Law & Order: Trial by Jury
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| Law & Order: Trial by Jury | |
|---|---|
 Series title card |
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| Format | Legal Drama |
| Created by | Dick Wolf |
| Starring | Bebe Neuwirth Amy Carlson Kirk Acevedo Scott Cohen with Fred Thompson and Jerry Orbach (only for the first 2 episodes) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (1 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 1 hour (per episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | March 3, 2005 – January 21, 2006 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Law & Order: Trial by Jury was an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the third spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus is on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation for trial, as well as the trial itself. The series premiered on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and aired its series finale on Friday, May 6, 2005. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 p.m. ET on NBC. An additional episode aired on Court TV (now truTV) after the series' cancellation.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The following statement, narrated by Steven Zirnkilton, is spoken at the beginning of nearly every episode:
| “ | In the criminal justice system, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials. | ” |
Unlike the other Law & Order series, Trial By Jury shows what it is like to prepare for and try a criminal case. The episodes usually start with a witness or victim telling a story about a crime that has already occurred. This story is used to bring the audience in on what happened prior to the beginning of the episode. This is a departure from the other three Law & Order shows, which usually start off showing the audience the actual crime. The show progresses on from that point, showing how both sides develop their strategies for winning the case.
The prosecution's preparation usually includes scenes where their investigators go out and follow up on leads and interview witnesses. The defense's preparation varies from episode to episode, running the gamut from testing arguments in front of jury focus groups to unethical dealmaking between co-defendants. Each episode has several trial scenes, with both sides examining witnesses and giving arguments. There are also several pre-trial meetings where some procedural issue is argued and ruled on. In addition, there are a few episodes showing jury deliberation. The show develops the judges as characters, showing scenes of them conferring with each other and reusing the same judges in multiple episodes.
[edit] Cast of characters
See also: List of Law & Order: Trial by Jury cast members
[edit] Characters
- Tracey Kibre A tough, focused prosecutor, she is a contrast to the lead ADAs in the other three series with a black-and-white view of the law. She is played by Bebe Neuwirth.
- Kelly Gaffney The younger assistant to Kibre, she is often more by-the-book. She often challenges Kibre, and sees the law in more shades of gray than her partner. She is played by Amy Carlson.
- Hector Salazar A former police detective who was apparently injured on duty; an injury would have likely put him in a desk job, which he did not find too thrilling. He is played by Kirk Acevedo.
- Lennie Briscoe The first partner of Hector Salazar, the longest serving detective on any Law & Order series. He only appears in the first two episodes due to the death of Jerry Orbach who plays the role.
- Chris Ravell The second partner of Hector Salazar, in episodes 3 to 13. He is played by Scott Cohen.
- Arthur Branch The New York district attorney; played by Fred Dalton Thompson.
[edit] Episodes
| Episode # | Production # | Air Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | E5701 | 3 March 2005 | "The Abominable Showman" |
| 1-2 | E5707 | 4 March 2005 | "Forty-One Shots" |
| 1-3 | E5712 | 11 March 2005 | "Vigilante" |
| 1-4 | E5703 | 18 March 2005 | "Truth or Consequences" |
| 1-5 | E5704 | 25 March 2005 | "Baby Boom" |
| 1-6 | E5710 | 1 April 2005 | "Pattern of Conduct" |
| 1-7 | E5711 | 8 April 2005 | "Bang & Blame" |
| 1-8 | E5716 | 15 April 2005 | "Skeleton" (This is the second half of the Law & Order episode "Tombstone"). |
| 1-9 | E5714 | 22 April 2005 | "The Line" |
| 1-10 | E5713 | 29 April 2005 | "Blue Wall" |
| 1-11 | E5715 | 3 May 2005 | "Day" (This was the second half of the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Night"). |
| 1-12 | E5706 | 6 May 2005 | "Boys Will Be Boys" |
| 1-13 | E5705 | 21 January 2006 | "Eros in the Upper Eighties" (Note: this episode was never aired on NBC). |
[edit] Cancellation
NBC announced on May 16, 2005 that Trial by Jury would not be returning for the 2005-2006 fall television season. The rival CBS procedural NUMB3RS debuted in the midseason in late January 2005 and consistently beat NBC's Medical Investigation in the ratings, sending the latter show into hiatus and eventual cancellation and freeing up the time slot for Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Despite Trial by Jury 's pedigree, NUMB3RS' ratings remained strong, often beating Trial by Jury in both overall and key demographic ratings.[1] Most insiders agree that Orbach's death may have been a contributing cause to the series' inability to attract viewers, similar to that of Phil Hartman's death and the subsequent end to NewsRadio.
Trial by Jury is the first series of the Law & Order franchise to be cancelled, although TV Guide reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again (or hand it off to Turner Network Television, which also airs reruns of the original series). The sets were reused by a series Wolf produced for NBC entitled Conviction which premiered Friday, March 3, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the Associated Press, Wolf stated that NBC had assured him Trial by Jury would return for the fall of 2005 but had "blindsided" him by cancelling it instead.
Court TV (now TruTV) re-aired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties," which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation.
[edit] DVD release
The complete series was released on region 1 DVD by Universal on April 25, 2006.[2]
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Jerry Orbach's final onscreen appearance is in the episode "Forty-One Shots". Orbach was so ill at the time that he could barely speak above a whisper. Thus his final line of dialogue had to be rewritten; at the trial of a cop-killer, NYPD members had been barred from the courtroom, and they were waiting outside with Lennie Briscoe. After Lennie (peering in through the door) learned of the guilty verdict, he turned and whispered to the cops "They got him!"
- This is one of eight series in which the character Det. John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. The other seven are Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, The X-Files, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Beat, Arrested Development and The Wire.
- Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green), Fred Thompson (Arthur Branch), Leslie Hendrix (Elizabeth Rodgers), and Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet)\ are the only actors to play the same character on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury).
- The fifth episode of the series, "Baby Boom," was dedicated to the memory of Jerry Orbach. At the end, the message "For Jerry" appeared.
- The one remaining unaired episode after cancellation, "Eros in the Upper Eighties," was aired as the series finale on Australia's Network 10, and aired in the US on Court TV on January 21, 2006. (It was also a part of the DVD release of the entire series on April 25, 2006). A then-current rumor stated that the episode would mention Lennie Briscoe's death, as it was the last one filmed before Jerry's passing. This rumor turned out to be false (although an unused scene shown in a "behind the scenes" feature on the DVD shows the main cast discussing what appears to be Briscoe's death from some kind of illness that he "never talked about".)
- Jerry Orbach and Bebe Neuwirth both performed in the Broadway musical Chicago - Orbach as Billy Flynn in the original 1975 run, and Neuwirth as Velma Kelly in the 1997 revival (she also played Roxie Hart in a brief run in early 2007).
- The show's theme song is now being used on original episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent that air on the USA Network.
[edit] Crossover episodes
There were 2 two-part crossover episodes:
- The Law & Order episode "Tombstone" and the Law & Order: Trail By Jury episode "Skeleton".
- The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Night" and the Law & Order: Trial By Jury episode "Day".
"Night" was included on the Law & Order: Trial By Jury DVD set. However, for unexplained reasons, "Tombstone" was not.
[edit] Related series
- Law & Order franchise
- Law & Order
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent
- Conviction
[edit] References
- ^ Rumor: Harsh verdict for NBC's 'Trial by Jury' . Medialifemagazine.com. Retrieved on 2005-05-13.
- ^ Lambert, David (2006-01-17). Law & Order: Trial by Jury – Jerry Orbach's Final Series Comes To DVD This Spring. TVShowsonDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
[edit] External links
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury on the Law & Order wiki
- Court TV's "Law & Order" webpage Their website has not been updated in a while.
- Episode Guide's Webpage
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