L&O has been conceptually faltering since even before Jerry Orbach retired. But yeah, watch the show now and you see just how much Jerry meant to that show.
It was moved to Wednesdays at 9 in an attempt to bring in viewers who didn't want to stay up til 10, but it got beat by LOST in the new timeslot (many of us L&O fans predicted it would).
The mothership, as the Wednesday show gets called in the Web vernacular, skews too old, with 4 of the 6 cast members over 50. The recent female additions to the DA's office--Elisabeth Rohm and Annie Parisse--have been widely criticized for being more eyecandy than actor.
I'm an L&O veteran, since 1996. I don't watch SVU because the subject matter is just too distasteful. CRIMINAL INTENT, especially with the return of Chris Noth as Det. Mike Logan, is the best of the three shows (L&O: TRIAL BY JURY was awful and deserved its cancellation last spring).
