Despite cast changes, NBC’s ‘Law & Order’ has quietly flourished since 1990. Now the show’s making noise with an aggressive campaign that’s market-driven and . . . : Tactically Alert

A bitter arctic blast gripped the Upper West Side as the wind danced with the yellow police tape surrounding the fashionable restaurant where death had just knocked on the door.

Onlookers wrapped in full-length fur coats and heavy trench coats tried to shield themselves from the cold as they surveyed the scene lit by the flashing lights of a parked ambulance. A man wearing a shirt and silk boxer shorts lay on a stretcher, and the two homicide detectives arriving to investigate pegged him instantly as the newly deceased.

“What happened to him?” asked Det. Reynaldo Curtis, whose matinee-idol looks struck an immediate contrast with his partner, the world-weary veteran Det. Lennie Briscoe.

An emergency services technician informed the investigators that the victim apparently had choked to death.

Not missing a beat, Briscoe said with his typical dark humor: “I had an uncle once, croaked on a piece of steak in a Blarney Stone.”

As they say, there are 8 million stories in the naked city. And “Law & Order,” NBC’s veteran cops-and-courts hit, has told roughly 199 of them since 1990.

On this biting spring day, the cast and crew are in the midst of telling their 200th tale, which begins with the death of a corporate mogul. When they got a break, the actors playing Curtis and Briscoe --Benjamin Bratt and Jerry Orbach--high-fived each other and retreated to the warmth of their trailers.

The heavily promoted episode--which airs May 5 and features Julia Roberts in a guest-starring role that will surely attract even more viewers to the series (see story, Page 82)--is just part of a growing fever of activity swirling around “Law & Order,” which has traditionally been one of NBC’s most reliable but relatively quiet successes.

Though the series already has a secure status on NBC’s schedule and a solid viewer following, producers and the network are revving up to see if they can take “Law & Order,” the longest-running drama currently on TV, to a whole new level.

“ER,” “NYPD Blue,” “Chicago Hope,” “Touched by an Angel” and “The X-Files” are regularly showered with publicity and viewer attention over changes in cast and locales, gimmicky story arcs and appearances by major movie stars. But Roberts and occasional crossover episodes with “Homicide: Life on the Street” notwithstanding, “Law & Order” has largely maintained its plain-wrap simplicity without juicing up its elements, even for all-important sweeps periods.

Though “Law & Order” has received more attention in recent years--largely due to its 1997 Emmy win as outstanding drama series and its concurrent run of older episodes on A&E;, which has brought a whole new audience to the new installments--NBC and Studios USA, which produces the series, are now preparing to beat the drum loudly.

The 200th episode marks the beginning of an onslaught of merchandising and marketing that executives hope will propel “Law & Order” into the record books as the longest-running drama ever. The record is held by “Gunsmoke,” which was on CBS from 1955 to 1975.

NBC has already significantly increased the series’ chances with its recent announcement of a three-year commitment for “Law & Order”--a rarity for an older series. The recently minted deal guarantees that “Law & Order” will be on the air for at least 12 seasons.

NBC has already committed to a “Law & Order” spinoff, focusing on the sex crimes unit of the NYPD, for next season. And there are hopes for additional “Law & Order” movies such as last year’s hit TV film “Exiled,” which featured former cast member Chris Noth. “Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion,” from Renaissance Books, recently hit bookstores, and future editions are planned. On May 11, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will host a tribute to the series.

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On what should have been one of the best days of his career, Dick Wolf was trapped on a treadmill that wouldn’t stop.

It was mid-March, and NBC and Studios USA were throwing a party that evening at the legendary Elaine’s restaurant to honor the 200th episode of “Law & Order,” which was on Day 2 of an eight-day shooting schedule.

Wolf was ricocheting through the day like a ball in a pinball machine when the player is on a winning streak. He had arrived just hours earlier from Toronto, where he had been shooting the pilot for “D.C.,” a highly anticipated series about people in their early 20s taking on their first real jobs in Washington (any connection with a certain former White House intern is entirely coincidental). Wolf is hoping the series will land on the WB’s fall schedule.

As he walks around the “Law & Order” headquarters at Chelsea Piers near Manhattan, the cell phone won’t stop ringing. He has people to speak with on the set, has to prepare for the evening’s festivities, fly back to Toronto in two days and, later in the week, to Washington for the new project.

Still, in the midst of the nonstop insanity, Wolf took time to recall when “Law & Order” first went on the air nine years ago. Wolf had developed the show in 1988, when interest in drama from the networks was at a low ebb. He structured the series in two easily separated portions so that it could be sold into syndication as half-hours.

But once “Law & Order” began airing, there was an immediate wave of support from most TV critics, who quickly singled out the show.

“I remember going into my office, closing the door, sitting down and saying to myself, ‘Remember what this feels like, because it may never happen again,’ ” he says. “It’s a moment I recall frequently and with gratitude.”

To be sure, Wolf has not been able to strike oil twice. His post-”Law & Order” attempts to launch another series have included Fox’s hip-hop-flavored detective drama “New York Undercover,” which ran for four years; CBS’s drama-comedy “Feds,” which lasted barely a season; NBC’s “Players”; UPN’s “Swift Justice”; and CBS’ short-lived comedy “The Wright Verdicts,” starring Tom Conti.

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But “Law & Order” has succeeded with the most unlikely of formulas, becoming a hit almost in spite of itself and operating as a polar opposite to virtually all other prime-time dramas. Its combination of the predictable and the unpredictable has captivated fans.

The structure of each episode is roughly the same each week --the cops conduct an investigation and interview witnesses and suspects for half an hour, then the district attorney’s office deals with the case for half an hour. Most of the action and violence take place off screen. In what is now a “Law & Order” convention, by the time an episode begins, the victim is already dead. The dialogue is nonstop and rapid, peppered with jargon and so many character names that a viewer might need a scorecard to keep track. Romance and love stories are largely absent, and the personal lives of the main characters are rarely shown or even hinted at.

There have been nine cast changes over the years--reflecting a dramatic shift from which some shows never recover. And some of the most popular and well-known characters abruptly vanished. There are no long-term story arcs or entanglements--each episode stands on its own and requires no prior knowledge of the participants. Even music on the drama is sparse--mostly a sharp two-tone pulse over a black title card indicating a change of scene.

But it’s exactly those understated, just-the-facts-ma’am elements that have seduced the show’s fans and critics who claim that “Law & Order,” with its ripped-from-the-headlines plots and unpredictable twists and turns, has some of the most complex and incisive writing on television.

The city of New York serves as a vibrant character, and the format allows the core cast members to arrive and depart with relatively minimal disruption. Yet despite its absence of romantic elements, the program has no shortage of sex appeal, with the hunky Bratt and smoky-voiced actress Angie Harmon, the newest member of the cast who plays conservative Assistant Dist. Atty. Abbie Carmichael.

With the added strength of Orbach, Sam Waterston (Executive Assistant Dist. Atty. Jack McCoy), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren) and Steven Hill (Dist. Atty. Adam Schiff), critics have said the show is having one of its best seasons ever.

The crimes always seem to have twists. A shooting of a man at an opera turns out to be a case involving a young man and his inappropriately close relationship with his mother. An elderly Jewish man claims to have assisted the suicide of his ailing wife, but he also may have killed her to cover up his complicity in Nazi war crimes.

Scott Sassa, newly appointed president of NBC Entertainment, said he had not paid much attention to the series before arriving at the network, but that it is now one of his favorite shows. “It was certainly the easiest for me to get into because of the format and the characters,” he says.

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It’s a few minutes into the party at Elaine’s, and cast members--both present and former--are acting like family. The atmosphere is electric, even though it’s been a long day filming courtroom scenes and weathering all the hype--and requisite interview requests--surrounding this episode.

Entertainment figures ranging from NBC Chairman Robert Wright to Studios USA head Barry Diller to Regis Philbin to Judge Mills Lane have come, offering their congratulations. Samuel L. Jackson, Claire Danes, Adam Arkin, William Macy--past guest stars all--are featured on a tape that captured the indelible images of those unable to return for the night.

Though the temperature outside continued to drop, inside Elaine’s it was warm as Wolf shouted to the crowd: “200 down, 200 to go.”

It has not always been so cozy. “Law & Order” has survived more than its share of off-screen turmoil, particularly among its cast. In previous seasons, some members have left with good feelings; some haven’t.

The most notorious and widely publicized rift erupted in 1994 when Michael Moriarty, who played Executive Assistant Dist. Atty. Ben Stone during the series’ first seasons, had a falling out with Wolf. George Dzundza, one half of the show’s first detective duo, departed after the first season. His replacement, Paul Sorvino, also butted heads and was gone after about a year.

One of the complaints that cast members have had is that “Law & Order,” unlike other cop dramas, is not a show in which character matters. It is all about story, and the cast members rarely get to show their acting chops or have a scene they feel will put them in contention for an Emmy.

Said Noth, who played the hotheaded Det. Mike Logan from 1990 to 1995, of his time on the show: “It was tough. I loved my character, but the schedule was not easy and the format was not easy. The artist within you wants to find expression, but there’s that constant monkey on your back. If you have that yearning to act, to be in that kind of straitjacket can eat at you. It can ultimately be destructive, and you have to break out, even though there’s this comfort zone of success.”

Noth added: “Sure there were tensions. Dick doesn’t like to hear from actors too much. And I don’t like to be silent.”

Said Bratt: “The bulk of our work on the show is asking questions, and you have to keep finding creative ways to do that. It’s funny when I think of how many different ways I’ve said, ‘Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt your son?’ ”

But it’s a format that works, said Jill Hennessy, who played Assistant Dist. Atty. Claire Kincaid from 1993 to 1996.

It was suggested through subtle hints that her character became romantically involved with Waterston’s character, McCoy. Kincaid was eventually killed in a car crash.

“I really do like the fact that the show doesn’t get into the personal lives of the characters,” she said. “For an actor, it is frustrating; but for a viewer, it’s great, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As an actor, you just have to find a way to take material that is very informational and plot-propelling, and infuse it with as much emotion as you can.”

Hill, the only cast member who has been with the show since the second episode, has his own philosophy about the formula: “I say keep it simple. The less dialogue, the better.”

What had become clear through the cast changes and the years is that the formula works. “Before and when I was on, I wondered, ‘Why isn’t this show more popular?’ Being on it made me realize what a dark horse it was,” Hennessy said. “But I’m not surprised it’s a hit. And the cast changes almost enhance its popularity.”

Sassa maintains that “Law & Order” is and will continue to be a tent pole for the network: “The sun, the moon and the stars are all lined up now for ‘Law & Order.’ I feel like it’s a show that has finally found its time.”

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“Law & Order’s” success will be tested in other ways as it begins to reach a possible saturation level. In 2001, reruns will be shown on both A&E; and USA, with new episodes continuing to appear like clockwork on NBC. And it remains to be seen how the understated enterprise that “Law & Order” has been weathers the marketing and merchandising blitz about to unfold.

Immediately after the 200th episode, Orbach--whom fans are used to seeing growl his way through criminal investigations--will be cast as a “Law & Order” pitchman, appearing on the Home Shopping Network for a segment that will offer “limited-edition commemorative merchandise” for sale. Among the items are a video boxed set of selected episodes, a director’s chair with the “Law & Order” logo and props used during filming, complete with a certificate of authenticity signed by Wolf. The Home Shopping Network is also a sister company of Studios USA.

Executives at Studios USA, which produces the show, see merchandising as a key to furthering the popularity of “Law & Order,” to building a broader audience base.

With all the activity, “Law & Order” producers are hoping to develop a franchise that will produce endless possibilities for spinoffs, movies and other related projects.

“I really do think this is a series that can go on indefinitely, if the writing maintains itself,” executive producer Ed Sherin said. “The bar is getting higher, and we’re looking up and saying, ‘How the hell can we jump over that?’ ”

Said Wolf without a hint of irony: “We’re aiming for 21 years so we can beat ‘Gunsmoke.’ We’ve only got nine more seasons to go. Strangely enough, I think we may make it.”

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The next phase in building on the “Law & Order” brand is the sex crimes spinoff for NBC.

The series will star Dann Florek, who was with the show from 1990 to 1993 as Capt. Donald Cragen. Florek was let go when then-NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield said the drama had too many male characters.

Wolf intends for “Sexcrimes” to be more character-driven than “Law & Order” and periodically feature other “Law & Order” cast members.

Although he is pleased with the current cast, Wolf was more cryptic when asked if the grand tradition of cast changes would soon make its appearance again.

“Stay tuned,” he said with a chuckle.*