Law & Order – The Fourth Year Review Score: 10/10 | Date Posted: December 18th 2005 In: DVD Reviews Starring: Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, Jill Hennessy, Michael Moriarty, S. Epatha Merkerson, Steven Hill Directed by: Various Released by: Universal Law & Order – The Fourth Year 1993-1994 Season Review by Vince D’Amato | HNR Special Contributor The Fourth Year of the immensely popular Law & Order series is, I believe, a critical season in the ongoing crime drama of this long-running hit. Along with key cast changes, the stories have become slightly more edgier while the simple cinematographic one-camera style become more fluid this season: Longer, creative shots encompassing some dense (though always interesting) exposition dialogue that drive the taut mysteries forward through the detective’s stories and into the courtroom, where generally, the mystery continues up to the trademark dramatic endings that sometimes leave all social and/or political opinions up to the viewers themselves. Definitely a show that at this time was a lot more intelligent than most of its competition, with enough story and drama to carry a feature-length film. This year, Jill Hennessy joins the cast to replace Michael Moriarty’s partner in the District Attorney’s Office, and S. Epatha Merkerson, who once guest-starred in an earlier episode of Law & Order as a lower-middle-class maintenance woman, joins the cast full-time as a new character, the Captain of Chris Noth’s and Jerry Orbach’s detective division at the NYPD; rounding out what would become one of the more popular cast line-ups of the series (until Sam Waterston replaced Michael Moriarty in the next couple of seasons). Aside from the cast and cinematography, creator Dick Wolf does not stray from his original half & half hit formula – the detective story, followed by the courtroom story. And as fans will know, this formula has worked for over fifteen years now. The last four episodes of this season are particularly memorable classics. Highly, highly recommended for both fans and newcomers. The DVD supplements: Universal Studios have included over 40 extended or deleted scenes for various episodes in this DVD set.

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