Michael Moriarty, the actor who portrayed the original assistant district attorney on the groundbreaking and very original Law & Order TV program, has written a piece [1] for http://bighollywood.com [2] denouncing his former show’s producer for allowing the popular program to become increasingly left-wing.
I used to be a big fan of Law & Order, having watched the program from its premiere episode. The program used to offer first-class writing, acting and direction, and the plots — ripped from the headlines, as the show used to say in their promotions — were basically realistic.
I also tuned in to the spin-off Law & Order shows. I was a very big fan of Law & Order: SVU, and I once believed it was the most realistic police show on TV.
As a crime reporter and columnist for a couple of Philadelphia’s weekly newspapers, I covered Philadelphia’s Special Victims Unit. I interviewed the detectives and saw how they worked sex crimes.
Other than murder, sex crimes are perhaps the most horrendous of all crimes. When a child is involved, a sex crime is truly awful. I thought the TV show handled the cops, the crimes and the victims reasonably well.
I recorded and watched Law & Order and the spin-off programs every week.
But no more. Like Moriarty, I began to cringe more and more each week as the show offered more and more left-wing political talking points. I suppose the election of Obama cued producer Dick Wolf and his team to present more politically correct and leftist points of view on their dramas.
The mothership Law & Order ought to be put to sleep, as it has clearly run its course. Law & Order SVU, in addition to becoming too leftist, also showcases the two lead actors far too much in my view.
The actors are fine and I like them, but nearly every plot line features a personal involvement for one or the other of the leads. They are so emotionally and personally involved in their cases, that no police department would allow them to continue in such a sensitive squad as the special victims unit.
I’ve watched Law & Order faithfully for more than 20 years, but now, like many other Americans, I believe I’ll flip that dial.
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Paul Davis [5]
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