No “Tipsy 21st” for Law & Order
Last Friday’s news that May 26th would be the air date of the final episode of the legendary NBC series, Law & Order, was shocking, confusing, and accompanied by The Imperial March. So what prompted this decision and where do we go from here?
Some justify NBC’s decision with ratings and sales. According to the Washington Post, the network has “steadfastly maintained for years that they do all their ad sales business according to how many 18-49 year olds their shows can deliver to advertisers” while “about 64 percent of the show’s audience — 4.7 million people — are aged 50 and older”. Oops. Maybe you can’t argue with the ratings, but keep in mind these numbers are based on viewers watching the newly aired episodes during primetime, discounting those of us who eagerly await the Law & Order Marathons on other networks.
But perhaps no one has a better reason to be disappointed with the loss of the longest running crime series on television (tied for longest running drama) than the city of New York. Mayor Bloomberg even released a statement which called Law & Order “a New York City institution.” He applauded this brainchild of Dick Wolf for ” filming in the City at a time when few series did, and…help[ing to] pave the way for the more than 150 television shows based here today.” The New York Times published an article soon after NBC released the news of the cancellation which details the impact of the show on the New York City economy. The show spends nearly $80 million dollars annually in the City while directly providing roughly 4,000 jobs.
It’s the end of an era…or is it? The New York Times also reported that NBC is replacing the beloved New York show with…the L.A. version. Yep, it’s true and it’s a move which seems strangely familiar, probably because CBS did the same thing with NCIS, another police procedural drama (NCIS stands for Naval Criminal Investigation Squad). While the original is set in the D.C. area, fans also have the option of watching Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J in sunny California.
Other L&O spinoffs will not be canceled, which includes Law & Order: SVU on NBC and Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA.
Either way, NBC seems determined to make as many cold-hearted and callous decisions as possible. Need I remind you of Team CoCo? Keep in mind that Dick Wolf was only 1 season away from reaching his well-known goal of beating Gunsmoke for longest running scripted television drama.
Oh yeah, and they canceled Heros too.
-B.C.Bodnar
[...] For those of you wondering why I would wait until midnight to watch a film that is 2 1/2 hours in length in a theater packed with angsty teenagers on a very early Friday morning – here’s some perspective. I read my first Harry Potter book in fifth grade, when I was 10. I am now 21. In that time, I’ve changed schools and cities, friends and haircuts but Harry Potter has been a constant. For the most part, the books, which measure about a year in Harry’s life and typically start on his birthday, were released in tandem with my own birthday and usually, Harry and I were the same age. I try to imagine other pop culture artifacts with as much influence and staying power - The Simpson’s comes to mind (sorry Law & Order, you were canceled.) [...]
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