Network: NBC
Episodes: 13, but one did not air (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: March 3, 2005 — May 5, 2005
Series status: Cancelled/ended
Performers include: Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Carlson, Kirk Acevedo, Scott Cohen, Fred Dalton Thompson, and Jerry Orbach.
TV show description:
Yet another spin-off of the long-running Law & Order series. The focus of this program is on criminal trials and episodes show the preparation and actual trial from both the prosecution and defense points of view. As is the case with others in the Law & Order franchise, stories often come from news headlines.
The prosecuting side is presided over by a tough district attorney, three DA Investigators and two Assistant DAs. Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson) is the District Attorney, making him the first Republican to hold the DA position in sixty years. When he worked in private practice, he was employed by the Chinese government. Because of this tough history, he often has conflicts with the more liberal attorneys.
DA Investigator Hector Salazar (Kirk Acevedo) is a former police detective. He was shot in the line of duty and was unable to get his old job back when he recovered. Salazar’s partner, is originally Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), who accepts the job appointment after retiring from the NYPD. Following the death of Orbach, Salazar gets a new partner, Chris Ravell (Scott Cohen).
Tracey Kibre (Bebe Neuwirth) is the ADA. She’s a tough, focused prosecutor who is known for her unique ways of presenting arguments and of working the jury over to get them on her side. She tends to have a very black-and-white view of the law. Kibre’s assistant is Kelly Gaffney (Amy Carlson) who is more idealistic and by the book than her boss.
Each episode begins with the story of the crime, as told by either a victim or a witness. The tale then follows both legal sides as they decide their strategies on how they’ll try the case. The prosecution readies its witnesses and possibly the victim to take the stand and the defense readies their own witnesses and possibly the defendant. Both sides are then shown presenting their cases to the jury.
Episode 13 — Eros in the Upper Eighties
Andres Voychek (guest Lothaire Bluteau), a doorman at a high-end Upper Eastside building, saves the life of a young tenant, Abigail Phillips (guest Tristine Skyler). He pulls a homeless man off her but kills him in the process. At the grand jury investigation, a grateful Abigail reveals that she was being stalked by the man via phone calls and letters. Voychek becomes a hero in the media.
Upon further investigation, it’s revealed that the phone calls came from the same disposable cell phone that Voycheck used to call 911. Kibre starts to investigate the homeless man, Billy Ashford, by talking to his sister who’s been looking for Billy’s missing dog.
The officers check out Voychek’s apartment and find multiple photos of Abigail as well as boxes of photos of other young women he’s stalked. Gaffney tells Abigail what they’ve found and suggests that she leave town for awhile.
Salazar finds another homeless man who’s watching Billy’s dog. When he’s told that Billy’s dead, the man tells Salazar that Billy had been asked by Voychek to simply scare his “girlfriend” Abigail.
The case goes to trial with expensive lawyer Bernie Adler (guest Ron Silver) taking the high-profile case. During the trial, Adler pokes holes in the prosecutions’ case but still may lose. When Adler tells Voychek that he’s going to disgrace Abigail on the witness stand, the obsessed doorman agrees to a plea bargain. He gets eight years for manslaughter in the first degree.
Gaffney notes that it’s still a lose-lose situation for Abigail.
First aired: Did not air on NBC.
There hasn’t been any news of plans to revive the show.
