Reflections on "Law & Order" (1)

In "Law and Order" 's New York, time exists - it brings in new DAs, sends off detectives, allows the sedate, droopy Det. Lennie Brisco of the early 90's to sour into the smirky dropper-of-asides of the early 00's - but always gets pressed by the same template of the show's format. The steady setup of each episode imposes a sort of timeless quality on the whole human institution of transgression and justice. Dick Wolf has taken some hits for keeping that setup so regular, but it's that very regularity Wolf insists upon that not only echoes the titular order but also articulates a rather fetching accidental metaphor: life is chaos / crime-filled, and makes sense through routine alone.

Not that time can't occasionally be indicted. Rest easy, Jerry Orbach.

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By the way, this is a picture of your Disruptive Juxtapositioner. This picture may change; I'm trying to use this here Post #1 as a shortcut to posting pictures w/in my Blogger template.