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Law and Order season 17 premiere -- an early look
A show of hands here, please? Who thought that we would be talking about the 17th season premiere of NBC's Law & Order when the show first premiered back in September of 1990? Just as I thought . . . not that many hands. Yet, here we are, about to talk about the season premiere of the longest running crime series and the second longest-running drama series in the history of American broadcast television.
Granted, no one remains from the original L&O cast, but that really isn't what brings back viewers week after week. It's the uniqueness of the show that grabs them. It's a style that no other show has successfully duplicated. Even its siblings Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent have gone a different route in the way crimes are shown being investigated. That's why the original remains popular to this day.
So, with kudos out of the way, let's talk a bit about what you can look forward to in the season premiere. Be warned, slight SPOILERS ahead after the jump.
Law & Order wouldn't be Law & Order without the revolving door of cast changes that has defined it over the last 16 years. This season is no exception, as two new characters are introduced. The first is Detective Nina Gafney, played by Milena Govich, who replaces Dennis Farina's Detective Joe Fontana.
Unlike previous detectives that have graced the 27th precinct in the past, Govich is quite green in her new role as homicide detective. This makes Detective Eddie Green (Jesse L. Martin) the senior partner (which is also represented in the credits as well). I may be wrong, but this is the first time that I can remember in the history of L&O, that the junior partner actually gets a promotion of sorts. Heck, Chris Noth's Detective Mike Logan went through three partners in the time he was on the show and he never got bumped up (although, he's now the senior detective on Criminal Intent).
Anyway, back to Govich. Not only is she green, but she's famous. By being in the right place at the right time she was able to stop a horrendous crime that was about to occur at a beauty salon. This fame, lack of experience, and a temper that she makes public through her first investigation, makes Lieutenant Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson) a little edgy about assigning her as Detective Green's partner. But, as Govich states at one point when the Lieutenant asks her to stay behind, homicide is her learning ground, and she needs to be out there in order to earn her stripes.
The second character to be introduced is ADA Connie Rubirosa, who is played by Alana De La Garza. She replaces Annie Parisse's character of ADA Alexandra Borgia, who left after two seasons. I don't have a read on this character yet, as she really doesn't do too much in the season premiere. As in most cases, ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterson) handles most of the talking during the legal part of the investigation. She'll probably need a few weeks to get warmed up to the role before we see something unique from her character.
There is one more change this season, and it's a big one. After being on Wednesday nights at 10:00 PM for what seems like the dawn of television, Law & Order is shunted off to Friday nights at the same time in order to air the new serial drama Kidnapped. Now, the network tried this last year, moving L&O up one hour in order to make room for the short-lived series Heist. However, there was a bit of an uproar from fans, as well as from creator Dick Wolf. Eventually, the show was returned to its old time-slot. With a whole summer to get used to the time change, I wonder if there will be the same anger. I'm guessing that the show will return to its old time slot if Kidnapped performs horribly in the ratings.
Finally, a quick synopsis of the case for the 17th season premiere. While not exactly 'ripped from the headlines' it does focus on a cop killing allegedly committed by a famous white rapper who bears a remarkable resemblance to diva Kevin Federline. Also under investigation is his soon to be ex-wife who has apparently been dropping her baby and leaving the infant in the car while getting a cup of coffee from the Starbucks. Hmm, sounds like a certain singer with the last name of Spears that we know and love.
The season premiere (episode 372) of Law & Order airs this Friday at 10:00 pm.
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