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... more » 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.« less
"Well, the advertisement here is a little confusing. It's listed as the 4th year, but also lists Dennis Farina as the star, and Farina didn't come aboard the series until the 15th year, after Jerry Orbach's departure from the series.
The fourth year of Law & Order brought about some major changes to the series, with the departures of Captain Cragen and Paul Robinette from the series, replaced with Lt. Anita Van Buren and Claire Kincaid, bringing the first lead female characters into the series.
There were several great episodes in this season, including one of my favorites where the detectives and lawyers were trying to track down a shooter in Buddy Holly glasses. This story was left somewhat unresolved, which led to a 2-part crossover with Special Victims Unit in its first year, and this show's 10th season. That's just one of many great stories from this season that I'm looking forward to having in my collection!
The season finale also led to the departure of Michael Moriarty from the series as Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone. The following year, his character was replaced with Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, who has been on the show ever since.
All in all, I am anxious to add this set to my collection, and I hope you'll enjoy it too. After all, with all these reality shows flooding the airways these days, DVD sets are becoming more and more appealing. I prefer to spend my TV time watching something worthwhile like Law & Order, rather than trash like The Bachelor or Temptation Island. Do you prefer quality to trash?"
Landmark season
N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 11/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The fourth season of the long running original Law & Order was a landmark season in the show's history. The revolving cast door was stil spinning; this time original stars Dann Florek (Captain Cragen) and Richard Brooks (Assistant DA Robinette) have left, and the cast would now feature it's first ever female leads. Detective's Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) get a new Lieutenant with Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), and DA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) would get a new assistant in Claire Kincaid (future Crossing Jordan star Jill Hennessy). The episodes packaged in this season set continue the "ripped from the headlines" style of crimes investigated by the detectives, and then the prsecution of the offenders, and it still manages to work out very well. This would be the last season for original cast member Michael Moriarty, as he would be replaced with long time vet Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, who is still on the show to this day. All in all, the fourth season of Law & Order saw the innovative crime drama make a landmark in it's history, and this season set is a must own for die hard fans of the show."
Finally a speedy release for the old Law & Order seasons ...
Tv & Cd Reviewer | USA | 10/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finally The Fourth Season of Law & Order after i bought the third season of Law & Order i was waiting for the Fourth ,which was also a great season when it aired in 1993 - 1994 . Some magor changes become in this season and the show was as great as ever.I am so glad they decided to make all the seasons on DVD , Since Law & Order is one of the best Drama's ever , spanning its 16 year broadcast ! The series is great and deserves much attention , Dont miss the chance too own the Fourth Season on DVD."
Great Series..Decent Season
Dorrie Wheeler | 12/21/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The fourth year of the long running series Law & Order is now available on DVD. Universal has released later seasons of the series on DVD and have now started releasing earlier seasons on DVD. Law & Order-The Third Year arrived on DVD this past spring.
The Fourth Year covered the 1993-1994 season. The season began with a riveting case about a talk show host is embroiled in the mystery of a convicted child molester who is killed on the air with millions of people watching. One must remember that during the year 1993 talk shows were reaching their peak. Jenny Jones, Montel Williams, Rikki Lake, Sally Jesse Raphael, Oprah, Donahue, Rolanda, Maury, and Jerry Springer were all on the air during that time period. So for Law & Order to open it's season with a talk show related episode was very appropriate for the show which is known for story lines ripped out of the headlines.
The actors who built the foundation for Law & Order appeared on the show during it's fourth year. Jerry Orbach, Christopher Noth, Steven Hill and Michael Moriarty were all members of the cast. This was also the year that Jill Hennessy and and S. Epatha Merkeson joined the cast.
The set includes 22 episodes and 43 deleted and extended scenes. The episodes are on dual discs (meaning some content on one side, more episodes on the other side). Episode descriptions appear on the individual boxes that hold the DVD's. Special guests during the shows fourth year include Robert Klein, James Earl Jones, Jane Kaczmarek, and Allison Janney from The West Wing among others.
I will admit though that I did have a problem with the dual disc. This is my first time having a problem with a Universal dual disc. Perhaps its because I watched it in my computer but after one viewing the flip disc was scratched.
"
The Fourth Year: Best Yet of L&O
Ryan | 01/02/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The fourth year of Law & Order continued the tradition of cast changes that had become a hallmark of this series. Dan Florek and Richard Brooks were out at the request of NBC, who wanted more females in the cast. Enter S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren, a tough-talking boss who could match snark with the best of them. Also, Jill Hennessy joined the legal side as ADA Claire Kincaid. Fans might have lamented the loss of Brooks and Florek, since their acting and characters were perfectly respectable, but the two new characters were well-written and well-played, so the quality does not suffer with their arrival. However, this would be the final season for Michael Moriarty as DA Ben Stone, who would exit in the season finale, "Old Friends." Many fans, myself included, were sad to see Stone go, though Moriarty's performance does seem tired in comparison to previous years.
The episodes, as usual, are familiar from real events, but they are compelling none the less. Racist serial killers, opportunistic talk show hosts, deadly cult leaders and racially-charged city riots are the basis for just a few of the gripping episodes. Other fine works include, "Discord," "Breeder," "Pride and Joy," and "Censure," One of the best is, "American Dream," in which Stone matches wits with a smart jailhouse lawyer who tries to overturn his own conviction. Also, the series departs from its usual format in, "Mayhem," when the episode is dominated by the police as they solve a series of crimes in the course of one stressful day.
Although this set contains no documentary extras, we are treated to more deleted scenes. Two of them explain the departures of Cragen and Robinette, which is a treat for long-time fans since their character exits went unexplained for years. I do have to knock Universal again for giving us so many previews on disc 1 without the skip option. Also, more chapter breaks would be nice. These nitpicks aside, this year is worth getting, even if you're a new fan. "