The justice system in our country is getting a pretty thorough examination in 2024, and the methods by which the scales tip for every citizen of the country that faces the law, is a topic of discussion among everybody at the time of New York's 400th anniversary year.
The address that serves as the title of this program, houses the Supreme Court and the main Criminal Court for the city and state of New York, one of a complex of courts and legal offices in Lower Manhattan.
We can't even start to talk about this series without noting that it was created by Sidney Lumet. Lumet's career seemed centered on New York from the very beginning. Starting as an actor in stage plays, Mr. Lumet then transitioned to film, becoming a writer and director and continually trying to capture the flavor and the facts of The City in every production he was involved with.
This was Mr. Lumet's attempt to give a true picture of Criminal Court in NYC, the people who work there and the people who come through the system. Lumet either directed or wrote the bulk of the episodes for the series.
Alan Arkin was Judge Joe Rifkind (with focus on those last four letters) - a kind and fair judge, not willing to overtly punish those that really don't deserve it. He had homespun wisdom, stories about his family, observations on NYC changes through his life and how that informed his rulings from the bench. He continually saw the good in people.
Paula Davicq was Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Bennington, continually locking horns with another judge in the courts, Attalah "Atilla the Hun" Sims, played by LaTanya Richardson. Their constant battles are the friction of non-fiction. If you were facing charges, you absolutely wanted to wind up in Judge Rifkind's, NOT Judge Sims' courtroom.
The balance of storylines and characters is what was so compelling about the program. These were characters that had depth, a backstory, personal lives and interests that related to who they were and what they did, and that is always a great way of hooking an audience, helping them care about those people. But the overarching element was the court itself, the cases and how the staff dealt with the docket. Is now a good time to mention that Margo Martindale turns up as a regular in this series? She was also an important cog in 334's "A Gifted Man."
New York played a part because nobody knew NYC like Sidney Lumet - his understanding of the geography and the economy, the various crimes that were likely to occur, the people doing them, the circumstances that created the need for justice and the humanity of treating people with respect and kindness was second to none. Apologies to Dick Wolf! And a lot of the time we were on the streets, witnesses to the events that brought these suspects into the titular building.
I have to think that if this show had aired on a major network and not basic cable A&E (which, I checked just now, and yes! The network still exists!) this might have had a longer run. There wasn't nearly enough promotion for the series, not nearly enough focus on the elements that might have attracted an audience and A&E chose to run the show at, of all times, Saturday Nights at 10pm ET! That's hardly fair for this kind of gritty, realistic show about crime and punishment and the New York people involved.
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