The Law & Order Index
D.F. Manno
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2093261/>
The Law & Order Index
Watching reruns could make you rich!
By John Swansburg
Posted Monday, Dec. 29, 2003, at 2:00 PM PT
As we all now know, Law & Order isn't just a TV show anymore, it's a
brand逆here's the original series, its three spinoffs, a pair of
computer games, and a new coffee-table book you can browse between
reruns on TNT. One convincing sign of the show's reach, however, often
goes overlooked. Like only a few brands before it, Law & Order has
become an economic indicator. McDonald's, for example, can boast about
the Economist's Big Mac Index, which uses the price of that signature
burger to determine whether a country's currency is over- or
undervalued. Now, thanks to TD Waterhouse, you can use your knowledge of
Law & Order to decide whether it's time to put some money in the market.
Last month, TD Waterhouse, one of the biggest discount brokerage firms,
announced that it was replacing its spokesman. Sam Waterston, who plays
prosecutor Jack McCoy on Law & Order, would be taking over for Steven
Hill, who used to play District Attorney Adam Schiff. Hill's ad
campaign, which appeared on television and in print, followed print ads
that featured Jerry Orbach, who for the past 12 seasons has played the
show's wise-cracking Detective Lennie Briscoe. The basic idea behind all
three campaigns was to present potential investors with a familiar and
trustworthy spokesperson. Traditionally, the problem with this kind of
static approach is that investors trust different people in different
economic conditions逆he boom time's role model won't cut it during a
recession. But that's the beauty of an ensemble cast. There's a Law &
Order character for every economic climate.
How did it all begin? TD Waterhouse has insisted that the company "was
not intending to go with a Law and Order theme," but as any devoted fan
of Law & Order knows, intent can be hard to prove蟻nd sometimes you can
make a case without it. In 1999, TD Waterhouse, fresh off an IPO of
close to $1 billion, launched its biggest ad campaign ever, a $100
million TV and print blitz. The ads in the so-called "Xprs Yrslf" series
played on the two meanings of "express"亀D Waterhouse's services would
help you make a statement about yourself through your investments and
would do so in a jiffy, since we all have times when we're just too busy
for vowels. Along with Jackie Chan (depicted fighting off bad guys while
reading a TD Waterhouse research report) and Los Angeles Lakers coach
Phil Jackson, there was Jerry Orbach, expressing himself in a print ad
that listed a few of his favorite stocks.
In that giddy time, Orbach was an obvious choice. Though there were
perhaps still a few people out there for whom Orbach would always be
"the dad from Dirty Dancing," for the rest of us Orbach was Lennie
Briscoe, which made him a natural pitch man for a roll-the-dice
investment era. Briscoe is known for calling a spade a spade and for
calling sex the horizontal hula. He's honest, but he's not a scold. He's
not your typical investor菊ven the casual Law & Order viewer knows that
Lennie's investment experience is limited to placing bets at the OTB誼ut
that was the point. To succeed in the New Economy, the ad suggested, you
didn't need a subscription to the Wall Street Journal or a white collar,
just a nose for a good horse.
When the IPO bubble burst however, Lennie Briscoe no longer seemed like
the kind of guy whose portfolio you just had to get a peek at. TD
Waterhouse figured that it had to reassure tentative investors with a
spokesman who offered more gravitas. Someone like Adam Schiff, the
curmudgeonly D.A. played by Steven Hill. The ads featuring Hill, who had
just left Law & Order, began appearing in January 2002. Often shown with
a dark suit, conservative tie, and a trench coat, Hill seemed to have
taken Schiff's wardrobe with him as part of his severance package. He
embodied world-weary wisdom. He talked like the cranky voice of reason,
too. "You want a fortune teller?" he asked, sitting in front of a
computer displaying the company's site. "Go to the circus. You want
information you can trust? TD Waterhouse." The tone was pitch perfect
for an anxious time鞠rank talk and sage advice.
But apparently there's only so much frank talk the nervous investor can
take. Hill was perhaps too honest; he made you want to put your savings
under your mattress. As a reader of the Columbus Dispatch put it in a
letter the paper published not long after the Hill campaign was
launched, "After listening to him drone on about how desperate my
financial future may be, I don't know whether to cut my wrists or reach
for a Xanax the size of a handball."
Hill seemed even more out of tune as the economy started its tentative
upswing. So now TD Waterhouse brings us print and TV ads starring
Waterston.The campaign attacks by name the company's competitors貴errill
Lynch and Charles Schwab蟻n aggressive tactic you can imagine the feisty
Jack McCoy savoring. McCoy is somewhere between Briscoe and Schiff: He
wears a Barbour jacket, but he rides a motorcycle; he's a workaholic,
but he's been known to get it on with his absurdly attractive assistant
district attorneys. He's a cautious optimist: He'll offer up a
slap-on-the-wrist plea bargain if he has to, but he'd usually rather
risk prosecuting defendants at trial, confident he can persuade a jury
to issue a tough sentence instead of a not-guilty verdict.
Cautious optimism seemed like a good fit for November's tentatively
hopeful economic moment, but in early December the Dow rose above 10,000
for the first time in 18 months, and that cautious optimism is beginning
to seem prescient. Until now, the Law & Order/TD Waterhouse nexus has
been what economists call a coincident indicator, a reflection of the
current state of the economy. Is it possible that it's becoming a
leading indicator黍ne that predicts coming economic trends?
If so, we'll know a sustained boom is on the horizon when TD Waterhouse
replaces Waterston with S. Epatha Merkerson. Inside the 27th Precinct,
Merkerson's Lt. Anita Van Buren keeps an even keel despite constantly
getting guff from her recalcitrant detectives. After hours, she's a
solidly middle-class mother of two who puts her family's needs first.
This is not a woman who has money to burn and not someone who would
invest unless it was a sure thing. Not convinced? Just wait for the next
rerun of "Competence," an episode from Season 5. That's the one where
Van Buren nearly loses her badge for capping a kid she thinks is
sticking her up at an ATM. How's that for protecting your investments?
--
D.F. Manno
domm...@netscape.net
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Benjamin Franklin)
fishfry
"D.F. Manno" <domm...@netscape.net> wrote:
> In that giddy time, Orbach was an obvious choice. Though there were
> perhaps still a few people out there for whom Orbach would always be
> "the dad from Dirty Dancing," for the rest of us Orbach was Lennie
> Briscoe, which made him a natural pitch man for a roll-the-dice
> investment era.
Let us not forget his terrific turn as a tough NYC detective in Prince
of the City. That's where the Briscoe persona began.
Liam Devlin
> From Slate:
> <http://slate.msn.com/id/2093261/>
>
> The Law & Order Index
> Watching reruns could make you rich!
> By John Swansburg
> Posted Monday, Dec. 29, 2003, at 2:00 PM PT
>
(snip)
> When the IPO bubble burst however, Lennie Briscoe no longer seemed like
> the kind of guy whose portfolio you just had to get a peek at. TD
> Waterhouse figured that it had to reassure tentative investors with a
> spokesman who offered more gravitas. Someone like Adam Schiff, the
> curmudgeonly D.A. played by Steven Hill. The ads featuring Hill, who had
> just left Law & Order, began appearing in January 2002. Often shown with
> a dark suit, conservative tie, and a trench coat, Hill seemed to have
> taken Schiff's wardrobe with him as part of his severance package.
Including the funny little signature hat.
Liam Devlin
JO was the mob guy being protected in FX (with Bryan Brown). BB was an
FX expert who was hired to fake JO's death so the feds could slip him
into witness protection.
Chris ®
>tough NYC detective in Prince of the City.
>That's where the Briscoe persona began.
Orbach also played a Brisco-esque PI as a recurring character on
"Murder, She Wrote". IIRC, they attempted to use that character in a
failed spinoff.
"I would rather have a German division in front of me than a French one
behind me" - General George S. Patton.
F F
in the mega hit Brewsters Millions, they still replay that on TV today.
Pnoi
> Jerry Orbach will always be remember as Richard Pryor's baseball manager
> in the mega hit Brewsters Millions, they still replay that on TV today.
Nah, that movie with the mobsters. Where the mob boss's wife always put a
coat on over her bathrobe and went out in the cold to start her husband's
car while he hid under the kitchen table in case there was a car bomb in
his car. "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight", 1971.
Liam Devlin
> Jerry Orbach will always be remember as Richard Pryor's baseball manager
> in the mega hit Brewsters Millions, they still replay that on TV today.
Never saw it. I think of JO as Lennie & the dad from "Dirty Dancing".
Liam Devlin
OMG - was he in that??!! The Jimmy Breslin novel was hilarious, but,
IIRC, the movie came up short. Sounds as though JO playes Bacala.
Brett A. Pasternack
longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
Or just as the big candlestick from Beauty and The Beast. B^)
longshanks
>How about remembering Jerry as the original star of one of the
>longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
>which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
>
I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
knows anything about it.)
>Or just as the big candlestick from Beauty and The Beast. B^)
>
>
Now you're talkin' pop culture!
Ed Wilson
--
-- It comes as a whisper a thousand miles wide and three thousand miles long...a gentle murmur...the quiet and stirring Voice Of The Prairie
-- Cottsweb, where it's always 1985: http://briancotts.tripod.com
-- Listen to Gayleen at Rabid Following http://gayleenfroese.tripod.com/
-- And, How! (check out "Life of the Party") http://andhowmagazine.tripod.com/
D.F. Manno
longshanks <longs...@shaw.ca> wrote:
> Brett A. Pasternack wrote:
>
> >How about remembering Jerry as the original star of one of the
> >longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
> >which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
> >
> I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
> no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
> really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
> knows anything about it.)
I've seen it, and not in NYC, either. One Web site says there have been
more than 10,000 productions in more than 5,000 American cities and 80
foreign countries.
And if you're going to limit it to NYC productions, I'd say more people
saw it than most if not all Broadway productions, if only because it ran
for so long.
JOYHTON
>>longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
>>which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
I saw it here in New York, around 1960 - 62. Those are the years I lived in
the Village not far from the theater where it was playing. Can't remember if
that was near the beginning of its run, can't remember if Orbach was in it, but
I do remember the song. It has stayed with me ever since. I know it ran for
many years and I always thought I would like to see it again, but never did.
There used to be a department store named "Orbach's" in NY. Very stylish goods
and very good prices. As I recall, their very stylish ads were done by a
fledgling ad agency named Doyle Dane & Bernbach. (I didn't know that then, but
I learned a lot about the ad business in later years.)
Joyce, still a New Yorker after all these years.
PattyC
"Brett A. Pasternack" <bret...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:3FF671...@erols.com...
I saw Jerry Orbach in Promises Promises on Broadway in 1969. I had no idea
then I was going to love Law & Order and Lenny B. many years later. But I
liked him a lot in that show...
PattyC
Chris ®
>would think of that because almost no one
>has seen the play.
I'll never forget it, not because I have seen it, but because my school
made us sing songs from that damned show for my 6th grade graduation.
June is busting out all over my ass ...
Liam Devlin
> Brett A. Pasternack wrote:
>
>> How about remembering Jerry as the original star of one of the
>> longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
>> which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
>>
> I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
> no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
> really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
> knows anything about it.)
I saw it years ago (60's or 70's). Don't remember who played that role,
though.
Liam Devlin
> In article <gKDJb.932744$6C4.120899@pd7tw1no>,
> longshanks <longs...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>
>>Brett A. Pasternack wrote:
>>
>>
>>>How about remembering Jerry as the original star of one of the
>>>longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
>>>which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
>>>
>>
>>I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
>>no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
>>really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
>>knows anything about it.)
>
>
> I've seen it, and not in NYC, either. One Web site says there have been
> more than 10,000 productions in more than 5,000 American cities and 80
> foreign countries.
>
> And if you're going to limit it to NYC productions, I'd say more people
> saw it than most if not all Broadway productions, if only because it ran
> for so long.
It was in the Sullivan Street Playhouse, a tiny house (150 seats). I'm
guessing more people saw "Cats" at the Winter Garden over its long run
there.
http://crescentcitychronicles.net/REVIEWS/MUSICALS/THE_FANTASTICKS/The_Fantasticks_Review.htm
William December Starr
longshanks <longs...@shaw.ca> said:
> I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because
> almost no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for
> decades, but, really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and
> actually seen it knows anything about it.)
Not that many people saw it with Jerry Orbach[1], but lots of people
have seen it, because over the decades it's been produced all over
the place, especially in high schools and colleges. I believe that
the creators or whoever the rights-owners are) long ago decided to
waive any performance royalty fees on school productions (and any
other non-profit productions?) or something like that.
1: On my list of things to do when I finally get that damned
time machine working, incidentally.
-- William December Starr <wds...@panix.com>
longshanks
>>I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because
>>almost no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for
>>decades, but, really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and
>>actually seen it knows anything about it.)
>>
William December Starr wrote:
>Not that many people saw it with Jerry Orbach[1],
>
I guess that was really my central point: Not as many people as some
might think would remember the play (or any other play, for that matter)
when deciding how to categorize Jerry. Many more people would know him
from TV or movies than from any play.
> but lots of people
>have seen it, because over the decades it's been produced all over
>the place, especially in high schools and colleges. I believe that
>the creators or whoever the rights-owners are) long ago decided to
>waive any performance royalty fees on school productions (and any
>other non-profit productions?) or something like that.
>
Hmm. Interesting. The fact is that, for me, "The Fantasticks" is
extremely low on my radar. I don't know if I've ever heard of it being
produced under any circumstances anywhere near where I live. Even now,
I'm pretty vague on what its story is.
>1: On my list of things to do when I finally get that damned
> time machine working, incidentally.
>
Ha!
JOYHTON
>> time machine working, incidentally.
In the meantime, you could visit www.thefantasticks.com There's a nice photo
of Jerry Orbach as El Gallo in a black cape and broadbrimmed hat, dueling with
one of the other characters.
The Fantasticks opened on May 3, 1960 and closed on January 13, 2002.
Joyce
Brett A. Pasternack
>
> Brett A. Pasternack wrote:
>
> >How about remembering Jerry as the original star of one of the
> >longest-running shows in the history of theater, The Fantasticks, in
> >which he introduced the classic song "Try To Remember"?
> >
> I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
> no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
> really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
> knows anything about it.)
Well, New York theater was bigger on the pop-culture radar than. And I'm
sure the original cast album, which Orbach was on, sold hundreds of
thousands of copies--my parents had one!
Pnoi
writting:
> I said:
>
>>>I'd venture to say that almost no one would think of that because almost
>>>no one has seen the play. (Yes, I know the play ran for decades, but,
>>>really, virtually no one who hasn't gone to NYC and actually seen it
>>>knows anything about it.)
>>>
> William December Starr wrote:
>
>>Not that many people saw it with Jerry Orbach[1],
>>
> I guess that was really my central point: Not as many people as some
> might think would remember the play (or any other play, for that matter)
> when deciding how to categorize Jerry. Many more people would know him
> from TV or movies than from any play.
>
>> but lots of people
>>have seen it, because over the decades it's been produced all over the
>>place, especially in high schools and colleges. I believe that the
>>creators or whoever the rights-owners are) long ago decided to waive any
>>performance royalty fees on school productions (and any other non-profit
>>productions?) or something like that.
>>
> Hmm. Interesting. The fact is that, for me, "The Fantasticks" is
> extremely low on my radar. I don't know if I've ever heard of it being
> produced under any circumstances anywhere near where I live. Even now,
> I'm pretty vague on what its story is.
>
Actually you really missed it because the movie was on the UPN network in
the 8pm Eastern slot. It featured Joel Grey in the lead. Check
your local Blockbuster for a copy.
Speaking of Broadway, Tovah Feldshun aka attorney Dannelle Merrick got
her big break as the lead actress in the original Broadway production of
"Fiddler on the Roof".
DeeEss57
>> in the mega hit Brewsters Millions, they still replay that on TV today.
>
>Never saw it. I think of JO as Lennie & the dad from "Dirty Dancing".
I always thought of JO as a stand-up comedian before L&O.
DES
Save 1 life and you're a hero.
Save 230 million and you're a Starfleet officer.
remove "nospam" from my addy to reply.
Liam Devlin
>>>Jerry Orbach will always be remember as Richard Pryor's baseball manager
>>>in the mega hit Brewsters Millions, they still replay that on TV today.
>>
>>Never saw it. I think of JO as Lennie & the dad from "Dirty Dancing".
>
>
> I always thought of JO as a stand-up comedian before L&O.
Really? Can't remember seeing him do stand up. Was this years ago on the
Borscht Belt circuit?