If you turn on the television at any time of the day, chances are Law and Order is playing on some channel. What makes this show so popular that networks such as TNT and A&E, apart from the series? NBC home, play Law and Order reruns several times a day and never fail to find captive audiences? Why do disgruntled channel surfers cry Eureka when they come upon a Law and Order rerun (even though they have seen that episode with Julia Roberts about four times)? Why does spending a day watching A&E?s Fourth of July Law and Order marathon represent a fruitful experience?

Of course, the show?s success can be attributed to a variety of factors. The "ripped-from-the-headlines" style certainly accounts for much of the sordid fascination that the series evokes. The Gary Condit and P. Diddy and J. Lo episodes are undeniably modern classics. The show also unflinchingly confronts troubling issues, exposing the viewer to the different facets of the problem, yet still providing a side to root for. Furthermore, each episode is constructed as an entire story, thus making the hour of watching an episode a complete, satisfying experience.

While these aspects definitely contribute to Law and Order's appeal, probably the greatest ingredient to the show's success is Lenny Briscoe, the tough, smart-mouthed, yet good-hearted police detective (played by Jerry Orbach) who reigns over the first half hour of each episode. No opening sequence is quite complete without some wisecrack from Lenny. A veteran cop who is also twice divorced and a recovering alcoholic, Lenny never hesitates to deliver cynical and sarcastic jibes. Whatever faults he may have, however, only endear him to viewers, who recognize that Lenny is an excellent cop, a loyal partner, and a good person. As his carousel of partners goes round from Mike Logan, Rey Curtis, and Eddie Green, Law and Order audiences still cheer for Lenny.

Viewers have laughed while watching Lenny huff and puff as he chased after a recalcitrant suspect. Lenny also revealed his less physically strenuous and more emotionally sensitive side in his troubled relationship with his daughter and his grief over her death, his agonized response to Claire Kincaid's death after he survived the same accident, and his sympathy for Rey at the news of the latter's wife being diagnosed with MS. Yet Lenny is at his best when he is amusing, and while Law and Order portrays mobsters, juvenile delinquents, and murderers, some one-liner from Lenny is bound to get a chuckle out of the audience.

Back to the Male Lenny's.
Back to Lenny-Land.