Critic Reviews
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69
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
24(63%)
mixed
11(29%)
negative
3(8%)
Showing 31 Critic Reviews
Mar 7, 2013
90
The first four episodes, made available for preview, indicate that Law and Order could climb quickly to the top echelons of the genre, right up there with "Crime Story" and "Hill Street Blues." [13 Sept 1990, p.C26]
88
All in all, the show is much better than it was when it was rotely doing “ripped from the headline” stories, which was only a few seasons ago.
83
A few new faces from last season are back, but the formula remains ironclad, right down to the soaring courtroom rhetoric and McCoy's somewhat suspect ethical calculus. This comfort food remains comfortable, indeed.
83
Wolf has put snappin' Jack at the center of some of the best episodes of the immortal series' 19th season.
Jun 7, 2013
83
It's a little gimmicky, but it works, primarily on the strength of the cast.
Jun 10, 2013
83
Orbach has restored to Law & Order the grit it was starting to lack at the end of its '92 season. As Det. Lennie Briscoe, Orbach displays a smoky voice, impatient manner, and perennial air of hangdog cynicism that adds some realistic rust to L&O's gleaming efficiency.
Jun 11, 2013
83
I've noticed a drop in the quality of the writing. Too many cases derive their initial inspiration from real events (the Susan Smith case, and even, recently, that of Patty Hearst), with slight, facile alterations. Then too, the dialogue, once a model of hard-boiled terseness, is all too often now a jumble of gabby cliches. ... But you never know when L&O will let loose a corker.
