Law and Order Jumps The Shark (R)

[BillQ]

Tonight should have been a great evening in TV history - the last episode for Elizabeth Roem on Law and Order. She is such a bad actress that porn stars can emote better than she can.

Anyway, the final scene had her character, Serena, meeting with Arthur, the DA. After complaining that she was too passionate about her cases (which, after four years of watching her, that was too damn funny), Arthur fires her.

Her response? "Is this because I'm a lesbian?"

Arthur: "No."

WTF? Her sexuality was never mentioned at all throughout her time on the show and then she throws it out there???! Sorry, L&O finally has JTS.

[NoodlesMacintosh]

How unfortunate. Can't a character in a show change without suddenly taking a grab from the Character Development Hat? Yknow, where new things enter a show/character's habits as randomly as if that actor had pulled the new development out of a group of slips of paper from a hat?

"Sam is going to get married. Todd, you're now gay. Alex is going to lose a limb in a freak helicopter accident. Julie is going to be pregnant."

"Wait--last year I was a lesbian!! Who's going to be the father?"

"Hm. Good question. Sam, Todd, Alex, I'm thinking of a number between one and ten..."

[Anthony]

Tonight should have been a great evening in TV history - the last episode for Elizabeth Roem on Law and Order. She is such a bad actress that porn stars can emote better than she can.

Anyway, the final scene had her character, Serena, meeting with Arthur, the DA. After complaining that she was too passionate about her cases (which, after four years of watching her, that was too damn funny), Arthur fires her.

Her response? "Is this because I'm a lesbian?"

Arthur: "No."

WTF? Her sexuality was never mentioned at all throughout her time on the show and then she throws it out there???! Sorry, L&O finally has JTS.

She was awful. Sam Waterston's assistant is supposed to be his foil, but she just came off sounding life a self-rightous idiot all the time.

Her sexuality never came up as far as I can remember. Not even in the episode where the lesbnin kills her lover to steal their adopted child (though she was nice and self rightous in that episode) or with the gay love triangle involving the governor of Conneticut and the murder of his wife (though Serena came off as sounding like a self rightous idiot).

In the episode were the 26 year old woman was masquerading as a 15 year old, she even mentioned about how great her junior rom night was, when she was escorted by a college junior.

The only posisble thing I can see is that Arthur seemed just as shocked as the rest of us that she announced she was a lesbian.

[obie]

Putting aside the question of whether or not the actress can act, I think that's a pretty darn amusing plot twist to throw in on a character's final episode. Then again, I've watched maybe five episodes total of L&O and all its crazy spinoffs, so it's not like I have anything invested in these people.

Now some gay studies students are going to be archiving L&O repeats to look for hidden subtext in all the previous episodes.

[bungadiri]

Now some gay studies students are going to be archiving L&O repeats to look for hidden subtext in all the previous episodes.
Screw that. Now we have some explanation as to why she and Angel never actually got it on. Well, that plus the fact that if she'd been any good he'd have lost his soul.

[Anthony]

I was discussiong this with a friend and this was his though.

Maybe it was a subtle stab at identity-victim politics in America.

Think of this. Rohm is a terrible actress and Serena was a terrible DA. Evertime they tried to put murderer away, she was mouthing off some self rightous crap or throwing a hissy fit when her immediate boss (a very sucessfull prosecutor) or her ultimate boss (the NY County DA) did not take her advice.

So she is fired.

And her immediate reaction -- "this is because I am a lesbian."

The DA gets a shocked looked on his face because he (like everyone else that watches the show) never knew she was a lesbian.

I know L&O like most other t.v. shows has a certain liberal political bent. But it does not toe the party line. I mean, McCoy is often derided for his anti-religious views and the DA is, in real life, a former GOP Senator.

So maybe we are missing the point of the episode.

[BillQ]

I don't see L&O as a liberal show. It definently has had a conservative bent throughout its run.

[bojendyk]

I don't see L&O as a liberal show. It definently has had a conservative bent throughout its run.

It doesn't really have either. There will be some conservative stuff about victim's rights, some liberal stuff about the rights of the accused, but because it's network television and needs to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, what results is not a Socratic dialogue but a decent crime show with wishy-washy politics. People watch it because the writing is passable, Jerry Orbach was the Man, and the forensics are interesting. (I was hooked on it for about two years.)

Speaking of conservatives on that show, I believe the Angie Harmon has spoken at Republican events.

[Claymore]

Meh. It lost it's luster for me once Angie Harmon left. Elizabeth Roem was eye candy, but that was about it.

Talk about a complete non-sequitor, though - the show never even hinted that she was gay, and they drop that bomb on her last show? What was the point, unless they're setting up some kind of discrimination suit being filed by her character?

[MikeLastort2]

I think L&O jumped the shark when Claire Kincaid was replaced by Jamie Ross. :D

I gotta say that Dennis Farina has REALLY made the show unwatchable for me. I'm glad that so many cable networks show reruns.

[needs]

-Didn't she come out in the gay marriage episode either this year or last year.

-I wouldn't call it a conservative show, but its narrative conventions certainly fall in line with conservative criticisms of the courts. How many confessions get thrown out on technicalities in the show? 80% ?

And yes, I watch far too much law and order. Damn you, TNT.

[skipshady]

I thought the franchise jumped the shark with that "You decide" ending on SVU.

Still, one thing I like about L&O is that the characters' personal lives are mentioned, but are never the story.

[Anthony]

-Didn't she come out in the gay marriage episode either this year or last year.

Which one? The one where the lesbian killed her lover or the gay love triangle involving the governor of Conn?

I just remember her spouting off what was supposed to be a foil for Thompson and Waterson, but which came out of Rohm's mouth as self-rightous crap.

-I wouldn't call it a conservative show, but its narrative conventions certainly fall in line with conservative criticisms of the courts. How many confessions get thrown out on technicalities in the show? 80% ?

Agreed. Dumb comment on my part.

And yes, I watch far too much law and order. Damn you, TNT.

As an attorney, it is the only "legal" show I can wtach, though I imagine a criminal lawyer would find it annoying.

[BillQ]

I think L&O jumped the shark when Claire Kincaid was replaced by Jamie Ross. :D

I gotta say that Dennis Farina has REALLY made the show unwatchable for me. I'm glad that so many cable networks show reruns.

Jamie Ross was just ok, the Angie Harmon character was bad at first but she got better in the roll the longer she was on the show. Elizabeth Rohm just always seem out of her depth and never really improved as an actor, despite being around Sam Watterson and Diane Weist the first season or two on the show.

As for Farina, I don't have a problem with him but he is a lot different than Jerry Orbach. I am interested in when Michael Imperioli comes on later this season to sub for Green on the show.

[nicephoras]

The show jumped the shark several years ago when they went from using real court cases (half the ConLaw stuff I covered in class was in Law and Order, if it was interesting) and when they spun it off. I refused to watch the spinoffs, and I hated the "ripped from the headlines" crap. Once it lost its appeal to the legal geek in me, it was no longer worth it.

[Anthony]

Jamie Ross was just ok, the Angie Harmon character was bad at first but she got better in the roll the longer she was on the show. Elizabeth Rohm just always seem out of her depth and never really improved as an actor, despite being around Sam Watterson and Diane Weist the first season or two on the show.

As for Farina, I don't have a problem with him but he is a lot different than Jerry Orbach. I am interested in when Michael Imperioli comes on later this season to sub for Green on the show.

Rohm just completely sucked. She canot act and was just there because she was a pretty blond woman.

Orbach was a wonderful actor. My parents loved him as a stage actor, and the guy was the quintessential New Yorker.

Folks do not seem to like Farina's character on the show. The ironic thing is that he used to be a cop.

[Lanky134]

I gotta say that Dennis Farina has REALLY made the show unwatchable for me. I'm glad that so many cable networks show reruns.

New York cops and thick Chicago accents don't mix.

When Rohm asked if she was being fired because she was a lesbian, I was hoping Fred Thompson would say, "No. It's because you can't act."

As for the political leanings of the show, didn't Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) resign after New York State reinstituted the death penalty and he was forced to prosecute a capital murder case?

[needs]

Which one? The one where the lesbian killed her lover or the gay love triangle involving the governor of Conn?


The love triangle episode. But I could be completely wrong that she ever came out.

[Anthony]

New York cops and thick Chicago accents don't mix.

For the attorneys you can get away with the accent issue. I mean, someone could have come to law school in New York, got a job and got a job as a DA. The have used that line a few times to explain Thompson's accent.

I find it hard to think someone would come to New York to become a cop.

When Rohm asked if she was being fired because she was a lesbian, I was hoping Fred Thompson would say, "No. It's because you can't act."

This is signature material.

As for the political leanings of the show, didn't Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) resign after New York State reinstituted the death penalty and he was forced to prosecute a capital murder case?

I think if the show really just mixes up lots of political leanings, the way life does.

[Northside Rovers]

I missed last night - but I don't remember Rohm's character's sex life ever come up. That is an odd ending, though.

But I don't understand the vitriol directed at her. I thought she was hot and did a good job on the show. It took a while for me to warm up to her because Angie Harmon was so frigging cool.

My jury is still out on Dennis Farina - leaning towards dislike. But I didn't like a few of the asst DA chicks but they always grew on me. Maybe I just dig hot chicks too much.