Law & Order: Los Angeles - The Complete Series [DVD]

1-Let me start by saying i LOVE the whole Law and Order franchise2-For some messed up reason, i NEVER knew there was a Los Angeles spin off3-I look forward to catching up

In a time when TV shows must either "prove" themselves in the ratings within the first few weeks of their airings, "Law & Order: Los Angeles was not given a fair chance. Competing in its time slot against CBS's highly-touted reboot of "Hawaii Five-O," the show had its work cut out for it. Considering the NBC didn't promote it like it should and then put it on hiatus for a while, made some cast changes, and seemed to put all its marketing on its reality programming, this Dick Wolf creation had an uphill battle. Sadly, it didn't make it but it's still a worthy addition to the franchise.The southern California setting provided a contrast in both content and appearance from the other shows in the franchise, set in New York. The L & O: LA cast was very good, headed by Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard, more familiar for roles on the big screen than on television. Although Skeet Ulrich only appeared in six episodes, he still made an impression, especially in his final episode.Bringing in Alana da Garza from "Law and Order" early in the season was also a good move and occasional appearances from character actor Peter Coyote as the DA was also a plus.The breakout star should have been Corey Stall, one half of the detective team that started with him paired with Ulrich and later with Molina. At times, Stall is like a younger, leaner, meaner Lennie Briscoe, the character associated with the legendary Jerry Orbach on the original "L & O." Stall's "Tomas 'TJ' Jaruszalski" is sarcastic, witty, and can kick some major butt. This viewer would have liked to have seen the show go on for at least one more year, just to see how this character developed.The stories, like others in the franchise, were ripped from the headlines, with one obviously influenced by a certain golfer with a penchant for the ladies."Law & Order: Los Angeles" is one cool show, befitting its location and should be savored for what it is and what it could have been.

Love this

What a tragic loss! This show should still be on the air and running for another 15 years!The cast was unbelievable! Skeet Ulrich, Terence Howard and Alfred Molina?! Are you kidding me! All in the same series! Corey Stoll grew and grew on me also.I already loved Law & Order, Law & Order SVU and my favorite of all Law & Order Criminal Intent. (I personally think that Vincent D'Onofrio is the VERY best actor on TV. I'm a retired 25 year veteran Detective of a major U.S. city and he beats out Dennis Franz of NYPD Blue and Jerry Orbach of Law & Order as my favorite TV detective of all time. But it's close!)Lan & Order LA grabbed me from the very first episode and it never let go of me. I'm a true Law & Order geek so when I heard that this show was coming on I was IN from the start. But then I saw who was going to be in it and I was floored. How they were able to assemble that cast is beyond me. I just loved it. (Except when they murdered Skeet's character! It's only the second time in my life that I have ever cried over a TV character being killed off. Robert Duvall's Augustus McCrae of Lonesome Dove being the other).Why did they cancel this show? There is SO MUCH GARBAGE on TV and they cancel THIS show? NBC, or one of you other brave cable TV companies bring this series back. And while you're at it, bring back Law & Order Criminal Intent would you please???

Interesting story lines

This was a good written, produced, directed and acted show. Too bad it was only on one yr. Despite cast changes it succeeded and focused on the many communities and neighborhods in the LA area as well as on the city itself. They were goingto bring it back for a second season but scheduling and competition somehow interfeared. Too bad.

The show itself had the potential to be the best in the franchise. Due to the network having a few malfunctions, it only survived one season. The entire season it existed was aired out of order, and a mad dash for ratings was made as it did not evolve the way a successful show should have. The "straight from the headlines" story plots are there, along with a star studded cast, but a poor delivery in the timeline of the show, in my opinion, was its ultimate downfall. With that being said, if one was to take the time to watch the episodes in order, they would have much more appreciation for it. It is still very much so worth watching, and while it all fell apart, the brilliant minds who brought the rest of the franchise tried to do an excellent job. Law & Order: Los Angeles had every potential to be the next hit, and its a shame and borderline sabatouge that it was not given the proper launch it deserved. Its still a quite watchable and enjoyable piece of L&O history for the die-hard fan.

I liked the acting and the actors. The stories were interesting but the series is out of order which makes it kind of weird. A character, who dies and his death is investigated, comes back halfway through the season...Didn't like that...but overall, okay enough.

Please read reviews before purchasing.The episodes on the disc are out of order and I cannot figure out the order they should have been in.It does spoil your viewing as a key character is killed off and then appears to return.I am not sure if all copies are the same.It is not the best of the Law and Order franchise so I probably would not recommend it unless you want light viewing and can cope with the episodes possibly being out of order.My seller was quatermass90.They refused to accept the return on the basis of the item being faulty as they said I had opened it and they couldn't therefore sell it to someone else.Amazon as usual are kindly looking into this matter for me.I sugggest you check before buying if the episodes are in the right order and what the sellers return policy will be if you discover they are not.If you want amusement the moustache is a major character in the drama.I wasn't aware 1970's moustaches were back in fashion.It is also a character that is killed off in later epoisodes only to return!!

I was an avid fan (almost an addict) of the original NY series, and had just finished that series when L&O LA arrived. I was interested in seeing how it could adapt, and I was very satisfied that it was true to the original - at first. When Det Winters was killed, I was disappointed at the loss of a good character, and good actor, and I could even accept the transfer of a DDA back to being a cop, just. Still, it seemed that the stories had lost nothing, until - suddenly, in episode 18 or 19, can't remember which since I have just switched off in disbelief, Skeet Ulrich is back. It is the reincarnation of Det Winters (and his partner has his moustache back, as well!). What happened? If I had wanted a series about ghosts and phantoms (Heaven forbid), I would have bought such an adolescent series. I find it hard to believe that Dick Wolf and Rene Balcer intended this, so who was responsible for setting the order of episodes? Even the Wikipedia episode list shows this without any comment. The stories themselves are satisfactory, but this disorder leaves a bad taste.

Should make it a whole lot clearer that this will not play on UK DVD players! In fact, why sell it in UK at all!?

Only one series made not bad

Does not play on my blu ray as described