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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Law and Order: Assistant DA Competition

NBC's long running law drama series Law and Order has had a number of intriguing Assistant DAs backing the prosecution over the shows twenty years. Which of them did we like best? Let us ponder the possibilities:




Richard Brooks in the role of Paul Robinette.

This guy held no interest for me when I first watched the show. Well, in truth I did not watch the show when it was Moriarity, Brooks, Sorvino and Noth. Nothing personal, just didn't look all that interesting to me.  Going back now that I am a hooked Law and Order guy, I love Paul Robinette. This guy, whether in his acting or the way the part was written for him, or both, but this guy was one smart lawyer. Way quicker than Moriarity's Ben Stone. I loved the guy.



Jill Hennessy as Claire Kincaid

You gotta love Claire Kincaid.



Carey Lowell as Jamie Ross.

For quite some time those dull eyes and the flat delivery left me wondering why life sometimes seemed so unfair, but I eventually warmed up to her... some.



Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael

Woah. Abbie Carmichael was amazing. Okay, this was when I first started watching the show, and you've got to admit, this was a pretty good reason. My lord, that hair, that sharp delivery, that rascally smile... I loved her.



Elisabeth Röhm as Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn

Elizabeth Röhm played the very bright Serena Southerlyn, and brought a decidedly comic aspect to the role. I couldn't figure out if they wrote her this way or if it was just her delivery.  She consistently displayed no common feelings whatsoever with the characters she was interacting with. Gruff, tough, and dumb as a brick. Often times they would cut away to her when Jack was giving his super summary, just as they had for years before with Claire, Jamie and Abbie, but this time the consistent "Dear in the headlights" look about her just made me laugh. And yeah, I meant to spell it that way. Does she get what is going on?  This is a murder trial, isn't it?  Is she following the argument?  In a word... no.  Never liked her. And that last minute throw in: "Oh, by the way, my character is a homosexual, and has been for the past four years, just nobody ever noticed." Okay, well in that case, why tell me about it now? Forget it.



Annie Parisse as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Borgia

I really liked this ADA. Don't know exactly why.



Alana de la Garza as Assistant District Attorney Connie Rubirosa

Yeah, well... naah.  She wasn't helped by that dingbat she was working with. That was a fair amount of water she was carrying for the bat wielding, moral compass lacking, trite Executive ADA Michael Cutter.  Even if she could have managed to cut loose from Cutter, she still would have needed a little something.

Okay, there they are. Which would you pick as the top ADA? And which do you think I picked? Get both answers right and you could win a gold star. I know, I've been away for a long time, and you don't think I will come through with the prize. Yeah, well, this little rodeo is up for grabs.   I'm pulling for ya!



Darrell's Gold Star bonus!

4 comments:

  1. For you--Angie Harmon as Assistant District Attorney Abbie Carmichael. Her or Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette. My powers of psychic deduction sense that you are conflicted on the matter and often go back-and-forth. For me--Jill Hennessy as Claire Kincaid. I may have given her a $20 bill in Toronto when she was panhandling in the subway as a teen. Of course it might have been her twin sister, Jacqueline. Either way I didn't see two and I only learned she had an identical twin years later. Whoever it was was happy with the US twenty--although she quickly added that I wasn't going to get anything for it. I told her that if she used it for food, clothes or a place to stay, I would. I think it was her. I also thought I had met her after seeing L&O. When I read an Esquire article getting a haircut and read about her panhandling in Toronto in her youth, it all clicked.

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  2. Paul Robinette is my favorite ADA. That's one heck of a good lawyer. Also, the cases were better in the early days, and the judges in those earlier shows seemed more grounded and steady. I like the law better from the early shows, and Paul Robinette is a big part of that.

    Still, there is something to be said for female ADAs who hold an appeal Brooks is never going to be able to reach, and in that regard, its tough to look past Abbie Carmichael, but my favorite has to be Claire Kincaid, and the bonus image is the one that pushes her to the top. I loved that moment. There's Jack, out of sorts, embarressed, fat pulled out of the fire by Claire, and with a funny little joke about the mess that had been made she set things all to rights between herself and Jack. Loved it.

    Well then, a Gold Star for you, Darrell!

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  3. Good to have you back posting!

    By the way, I just started Downton Abbey (on the recommendation of a niece) and really liked it. I'm waiting for Season 2 from the library.

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  4. Thanks, T.D. Downton Abbey is good fun!

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