The Sunday Telegraph
SUN 13 JUN 2004, Page V01
crime wave - why we love cops and robbers - making crime pay

Cop shows have us all under house-arrest in our living rooms and it seems viewers - and the networks - couldn't be happier.

Australia is in the grip of a crime wave - but the brutal action is being played out on our televisions, not our streets.

We may fear crime in our neighbourhoods, but it seems we can't get enough of watching it on the small screen.

The plethora of police currently patrolling our living rooms are led by super franchises Law And Order and CSI, with back-up provided by NCIS, Third Watch, 24, The Bill, Taggart and local boys Blue Heelers and Stingers.

And with both Nine and Ten buying the latest offerings from the Law And Order and CSI ventures the trend looks set to continue.

In 2005, CSI will develop another team of investigators - led by veteran actor Gary Sinise - in CSI: New York. Meanwhile, Ten will pin its hopes on Jerry Orbach - currently playing Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original Law And Order - as he moves from the street to the courtroom in Law And Order: Trial By Jury.

Although there are few certainties in television, both networks are quietly confident that our current obsession with crime will continue. And based on current figures for both shows and their respective spin-offs, the gamble looks like a safe bet.

The Law And Order tree continues its healthy growth, with all three branches averaging over the magical million mark. And while the latest offerings, SVU and Criminal Intent, draw around 1.5 million viewers an episode, CSI and CSI Miami set the benchmark with an average of 1.9 million and 1.7 million respectively. This is in addition to the 1.6 million viewers Nine's other crime drama, Without A Trace, averages each week.

Crime and television have been handcuffed together since the medium's invention. We've moved from bank robberies and balaclavas - think: The Sweeney, Cop Shop, Hill Street Blues - to deviancy and deprivation. But David Mott, Ten's head of programming, believes the shows still follow a simple formula, albeit one with plausible scripts and tight acting.

"These programs take the viewer on a one-hour journey from beginning, middle and end; they're extremely well cast and they're extremely procedural," Mott says.

This notion of procedure seems to be the key: both franchises explore the protagonists' working environments, rather than their external lives.

"Law And Order is not relationship-based and you rarely see into their lives," Mott says.
"You get to know the characters through the case, through the work they do, rather than through their personal lives."

"These programs are driven more by procedure than characters, although, saying that, there's some very identifiable characters within each show."

One such character is Detective Bobby Goren, the seemingly sloppy, semi-stoned lead of Law And Order: Criminal Intent.

Goren has become a household name both here and in the US, thanks to actor Vincent D'Onofrio's approach.

D'Onofrio thanks series creator Dick Wolf for allowing him the freedom to develop Goren, and says it has helped the show achieve and maintain its successful position.

"Dick came to me with the idea he was going to let me create a quirky, odd character that I could have a lot of freedom with," he says. "This program works because we spend a lot of time making sure we get it right. We keep the acting at a level as good as we can get it, and we are continually working on it. It's exhausting, but that's our goal: to keep the bar really high."

While D'Onofrio acknowledges the real-life edge in SVU, Law And Order and other crime dramas, he says he enjoys the more fanciful side of his own character.

"Our show, Goren and Eames (Kathryn Erbe), is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes and Watson relationship. I'm much more clever than anyone could be. You have to take that leap to enjoy the show. It's so fictional and has such a different feel to the other programs."

This difference becomes obvious when comparing Goren with the character of Jack Malone (Anthony LaPaglia), the protagonist in Nine's Without A Trace. Rooted firmly in the realms of reality, that program actually enjoys support from the FBI agents it depicts.

"I've been approached by several retired FBI agents who say they love the show and the way they're portrayed," says LaPaglia.

This, according to series creator and executive producer Hank Steinberg, is no surprise.
"We have a technical adviser who's a former FBI agent. He often gets calls from his old buddies who are either retired or still in the job and they give him great marks for how accurate the show is," says Steinberg.

But he says the series' gritty reality is not the sole reason for its success. He believes it takes a unique psychological approach that has led to its big following.

The notion of a unique approach is furthered by Michael Healy, Nine's director of programming.
"Crime is a very broad subject and opens up a wealth of original storylines," Healy says. "The current trends I witnessed overseas are with programs creating different angles within the setting of crime drama."

"You're going to see a shift towards medical and legal crime dramas, although it remains to be seen if they can recreate the success of the CSIs, Without A Trace and Law and Orders."

So, sit back and prepare yourself for future house-arrest in front of the small screen.

TV WEAK
For a potential viewer, the number of crime dramas with similar names can be so confusing they act as a deterrent rather than a drawcard. Questions flood the mind: Which one to choose? Do I need to watch Law And Order to understand Law And Order: SVU? Are the characters the same? Will I miss something good if I watch CSI instead of CSI: Miami? Can I spend my entire life in front of crime shows? Maybe I'll just make a cup of tea and watch nothing at all.

Companion article in FEATURES section.

Column:  TV Guide
Section:  MAGAZINE Type:  Feature

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