SAN DIEGO, November 16, 2011 – Like many longterm relationships, America’s love affair with the Law & Order television franchise has cooled off. We have history and a great fondness for the series, which is the longest running prime-time drama on television. But the passion isn’t there like it used to be.
As Terry Ponick wrote for "TV Den" in September, Law & Order’s swan song appears imminent. Only Law & Order: SVU is producing new episodes. The arrival of Danny Pino (replacing Christopher Meloni after a contract dispute) and Kelli Giddish feels disorienting after watching them play detectives on other network shows recently.
Factor in Mariska Hargitay’s reduced role on the show, and it adds up to the equivalent of filing separation papers with the viewing public.
Dominic Rowan (left) joins the cast in Season 5 as Crown Prosecutor Jacob Thorne. Photo: Wolf Films/NBC Universal.
But the billion-dollar franchise is still going strong thanks to a change of venue. Law & Order: UK began with six episodes in 2009 and proved to be a big hit with the British public. American audiences can now watch it on BBC America Wednesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific.
The series follows the same tried-and-true formula as the original American edition with the first half of each show focusing on the police investigation and the second half as the case goes to trial. In the UK version, this means seeing prosecutors for the Crown (the equivalent of the People) wearing the formal white wigs still donned by attorneys and judges in British courts. The episodes are all currently based on scripts previously produced for Law & Order in the U.S., with the original noted in the opening credits.
As for those now iconic credits, this is the first edition of the Wolf Films/Universal franchise with theme music composed by someone other than Mike Post, and with a new narrator. No disrespect to Post who is a fine composer, but the UK theme is far more dynamic and exciting. The energy is a harbinger of the entire show’s pacing. The opening credits follow the familiar format otherwise, including the signature "chung-chung" sound effect that punctuates the show. (See video below.)
The look of the show is familiar, with black and white title slates as transitions between scenes and handheld camera work. The cinematography is much darker, and it always seems to be gray and winter bleak outside. What, no crimes ever take place in the summertime in London?
Producer Dick Wolf had already licensed versions of Law & Order to French and Russian television producers but is not directly involved. Wolf still owns the UK edition and is taking an active role in its production.
Freema Agyeman plays junior crown prosecutor Alesha Philips in Law & Order: UK. Wolf Films/NBC Universal.
Wolf’s involvement shows. L&O: UK mirrors its American ancestor in all the right ways. The characters are familiar archetypes (the Columbo-style detective and his hard-charging young partner, the driven female prosecutor) but placing them in a different culture gives it a freshness that is intriguing but isn’t too foreign, literally. The notable shifts in legal procedure provide points of interest for the American viewer.
The actors cast in Law & Order: UK are well-known to British audiences, but for the most part from very different roles. Freema Agyeman plays crown prosecutor Alesha Philips. She is an appealing, thoughtful actress who starred in Doctor Who and Little Dorrit. Bradley Walsh plays Detective Ronnie Brooks. Walsh worked on game shows including the UK’s version of Wheel of Fortune and the series Coronation Street for two years before taking on the role of Brooks. He gained nearly 30 pounds to play the detective, a recovering alcoholic struggling to overcome his own demons.
The move from lighter fare to a series police drama has been successful for Walsh, an outstanding actor whose emotions play across his face like shadows across the sidewalk, visible for a brief moment and gone. It’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the role of Brooks, the true heart of the UK edition of the show.
Bradley Walsh (center) is the heart and soul of 'Law & Order: UK' as detective Sergeant Ronnie Brookes. Photo: Wolf Films/NBC Universal.
The British version shoots just 13 episodes each year, half the number an American drama series produces. Producers say part of the challenge filming in London is because the actors are so well known and constantly being recognized by the public.
According to IMDB, people are visible in the background on the series turning around to watch the actors as they pass by.
Wolf says he’d like to see a Middle Eastern version of the series next, set in a major Muslim city. His first choice is Cairo, Egypt. He also hopes to have the UK and New York casts team up for a crossover episode. Longtime L&O fans want to know if Detective John Munch will be involved. Richard Belzer’s character has appeared on every single version of the Law & Order series to date, and has even showed up on other series including The Wire, Arrested Development, and The X Files.
American fans longing for a return to Law & Order’s glory days shouldn’t miss an episode of Law & Order: UK. It will remind you why you fell in love with the show in the first place.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. Read more Media Migraine in the Communities at The Washington Times. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego.
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