Renowned for cast merry-go-rounds—19 performers in six principal roles—and reruns that could single-handedly sustain TNT, Law & Order is in a busy season of change. Dennis Farina replaced virtual institution Jerry Orbach, who reappears midseason in the new Law & Order: Trial by Jury, while counselor Elisabeth Rohm departs midseason, replacement pending.
Here, in cop-blotter prose, are the cast rap sheets that have kept Law so well-ordered:
Chris Noth (Det. Mike Logan, Seasons 1-5) Steely, world-weary, Irish swagger. Helped set series' cynical nobility. Best Partnerships (BP): As junior hothead "Mikey" to war horses Dzundza, Sorvino. Select scenes (SS): In holding cell, angrily confronts ex-neighborhood padre who molested childhood pals; Decks pompous politico, busted back to Staten Island, makes it "Big" at Sarah Jessica's private precincts.
George Dzundza (Det. Max Greevey, Season 1) Hard-bitten cherub—Santa Claus crossed with Kojak. Respected character actor puts likable face on season that launched franchise; character killed, resurrecting film career. SS: Who the hell remembers?
Paul Sorvino (Det. Phil Cerreta, Season 2) Polite inquisitor, tough talk tucked in velvety voice, brings elegance offsetting Logan pugnaciousness; SS: Survives shooting, tells "Mikey" he's deskbound, bringing on ...
Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe, Seasons 3-14) The gold, grizzled standard; slouchy, un-glam; black-humored quips over pre-credit corpse kick-start show. Among TV's most believable flatfoots. Earns trip to Spinoff-ville. BPs: Jesse. L. Martin, Ben Bratt. Only serviceable with Noth. Plays bemused daddy figure to Bratt's boy scout; complex, prickly relationship with Martin. SS: Over body of daughter, whacked by drug dealer, sardonic defenses crack just enough to expose the man beneath the cop; Questioning society matron, cracking wise. She: "You're a simple man, aren't you?" He: "I do my best."
Dann Florek (Capt. Don Kragen, Seasons 1-3, now on L&O:SVU) Dorky but firm authority. Canned for "diversity," kept cool, directed episodes, earned longer-running SVU gig. SS: In SVU, pissed at pussyfooting shrink. Asked about alcoholism, if tempted to down shots after brutal crimes, strides out door, snapping, "Ask me tomorrow."
S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren (Seasons 4-current) Dreadlocked actress (wears wig for L&O role) overcomes PC tag; becomes woman-in-charge icon. Efficient, warm, tough, droll humor; gives cop called Profacci stuff to do. SS: Stands up to police brass she sues for discrimination; Wrestles with conscience and job after shooting armed mugger, fends off McCoy and grand jury indictment; Discovers career-making arrest based on faulty evidence of ballistics specialist that imprisoned innocent man, confronts spiteful, convicted colleague in electrifying jail-cell climax.
Benjamin Bratt (Det. Reynaldo Curtis, Seasons 6-9) Family man, sickly wife, irritating speech affectation: "You couldn't wait to kill her, yeah?" ... Annoying, yeah? Inherits Noth beefcake buzz; Latino presence suits multiethnic milieu; Can still be horrified, humane counterbalance to Orbach's shockproof puss. SS: Sins in romp with college hottie Jennifer Garner; Comforts distraught Briscoe crouching over daughter's corpse. Briscoe: "What am I gonna do, Rey?" Curtis: "You're gonna come home with me, partner"; Trades carnal glances with then-squeeze Julia Roberts when A-lister slums as L&O villainess.
Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green, Seasons 10-current) Echoes Noth's quick-trigger temper; cock-of-the-walk says he's too cool for the (squad) room; Jolt to Briscoe, hints of racial tension. SS: Clever cat-and-mouse game with Norman Mailer-ish murder suspect; Knack for clues like thousand-dollar watches, MP3 players, even 007 car in Die Another Day. Stone-age Briscoe cracks: "I haven't seen a Bond movie since Sean Connery left."
Dennis Farina (Det. Frank Fontana, Season 15) Cut cop some slack, Jack. As ex-Chicago officer-turned-actor, Farina's closest on cast to real deal; making toughest transition, replacing fan fave Orbach. Green/Fontana balance tilts toward pair of well-tailored dandies, absent gritty motif that made L&O blue-collar hit. SS: Investigation ongoing.
Michael Moriarty (ADA Ben Stone, Seasons 1-4) Talented nutcase. Balding, geek-squeak voice, doesn't look like he'd persecute a fly till bites into accused like great white shark in civil servant suit. Utters "Sir" to defendants with unmasked contempt. Bails after tossing tantrums over Janet Reno's TV-violence crusade, barely a blip since. BPs: Fits hand-in-glove with freeze-dried Richard Brooks. Ill-at-ease with Jill Hennessy, as if assistant gig too crucial for some girly-girl. Radiated all the sexual sparks of a neutered aardvark. SS: Off-screen, interviewed by this scribe after hearing of replacement Sam Waterston, known for genteel Southern drama I'll Fly Away; angrily declares Dixie no prep for Big, Bad Apple. Earth to Michael: You're just actors in TV series, dude.
Richard Brooks (ADA Paul Robinette, Seasons 1-3) Dutiful, serious, stiff as judge's gavel. Canned for curvier Hennessy. SS: Return role as defense attorney, plays race card for black defendant; announces he was wrong to call himself lawyer who happened to be black. No, he was a black lawyer. Charismatic, Brooks finally delivers.
Steven Hill (DA Adam Schiff, Seasons 1-10) The gold, grumpy standard—dyspeptic, irresistible; Noble but conflicted prosecutor: crusading DA with political considerations, especially when case enrages minority community. BPs: Contentious but affectionate bond with McCoy, superior to stiff give-and-take with Stone. SS: Pulls plug on terminally ill wife, hears heart monitor go flat, lets loose a low grunt of despair, face falling like the Twin Towers; Every time he bellows, "Make a deal!"
Jill Hennessy (ADA Claire Kincaid, Seasons 4-6) Courtroom cupcake inserts estrogen, but little emotional oomph. Knockin' boots with McCoy, but mostly legal handmaiden SS: Telling off Schiff, reminding that she dispatched case with a deal the way he likes them—"quick and off your desk!"; Re-evaluates desire to practice law after cast witnesses execution—then conveniently dies, dodging dilemma.
Sam Waterston (ADA Jack McCoy, Seasons 5-current) L&O's ferocious soul. Indignant, neck waddle at full-throttle; unparalleled hardass. Challenges mollycoddling judges, outflanks devious defenders, skirts edges of legal propriety, rails over "black-letter law"; only when case has '60s overtones does he go all counterculture self-righteous. BP: Chemistry with Carey Lowell—intellectual and sexual tension, unconsummated. SS: Blackmails rat-fink judge into backing down against challenging Schiff for re-election; Recalls growing up with abusive cop-pop in a bar, dissolving into dart-playing, alcohol-fueled stupor; Any McCoy cross-examination.
Carey Lowell (ADA Jamie Ross, Seasons 7-8) Bond babe follows Hennessy, adds missing grit, backbone; makes both formidable McCoy ally and ideological foe. Sexy self-confidence. SS: Skewers Schiff: "How fortunate she was murdered just in time for the election"—survives withering glance; Plays dumb in mediation with accused murderer, bamboozling defense team; Deflects leering judge who asks what she'd be thinking if she left a man's apartment early after a night of lovemaking: "I'd say I wasn't too impressed."
Angie Harmon (ADA Abbie Carmichael, Seasons 9-11) Texas hellcat an even-harder-ass, hang-'em-high prosecutor, often surpassing McCoy's go-for-broke justice. Crossovers on SVU lend spinoff original's sheen; Ex-model, hot, husky voice, sex appeal soars. SS: Anguishes over rape case, quietly tells McCoy she was raped in grad school; Stares down female-slaying serial killer, does legal end-run to get him extradited to Texas, where they'll fry his sorry ass.
Dianne Wiest (DA Nora Lewin, Seasons 11-12) Talented mistake. Alternative to grouchy-grandpa Steven Hill, but softer style never connects. Even declaring, "I'd like nothing better than to hang their heads on our wall," still sounds like formal dinner invitation. SS: Comic note, announcing Dateline interview, asked, "Jane Pauley or Stone Phillips?" Fluttering hand reaches to straighten her hair, she giggles, "Stone PHILLIPS." Imagine Hill doing that.
Elisabeth Rohm (ADA Serena Southerlyn, Seasons 12-15-1/2) Savaged as "ice princess" but Rohm combines Lowell's grace and Harmon's zeal, dipped in sexual allure. SS: In hostage standoff when hostage-taker demands to see lawyer, teetering on ethical tightrope when she doesn't reveal she's an ADA. Climaxes in disbarment hearing.
Fred Thompson (DA Arthur Branch, Seasons 13-current) Ex-senator's folksy but firm manner returns DA's office to nail-their-ass credibility. Thompson's conservatism used for fascinating ideological debates, adding fresh blast of intellectual firepower.
Those are their stories. Chung-chung.
Images are pages from Weekly contributor Brandon Bird's Law & Order: An Adventure to Color, the coloring book that Conan O'Brien presented to Jerry Orbach on Late Night.