Review of Law and Order Los Angeles

No one likes to hear the word “change,” but when NBC cancelled the mother ship Law and Order , fans were outraged. It was one season away from breaking the record of the longest running television drama. The 21^st season was not to be, which led creator Dick Wolf to go back to the drawing board. Wolf created another spinoff of the franchise, but this time it would be set in a completely different city. This time around, Law and Order is going to the west coast, more specifically, Los Angeles.

When I first heard this, I thought the network was crazy to let them shoot in Los Angeles, because most cop shows have been or are shot in that city. A few weeks later, I thought that Dick Wolf made a good point that he could put a good spin on the crimes that are committed in Los Angeles. The only way this show could have even a small chance of success is with a good cast, and for this one, Wolf pulled out all the stops.

It centers on the robbery homicide division of the LAPD. For the roles of the detectives, you have Skeet Ulrich from Scream as Rex Winters, along with his partner Thomas “TJ” Jaruszalski. You also have Rachel Ticotin playing their commanding officer. There are also an A-Team and a B-Team of prosecutors. The Deputy DA’s are Ricardo Morales and Evelyn Price played by Alfred Molina and Regina Hall. Also, the other team is Jonah “Joe” Dekker and Lauren Stanton played by Terrence Howard and Megan Boone. Finally, Peter Coyote will play the District Attorney that will supervise the prosecutors.

After all the changes that were made with the casting and all the hype that this show was getting, it did a great job with its pilot. Plus, you had a lot of guest stars in this episode like Danielle Panabaker, Oded Fehr, Jim Beaver and others. I was impressed with how the detectives work well together, and Molina delivered with his role. Even though that there is no intro with the voice-over and no theme song like on the original, I liked how they changed it up. I still think it would better with those elements that made Law and Order what it is today, but I like the changes. At the end of the day, I give Law and Order Los Angeles three and a half out of four stars because the way they showcase the city is well-done and I see great promise for this new drama. What do you think of the new member of the Law and Order family? Did it live it up to the hype? Will it get better as time goes on? Was it the right time to take it to the west coast? Send us an e-mail: ryan@therpmshow.com. Don’t miss all-new episodes of Law and Order LosAngeles at 10/9c on NBC.

By: Ryan Matthews of The RPM Show. You can learn more about Law & Order: Los Angeles, prime time TV and anything about the world of entertainment by visiting The RPM Show (www.therpmshow.com) and listening to the broadcasts.