Law & Order – The Third Year 1992-1993 Season Review Score: 10/10 | Date Posted: May 31st 2005 In: DVD Reviews Law & Order – The Third Year 1992-1993 Season Review by Vince D’Amato Starring: Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, Paul Sorvino, Richard Brooks, Michael Moriarty, Dann Florek, Steven Hill. Directed by: Various. Released by: Universal. The Third Year of creator Dick Wolf’s original Law & Order series (which has also spawned several series spin-offs over the last few years) is in my opinion one of the more pivotal seasons. Not only because this third season saw the introduction of the hugely popular mainstay character Detective Lenny Brisco, played by the beloved actor (fan favorite) Jerry Orbach, but almost more so because it seems to me, as a fan of the long-running series, that Law & Order was really starting to hit its stride in style, storytelling and episodic direction. The tight story-driven style that evolves in this third season is really the same calling card that the show still uses today (13 years later) and is the main reason for the series’ popularity and longevity. And yes, the addition to Jerry Orbach in the main cast helps this stylistic development immensely. It’s really nice to be able to see a lot of the growth of this show within this third season, from show to show and disc to disc. Leading star (and Detective Logan’s second partner on the show) Paul Sorvino covers the detective story requirements on the first 8 episodes this season (the entirety of the first of the 3 discs in the set), and while the stories are certainly well-written, it’s not until Detective Brisco’s introduction in episode #9 that we really get a sense of differentiating the individual characters on the show. Not only between the two lead detectives, but even Dann Florek’s Police Captain and Richard Brooks’ Assistant District Attorney appear to finally start getting fleshed out and much more interesting, connecting more securely not only with the story material, but with the audience as well. On top of all this, Season Three also boasts some of the more memorable episodes in Law & Order’s history – including “Prince of Darkness”, “Conduct Unbecoming”, “Right to Council” and “Point of View”. This DVD box set is filled with episodes waiting to be rediscovered (or simply discovered by new fans of the series). And as always, Michael Moriarty’s character Ben Stone from the D.A.’s office is as intelligent and compelling as would be expected from fans of the early seasons. …And now thanks to DVD we’re lucky enough to have these great shows at our fingertips (I still remember a few years back if you’d have to order your favorite Law & Order episodes on VHS via mail-order through the A&E network after synidication). At least now we can just head down to the local Best Buy. The DVD supplements: Uncharacteristically for Universal Studios’ television-on-DVD sets, this season of Law & Order comes with a lot of supplements. Each of the three discs includes all the deleted scenes from the episodes, and the last disc also includes two separate 6-minute tributes to actor Jerry Orbach, who sadly (and suddenly) succumbed to cancer late last year. The first tribute has some behind-the-scenes footage and emotional interviews with the cast who worked closest with him during his 11-year career on Law & Order. The second tribute is clips of archived Law & Order interviews with Orbach himself. A brief but fitting and fond tribute to a man who is obviously missed by co-workers and fans alike. R.I.P.

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