I previously wrote a lengthy post about my love for the original L&O / Mothership, so after I finished watching the last three seasons, I really needed something to fill that missing gap. I’m now up to date with L&O:UK also – it’s a bit confusing since in the UK, it was broadcasted in a batch of 6 or 7 episodes, but in the US it was broadcasted in a lot of 13 episodes.  For consistency sake I’m going to use the UK series numbers. In the US, they have already shown these series 6 episodes (on BBC America) so you can find spoilers / reviews on this season!

Since I live in Australia I just wanted to add a note on how dismal television programming is in this country. Channel Ten has shown about 9 episodes of L&O:UK somewhere down the track. I seriously doubt it will be back on that channel anytime soon. I think their rights to series 1 & 2 have already expired? But at least you can see it on pay TV. Foxtel (Channel TV1) recently showed series 1 & 2 on Mondays 8:30pm. I hope it will be back soon.

As one of the two remaining L&Os in the franchise (the other still airing will be SVU)  – yes I know there’re adaptations in France, Russia and an upcoming one for L&O: Cape Town (!), L&O:UK was adapted from the Mothership with the first half focusing on the police investigating crimes and the second half the crown prosecutors prosecuting the offenders. It’s also important to note all of the episodes in the UK version (so far) are based on scripts from the Mothership, mostly from the earlier years. Before watching L&O:UK I wasn’t familiar with all but one of the original episodes.

L&O:UK series 6 brings about another change in cast. I guess it’s not that much of a spoiler after that cliffhanger episode from the end of series 5 when the ITV website writes quite clearly that a new detective (DS Sam Casey) is joining the show. It is sad to see DS Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber) go because the “Law” team of DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) and Devlin was one of the main reasons why I fell in love with L&O:UK.

Mothership viewers will be used to the frequent cast changes. Although fans of the original will always have differing opinions on their favourite cast / seasons.  I guess being a shorter series, L&O:UK is more character driven – cases often reveal personal details of the characters, and each of the main cast had at least one episode where they were personally involved. After the cast changes in the beginning of the last series (that would be series 5) – only half of the original cast remains.

One of the most surprising (or casting genius!) is Bradley Walsh’s DS Ronnie Brooks. As the older detective, he is often called the UK version of Lennie Briscoe (the late Jerry Orbach). Yes there are many similarities – two ex-wifes, ex-alcoholic… but just watching his work on L&O:UK it’s really hard to imagine this guy was famous for being a comedian and hosting game shows! After the departure of DS Devlin – Ronnie Brooks was the reason I continued watching! Luckily, the L&O:UK writers recognised this and two of the episodes in series 6 focused on DS Brooks.

One of them is the series opener – 06×01 Survivor’s Guilt. The events of this episode picks up right after the last series so if you have forgotten, it would be a good idea to revisit! After DS Devlin was gunned down outside the Old Bailey, the new detective Sam Casey was given the job of investigating his death. Honestly, my heart was breaking and I had tears in my eyes watching this episode I pretty much forgotten many of the details about the case itself. But viewers were given the chance to grieve with Ronnie and his superior DI Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter) as they each tried to cope with Matt’s death. While Ron’s grief turned into a crusade to find out who was behind Matt’s murder – the investigation he was supposed to stay away from, DI Chandler tried in vain to keep Ron from flying off the handle. On the outside she was composed enough to keep doing her job, the scene where she closed the blinds to her office door, then silently weeping was one of the most moving scenes in the episode.

Survivor’s Guilt allowed us to try to cope with Matt’s death, a rarity in the original L&O and it was done beautifully. However, since it was so heart wrenching I’m not sure whether I could watch it again!

The second episode of the series – 06×02 Immune, is one of my favourites in series 6. I like action packed / fast paced episodes and this is one of them. The case involves a robbery, a shooting, a kidnap and some clever legal manoeuvres by one of the perpetrators and Senior Crown Prosecutor Jake Thorne (Dominic Rowan). Jake is quite new to the show (he was introduced in series 5) and not a lot had been revealed about him yet. I feel it’s important here to just do a little detour because I have since dug up a copy of the original Mothership episode 07×19 Double Down and wanted to do a little comparison.

Quite a few of the original L&O season 7 had been adapted for L&O:UK. Probably because it was one of its strongest seasons and won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. The storyline of “Immune” and “Double Down” are mostly similar, except in the UK version they dropped the cop killer aspect. I thought the key character in this episode is the EADA/Senior Crown Prosecutor (Jack McCoy / Jake Thorne) because the scene which had a huge effect on the storyline was when the prosecutor claimed he did not know this person was ‘murdered’, as unbelievable as it was.

Legally, it was a hair-splitting distinction (and difficult to argue) but it was clever and a little devious. Maybe I’ve already seen many episodes involving Mothership’s Jack McCoy to know that he is exactly the type of lawyer who would push the boundaries. So it wasn’t a surprise to find him in this situation. The UK’s Jake Thorne, however, I didn’t know. Also, he’s probably around 15 years younger than Jack McCoy so it’s safe to assume he’s less experienced. Although I enjoyed the UK version anyway, I have to say the original is better because it’s more convincing in this aspect. Jake does an okay job here and the conversation between him and DS Casey after that hearing was a highlight.

Since I’m running out of time and I really wanted to post this entry before L&O:UK returns I’ll end it here. I’ll try to write a follow up covering the rest of the series 6 within the next week or so!

Title: Missing
Flavor: Technically SVU, but I don’t think it makes sense if you haven’t watched Mike Cutter from the Mothership?
Rating: G
Characters: Mike Cutter / Jack McCoy
Words: 100
Notes: I was really happy to see Mike on SVU, but then his new office felt so….foreign (?). I guess they didn’t keep the props from the Mothership? So that was where this idea came from……

“Congratulations Mike.” Jack commented as he entered the office of SVU’s new Bureau Chief.

“Thanks. They supposedly moved all the boxes here, but I can’t find one of them!”

Jack raised his trademarked eyebrows.

“You know…. that box I packed – staircase, concrete slab… ”

“Doesn’t look like they’re here.” Jack observed, “Not even the whiteboard?”

“I might have to use actual paper for a change.” Mike frowned. “How can they lose the box from moving down THREE LEVELS?”

“Probably just got mixed up.”

“Lucky I took my bat down personally.”

When I started writing this I had no idea where it was going, I hope it doesn’t suck since this is my first long-ish L&O fic! :O It’s more about Mike than Lupo, I can’t help it, being a M/C fangirl and all.

I’m just borrowing these characters – Dick Wolf /NBC owns them!

***********************************************************************

After Mike returned from the front desk with the printed documents, he entered the room and sat on his bed to review them.

“I think we’ve got everything covered detective, how about we order some room service?” He suggested. As Lupo had not eaten since the turkey chilli late in the afternoon, he searched the desk and draws for menus.

A phone call interrupted him. It was from his partner, Kevin Bernard.

As they exchanged updates on the case and their plan of action tomorrow, Mike thought he would also call Connie, to ask how she went with the subpoenas, of course. Although he cannot deny that he just wanted to hear her voice.

Lupo could not help but overheard the conversation between Mike and Connie. Four years in Intel taught him many things, one of them was how much a person can reveal just by their body language. He heard about the rumours. Knowing the long hours they worked together it wouldn’t be so impossible. But watching Mike deep in conversation with Connie, even just running through the most mundane matters, he knew, at least on Mike’s part there was interest.

After Mike hung up the phone, he browsed over the menus Lupo found and placed an order for their dinner.

“So…” Lupo tentatively began, “Are you and Connie…”

Mike raised an eyebrow, knowing exactly what Lupo was alluding to. Maybe it was his guilty conscience. Yes, as an EADA he worked closely with the NYPD, but their conversations had been strictly business. He knew Connie though, had drinks with the detectives before, he wasn’t sure how often they were. As her boss, it wasn’t really his place to ask about her social life.

“I’m not sure what you mean detective.”

“You can call me Cyrus after hours.” Lupo replied. He wasn’t even sure why he brought this up in the first place. The conversation could quickly deteriorate into the “way too awkward” pile. Afterall, not only do they have to spend the rest of the night in the same room, they still have to be in the same car driving back to the city, a three hour journey no less.

But this wasn’t just about his curiosity. Lupo needed to be certain. Or at least state his intentions now and put Mike on notice.

“I’m thinking of asking Connie out, Mike.” He finally said it.

Lupo tried to read the expression on Mike’s face, but apart from a tiny hint of surprise, Mike looked quite calm. Was he wrong all along? That there was nothing between Mike and Connie? That it was strictly professional? That the humours were just… idle gossip?

“Well, Cyrus – she hardly needs permission from her boss with regards to dating matters.” Mike replied dryly.

I knew it. Mike thought to himself. He knew it ever since the Kim Brody case. Connie recounted her experience being “undercover” with Lupo, playing a couple no less. Afterwards as they discussed the case, Mike observed how Lupo was looking at her. Actually, ever since that time he couldn’t help but notice how Lupo acted around Connie, the looks which lingered longer than they should, the way he laughed at her silly jokes. It wasn’t that surprising though. After spending many hours pouring over cases Mike Cutter has developed an appreciation for the virtues of Connie Rubirosa. Beautiful, intelligent, compassionate… it makes complete sense that other men found her attractive, who wouldn’t? She’s the total package.

“Mike, I’m going to be completely honest here.” Lupo hesitated as he continued, “I’ve heard rumours about you two…”

“I’m also going to be honest here Cyrus, Connie and I are just colleagues.”

Yes. They are just colleagues – Mike reminded himself. They work together and that’s it. Despite working 60+ hours a week, with nothing much left over for any sort of a normal social life he did not want to get involved with a colleague. They work well together. In fact, Connie was one of the very few who had not asked to be transferred away from him – yet. She brings balance to his working life. A sort of harmony he didn’t want to risk losing by taking that step.

Lupo didn’t look convinced by Mike’s answer.

“Whatever rumours you’ve heard, they’re not true.” Mike stated. He never cared much for office gossip. Usually Connie was the one who would tell him about the going ons in the office. He had heard of Jack McCoy’s colourful past though. Even after ten plus years of a clear record, it had been a legend around the office about Jack’s prosecution of one of his previous ADAs, with whom he had a relationship with. After his promotion to EADA, Mike was determined to keep his reputation intact. Despite how much he admired Jack, he wasn’t about to go down that same path.

At least that was his plan before he met Connie.

“Cyrus, I know Jack McCoy has a history of…this sort of thing. Maybe that’s where people are getting these ideas from, but it’s not going to happen with me. I don’t date colleagues, especially when I have to write her performance appraisals every year.”

Lupo smiled to himself. “Not everyone is lucky enough to work with someone like Connie.”

“That, I will have to agree with.” Mike and Lupo smiled in agreement. Besides sharing a passion to seek justice they also have something else in common, an admiration for a certain ADA they work with. For Mike though, he wasn’t ready take the risk. He knew he felt something. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Initially he dismissed it as a schoolboy crush. Maybe there was something more, but he wasn’t quite ready to confront it yet. For now, he was content just working beside her.

Was this the answer Lupo was looking for? Maybe. At least now his conscience was clean. If things don’t work out, so be it but he was willing to take a chance. He knew Connie was completely out of his league, but maybe, just maybe the powers that be will smile on him this time.

“She likes her coffee with no sugar, and is absolutely against diet coke, if that helps.”

Where did that come from? Mike thought. How am I even qualified to give dating advice? He silently scolded himself.

“But then again, I’m not known to be the most sensitive guy out there.” Mike had to add. Maybe he was, ten years ago, or so he was told. But after spending long hours prosecuting the most notorious criminals you start to lose touch with the people you care about the most. “Mike Cutter – the relentless prosecutor” is, or probably had taken over his life.

“Hrm… thanks Mike.” That was all Lupo could mutter.

The rest of the evening went by with little conversation, except for comments on the sports channel they were watching. Mike though, started to wonder whether his decision against mixing personal relationships with work was the correct one.

Title: Late Night Snacks
Flavor: L&O: UK
Rating: G
Characters: Ronnie Brooks / Matt Devlin / Alesha Phillips
Words: 100
Notes: Totally inspired by the “pain au chocolat” scene….

Alesha arrived at MIU with two bags, for her two favourite detectives.

“It’ll probably take all night to go through these phone records.” Matt grumbled. But his frown turned into a grin when he saw Alesha.

“What’s this?” Ron’s face lighted up.

“Black sesame glutinous rice balls in lychee sago.”

“You know my love for exotic foods!”

Before Matt could protest against the sugar laden dessert, Alesha interrupted.

“Don’t worry Matt, I brought you the healthy option.”

He looked at the small container, “Ronnie gets some fancy sesame thing and I get… fruit salad?”

You can find my previous Mike Cutter picspams from 13×01 Scorched Earth and 13×06 True Believers via those links, plus all of my (unedited) screencaps used in this post are here – feel free to use them for graphics or whatever, just credit!

For a detailed recap of the episode, All Things Law And Order is the place!

Here’s the original episode synopsis:

A Romani child disappears on his way home from school. Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Amaro (Danny Pino) interview the distraught parents, who are distrustful of the police. The initial investigation leads Fin (Ice-T) and Rollins (Kelli Giddish) to the powerful leader of the Romani community, but he denies any involvement. The family remains hopeful their boy will be found, especially when they discover his cell phone is still active. With the help of their TARU tech (guest star Gottfried) and a meddling newspaper reporter, the detectives narrow the perpetrators to a mentally challenged neighbor, throwing the tight-knit Romani community into turmoil. Also guest starring Ron Rifkin and Gavin Lee. Also starring Dann Florek (Captain Donald Cragen) and Richard Belzer (Sergeant John Munch.) Special appearances by Stephanie March (ADA Alex Cabot), Tamara Tunie (M.E. Melinda Warner), and Linus Roache (Bureau Chief Mike Cutter.)

As Mike said in this episode, let’s get straight to the point. And FYI – he appeared around the 16-17th minute and there was only one scene. So… a young boy is missing, as the detectives look for him, the parents discovered that the boy’s voicemail had been accessed. The parents thought the boy checked it so he must be ok, but it turns out it was some journalist who hacked into it.

Sounds familiar?

Well, Law & Order is well known for “ripped from the headlines” – and that journalist even had (something that kind of sounds like) a British accent. In reality, that accent is a bit of a mess, more like “American trying to sound British but end up sounding like some British/American/Australian” mix.

So before the journalist would reveal what he knows, his lawyer (Ron Rifkin) wants to talk deal. That was where Mike came in.

Previously, I had written that the SVU writers didn’t really understand Mike Cutter. His previous appearance in “True Believers” (in particular) was rather lacklustre. However in fairness, even in the one minute appearance, there was a glimpse of Cutter from the Mothership, the “no nonsense”, determination and unwilling to back down. Quality over quantity I suppose, so I would rate this appearance on SVU my favourite so far!

So is it worth your time to watch the episode? I thought in the beginning the story was interesting, and I wanted to know what happens next. However, I lost interest as they get closer to revealing who the real culprits are, it just seem… weird. Plus, this Amaro guy is getting on my nerves, again. Does he rub everyone the wrong way or what!

Last week Mike Cutter made an appearance on Law & Order: SVU (13×06 True Believers) so it’s time we do another one of these! Since Linus Roache mentioned he will be in at least four episodes of SVU this season, I’m hoping to do a picspam (of Mike only, of course) for all of his appearances.

You can find the picspam for Linus/Mike’s first appearance on SVU on this post. All of my (unedited) screencaps used in this post are here – feel free to use them for graphics or whatever, just credit!

As always, All Things Law & Order does excellent episode recaps, so I will only write Mike-centric babble.

Here’s the original episode synopsis:

A young music student (Vassilieva) is raped at gunpoint in her own apartment, but with her help, the SVU squad makes a quick arrest. Bureau Chief Mike Cutter (Linus Roache) takes over the case when he finds that opposing counsel is high-profile defense attorney Bayard Ellis (guest star Braugher). As Ellis works to undermine their police work and damage the victim’s credibility, the detectives take the stand to prove they have more than just a he-said, she-said case. Starring: Mariska Hargitay (Detective Olivia Benson), Ice-T (Detective Odafin Tutuola), Richard Belzer (Detective John Munch), Danny Pino (Detective Nick Amaro) and Kelli Giddish (Detective Amanda Rollins.) Special appearance by Tamara Tunie (M.E. Melinda Warner.)

So I’ve read some comments that this was an “excellent” episode of SVU. Really? This is excellent? I’ve watched some SVU before (probably a long time ago) and I don’t remember it being like this? Unfortunately, this episode didn’t hold my interest at all, and I found it rather boring at times.

One of the major problems I had (it’s more the fault of the person who wrote that synopsis, I suppose) – is that this episode was described as a “seeming clear cut case”. I didn’t paste it in the synopsis above, but you get this impression when watching the case unfold. Everyone thought they could nail the rapist easily, the victim ID-ed him, the gun… yes they had to cover all of their bases because of the defence attorney but still, the detectives all gave me this ‘sense’ that they ‘had it in the bag’. But how is the case ‘clear cut’ when they couldn’t even find physical evidence that they had sex? The defence simply said – “oh…she invited him into her apartment and gave him a beer.” He didn’t even have to explain why they had sex, or that it was a consent issue because well…. no one can prove they did it in the first place. It’s like trying someone for murder without a body.

So yes, the case was weak – the lack of physical evidence plus the victim lied to the police. She has serious credibility issues. I felt sorry for her, but that’s how the system is unfortunately.

The second problem I have with this episode is everything that happened in the courtroom. Now that SVU is pretty much the only “Law & Order” left on TV, (in the US that is – I have to mention Law & Order: UK because it has to be the best L&O at the moment) the writers I guess are trying to pull fans from the Mothership and CI into SVU. Unfortunately their courtroom dialogue were uninspired and dull. This was nothing like the courtroom scenes from Mothership, even when we have Mike Cutter there. Again, I guess my expectations were too high and I got carried away simply by hearing that Mike is actually prosecuting a case. I have to keep this in mind the next time he’s on SVU.

OK, let’s get back to the main purpose of this post – PICSPAM!

We’re back in Mike’s office again, it looks pretty much the same as the last time we saw it, although I don’t think they showed the door last time? Hrm, fancy letters!

Olivia and the victim (Sarah) meets with Mike to discuss the case. The whole discussion is split into three (?) parts, maybe they think if they showed it in its entirety it would’ve been too boring.

To be fair, I’ve always viewed Mike as totally focused on his work and winning his cases. He doesn’t really show a lot of empathy for the victims. However, ther’re a couple of times in this episode where he reassures Sarah that everything is ok, and told her not to worry about who the defence attorney is etc… and let him worry about these things. I felt touched by that, strange huh.

Next, Mike and the defence attorney Bayard Ellis (guest star Andre Braugher) are at the NYPD. Ellis is asking for some of the evidence relating to the case, while Mike speaks with Detective Amaro about how he found the gun.

Someone enlighten me why Amaro was so defensive? It’s not like Mike was saying he planted the gun. Mike was simply asking about it, making sure all bases are covered. Then Amaro was all like – how dare you question me kind of thing. So I thought maybe it’s because he doesn’t know Mike. (I’m guessing it was the first time they met? It looks like it.) But later on, Amaro got all pissed that Olivia didn’t back up his story in court. Gees, what was she supposed to do? Lie? Even Ellis is not really suggesting Amaro planted the gun, he’s just pointing out the search was not perfect. Lighten up Amaro!

This  next batch of caps is just Mike at NYPD again, in the courtroom etc. Not much to say about these scenes…

This last batch of caps is all courtroom Mike. At least we get to see that three piece suit again when he made the opening statements. It was a bit different to cut between Mike’s opening arguments, and the defence refuting everyone of those points on the witness stand. It doesn’t take a genius to work out the case is doomed, with or without the uninspired work of Mr Cutter.

So I’ve been thinking, if we got the Mike (from the Mothership days) prosecuting this same case, would it be the same result? I felt there were some loose ends, like the gun. The defendant denies owning a gun, so how can he justify the detectives finding one at his home? The defendant also said he never had sex with the victim. So he was having a beer in her apartment for over an hour? Am I nitpicking? (Although I tend to think with these facts, even the Mothership Mike would’ve lost this case.)

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this episode all that much. I was watching the clock at one point. I’m beginning to seriously wonder whether it is a good idea to bring Mike back if all they can give us is *this*. Besides the name and Linus Roache playing him, Mike Cutter in SVU just doesn’t feel the same. DaisyDay from FF.net (who writes excellent fanfics!) mentioned the exchange between Mike and Amaro, when Mike said, “This isn’t personal…” -> I tend to agree that was the closest we got to the Mike we know from Mothership. Ironically, Linus said in an interview that he added that line as they filmed. It’s no surprise Linus knows more about Mike Cutter than any of the SVU writers.

Title: Halloween
Flavor: L&O: UK
Rating: G
Characters: Matt Devlin / Alesha Phillips
Words: 100
Notes: I’m *guessing* Halloween isn’t so big in England….? (If it’s anything like Australia.) But hey, any excuse for a fancy dress party isn’t so bad?

“I can’t believe you’re making me wear this.”

Alesha couldn’t help but laugh at Matt’s Halloween “costume”.

“I wanted Elizabeth and Darcy, but you insisted on modern!”

“When I said modern, I meant Posh and Becks.”

“Tacky. You just want me to wear killer heels and a short skirt!”

He couldn’t stop fiddling with his jumper. “This wool is itchy!”

“Stop it! You wanted to win best costume!”

“If guv and her husband are Benson and Stabler…Ron is Sherlock Holmes….we’ll win.”

****************

“Nice reindeer jumper Matty.” Ron chuckled as Ange took a photo…

“We’re putting this on the MPS website!”

****************

Notes: OK… so this was more inspired by the movie Bridget Jones’s Diary (since I’ve never read the book!) but it also mentions Pride & Prejudice

Title: Words
Flavor: Mothership (But Connie is in LA…)
Rating: G
Characters: Connie Rubirosa / Mike Cutter
Words: 100
Notes: I know ‘Words with friends’ is not available on the blackberry, but let’s just pretend they have iPhones for a moment? And if anyone hasn’t played it, it’s like Scrabble but you can chat with your friends while playing. It’s on Facebook as well.

******************************************
Sunshine still feels foreign to Connie, even after three months in LA. She prefers her weekends indoors, or…

*dingding*

Another notification on her phone. Third in the last hour.

They’re on their 90th game of “Words with Friends”. Connie narrowly leads 46-43. It all started months before she left NY, when Mike refused to accept he lost the first ten games, because… she already forgot. Sore loser?

“First to 100 wins dinner. Expensive & French.”

She checked their current game – nothing new. It was an instant message.

“ARGH. What am I supposed to do with “V” “Q” and no vowels?”

Title: Morning
Flavor: Mothership
Rating: PG?
Characters: Mike Cutter / Connie Rubirosa
Words: 100
Notes: Been watching a lot of L&O:UK lately, hence “Old Bailey” – the Central Criminal Court in England, where the UK version of Mike / Connie do their jobs……

******************************************
“Morning.”

He kissed her forehead, watched her smile and let out a soft moan. Connie wanted to stay in bed, cuddle, then order room service. But he sat up, reading something from his Blackberry…

“Back to bed Mike, it’s cold…”

“We’ve already spent the first two days of our honeymoon in bed…..I thought you wanted to see London.”

She snatched the Blackberry from him. “This better not be work related. Jack reallocated all of our cases and divorced you from your job!”

Then she saw what he was browsing.

“Oh god, the Old Bailey tour?”

“What? I’m just curious!”

I don’t remember the exact time when I first watched an episode of Law & Order. Maybe it was the mid-90s, when I was still in high school. It was never considered to be a “cool” show, most of my peers would be talking about shows like “90210″ or “Melrose Place”. Law & Order was rather nerdy – since it’s one of the few shows that my Dad and I could watch together.

However, I remember there were a couple of my classmates who also watched it. One of them was rather fond of the relationship between Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessey). Coincidence or not we eventually went on to study at the same law school, graduating at the same time. We didn’t end up being prosecutors (actually, I never ended up in the legal profession either) but I think there’s a part of us which hopes that there are others like Jack McCoy out there, fighting for justice, fighting for us.

I guess Law & Order is one of those shows we took for granted. The beauty of it is that you don’t have to religiously follow it every week to know what’s going on. It is a mini-movie each episode, in one hour we normally see someone getting killed, the police investigating and finding a suspect, then the lawyers would try to put him/her behind bars. For 20 years the formula remained the same. Its history (and the brand) would also eventually become its downfall.

Since the show requires no “long-term commitment” viewers would come and go, plus there’re always repeats – although this is not necessary the case in Australia – L&O (original) repeats are only on Foxtel channels 111 hits (seasons 1-5) or Channel W (seasons 6-18). People don’t associate L&O with “excitement” or “new”, but rather it’s seen as a tired old show which remained stagnated.

This is far from the truth.

Since Season 18 the show had undergone significant changes – including the promotion of long serving character Jack McCoy to District Attorney. He is now the boss overseeing the whole DA’s office including the work of Michael Cutter (Linus Roache) – who took over Jack’s previous position as Executive ADA.

Michael (Mike as he’s known) is like Jack McCoy’s younger self. He is the source of many headaches for Jack – much like Jack was for previous DAs. Karma is a bitch right? Their conflicts over the last 3 seasons were a delight to watch and between them, there’s also ADA Connie Rubirosa (the beautiful Alana de la Garza) – who tries to bring balance and sense when Mike goes off the rails, and proves that she’s not just window dressing by showing she also has the brains for this job.

The interesting storylines and the chemistry between this trio – Jack/Mike/Connie were the reasons why I watched every single episode of seasons 18 to 20. There’s the added bonus of the romantic tension between Mike and Connie, which spawned many fanfics of what “could have been”.

On Thursday October 6 Law & Order is coming back to Australia with “new” episodes. (Channel 10 – 10:30pm!) Channel 10 has been a pain for fans of L&O simply because they never bothered to give it a consistent timeslot. In 2011 it has been on Friday nights 9:30pm – they might’ve shown 5 or 6 episodes in June/July then took it off the schedule….. and then came back for another 2 weeks in August then disappeared again. Looking back through the archives at TV Tonight it seems this had been happening over the last 2 years. I was wondering why I had not previously seen any episodes from season 19 – that was probably because it was on at midnight! No advertising of course, just space fillers. Not the way to treat a quality show when all we get jammed down our throats these days are useless reality shows.

I sincerely hope this time at Thursday 10:30pm Channel 10 will really give some final respect to the original Law & Order. SVU repeats will be the lead-in this time so hopefully they can get some more viewers as well. There’re only 9 more episodes to go so here’s my message to Channel 10 – just show all 9 of them this time will you?

(oh btw – how about showing Law & Order: UK afterwards? I could write another post about the UK version and how Channel 10 really isn’t the right channel for it, it should’ve gone to the ABC….)

Although my favourite episode (20×09 For the Defense) is not amongst the remaining 9 to be shown, there’re still some gems there.

October 6 – 20×15: Brilliant Disguise
October 13 – 20×16: Innocence
(hopefully) October 20 – 20×17: Four Cops Shot
(hopefully) October 27 – 20×18: Brazil
(hopefully) November 3 – 20×19: Crashers
(hopefully) November 10 – 20×20: The Taxman Cometh
(hopefully) November 17 – 20×21: Immortal
(hopefully) November 24 – 20×22: Love Eternal
(hopefully) December 1 – 20×23: Rubber Room

My favourites in this list would be Innocence, The Taxman Cometh and Rubber Room.

Why? Innocence is all about Mike Cutter. Linus Roache does an excellent job in this episode – you can see his character slowly breaking down over the series of events here. As for The Taxman Cometh, personally – I love any mention of evil accountants because I am one (accountant that is, not evil!!! lol). Although I did find the plot a little confusing at first, it eventually made sense and even Jack was impressed by how Mike managed to ‘get’ the perpetrators.

When they filmed the final episode EVER Rubber Room they didn’t know the show was getting cancelled. Fate has it though, it was a real fitting end to the series. It doesn’t quite follow the same formula, but it was exciting, fast paced and gave each of the characters (including our beloved Jack McCoy and Anita van Buren) some shining moments. A MUST SEE.

For the other episodes in the list I would consider Four Cops Shot as a pretty ‘typical’ Law & Order episode, what you would expect but in addition Love Eternal was rather entertaining because of its characters.

Law & Order is not known to give away very much on its main characters but there’s a funny scene in Brilliant Disguise where recurring character Dr. Emil Skoda, Jack, Mike and Connie were discussing the psychological state of the suspect. The discussion eventually turned to Jack questioning whether Mike has the traits of a psychopath LOL. Brazil also contained a scene where we got to know a little more about Mike’s past – his childhood.

When I first had the idea for this post I didn’t imagine myself to be writing so much about it. But I guess even before this recent rekindle of my love for it Law & Order had always had this place in my past, in my childhood. It was a show I watched when I was a teenager and yet with the world changing around us there’s still a part of me which enjoyed it even with the passing of time. Yes – I’m getting a bit nostalgic about it!

However, given its long history Law & Order may sound ‘nerdy’ and ‘uncool’ – but its ability to produce stories inspired by the headlines will always make it current. Some of the issues raised are open to debate and you could be thinking / talking about them with your friends, family long after the episode ended. So hopefully – Aussies will take the chance to discover this show again and send it off on a high!

This is the first time I’m doing a babble/picspam like this, so I hope it makes sense! All of my (unedited) screencaps are here – feel free to use them for graphics or whatever, just credit!

My Ramble
One Friday night back in June there wasn’t much on TV and I managed to catch an episode of Law & Order. That was 20×09: For the Defense. And it wasn’t a repeat btw, in Australia they’re just stuffing L&O around and haven’t even finished showing the final season yet. (It’s currently off the schedule, with an unknown return date.) Anyway, I totally fell in love with it all over again (on-and-off watcher since probably the mid-90s!) especially the chemistry between Mike Cutter (Linus Roache) & Connie Rubirosa (Alana de la Garza). So I just *had* to go back and watched seasons 18-20. So 3 months and 60+ episodes later I’ve been eagerly waiting for the ‘return’ of Mike Cutter, this time to SVU.

I’ve watched a few eps of SVU before but never really liked it because I’ve always preferred the “Order” side. After the premiere I’ll probably just watch the eps with Mike, and spend my time watching “L&O:UK” instead.

I’m hoping to write more about the mothership & the UK flavour in future posts, will see how that goes….so without further ado, I present:

All Things Law & Order does excellent episode recaps, so I won’t write too much details, just Mike-centric babble.

In typical L&O fashion, the permiere was ‘ripped from the headlines’ from the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. Only in L&O-verse it’s an Italian diplomat who allegedly raped a hotel maid. Since it involves a high profile and sensitive issue, our new Bureau Chief Mike Cutter enters Cragen’s office to discuss the case with the Italian counsel.

I’m glad even in the new job there’s still a *tiny* hint of Cutter’s sarcasm (that smile! LOL). However, he also tells Cragen he hopes the NYPD knows what they’re doing…..

Next, we see Mike & Alex Cabot in Cragen’s office talking about the case. Alex wants to prosecute, but Mike was all “hey hey wait a minute…..” -> ah yes, so not Mike right!!!! Alex is like the new Mike and Mike is like the new Jack. Yikes. This just made me miss Mothership even more…..

Then Olivia enters the room to discuss the case further……

Mike’s phone rings. (It HAS to be a Blackberry right..?? Couldn’t see it properly… but SURELY!?!?) Hillary’s people are calling him so he had to leave….

Everyone at the pub and suddenly “you invited your boss Alex?” Mike arrives with the news that the victim may have been in it for the money.

(Yes – more evidence that Mike is just…. well not that popular lol.)

In a meeting room at the DA’s office Mike & Alex talks to the victim about the case. I didn’t cap this, but it was completely weird that this meeting room had the words “DISTRICT ATTORNEY’s OFFICE” written in HUGE letters, as if we don’t know where we were. Is this common in SVU-verse?

Mike & Alex leaves the court house and chats to Olivia about the case. “These cases are about perception, not reality.” You can sense that Mike is thinking of dropping the case already, as the victim becomes increasingly unreliable. I like these outdoor scenes.

Now THIS is an important scene – at Mike’s office!!! WOW. I have mixed (mostly negative) feelings about this, it has like a drinks dispenser, some meeting table….and three flagpoles? WTH? Is this really Mike’s office? What happened to all the little tadbits (baseball bat, staircase etc etc) that made Mike…Mike?

Oh not to mention this,

Mike: “The new DA wants to drop the charges…..”

WTFFFFFFFF. WHAT HAPPENED TO JACK MCCOY!

Is he too old to become a judge? I read a comment he could be SENATOR McCoy now. LOL. Ahhhhhh. I need some closure on this. Everything is happening way too fast.

Alex: All I ever heard about was how Mike Cutter was a crusader for justice. What happened to you?

YES what happened indeed. I remember people said this when Jack became DA – but I still love DA Jack because he still gets to smack people rather often. Mike here, is rather mellow.

At least we see the white shirt. OH. THANK YOU. I take it he’s not going to loosen his tie now that he’s the boss and all. ><

Thing is though, after this scene and all "new DA wants to drop the charges" the case is still going to trial. So maybe Mike *did* do something. Who knows.

Thought I'd throw in some caps of Mike's office. *sigh*

OK, this final batch of caps is just Mike listening to the case. Also when the defence wants to call a new witness, Mike goes in the Judge’s chambers with Alex to discuss this new evidence. Er…. that’s weird right. Since Alex has her own 2nd chair for this case. Mike gets to argue a bit…. just a tiny little bit. At the same time, it just made me miss courtroom!Mike even more. I’m sorry, couldn’t say I was really concentrating on the case at all.

In Conclusion….
I was really looking forward to this episode. I knew I shouldn’t have high expectations but still….. Mike Cutter! The episode itself was ok, I’m not feeling the urge to suddenly watch SVU now. So I think I’ll just watch the Mike eps from now on.

All of my (unedited) screencaps are here – feel free to use them for graphics or whatever, just credit!