Law & Order is a television police procedural and legal drama set and shot in New York City. The award-winning Law & Order and its several spin-off series ("Special Victims Unit", "Criminal Intent", "Trial by Jury", "Los Angeles") are broadcast on the NBC network and syndicated on other networks. The franchise totals more than 700 hour-long episodes. Foreign adaptations include Law & Order: UK, Paris enquêtes criminelles and Russian adaptations of SVU and CI. Several Law & Order franchise cast members (such as Christopher Meloni and Richard Belzer) have appeared in Henson/Muppet productions. Additionally, the format of the shows and the large number of episodes require a substantial amount of non-recurring and incidental characters per episode (witnesses, judges, attorneys, etc.) As a result many Sesame Street cast members have played guest roles in episodes, often returning as different characters. When Sonia Manzano appeared as a trial witness in a 2004 episode, she remarked that "the sound guy kept calling me Maria and telling me he grew up watching me. It was funny."[1]

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Muppet Mentions

In the sixth season Law & Order episode "Savior" (March 13, 1996), Detective Rey Curtis says of a murder suspect "That guy pulls more strings than Jim Henson."

In the Law & Order episode "American Jihad" (October 2, 2002), Detective Lennie Briscoe retorts with the sarcastic wisecrack "I guess I missed that day on Sesame Street" after a suspect makes an overly technical remark about medical research.

In the Law & Order episode "Patient Zero" (October 8, 2003), when a uniformed cop uses euphemisms to avoid even mild curse words, Briscoe says, "What precinct are you from? Sesame Street?"

In the Law & Order: UK episode "Survivor" (7 October 2010), Sergeant Ronnie Brooks questions a suspect if a prison officer piss off a few of his pals on Fraggle Rock.

In the Law & Order: SVU episode "Imprisoned Lives" (September 25, 2013), the detectives are called to an incident involving a Times Square walk-around performer as a colorful monster "MO-MO." Rollins wonders "Again? What is it with these guys?" The character (played by Muppet performer Rick Lyon) is a reference to the many unauthorized Times Square costume characters, including Elmo, and various incidents in which they have been reported as aggressively panhandling, entering altercations with tourists, or been arrested.

References

Sesame Street Season 37 brought "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit", a parody of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, to the show's line-up.

“ In the alphabet system, there are 26 letters. The detectives who investigate these ABCs are members of an elite squad called the Special Letters Unit. These are their stories. ”

The sketch features Anything Muppet caricatures of Special Victims Unit cast members Meloni, Hargitay, Belzer, and Florek on a case for a missing letter "M". The sketch also parodies the show's format and infamous musical sting. As they investigate, they find things that start with the letter "M", including a cow named Murray (Eric Jacobson) that makes mmooo sounds and a mallard (Tyler Bunch). In the end, the detectives recognize the missing letter "M" (Matt Vogel) walking into the police station wearing a phony moustache, and the case is solved.

The sketch appears as a bonus feature on the North American DVD release of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit season six.

In a TV Guide interview, Sesame Street producer Carol-Lynn Parente expressed interest in taping more segments for Season 38, possibly featuring the voices of the original actors. Special Victims Unit is filmed and produced in Kaufman Astoria Studios, the same studio Sesame Street is filmed in. However, while no other Muppets segments have been produced, several cast members appeared in Season 38, mostly filmed behind their desks. As an example of that, in Episode 4148 from Season 38, Christopher Meloni from Law & Order: SVU appeared in a "Word on the Street" segment. He was introduced with the Law & Order series' "chung-chung" transitional sound, and appeared behind a SVU police report to discuss "mail."

On the November 13, 2008 broadcast of The Today Show, Meloni appeared in a dressing room, supposedly getting ready to appear in promotion of Law and Order: SVU, alongside Miss Piggy, billed as the star of Law and Order: E-I-E-I-O.

In The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora Episode 2, "Breakfast Isn't Just For Breakfast Anymore," the title card for the sketch of Bear on Patrol reads Bear on Patrol: Special Produce Unit.

In the 2011 film The Muppets, the CDE prime-time schedule chart showing all network offerings spoofed the ubiquity of the Law & Order franchise on NBC, with It's the Law, It's the Law: CVS, It's the Law: SUV, and multiple reruns of the franchise.

Connections

Law & Order

Cast Members:

Guest Appearances:

Muppet performers/Sesame Street regulars

Other guests:

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Cast Members:

Guest Appearances:

Muppet performers/Sesame Street regulars

Other guests:

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Cast Members:

Jeff Goldblum as Det. Zach Nichols (2009-2010)

Guest Appearances:

Sesame Street regulars/Muppet performers

Other guests:

Law & Order: Trial by Jury

Cast Members:

Bebe Neuwirth as Asst. D.A. Tracey Kibre

Jerry Orbach as D. A. Investigator Lennie Briscoe (two episodes)

Guest Appearances:

Candice Bergen played Judge Amanda Anderlee (three episodes)

Giancarlo Esposito played Orlando Ramirez ("Boys Will Be Boys," 2005)

Rita Moreno played Mildred Quintana ("Day," 2005)

Law & Order: Los Angeles

Cast Members:

Terrence Howard as Senior Deputy District Attorney Jonah "Joe" Dekker

Video Games

Julianne Buescher voiced Nicole Beaumont and Claire Thomas in "Justice Is Served" (2004) and Jenna Kirkwood, Jennifer Lee, Carla Meyers, Stephanie Novitsky, Barbara Rodriguez, Rosa Sanchez and Rachael Warren in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2005).

Barry Dennen voiced a crime scene tech, George Bennett, Frederick Grant, Tom Kirkwood, Tony Piovani, and Gerald Stokes in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2005).

Sam McMurray voiced Jack Foster and Henry Haskins in "Justice Is Served" (2004)

Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Mark Rawlins in "Dead on the Money" (2002) and "Double or Nothing" (2003)

Florence Stanley voiced Judge Emily Greenwood in "Dead on the Money" (2002) and "Double or Nothing" (2003), also playing Mrs. Yost in the latter

Sources

↑ Madden, Mekeisha. "Sesame Street Celebrates 35 Years of Teaching Kids." The Detroit News. 2004