Search - Law & Order: Trial By Jury - The Complete Series on DVD

Anthia R. (hepburn05) from CANBY, CA
Reviewed on 10/12/2009...

I like Law and Order anyway, so this was just a different view point of the law and order series

0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Marianna S. (Angeloudi) from HOLIDAY, FL
Reviewed on 8/26/2008...

When this series first came out, I didn't watch it because I didn't like Bebe Neuwirth, who plays the main prosecuting attorney. However, now that I am watching the series on DVD, I love it! The stories are interesting, the quality of the color and DVDs is excellent, and I am thoroughly enjoying the series. It's great!

5 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Great Series that Wasn't Given Enough Time

Mr. Bey | Riverside, CT United States | 01/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a proven fact that the other three Law & Orders took time to grow into the popular shows that they are now so I was really surprised that Trial by Jury was cancelled. It also was the highest rated show to go off the air last year. Even though Jerry Orbach passed away the rest of the superb cast found ways to make the other episodes worth watching.



Law & Order: Trial by Jury was a great addition to the franchise because it was a great way to connect the shows together. There were two crossovers with Law & Order and Special Victims Unit which were excellent and I would have liked to see what the future would have brought. Bebe Neuwirth and Amy Carlson starred as ADA's Kibre and Gaffney and Oz's Acevedo starred as D.A. Investigator Hector Salazar. Scott Cohen was brought in to replace the late Jerry Orbach and Fred Dalton Thompson rounded out the cast by continuing his role as D.A. Arthur Branch.



Trial by Jury was focused around the trial but the D.A. Investigators sometimes questioned witnesses. The questioning was similar to how Special Victims Unit had a small bit devoted to the trial. It went through all aspects of the trial and it also showed the defense for a portion of the show. Though it was a lot different than the previous three, Trial by Jury showed how change can be a good thing.



Trial by Jury was most likely cancelled because NBC really wanted an instant hit. If it had had time to grow, I think Trial by Jury would've become one of the best shows on television. The DVD set looks promising though with good special features and the Law & Order crossover episode in this set as well. This DVD is a great way to relive Trial By Jury and I highly recommend it.

"

Law & Order: Trial By Jury!

Servo | Atlanta, GA USA | 02/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With a nod to ABC's "Murder One", "Law & Order: Trial By Jury" charted bold new waters as the first Law & Order series to present its stories from the point-of-view of not only the prosecutors and investigators but also the defense attorneys, defendants, judges and jurors. This made for some very arresting television as viewers were taken through the inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial.



After the "real" and painfully boring "Law & Order: Crime & Punishment," it was nice to see the franchise return to traditional court TV drama format with appealing actors and exciting cases expertly written by brilliant writers. Three things drew me to this series when it was first announced for a midseason run: The show's premise; Jerry Orbach's jump from Law & Order; and beautiful Amy (Third Watch) Carlson's return to series television as A.D.A. Kelly Gaffney, having memorably guest-starred on both Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Trial By Jury also starred Fred Dalton Thompson (Die Hard 2) reprising his D.A. Arthur Branch role from Law & Order; Kirk Acevedo as Lennie Briscoe's partner D.A. Investigator Hector Salazar; Scott Cohen as Detective Chris Ravell, who succeeded Briscoe after Jerry Orbach's untimely passing; and Bebe (Frasier) Neuwirth as A.D.A. Tracey Kibre. While a great cast, the real stars of the show were the writers [as with every other Law & Order series] who Dick Wolf himself constantly praised [as with every other Law & Order series], and rightfully so. Not to mention composer Mike Post for squeezing out yet another great and distinctive variation on his original "Law & Order" theme.



"Law & Order: Trial by Jury - The Complete Series" is a 3-disc (single-sided) set featuring all 13 episodes from the series. Special Features include: Bonus "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" cross-over episode "Night"; Deleted scenes from "The Abominable Showman", "Forty-One Shots", "Vigilante", and "Truth of Consequences"; "A Different Look at Law & Order" featurette with the cast.



In the criminal justice system, all suspects are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. These are those trials.



1. The Abominable Showman

2. Forty-One Shots

3. Vigilante

4. Truth or Consequences

5. Baby Boom

6. Pattern of Conduct

7. Bang & Blame

8. Skeleton (continuation of a Law & Order crossover)

9. The Line

10. Blue Wall

11. Day (continuation of included bonus Law & Order: SVU crossover)

12. Boys Will Be Boys

13. Eros in the Upper Eighties





Highly Recommended!"

By far the most interesting of the L and O spin-offs

Zander Haberstaft | Miami, Florida | 08/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Of the three spin-offs, SVU and Criminal Intent being the other two, Trial by Jury was the most interesting because it looked at aspects of the legal system and court procedure that the other spin-offs and the original L&O just couldn't go into because of time alotment. When the episode starts, the accused is usually already apprehended and then the episode is devoted to focusing on the two detectives who build up the D.A.s case while the trial or grand jury proceedings starts. The D.A.s always have an interesting interplay with the judges, witnesses, evidence, jury, and the defense team.



Trial by Jury was probably set up for failure because they only filmed 13 episodes instead of the usual 22-24. There might have been other reasons too like the cast or the fact that it was a Friday night show. Neuwirth plays a good D.A. but is given little character developement in the series. Even less character developement is given to her right hand woman Carlson who has an incredibly minor role in the first few episodes. Jerry Orbach, basically the face of the L&O enterprise, stars in two episodes. Apparently he was so ill in the "forty-one shots" episode he had to whisper in a few scenes because he couldn't talk. It goes to saying that they might have kept this show on the air soley based on if Orbach hadn't died. Acevedo plays a very tough and convincing detective. Cohen on the other hand, doesn't do that great of a job. Also, Neuwirth is given much too weighty of a role in most of the episodes.



Some of the episodes are mediocre to good but some are really quite stellar, like the one about the baby sitter accused of killing the baby. The writing is very inconsistent for the series. This is apparent when the defense side of the trial is being shown. In several cases, the defense is giving questionable advice to the accused who are telling their lawyers that they killed the person and can't let whatever evidence they left behind see the light of day. Not very convincing.



All in all, I don't think this series was really given a good chance to mature. SVU might be the best spin-off in my opinion, but I think Trial by Jury had a lot of promise and given some time to hammer out some good writing and a little better casting, this show would've stayed on the air and might have become the best spin-off. I mean you can only watch so many rapes occur on SVU before it starts to get to you. Now I don't understand why Criminal Intent (a.k.a "super cops who never loose a case or have a difficult situation arise") was kept on the air if they canceled this.



(And I hear there is some talk of bringing Trial by Jury back...)"