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NBC announced on May 16, 2005 that ''Trial by Jury'' would not be returning for the 2005-2006 fall television season. The rival [[CBS]] [[police procedural|procedural]] ''[[NUMB3RS]]'' debuted in the [[Television program#How programs are made|midseason]] in late January 2005 and consistently beat NBC's ''[[Medical Investigation]]'' in the ratings, sending the latter show into [[hiatus]] and eventual cancellation and freeing up the time slot for ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury''. Despite ''Trial by Jury'' 's pedigree, ''[[NUMB3RS|NUMB3RS']]'' ratings remained strong, often beating ''Trial by Jury'' in both overall and key demographic ratings.<ref name="TBJ">{{cite web |url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/may05/may09/5_fri/news7friday.html |title=''Rumor: Harsh verdict for NBC's 'Trial by Jury' '' |work=Medialifemagazine.com |accessdate=2005-05-13}}</ref> Most insiders agree that Orbach's death may have been a contributing cause to the series' inability to attract viewers, similar to that of [[Phil Hartman]]'s death and the subsequent end to ''[[NewsRadio]].''
NBC announced on May 16, 2005 that ''Trial by Jury'' would not be returning for the 2005-2006 fall television season. The rival [[CBS]] [[police procedural|procedural]] ''[[NUMB3RS]]'' debuted in the [[Television program#How programs are made|midseason]] in late January 2005 and consistently beat NBC's ''[[Medical Investigation]]'' in the ratings, sending the latter show into [[hiatus]] and eventual cancellation and freeing up the time slot for ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury''. Despite ''Trial by Jury'' 's pedigree, ''[[NUMB3RS|NUMB3RS']]'' ratings remained strong, often beating ''Trial by Jury'' in both overall and key demographic ratings.<ref name="TBJ">{{cite web |url=http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/may05/may09/5_fri/news7friday.html |title=''Rumor: Harsh verdict for NBC's 'Trial by Jury' '' |work=Medialifemagazine.com |accessdate=2005-05-13}}</ref> Most insiders agree that Orbach's death may have been a contributing cause to the series' inability to attract viewers, similar to that of [[Phil Hartman]]'s death and the subsequent end to ''[[NewsRadio]].''


''Trial by Jury'' is the first written series of the ''[[Law & Order]]'' franchise to be [[cancelled]] (the very first was Crime & Punishment), although ''[[TV Guide]]'' reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again, or hand it off to [[Turner Network Television]] (which also airs reruns of the original series). The sets were reused by a series [[Dick Wolf|Wolf]] produced for NBC entitled ''[[Conviction (TV series)|Conviction]]'' which premiered Friday, March 3, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the [[Associated Press]], Wolf stated that NBC had assured him ''Trial by Jury'' would return for the fall of 2005 but had "blindsided" him by cancelling it instead.
''Trial by Jury'' is the first written series of the ''[[Law & Order]]'' franchise to be [[cancelled]] (the very first was ''[[Crime & Punishment]]'', however it was a reality series, not a scripted one]), although ''[[TV Guide]]'' reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again, or hand it off to [[Turner Network Television]] (which also airs reruns of the original series). The sets were reused by a series [[Dick Wolf|Wolf]] produced for NBC entitled ''[[Conviction (TV series)|Conviction]]'' which premiered Friday, March 3, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the [[Associated Press]], Wolf stated that NBC had assured him ''Trial by Jury'' would return for the fall of 2005 but had "blindsided" him by cancelling it instead.


[[Court TV]] (now TruTV) re-aired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties," which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation.
[[Court TV]] (now TruTV) re-aired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties," which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation.

Revision as of 15:20, 17 April 2009

Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Law & Order: TBJ intertitle
Created byDick Wolf
StarringBebe Neuwirth
Amy Carlson
Kirk Acevedo
Scott Cohen
with Fred Thompson
and Jerry Orbach
Country of originUnited States United States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running timeapprox. 42 minutes (per episode) 1 hour on T.V with ADDS
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseMarch 3, 2005 –
January 21, 2006
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Releasehttp://epguides.com/LawandOrderTrialbyJury/
Related
Law & Order
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Conviction
Paris enquêtes criminelles
Law & Order: UK

Law & Order: Trial by Jury was an American television drama about criminal trials set in New York City. It was the fourth spin-off from the long-running Law & Order. The show's almost exclusive focus was on the criminal trial of the accused, showing both the prosecution's and defense's preparation for trial, as well as the trial itself. The series premiered on Thursday, March 3, 2005, and aired its series finale on Friday, May 6, 2005. Its regular time slot was Fridays 10/9 p.m. ET on NBC. An additional episode aired on Court TV (now truTV) after the series' cancellation.

Description

The following statement, narrated by Steven Zirnkilton, is spoken at the beginning of nearly every episode:

In the criminal justice system, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials.

Unlike the other Law & Order series, Trial By Jury shows what it is like to prepare for and try a criminal case. The episodes usually start with a witness or victim telling a story about a crime that has already occurred. This story is used to inform the audience on what happened prior to the beginning of the episode. This is a departure from the other three Law & Order shows, which usually start off showing the audience the actual crime. The show progresses on from that point, showing how both sides develop their strategies for winning the case.

The prosecution's preparation usually includes scenes where their investigators go out and follow up on leads and interview witnesses. The defense's preparation varies from episode to episode, running the gamut from testing arguments in front of jury focus groups to dealmaking between co-defendants. Each episode has several trial scenes, with both sides examining witnesses and giving arguments. There are also several pre-trial meetings where some procedural issue is argued and ruled on. In addition, there are a few episodes showing jury deliberation. The show develops the judges as characters, showing scenes of them conferring with each other and reusing the same judges in multiple episodes.

Characters

The original cast of Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005); from left, Amy Carlson, Bebe Neuwirth, Fred Dalton Thompson, Jerry Orbach, and Kirk Acevedo.
  • ADA Tracey Kibre A tough, focused prosecutor, she is a contrast to the lead ADAs in the other three series with a black-and-white view of the law. She is played by Bebe Neuwirth.
  • ADA Kelly Gaffney The younger assistant to Kibre, she is often more by-the-book. She often challenges Kibre, who sees the law in more shades of gray than her partner. She is played by Amy Carlson.
  • DA Investigator Hector Salazar A former police detective who was apparently injured on duty; an injury would have likely put him in a desk job, which he did not find too thrilling. He is played by Kirk Acevedo.
  • DA Investigator Lennie Briscoe The first partner of Hector Salazar, the longest serving detective on any Law & Order series. He only appears in the first two episodes due to the death of Jerry Orbach who plays the role.

Main crew

Episodes

Ep. # Title Writer(s) Director Airdate Prod. code
1 "The Abominable Showman" Dick Wolf Jean de Segonzac March 3, 2005 E5701
A famous Broadway producer is charged with murder after his girlfriend disappears.
2 "Forty-One Shots" Walton Green Caleb Deschanel March 4, 2005 E5707
A cop killer who was shot 41 times is on trial for murder, but his defense argues that he shot the officer in self-defense.
3 "Vigilante" David Wilcox Dwight Little March 11, 2005 E5712
A dangerous sex offender is paroled despite the neighborhood's objections and is quickly killed by a vigilante, making the killer a hero.
4 "Truth or Consequenses" Walton Green & David Wilcox Constatine Markris March 18, 2005 E5703
Three young men, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, are charged with killing a young woman. When they turn on each other, the killer is not necessarily the obvious one.
5 "Baby Boom" Joan Rater & Tony Phelan Michael Pressman March 25, 2005 E5704
When a baby dies, her nanny is charged with murder. The prosecution has to prove its case while dealing with the judge's bias.
6 "Pattern of Conduct" Pamula J. Wechsler & Walton Green Constantine Markris April 1, 2005 E5710
A married basketball star is suspected of killing his mistress, even though there is a question whether her death was a suicide or a homicide.
7 "Bang & Blame" Chris Levinson Caleb Deschanel April 8, 2005 E5711
A grief-stricken man opens fire at the bank where he works, killing a woman and injuring two others. He tries to blame bad luck, the police, and others for his actions.
8 "Skeleton (Part 2)" David Wilcox David Platt April 15, 2005 E5716
In pursuit of the suspect who shot Detective Green and killed a former cop, the detectives and prosecuters are led to a porn magnate who may have ordered the attack.
9 "The Line" Tony Phelan & Joan Rater Richard Pearce April 22, 2005 E5714
A murderer is getting out of jail because of bad evidence at his trial, and Kibre is determined to find new evidence to put him back behind bars.
10 "Blue Wall" Rick Eid Joe Ann Fogle April 29, 2005 E5713
When a gay freshman at NYU dies after being assaulted while in police custody, the cops who arrested him are put on trial for the murder.
11 "Day (Part 2)" Chris Levinson Caleb Deschanel May 3, 2005 E5715
When a woman who was raped dies from a heart attack, the evidence leads to Gabriel Duvall, the son of a rich socialite, who appears to prey on defenseless illegal immigrant women.
12 "Boys Will Be Boys" Rick Eid Aaron Lipstadt May 6, 2005 E5706
A transsexual is punched to death after "dating" a young Latino man, and his father's rage appears to be the cause of tragedy.
13 "Eros in the Upper Eighties" Chris Levinson Joe Ann Fogle Unaired/January 21, 2006 E5705
A doorman at a high-end Upper Eastside building saves a tenant's life when he pulls a homeless man off her, but kills him in the process, and what appears to be an act of a good Samaritan is actually much more complicated.

Ratings

  • Episode 1 (3/03/05) - 17.3 million
  • Episode 2 (3/04/05) - 14.5 million
  • Episode 3 (3/11/05) - 10.7 million
  • Episode 4 (3/18/05) - 11.5 million
  • Episode 5 (3/25/05) - 11.1 million
  • Episode 6 (4/01/05) - 10.6 million
  • Episode 7 (4/08/05) - 11.4 million
  • Episode 8 (4/15/05) - 13.2 million
  • Episode 9 (4/22/05) - 10.1 million
  • Episode 10 (4/29/05) - 9.6 million
  • Episode 11 (5/03/05) - 16.6 million
  • Episode 12 (5/06/05) - 9.8 million

The 12 aired episodes got an average of 12.2 million ratings which actually beat its rival, Numb3rs, that season which received 10.77 million views.

Cancellation

NBC announced on May 16, 2005 that Trial by Jury would not be returning for the 2005-2006 fall television season. The rival CBS procedural NUMB3RS debuted in the midseason in late January 2005 and consistently beat NBC's Medical Investigation in the ratings, sending the latter show into hiatus and eventual cancellation and freeing up the time slot for Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Despite Trial by Jury 's pedigree, NUMB3RS' ratings remained strong, often beating Trial by Jury in both overall and key demographic ratings.[1] Most insiders agree that Orbach's death may have been a contributing cause to the series' inability to attract viewers, similar to that of Phil Hartman's death and the subsequent end to NewsRadio.

Trial by Jury is the first written series of the Law & Order franchise to be cancelled (the very first was Crime & Punishment, however it was a reality series, not a scripted one]), although TV Guide reported at one point that NBC had reconsidered its decision and would pick up the series once again, or hand it off to Turner Network Television (which also airs reruns of the original series). The sets were reused by a series Wolf produced for NBC entitled Conviction which premiered Friday, March 3, 2006, lasting only one season before cancellation. In an October 2005 interview with the Associated Press, Wolf stated that NBC had assured him Trial by Jury would return for the fall of 2005 but had "blindsided" him by cancelling it instead.

Court TV (now TruTV) re-aired the entire series, including the episode "Eros In The Upper Eighties," which never aired on NBC before the show's cancellation.

DVD release

On April 25, 2006, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released Law & Order: Trial by Jury- The complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. [2]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Law & Order: Trial by Jury - The Complete Series 14 April 25, 2006
  • Cross-over episode "Night" from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  • Deleted Scenes
  • "A Different Look at Law & Order"

Trivia

  • On November 26, 2008, TNT reaired the episode "Skeleton".
  • Jerry Orbach's final onscreen appearance is in the episode "Forty-One Shots". Orbach was so ill at the time that he could barely speak above a whisper. Thus his final line of dialogue had to be rewritten; at the trial of a cop-killer, NYPD members had been barred from the courtroom, and they were waiting outside with Lennie Briscoe. After Lennie (peering in through the door) learned of the guilty verdict, he turned and whispered to the cops "They got him!".
  • Scott Cohen was credited as a Guest Appearance for Episodes 3 and 4.
  • This is one of eight series in which the character Det. John Munch, played by Richard Belzer, has appeared. The other seven are Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, The X-Files, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Beat, Arrested Development and The Wire.
  • Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe), Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green), Fred Thompson (Arthur Branch), Leslie Hendrix (Elizabeth Rodgers), and Carolyn McCormick (Dr. Elizabeth Olivet) are the only actors to play the same character on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury).
  • The fifth episode of the series, "Baby Boom," was dedicated to the memory of Jerry Orbach. At the end, the message "For Jerry" appears.
  • The one remaining unaired episode after cancellation, "Eros in the Upper Eighties," was aired as the series finale on Australia's Network 10, and aired in the US on Court TV on January 21, 2006. (It was also a part of the DVD release of the entire series on April 25, 2006). A then-current rumor stated that the episode would mention Lennie Briscoe's death, as it was the last one filmed before Jerry's passing. This rumor turned out to be false (although an unused scene shown in a "behind the scenes" feature on the DVD shows the main cast discussing what appears to be Briscoe's death from some kind of illness that he "never talked about".)
  • Jerry Orbach and Bebe Neuwirth both performed in the Broadway musical Chicago - Orbach as Billy Flynn in the original 1975 run, and Neuwirth as Velma Kelly in the 1997 revival (she also played Roxie Hart in a brief run in early 2007).
  • The show's theme song is now being used on original episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent that air on the USA Network.

Crossover episodes

There were 2 two-part crossover episodes:

"Night" was included on the Law & Order: Trial By Jury DVD set. However, for unexplained reasons, "Tombstone" was not.

References

  1. ^ "Rumor: Harsh verdict for NBC's 'Trial by Jury' ". Medialifemagazine.com. Retrieved 2005-05-13.
  2. ^ Lambert, David (2006-01-17). "Law & Order: Trial by Jury – Jerry Orbach's Final Series Comes To DVD This Spring". TVShowsonDVD.com. Retrieved 2007-08-18.

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