If West Wing is the show for Democrats, then Law and Order is the show for Republicans.

[WorldResident]

One Republican presidential candidate is their star actor and another Republican candidate has made multiple cameo appearances. Law and Order prosecutors have also pursued the death penalty in a couple of cases.

Thus, I will be boycotting this show indefinitely.

[Erika]

1. Huh? n/t

[gatorboy]

2. Yeah, whoda whadda?

[gravity]

3. Are you serious?

[WorldResident]

5. Sure I am ...

I believe Law and Order engenders a statist attitude.

Of course I agree with the principle of punishing murderers and rapists, but I feel that this show caters to the Republican mentality of Law & Order that has existed since Nixon was around.

[gravity]

10. Well it's a police mentality for sure

I haven't seen the show in years, but I don't think it is that Republican if they are more concerned about finding truth and justice than covering their own ass.

[Blashyrkh]

4. *sighs*

ALL television is designed to make EVERYONE dumb, thoughtless and introverted. Even the West Wing.

Boycott away. You're still getting your daily dose of brainwashing propaganda.

[John Q. Citizen]

6. Not the Red/Green show! n/t

[Blashyrkh]

7. I don't know what the hell that is, but yes, that too.

That's the purpose of TV. Uniform propaganda messages to 98% of the population.

[gravity]

8. I disagree, the main motivation is

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Bicoastal]

14. Yeah, and the internet isn't. Right...

Look, we're surrounded by ads and propaganda everywhere, but it's not difficult to have enough presence of mind to ignore them.

And like any "low" art-form, there's always 10% good mixed in with the 90% crap.

Never thought I'd be an apologist for television, but there it is.

[Vidar]

24. Just for that, we're repossessing your duct tape. Keep your stick on the ice.

[Forkboy]

36. I don't what that is,but yes,I will pass opinion on that too.

[Blashyrkh]

41. The show is irrelevant.

TV is designed to alienate families from society, and individuals from families. The more disconnected we are from people, the less we care about them, the more likely we are to have knee-jerk reactions and opinions.

Sure, there's good, entertaining shows that make you think etc etc etc etc etc etc. But at the same time, you are still sitting in your house not interacting with anything.

And that's the problem with society. How many people would be racist if they met some cool black people? How many people would be homophobic if they met some gay people they got along with. People eat the stereotype that is perpetuated by TV rather than making their own judgements.

[Forkboy]

45. Uninformed opinions are irrelevant to me.

[Blashyrkh]

46. So are people who reply after reading the subject title and not the content of the post.

[Forkboy]

47. I did.

[Old and In the Way]

13. The Red Green show is brilliant!

They don't do politics...they're Canadian! :-)

What Red can do with duct tape is simply amazing.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

19. I loved Red Green! They haven't run that here in Chicago in a long time.

"If your wife doesn't find you handsome at least she'll find you handy."

[Forkboy]

38. "Keep your stick on the ice."

Hockey wisdom that applies to life.Gotta love it!

[Forkboy]

37. Two words...The Bath-A-Que

[GreenPartyVoter]

30. I just let my kids watch that for the first time yesterday. They loved it

[Odin2005]

27. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being an introvert!!!

:grr:

[never_get_over_it]

44. Curious

did you ever watch the West Wing - or are you saying just the act of watching any TV makes you dumb thoughtless and introverted - because I have to tell you I thought the West Wing was a smart damn show - most especially the first four seasons...

[Hippo_Tron]

9. Disagree, I think the show is pretty fair

I'm strongly against the death penalty, but if you expect a show where New York prosecutors don't seek the death penalty then you expect a show that is totally unrealistic. There have been several episodes that take stabs at the right wing as well. One SVU episode shows one of the DA's taking on the Pentagon and subpoenaing Rumsfeld. The Terri Schaivo episode was not favorable to the Christian fundies by any means. One episode I remember dealing with the death penalty did a very good job on both sides of the issue. Basically a guy gets caught up with organized crime and can't get out so he ends up murdering someone and gets the death penalty. Ironically, the guy was a huge Pataki supporter.

I have no plans to boycott Law and Order any time soon.

[kaygore]

20. I agree with you

I have never seen them take a right-wing posture. Quite the opposite. For example, remember the episode about the person of Arabic descent who was held without representation. There have been several episodes that show the negative side of the Republicans and none of the Democrats.

Unlike a show liked Seventh Heaven where one of the characters reinforced that we attacked Iraq because they had WMD and that those who thought otherwise were being misled by the media which refused to report the truth of the WMD.

[WernhamHogg]

23. Delay

I remember one of the Law & Order's (CI maybe?) pissed off Tom Delay because they made fun of him and his "activist judges" spiel.

[Old and In the Way]

11. I've been watching L&O all night.

I love that show...the plots are always interesting. Jeez, I never really considered whether it was a Republican or Democratic show.

[w4rma]

12. I disagree. Law and Order shows how things work behind the background.

It shows people how things work, which hurts Republicans' ability to create a false reality.

[gatorboy]

15. I hate to tell you this but the creator, Dick Wolf, is as liberal as they come.

[frustrated_lefty]

26. He tipped his hand when the DA on SVU subpoenaed Rumsfeld

[Hippo_Tron]

35. I loved that episode, even Fred Thompson was great in it

He was the perfect guy to tell the Assistant DA that even though she was right, there was no way that she could beat the Pentagon.

[Marnieworld]

34. And the D.A. played by Sam Waterston

Hell Sam Waterston is about as liberal as they come. I have been watching all of the incarnations of L & O for years and I think it's balanced to liberal in its bias. You have to be able to create stories that provoke dialogue and that means you write different points of view to explore. I have been thrilled at some of the discussions about civil liberties since 9/11 on that show and how the Patriot Act affects things. I think if you really watched it you'd be surprised.

[AverageJoe]

16. You are absolutely correct

The basic premise of the show is that defense attorneys are always corrupt and that heroic prosecuting attorneys and police officers are always in the right, even when they are unethical or worse in their duties. Law and Order feeds American fascism. I mean, for God's sake, just look at the name of the show....

[NaturalHigh]

31. Have you even watched the show?

They've prosecuted crooked police officers and even assistant district attorneys on the show.

[kiahzero]

42. Not to mention, the defense attorneys are presented fairly.

Sometimes they're scum, sometimes they're quite noble - in fact, I recall seeing quite a few episodes where they had the moral high ground.

[Bitwit1234]

17. If you watched regularly

Sam Waterson's character Jack McCoy is LIBERAL TO THE CORE.

[Bluestar]

18. I've always hated this show

Now I know why!

[rockymountaindem]

21. Yeah that Sam Waterston is a jackbooted fascist

:sarcasm:

I don't think he did the ads for "The Nation" because they offered him big bucks, for starters.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

22. Years ago, the lawyer shows were about defense lawyers as heroes

Shows like The Defenders, Matlock, and Perry Mason featured criminal defense lawyers who were the heroes. The shows were oriented not around getting criminals off on a technicality but in proving that the prosecution had wrongfully accused an individual. These TV lawyers were protecting their clients' constitutional rights against an oppressive authoritarian system of law. The Defenders in particular avoided simple stances on cases and didn't show the legal process as all black and white. Instead, The Defenders brought out the ambiguities inherent in the law and in right and wrong, stressing the uncertain and fleeting nature of justice before the law.

Personally, I love Law And Order, but it's the first half that I really like. I love detective stories and I really enjoy the writing of the show. I think the plots are usually clever. The second half involving the prosecution is also interesting but I keep waiting for them to show the accused as a wrongfully accused person whose rights have been trampled. I don't think I've seen that in many episodes at all. The prosecution on Law And Order is shown to be white knights whereas in real life DAs are often shady overly-ambitious characters and game-playing liars just as much as the criminal defense lawyers. Usually, by the time the trial part of Law And Order starts, we know the accused is guilty and it's just a matter of outsmarting them and their attorney in the courtroom, usually by digging up new evidence. We always seem to be pulling for the the conviction of the accused on that show, whersas in shows like The Defenders, Perry Mason, and Matlock, the audience was always pulling for the accused.

I think it's interesting to note how in the 1960s, a truly outstanding and extremely well-acted lawyer show like The Defenders (one of the best TV shows ever) was decidedly liberal. Whereas, Law and Order tends to be a bit more conservative. Of course it's the result of the fact that one show had the defense as the protagonist whereas the more modern show has the prosecution as the protagonist. I wonder if a lawyer show today where the criminal defense attorneys are its heroes could attain the success of Law And Order.

[bklyncowgirl]

25. I have to disagree there. About the only thing Republican about these shows is Fred Thompson.

They take their ideas from real cases--albeit distorted and stretched to their limits--after all someone has to get murdered and of course they don't want to get sued.

Among those individuals I've recognized recently involved a reporter from a right wing network who earned the hatred of a group of soldiers when he gave out the unit's position on live TV and one of them got killed, a corrupt former police commissioner who's being considered for an important job in Washington, a wheeler dealer lobbyist who's ripping off an Indian tribe and funneling money through a phony think tank headed by his lifeguard buddy to a crooked and highly influential congressman.

Ripped from the headlines--so to speak.

[Odin2005]

28. BULL! L&O is a great show.

The creator of the show is pretty liberal IIRC. Methinks you have paranoia issues.

[NaturalHigh]

29. What an idiotic post.

Have you ever noticed that the themes of most of the shows are pretty liberal? The main character, Jack McCoy, played by Sam Waterston, marched against the Vietnam War and is strongly for gun control.

[WorldResident]

40. Gun control's is a statist ideal

Just look what happened to Webb's aide today.

[WilliamPitt]

32. *groan*

[Forkboy]

39. Your groan is better than the lower intestinal gurgling in the OP.

:)

[Lil Missy]

33. Whaaa? That's one of my favorite programs!

*sniff*

[Bryan]

43. You've misjudged Law & Order somewhat

The show is mainly about highlighting sensational crime stories wherever they can get them, and it's fascinatingly schizophrenic from a political standpoint; even so, just this year they've done fine episodes about a thinly-veiled Halliburton clone knowingly making substandard body armor for the Army and Homeland Security trying to railroad an innocent man for his connection to terrorists (and the Criminal Intent spinoff is even leftier; this year, they've done stories about U.S. soldiers murdering Iraqi civilians and the Mossad using AIPAC to cover up a Rachel Corrie-esque death).