was never fully realized, one with faults and foibles and an uncommon grace expressed every time he picked up the microphone."

Various producers have spent years trying to make a movie about Gaye. Originally, the project was intended to cover a larger portion of his life but was refocused on his final years because of rights issues with his Motown-produced records.

Music biopics are a hot genre these days with the success of 2004's Oscar-winning "Ray" and 2005's Oscar-nominated Cash movie "Walk the Line."

Martin most recently starred in the feature adaptation of the hit musical "Rent."

Go Epatha!

2006-01-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

Once again, S. Epatha Merkerson puts everybody else to shame by winning a Golden Globe for "Lackawanna Blues" (Best Miniseries or Movie Actress). Congrats, Epatha! We knew you could do it!

Law & Order: Marketing Intent

2006-01-11T23:07:00.000-05:00

There it is, quite small, but it is the full ad of all of the current "Law & Order" characters from each show, with Wolf himself in the far left holding the newspaper. (As someone pointed out, why isn't it "The Ledger"?) The ad began running this month in various magazines; for those wondering, although it looks like everyone's been painted, they actually all did convene on one afternoon for the shoot (though I doubt it was in Times Square, as depicted). Vincent D'Onofrio remarked that he'd had no idea why they were all called together for the portrait, but that it was a nice chance to meet everybody on the other shows, which he said he'd never done before.

I'd have liked to be in on the conversation between D'Onofrio and Ice-T. Just for laughs.

Here's the big version (and be warned, it is over 2MB).
Here's the medium version (about 290 KB)

And thanks to listmember Chris for the scanning!

"Trial By Jury" on CourtTV - 12/9

2005-12-07T16:44:00.000-05:00

Hey, folks, here's the 411 on CourtTV's airings of "Trial By Jury." Note that the "never-before-seen-episode" on January 21 is probably the one we've heard about that makes reference to Lennie's fate.

The press release:

COURT TV® PREMIERES LAW & ORDER: TRIAL BY JURY WITH
BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 8-11 PM ET/PT

Two Back-to-Back Episodes Will Air Saturdays 8-10 PM ET/PT Beginning December10
World Premiere of a Never-Before-Seen Episode on January 21

New York, NY –December 7, 2005 – Law & Order fanatics take note: the most recent series in Dick Wolf’s signature brand has a new home on Court TV®. The network will air a mini-marathon of three back-to-back episodes of Law & Order: Trial By Jury on Friday, December 9, from 8-11 PM ET/PT to kick off the series which includes a never-before-seen episode premiering on January 21. The courtroom drama will regularly in a two hour block on Saturdays from 8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT, starting December 10. The show, which stars Bebe Neuwirth as Assistant District Attorney Tracey Kibre and former United States Senator Fred Dalton Thompson as District Attorney Arthur Branch, tells its stories not only from the prosecution’s point of view, but includes the perspectives of the defense attorneys, defendants, judges and jurors.

“We are delighted to add the NBC dramatic series, Law & Order: Trial By Jury to Court TV’s primetime schedule,” said Court TV Chairman and CEO Henry Schleiff. “Since our network has become most known for its original documentaries, movies and other true stories, we are very selective in buying only the very best fictional series, as “evidenced” by our previous acquisitions of the Emmy Award-winning, Homicide and NYPD Blue. Given our viewers’ interest in dramatic stories of life in the courthouse, we believe this Law & Order series will work particularly well on Court TV.”

“I am so delighted that we have extended the Law & Order brand to Court TV,” said creator/executive producer Dick Wolf. “I know Court TV’s audience will particularly appreciate the legal and human aspects of the stories we tell.”

Mariska's pregnant! And Jesse gets an article!

2005-11-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Mazel tov to Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, who are expecting their first child. According to Yahoo! News:

Mariska Hargitay, star of TV's "Law & Order: SVU" is pregnant, her agent said Wednesday.

This will be the first child for Hargitay and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, who often guest stars on "Law & Order: SVU," agent Erwin More said.

Hargitay and Hermann were married in August 2004.

And in slightly less earth-shaking news, the newest TV Guide has an article about Jesse Martin. (Who, by the way, is marvelous as Collins in "Rent.")

Tales from the dark side

2005-10-28T12:06:00.000-04:00

Boo!

Since it's nearly Halloween, we thought we'd remind you of the great scary fiction that's appeared in apocrypha over the years. Enjoy, and read them in the dark! (Well, except for the light from your computer monitor....)

October 1999
October 2000
October 2001
October 2002

P.S. Keep in mind we're accepting submissions again! Send us your stuff!

From one blog to another....

2005-10-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

NBC has now set up a blog for Nick Wooten, a Law & Order producer. Thus far there are three posts which largely seem to say "we love this episode and here's why," and he doesn't appear to be responding to comments left, but it's worth knowing about:

http://blogs.nbc.com/laworder/

L&O: The Emmys!

2005-09-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

Congrats to S. Epatha Merkerson, who just won her first and only Emmy, as Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie in HBO's "Lackawanna Blues." Good for her! We hope she finds that list of people to thank, eventually!

And Amanda Plummer also took home an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series, for her work on "Law & Order: SVU."

Not bad!

L&O: Season 4 DVD due out soon

2005-09-18T19:20:00.000-04:00

Season 4 DVD to come out in December! Check it all out here!

apocrypha short fiction: "Mist"

2005-09-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

And here we go: apocrypha welcomes Blazerrose, who has provided us with a perfect niblet of a short story to re-kick off fiction publishing here. As is the plan, we'll post the link to the story up here at the blog, along with some ratings information; links will be compiled throughout the year on our archive page if you'd like to go back and do some re-reading.

So keep on submitting them! Here are our guidelines. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

Of her short "ficlet," entitled "Mist," author Blazerrose has this to say: "Writing about the death of Lennie Briscoe/Jerry Orbach was something difficult for me, and something I avoided. This little ficlet finally came to me as a final tribute to one of TV's greatest detectives." We here at apocrypha acknowledge that the show itself has not officially claimed that Lennie has passed on, but we in our hearts recognize that he can't possibly exist without the grand Mr. Orbach. Enjoy this tribute.

"Mist," by Blazerrose
Rating:

Pilot Character Descriptions

2005-08-08T20:13:00.000-04:00

Edited from one of our list posts, posted here for semi-permanency.

Someone wanted to know what the original character description was for Ben Stone, as given in the pilot script of "Everybody's Favorite Bagman," which was written by Dick Wolf. Here are the characters, as described by the show creator.

Max Greevey
"Detective Sergeant Max Greevey, 40's, is counting out four dollars and twenty-eight cents from a clumped up mass of small bills and changed cupped in a ham sized paw. Three inches of cheap cigar are burning in the corner of his mouth. He's wearing a two hundred dollar suit and a tie a blind man wouldn't be seen in. What can't be seen is the mind, which on one level is a cornucopia of seemingly useless information, and on another is a veritable data base of Police information. He's been married to his high school sweetheart for twenty years, and has three daughters, nineteen, fifteen and six, all of whom can wrap him around their little fingers. He's also an NBA fanatic, and a Knicks fan, an unfortunate combination that has cost him thousands in lost bets since the team's glory days of the early seventies. Greevey's been a cop for eighteen years and has seen everything twice, but he can't stand seeing the bad guys win. He squints at Jesus, the clerk, through a swirl of cigar smoke and shakes his head in disbelief."

Mike Logan
"Detective Mike Logan, early 30's, is a good looking Irishman with a temper to match. He's been Greevey's partner for the past two years. There's a mutual trust and respect, but it's a professional relationship -- these guys don't spend any more time with each other than the job demands. They don't confide their secret fears to each other, they don't socialize, but they both know that the other would put his life on the line if the situation required it. Logan has a B.S. in Police Science, reads books, likes Woody Allen's early comedies, has a Marine Corps screaming eagle tattooed on his forewarm, drinks Bushmills, and has a mostly monogamous relationship with a uniformed policewoman. He's never been married, but he has a five year old daughter that he supports and sees."

Paul Robinette
"Paul Robinette, a black, 26 year old assistant district attorney looks up. He's a product of Stuyvesant High, NYU and Columbia Law. Bright, bordering on brilliant, he could move up to a high priced litigation firm and quintuple his salary, but he gets off on being in court on a daily basis. He also likes seeing the good guys occasionally win."

Ben Stone
"Ben Stone, late thirties, sits behind a mount of paperwork at a chaotic desk.... Stone hangs up and looks at Robinette. The older lawyer exudes intelligence, confidence and the don't-screw-with-me attitude of a street fighter. Hunter College, NYU Law on a full scholarship, then three years as a PD before joining the DA's office. He's twice divorced and has a 12 year old girl that he sees on major holidays. The rest of the time he's married to his job, though he's had a five year relationship with Sarah Nicksey, a pediatrician. While he's more than willing to use every prosecutorial trick available to get a conviction, he's always felt that the real work happens long before he walks into court -- trials are won on preparation."

BTW, all it says about Capt. Cragen is that "he's in his early 50s."

L&O at TCA, 2005

2005-08-07T11:36:00.000-04:00

Each year, members of the Television Critics Association gather together in El Lay for a fete and awards session, held over several days. During that time, critics and TV people hold press conferences and lunches and act like they're buddies -- before retiring to their separate corners for another year of praising and sniping.

"Law & Order" was no exception, and Dick Wolf, Mariska Hargitay, Vincent D'Onofrio and Annie Parrisse presided over one such conference. Having gotten our hands on the transcript of the discussion -- some of which has already been published elsewhere, as you'll see -- we present it beginning here.

Enjoy!

--K&K

Welcome!

2005-08-07T11:14:00.000-04:00

To all who stumble by for information, fun or a visit, welcome to the apocrypha zine blog!

This is an adjunct to the long-standing apocrypha list, a forum for discussion of any and all "Law & Order" shows, fan fiction, and various criminal/legal items of interest.

We highly recommend joining the list, and coming by here for special postings -- including, possibly, some stories, in coming weeks and months.

Glad to have you with us! We've turned off comments, so if you want to say something about what you see here, go join the list and post it there! (See link at right.)

Happy blogging!

Kitt & Kor