Breaking News: "Law & Order," "FlashForward," More Shows Canceled
by Ellen Kim
on May 14, 2010
[CHUNG-CHUNG!]
Alas, Law & Order will not break Gunsmoke's record for longest-running series. Just shy of a 21st season, NBC has decided to officially cancel the procedural drama. It will, however, continue running Law & Order: SVU and launch a new series, Law & Order: Los Angeles.
Also officially canceled today by ABC:
And by NBC:
MercyIn happier news, NBC has officially renewed Chuck, and ABC has renewed V for next season, so Scott Wolf's ageless mug will grace your TV screens a little longer.
Will you miss Law & Order? Which was your favorite cast? My picks:
Detectives - Jerry Orbach & Jesse L. Martin
D.A. - Steven Hill
Executive A.D.A. - Sam Waterston (runner up: Michael Moriarty)
A.D.A. (aka the female role) - Angie Harmon
--Ellen
Sean Dougherty on May 15, 2010 at 06:59 AM
L&O was only in the running for longest running TV primetime drama. Gunsmoke ran 8 years on radio before it moved to TV so the record for longest running series, which technically is "The Guiding Light" is still safe.
Michael Kennedy on May 15, 2010 at 07:09 AM
Too bad Law & Order moved so far left in recent years. I used to enjoy it.
tim maguire on May 15, 2010 at 07:09 AM
I thought Better Off Ted was already canceled. Glad to see it's still on...oops. Too bad, it's a good show but has been hard to find--which is why I thought it was already canceled.
juandos on May 15, 2010 at 07:16 AM
Hmmm, apparently its now more understandable why Obama won in Nov. 2008...
People were watching this drivel instead of finding out how they were going to be screwed...
Pathetic! Just pathetic!
Noo Yawka on May 15, 2010 at 07:23 AM
Do people actually still watch television?????? Why?
Terry on May 15, 2010 at 07:23 AM
The liberal/left-wing bias became annoying, stupid. I used to like the show, rarely missed it. Little by little, I watched it only by chance, then I started just turning it off in the middle, finally, I stopped altogether. It's a shame because I liked the actors, they had good, predictable roles.
Tex Lovera on May 15, 2010 at 07:51 AM
The show wasn't bad when it started. I remember when it was in its second (?)season, and Paul Sorvino (who was a cop on the show then) came on Letterman. Paul was explaining the show's setup, and Letterman responded that he remembered a show from the 50's that had the same idea (can't rememeber it's title, something like "Crime & Punishment). The look on Sorvino's face was priceless: he thought it had never been done before. I think when he & Chris Noth left, it started going down hill.
The show became way too left wing in an attempt to bring in female viewers. It was the same stupid mistake NBC made with "Homicide: Life on the Street": they gutted it of the tough male leads, and brought in a bunch of angst-y females. Pffft.
penny on May 15, 2010 at 07:51 AM
Good riddance. The show morphed into typical pc lefty drivel delivered by the cloyingly sanctimonious Sam Waterston. Hollywood and the networks just don't get it. Like the biased agenda driven print rags they just can't figure out that their content is driving free thinking intelligent audiences/readers away. TV is a dumbed down wasteland.
JAL on May 15, 2010 at 07:52 AM
I can not remember how many times I have switched to another show or just turned OFF the TV while watching L&O (even SVU at times). I don't know what Dick Wolf & CO. were thinking but I Hated. Hated. to see the constant sniping, snarking and demeaning our military (and sometimes Christians but NOOOOO crazy Muslims). As soon as the tone showed up, I was out of there.
The letters of protest remained unwritten in my head. But let me articulate it now: The days of trashing America are over.
Gary on May 15, 2010 at 07:54 AM
I agree with your cast choices. This cancellation would not be happening if Lenny Briscoe was still protecting the streets of NY.
Lou Gots on May 15, 2010 at 08:06 AM
It wasn't that bad. Yes, it they threw in some pinko propaganda now and then, and they mangled the exclusionary rule. The courtroom drama was pretty good, and Waterson's acting managred to get across some interesting nuances of litigation and trial preparation. The show compared very favorably to the spin-offs, especially SVU, which was a baby-murder propaganda-fest and which badly mangled law and procedure.
Brian on May 15, 2010 at 08:07 AM
It seems to be a trend that actors are go-along-to-get-along wusses, and will not use the clout they have to protect their shows. Keifer Southerland is executive producer of 24, yet he allowed the writers of 24 to turn Jack Bauer from an interesting moral figure into a rabid dog, a disappointing ending to an otherwise great series. Sam Waterston must have some kind of pull - having been with Law & Order for so many years - yet he apparently did nothing to change the crappy writing ("Ripped from the headlines" means: We're not creative enough to construct a plot) and the tiresome left-wing propaganda of writers such as Rene Balcer. And now because of their inaction, both shows are dead.
PJ on May 15, 2010 at 08:24 AM
I used to love L&O, even wrote a spec script that did well in the contests.
BUT, please, please, how many times can you watch episodes about White Christian Male killers, when there has been like 1 or 2 such killers in our entire society within memory.
We hate you too, Dick Wolf. Too bad. I used to revere you.
Kelly on May 15, 2010 at 08:30 AM
The classiest attempt of class warfare used by Wolf & Co. was using gun store owners (gasp) as secret neo-Nazis. The kicker was, although the neo-Nazis had lived in and around NYC ALL their lives, they all spoke with a Alabama accent. So true to life.
TheLastBrainLeft on May 15, 2010 at 08:34 AM
L&O always had a liberal bias. However, the show went off the deep end after Kerry lost the 2004 election. SVU was once good, but the political rot has rendered that unwatchable. I haven't watched it since "Harm", perhaps the single worst hour of television of the 21st century.
The original clearly allowed Waterson's politics creep more and more into the script. Indicting a doctor for performing a lawful execution? C'mon ...
grichens on May 15, 2010 at 08:51 AM
Interesting comments. I gave up on L&O about 12 years ago. It seems like I didn't miss anything.
Louise59 on May 15, 2010 at 08:59 AM
So it was Waterson that was controlling the tone of the show in the past few years? That explains a lot. While some stars can control a show and it is better (Lucille Ball comes to mind)- otheres run it into the ground. My family and I LOVED (past tense) L&O. We still watch it occasionally, but nothing like we used to. I find that I'd rather watch a rerun than a new one - that is telling. I will only watch a new one now if I am out of Criminal Minds, NCIS, or CSI, and even more telling "Say YES to the Dress!" HA!. I am tired of tv writers/directors trying to "teach me a lesson" instead of entertaining me. The cancer story-line was not only unnecessary, but completely overdone - including all the not-so-subtle references to how OCare would help. Luckily we still have the power of the remote that will eventually get rid of a show when someone ruins it. Regardless of what the socialists want to see happen in this country - when push comes to shove, capitalism (in this case, ad sales) will win over drivel. No one is going to continue to fund it without a profit! Gosh darn those profits! Waterson probably doesn't care (except for maybe ego) - he's made his millions (and probably invested them in tax shelters!).
Ginny on May 15, 2010 at 09:04 AM
I loved Law & Order because at the beginning it actually demonstrated that life is often a choice between two wrongs - and sometimes a choice between two rights. It became a bad pharmaceutical companies, bad anyone who voted for Bush. And who thinks the actors would have cut out that level of snark? Have you ever heard Waterston? And the provincialism was remarkable. I noticed the accents, too; they gave parents from Nebraska southern accents.
Xcontra on May 15, 2010 at 09:12 AM
My favorites: D.A. Steven Hill
Exec. ADA: Waterston
Babelicious ADA: Whichever one is on tv right now.
Detectives: Briscoe and Logan
Least favorite characters:
Moriarity
Pony tail guy who played defense attorney and once played a psychologist in Criminal Intent.
Tovah Feldshuh as a def. atty
That black lady who was a def. atty friend of Jack
Bah, most of the def. attorneys were jerks.
John on May 15, 2010 at 09:22 AM
We stopped watching it - even SVU. It has become such looney left garbage. Presbyterian suicide bomebr/rapist murderers run by the evil Bushitler governement etc - good riddance!
Petras Vilson on May 15, 2010 at 09:37 AM
I remember a lefty SVU episode where the lead detective Elliot's son, a mature 17, wants to join the Marines. The detective freaks out as if the son was joining the Hare Krishnas or a suicide cult.
The Marine recruiter is cold, colorless, and ends the episode saying "we'll get him when he turns 18". Unbelievable !
Is there a single living New York City cop who doesn't LOVE the Marines ? Find me one !
megscole64 on May 15, 2010 at 09:41 AM
I'm just glad they renewed Chuck. By far one of my favorite shows. Now if they'd bring back Sarah Connor... :)
I never watched the original L&O but I still catch SVU. I really try to ignore the lefty insanity it brings in but I do prefer older episodes that aren't so obviously leaning left.
JAL on May 15, 2010 at 09:52 AM
Ditto Petras Vilson @ 9:37
And did you notice that every single person who came back from Iraq or Afghanistan was psycho?
frerad on May 15, 2010 at 09:59 AM
Some "executive producers" credits for star actors has nothing to do with them setting tone or direction. Usually it is a means of getting them more money on the back-end. Their real "wage" doesn't go up (or doesn't go up hugely), but they get more pay from syndication and dvd sales. It sweetens the deal to get the actor to sign up for more seasons.
Shaky Barnes on May 15, 2010 at 10:03 AM
I've never watched a minute of Law & Order. But your comments are fascinating and seem to indicate the show was just about what I assumed it was -- left wing drivel.