Too Much Law and Order ?

I used to watch Law and Order. The show was, and still is by most reports, inventive and creative. It doesn't fit into the typical mould of cop shows or lawyer shows, but instead borrows from both genres and results in giving us the best of both worlds. It's among the best shows to air in recent memory. Dick Wolf, the producer, has devised a winning formula that scores well with critics and does well in the ratings. That said, I've stopped watching Law and Order. Why would I stop watching a show that I just praised?

The problems with Law and Order began a few years ago when with the arrival of Law and Order: SVU. What kind of idiot name for a show is that? For starters, it's too close to SUV, and who wants to watch a show about a Sport-Utility Vehicle? The last cool vehicle on a TV show (that wasn't a car or a helicopter) was Mr. T's van on A-Team and they didn't exactly name the show after it. Now, of course, it's not really about an SUV, because SVU apparently stands for Special Victims Unit. And what does the special victims unit do? It investigates crimes that are even more unpleasant than the fare on regular strength Law and Order, generally of a sexual nature (although not nearly as unpleasant as the content on Oz, and interesting more than half of the actors from that show are either L&O regulars or guest stars). So there's three times as many violent rape cases. How wonderful.

Then this year Dick Wolf brought us Law and Order: Criminal Intent. If you thought the title Law and Order: SUV was too long at seven syllables (although the full name is ten syllables if you don't abbreviate SVU), this show goes for the gusto at nine syllables. That's a long name. The only TV show name I could come up with in recent memory that was longer is Survivor: The Australian Outback (and it's not like anyone actually called it that apart from Jeff Probst). That's not the main problem with the show, however. While the earlier L&Os followed the cops and lawyers as they hunted down the bad guys, this show alternates between the criminals and the law. So the suspense of not knowing who exactly was guilty of what is mostly gone. That's one of the best parts of any law show.

But all of this isn't why I posted this rant. I'm posting this because I read last week that Dick Wolf is tossing around ideas for a fourth Law and Order series. That's right. Another one. And considering that the existing L&O shows all do well in the ratings, NBC is certain to jump at the chance for a surefire hit. No word on what this new show is going to be (with the way things are now, Law and Order: Anti-Terror Squad is entirely too likely). I wonder if Mr. Wolf's idea well is getting dry. Quite frankly, it might be for the best. Three Law and Order shows is already too many. A fourth might well be tantamount to taking an axe to the golden-egg-laying goose's neck. If you're reading this Dick, take my advice and leave well enough alone. You can go to the well three times in a row, but start going up too often and it's going to be dry. Take the lesson ABC learned with Millionaire — too much of a good thing is not a good thing.