Review of "L.A. Law" on Region 1 DVD - Excellent & iconic series

[Latka Gravas]

Hey everyone. I saw S01-S02 of the excellent TV series "L.A. Law" for the first time last year, on the Region 1 DVD sets. I'm currently watching S03.

Never saw the show much on it's original run (1986-1994) for whatever reason, However, as I've gotten older - I've made a point of seeking out, watching, & appreciating TV shows that were on (when I was a kid/young adult) that I missed the first time around. I do remember the show had a great cast & received a lot of critical acclaim - especially in the initial seasons.

Going along with this, the only issue I have with the Region 1 S01 L.A. Law DVD's has nothing to do with the show itself, but the presentation: The Picture Quality (PQ) is abysmal. I've seen slightly worse PQ on other TV shows on DVD from this era, but that's not saying much. The best I can say about the show is that the PQ is slightly better than a VHS rip, but that's not saying much either.

Fortunately, the PQ in the S02 & S03 DVD sets are slightly better than S01's.

It's unfortunate that only the first three seasons of this show were put on Region 1 DVD, even though the show ran for a total of eight seasons - very disappointing. Though the entire series is on Region 2 DVD (UK), I'm in the U.S. & don't have a Region-free DVD/Blu player.

Since the 4th-on seasons still aren't on Region 1 DVD, I suspect they'll never come out that way - or it would have happened already. Here's hoping the whole series will be put on Region 1 Blu-ray, but I won't hold my breath - LOL.

[Latka Gravas]

Here's my review of the L.A. Law pilot; really well-done. Just based on this one episode, I can easily see why this series got so much buzz back in the day. Note there are SPOILERS below:

The episode featured realistic/naturalistic acting, a superb cast, and compelling storyline(s). Some of my favorite sequences were:

-The trial scene when a woman dying of cancer was questioned about the details re: an assault/attack against her by three scum-bags. Adrienne Moore (expertly portrayed by Alfre Woodward) lost control & threatened the three punks who had assaulted her, threw her in a dumpster, and left her for dead. She was then briefly jailed until she "apologized" to the court. Unfortunately realistic that the victim was being blamed here.

Also very impressed that Mike Kuzac (Harry Hamlin), despite defending one of the criminals who assaulted the woman (though it was obvious he had misgivings about doing so), still showed compassion towards her in a later conversation. This culminates in a very touching/poignant final scene when Adrienne comes to Michael for comfort due to being terrified of dying from her fatal illness.

Going along with the above, very realistic that the law firm was defending one of these punks only because his father was wealthy & influential in the community - Typical. This happens IRL all the time, unfortunately.

And, despite how dramatic the show was - I liked how there was still some humor (though some of it was morbid), as a counter-point to the horrible things the lawyers had to deal with (and in some cases do) each day:

1) After the judge realizes that Michael has over $4,000 in unpaid speeding/parking tickets, she decides to briefly put him in jail - ha ha.

2) In the very beginning (pre-opening credits), the arrogant/devious lawyer Arnie (Corbin Bernsen) has gotten to the office early & the only other person there is an assistant. They both notice a foul odor coming from somewhere, and the assistant tracks this down to partner Norm Chaney, who is lying face-down on his desk (in a plate of food) in his large office. Presumably, he died of a heart attack/stroke while working alone, and has been lying there for several days; this leads up to my favorite line in the episode:

"I'm not sure, but I think he's dead" - Assistant
"If he is, I have first dibs on his office." - Arnie