Amazon.com DVD Review - From its gritty documentary look to its signature note-knocking "tching-tching" that signals scene changes, the Law & Order TV show was a groundbreaking cop show when it debuted in 1990. It has since earned Emmys for Best Dramatic Series and spun off satellite franchises, and reruns of the original series are as omnipresent in syndication as those of I Love Lucy. Devoted fans and those who came late to the series can catch it from the beginning with this six-disc set that contains all 22 episodes from the inaugural season.  Law & Order is television's most resilient series. It has survived wholesale changes to its ensemble. One of the secrets of the show's durability: its compelling structure. The first half of each hour-long episode is classic police procedural in which "Law," personified in the first season by partners Greevey (George Dzundza--and be sure to catch the interview segment with series creator Dick Wolfe to learn how to pronounce his name) and Mike Logan (Christopher Noth, the future "Mr. Big" on Sex and the City) investigate a crime and make an arrest. The second half chronicles the ensuing trial, as prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) under the supervision of Steven Hill's Adam Schiff (more feisty and animated here than in later seasons).

Law & Order is also distinguished by its superb writing. Several episodes take their inspiration from the headlines, including "By Hooker, By Crook" about a socialite-run call-girl ring, and "Indifference," which recalls the tragic Lisa Steinberg child abuse case. Others deal with such hot-button issues as abortion ("Life Choice") and AIDS ("The Reaper's Helper"). Another plus is the talent pool of character actors who lend their verisimilitude. Guest stars include Samuel L. Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman ("The Violence of Summer"), The West Wing's John Spencer ("Prescription for Death"), Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon ("Subterranean Homeboy Blues"), and The Sopranos' Dominic Chianese ("Sonata for Stolen Organ"). --Donald Liebenson

Law & Order TV series, the groundbreaking, Emmy Award winning drama series explodes onto DVD - with all 22 gripping, ripped-from-the-headlines episodes of its second year contained in this must-have DVD collection. Paul Sorvino, Michael Moriarty, Chris Noth, Richard Brooks, Dann Florek and Steven Hill are the relentless investigators and prosecutors who tackle the intriguing criminal cases that come before them; guest stars appearing in this compelling second season include Jerry Orbach (before he became a series regular!), Maura Tierney (TV's "ER"), Allison Janney (TV's "The West Wing"), William H. Macy ("Seabiscuit," TV's "ER"), Kelli Williams (TV's "The Practice"), and Nancy Marchand (TV's "The Sopranos"). Law & Order: The Second Year will keep you enthralled with its celebrated ensemble cast and "absorbing, sharply-written episodes" (TV Guide).

Amazon.com Review - 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

Honored with over 50 Emmy nominations since its groundbreaking first season, Law & Order continues to excel at bringing powerful stories to a devoted television audience. Now, all 22 captivating episodes of Season 4 are on DVD for the first time ever. Relive each gripping moment as New York's toughest detectives and prosecutors take on the hard-hitting cases that make the news - from blackmail to mail bombs to murder. It was during the fourth season that Emmy nominee S. Epatha Merkerson and Jill Hennessy joined New York's toughest team of prosecutors and investigators: Jerry Orbach, Chris Noth, Michael Moriarty and Steven Hill. Loaded with 43 never-before-viewed deleted and extended scenes, this dynamic three-disc set is a must-have for fans everywhere.

Return to the scene of the crime with Chris Noth in his final season of the show honored by 11 consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama Series! All 23 compelling episodes of Law & Order: The Fifth Year are now available on DVD for the first time in this must-own 5-disc collection. Joining Detective Mike Logan (Noth) and his dedicated colleagues who investigate and prosecute crime is a powerful lineup of guest stars, including Regina Taylor, Edie Falco, Gina Torres and John Cameron Mitchell. Ripped from today's headlines, Law & Order is the gripping phenomenon that will captivate you again and again!

Amazon.com DVD Review - The beauty of the Law & Order franchise is its ability to capitalize on its revolving cast of characters. The sixth season of Law & Order introduces viewers to a new detective and kills off another series favorite. There's also a seamless crossover episode with Homicide: Life on the Street and a compelling season finale that gives insight into how the main characters deal with tragedy. The 23 episodes featured in the five-disc set originally aired during the 1995-1996 television season. Aside from a few style issues--and the lack of cell phones--the episodes hold up well today. After the departure of Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) at the end of last season, Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) gets a new partner. Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) is a by-the-book do-gooder. A devoted husband and father, Rey sees things in black and white, while Lennie views things in shades of grey. It isn't until he helps send a man to the electric chair that Rey struggles with his own sense of morality. Though Lennie teases Rey for his youth and model-perfect good looks, the two work well together as they tackle cases involving an au pair charged with killing a baby, a racist serial killer targeting African Americans, and a rapist who may be released due to a technicality. Sam Waterson and Jill Hennessy return as attorneys Jack McCoy and Claire Kincaid. Under the watchful eye of their cantankerous boss Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), the pair are expected to keep criminals at bay, even when the evidence seems to be working against them. Hill is perfect in his role, ordering deals, demanding justice, and laying out non-PC justice. He delivers priceless lines to Jack, such as, "You have the victim and a confession. Munoz has crawled halfway out of the hole we dug for him 30 years ago. You hit him with the shovel before he crawls all the way out." Guest stars include Patti LuPone as a charming defense attorney, Kim Raver as a working mom whose baby is murdered, Amanda Peet as a Patty Hearst-type kidnap victim, and Jennifer Garner as a flirtatious graduate student who tempts a married man. Don't miss the last five minutes of the season finale. Without saying a word, Orbach conveys all the emotions of a guilt-ridden man. --Jae-Ha Kim