Question: Both Trial by Jury and The Juror share the same exact plot about a female juror — Joanne Whalley in the former and Demi Moore in the latter, who's coerced into rendering a "not guilty" verdict to acquit a mob boss. In both, a mob enforcer (William Hurt and Alec Baldwin, respectively) end up falling in love with the juror. How did this not result in a plagiarism lawsuit?Answer: Since it's hard enough to find a spokesman about a lawsuit that did happen, let alone one that didn't, I'm reduced to an educated guess in this matter. First, I wouldn't say that The Juror (1996) and Trial by Jury (1994) have "the same exact plot" — I'd say they have the same premise and that there are some striking similarities between the way the two stories play out.
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ConvictionI've had many obsessions in my life — love, shiny jewelry, chocolate — but none as devastating as Law & Order. My addiction to Dick Wolf's franchise (save for the deservedly short-lived Trial by Jury) has distracted me from finishing freelance assignments, deprived me of adequate sleep and even chased away a boyfriend or two. That said, Wolf's new series Conviction — which technically isn't part of the L&O family, even though it stars Special Victims Unit's cast
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Question: I'm a big fan of the Law & Order franchise (more of Law & Order: SVU than the original), but I was wondering what the chances are that the new series Conviction will survive on Friday nights. Trial by Jury didn't do very well in that time slot, and, speaking as a future prosecutor, I'm very optimistic about this show. I was just wondering if you think it will do well or not, and if you've seen more than just the previews of the show in order to form an opinion about it. Thanks.
Answer: Hard to know if it will survive on Fridays. Special Victims Unit did very well there, but that was before CBS found a winning formula for the night. I know I would much rather watch Numbers than Conviction, which seems to me a very clumsy effort by Dick Wolf to try to make a David E. Kelley-style series. (My review of Conviction will appear in the next issue of TV Guide, out later this week.) It may depend on how well Las Vegas survives the transfer to Fridays. If Vegas boosts NBC's Friday
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Question: I wanted to know your take on NBC's scheduling changes after the Olympics. I personally think that NBC may be putting itself in a grave situation. First I need to talk about the moving of Law & Order to Wednesdays, an hour earlier, at 9 pm/ET. This is a horrible time slot considering its competition. I have to give up Law & Order because I already tape Veronica Mars while I watch Lost. Again Scrubs was denied a Thursday time slot (post-Earl when The Office ends in March). And I feel that NBC is trying to annoy Dick Wolf. First, Trial by Jury was canceled, they move Law & Order to Wednesdays at 9 pm/ET and now they are airing Conviction Fridays at 10 pm/ET (the same slot as Trial by Jury) when they should pair it with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since many SVU fans are going to watch because of Stephanie March reprising her role as Alexandra Cabot. Also, Deal or No Deal and The Apprentice are the lead-ins to the underappreciated Medium. They should have kept
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Question: Since Stephanie March is going to be on NBC's Conviction playing her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character, and since they're using old Trial by Jury sets, do you think Dick Wolf will retitle the spin-off Law & Order: Conviction? Or will he realize that a little distance from "just another Law & Order spin-off" might be necessary? Also, in last week's column, you shied away from talking about Michelle Rodriguez's dreadful character, saying you would rather focus on the good in watching Lost. Uh, isn't it your duty as a TV critic to look at the good and the bad, and "criticize" it?
Answer: To continue the Ana Lucia debate: Uh, I thought I made it clear in that column that I didn't have the problems others were having with her, and I still don't. And while it is my job to criticize, I often find I do it best by not rushing to judgments, by not nitpicking every little flaw, especially in a show I love, and certainly by not piling on. I was trying to be honest by confessing
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