Script Enabler

In 1995, after five season on the air, Law & Order got a significant boost to its storytelling. Governor George Pataki signed the death penalty into law in New York State. The series transformed from your average “whodunit” into a thoughtful debate about the merits of the state taking a life.

Whether or not you believe in the death penalty, the debate on Law & Order was a vigorous one. When should it be applied? Under what circumstances? What if there is doubt about the person’s guilt or culpability? In many instances, the answer was not clear cut.

The zenith of this debate was an episode called “Aftershock,” an atypical episode which begins with an execution and then follows our characters as they react to and deal with the experience.

However, after more than ten years of presenting nearly every permutation of death penalty cases, Law & Order now feels like a well worn trope that has begun to repeat itself.

Which is why I welcomed this little tidbit which came over the AP wire on June 8:

Prosecutor Jack McCoy is getting a promotion to New York district attorney on “Law & Order” but viewers could see less of Sam Waterston, the actor who plays him. McCoy will take over from New York D.A. Arthur Branch, who was played by Fred Thompson.

This is an opportunity for Law & Order to organically change its themes. Jack McCoy has always been the moral compass for the show (as was his predecessor Ben Stone). He’d argue and fight passionately for what he believed was right under the law and screw the consequences. As the Assistant DA, he could do that.

But now McCoy is the District Attorney, a job where politics must be taken into consideration. Will McCoy be able to adjust?

I had given up on Law & Order this past season but the prospect of watching Jack McCoy deal with the gray areas of the law is too good for me to ignore. McCoy’s core values are well established and to see them challenged and possibly compromised is potentially good drama.