Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 3, 1995 TAG: 9510030042
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRAZIER MOORE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Still, this splendid cops-and-lawyers drama has earned its share of bragging rights as it gets into its sixth season Wednesdays at 10 p.m. (WSLS, Channel 10). And not just for hanging on, or even for finessing its once-marginal ratings into a solid viewership. What really sets ``Law & Order'' apart, after five years and counting, is its brand of consistent excellence.
Granted, consistency may seem an odd word to apply to ``Law & Order,'' at least from the standpoint of its revolving-door ensemble. Every spring since ``Law & Order's'' first has marked the departure of at least one cast member. Then each fall ushers in new blood.
This season, Benjamin Bratt bows as Detective Reynaldo ``Rey'' Curtis. He replaces Christopher Noth, who, as Detective Mike Logan, had been the last of the show's five charter members.
Has any other series weathered a complete cast turnover? Doubtful. But ``Law & Order'' is all the more remarkable in that, through all the comings and goings, it has remained true to its original vision. Sample the repeats aired at 11 p.m. weeknights on cable's A&E channel and you see: ``Law & Order,'' while evolving, is rock solid.
Now welcome Bratt, 31, who starred on the series ``Nasty Boys'' and in the mini-series ``Texas'' and appeared in the films ``Clear and Present Danger'' and ``Demolition Man.''
The character he brings with him, Rey Curtis, is a young academy-trained detective whose conservative views clash with his more freewheeling and streetwise elder, Detective Lennie Briscoe, played by Jerry Orbach.
Thus does life imitate art: Bratt steps in as new partner for Orbach, whose first three years on the series were spent side-by-side with Noth. But while Lennie and Rey will butt heads, ``Jerry couldn't have been more gracious in bringing me into the fold,'' says Ben. ``He made me feel completely comfortable.''
Not that Bratt's initiation was completely stress-free.
``The very first scene we shot, I was visibly shaky,'' he admits. ``But when it was over, I bounded back to the trailer, thinking, `Wow, I'm really doing this!' Everything was fine after that.''
Bratt has stolen a moment to talk during a break from filming on a Chelsea side street.
Adhering to the show's durable structure, this scene, with a shoulder-mounted camera tracking Briscoe and Curtis as they step across a loading dock and into an office to ask a few questions, is part of the murder investigation. As usual, it is under the supervision of Lt. Anita Van Buren (played by S. Epatha Merkerson, beginning her third season).
During the episode's second phase, the focus will shift to the criminal courts as Assistant District Attorneys Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston, second season) and Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy, third season) build their case with the wise, wry input of their boss, District Attorney Adam Schiff (Steven Hill, who joined the series its second week).
Orbach, who in his long career has starred on Broadway, in films such as ``Dirty Dancing'' and ``Postcards from the Edge,'' and on TV's ``The Law and Harry McGraw,'' says he signed on for ``Law & Order'' hoping it would last at least one more year. That was November 1992.
Now the man who became Chris Noth's third partner carries on in the absence of Noth, in effect an aging Baby Boomer who was traded in for Bratt, a Generation X-er.
Orbach says Noth is still a friend, but concedes that ``toward the end, both Briscoe and Logan were seeming a little world-weary. With this [Briscoe-Curtis] generation gap, it's a whole new deal.''
But will ``Law & Order'' fans stand for yet another change?
``I know Chris Noth was well-loved by audiences and the show worked quite well with him,'' says Bratt. ``But if viewers give this new cast member a chance, as they have in the past, I'm convinced they'll get caught up in the new character and his place in the show - and they'll be as happy as ever.''
Bratt already is, and plans on not just watching his ``Law & Order'' debut, but celebrating it.
``I'm gonna have a party Wednesday night,'' he says. ``Why not? I'm excited!''
by CNB