Law and Order - The Third Year (1990)

Law & Order's third year marked a transitional one for the top-rated drama. In 1992, Jerry Orbach (Prince of the City) joined the cast. His Det. Lenny Briscoe would turn out to be one of its most enduring characters. After Sgt. Phil Ceretta (Paul Sorvino) is shot by a gun dealer in episode eight ("Prince of Darkness"), Briscoe teams up with Det. Mike Logan (Chris Noth) in the next ("Point of View"). It wasn't meant to be a permanent change (Ceretta was injured, not killed), but the two would continue to beat the streets until Logan's departure in 1995 (Orbach, meanwhile, would remain part of the Law & Order universe until his passing in 2004).

The line-up was otherwise the same: Capt. Donald Craven (Dann Florek), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), ADA Benjamin Stone (Michael Moriarty), and DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill). In the following season, however, Craven will be replaced by Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), the show's first regular female character (not counting Carolyn McCormick, who was billed as a featured player). The third season would also be Robinette's last; he will be replaced by Claire Kinkaid (Jill Hennessy) in the fourth. Meanwhile, Florek would go on to join Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 1999 (while Noth would join Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2005).

During Law & Order's third season, a number of soon-to-be-famous TV actors would put in appearances. They include Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Claire Danes (My So-Called Life), Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Edie Falco and Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Adam Arkin (Chicago Hope), Michael Badalucco and Camryn Manheim (The Practice), Ron Rifkin (Alias), and Julianna Margulies (E.R.). The Emmy for Best Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, however, was reserved for Broadway dynamo Elaine Stritch in "Point of View." --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Law and Order Season 3

Odd to buy something that is on tv 24/7, yet it was a gift and the receiver loved it. We all like out collections and who doesn't love Jerry Ohrbach??? March 25, 2008

i love my law and order

i love law and order ; it's one of the best shows out there.i can't tell you how VERY DISAPOINTED i was when i got to side b of disc 3 and it skipped very bad. at one point the screen turned green! i'll have to buy another copy to know how it ends! January 30, 2008

A must-have for "L&O" fans

"Law & Order": The Third Year, once again containing cases ripped from the headlines, brings you 22 digitally remastered episodes of one of the longest running crime dramas on television. Led by Paul Sorvino and later Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks, and Steven Hill, there are cases ranging from rapes to murders. Orbach, Noth, and Florek attempt to solve these cases while Moriarty, Brooks, and Hill try to prosecute the cases.

If you're a "L&O" fan, this DVD set is a must-have for your collection! August 3, 2007

Top-notch TV

One of the best years of this exceptional television series. A must for all fans. July 30, 2007

I love L&O

If you are a law and order fan you have to have this one for your collection. I thought I ahd seen all of them but there were a few that I hadn't sen. Also the extra stuff on the set is great. The intreviews give you a up close and personal look at the different characters. March 17, 2007

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