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Michael Giltz
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Read more
Law & Order , TV Shows , Dvds , Entertainment News
4 9 1 0React
Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: Law & Order's Record-
Breaking Boxed Set
LAW & ORDER: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($699.00; Universal) -- As far as I can tell, Law &
Order: The Complete Series is the biggest boxed set in history with the most hour of programming
devoted to a single series. No wonder: the show ran for 20 seasons. Gunsmoke could match it, since that
too ran for 20 seasons. 60 Minutes has been in primetime for more than 40 years; Oprah could match it
with her daytime talk show; The Ed Sullivan Show ran for decades too; Doctor Who is going strong and
some children's shows, soap operas and animated series and other programs around the world have gone
on and on. But in the US at least, when it comes to sitcoms and dramas in primetime, L&O has the
biggest boxed set in history. The Simpsons has more episodes (it's the longest running sitcom andanimated series in history), but since they're half hour shows, Dick Wolf's L&O still has it beat for a long
time to come in the number of hours it has.
FOLLOW US
'Titanic' Trailer! Celebs On Parade
'DWTS' Reunion Jean Paul Gaultier:
From the Catwalk to
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November 24, 2011
Like 63
Posted: 11/11/11 04:49 PM ET
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FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORELike 51KMusic Movies Rihanna Television Game Changers 2011 More Log in
So all in all this is a very impressive boxed set. Much of it is done well. It contains 20 seasons but the set
is slim enough to fit on my shelf alongside other DVDs. Still, if you prefer you can remove the individual
seasons and place them on the shelf instead. Happily, the DVDs are in standard cases, not those horrible
cardboard sleeves that can make them hard to get out and very scratched. They also contain the crossoverepisodes with Homicide. On the downside, Season 14 is presented in a cropped, full screen version used
for syndication; that's not acceptable in a set this lavish and expensive. And where's the Chris Noth TV
movie Exiled from 1998? Still, you'll spend weeks watching it before you even realize those items are
missing, That's how long it'll take to plow through this comfort food for people who love procedurals.
So here's a question: is Law & Order the greatest franchise in US TV history? Here are some other
contenders:
Star Trek -- six TV shows (including the animated one), massively popular feature films and (as with all
these franchises) there is more to come. If you ignore the books and merchandise and movies and focus
just on TV, this is a mighty impressive series.
The Simpsons -- Again, this is a monster when it comes to merchandising; it and Star Trek probably
far outstrip L&O once you add in movie and toy sales. But focusing strictly on TV and even including
Futurama, which isn't really a spin-off as such, this will have to settle for legendary classic rather than
the title of biggest franchise of all time...unless that Krusty spin-off gets a move on.
All In The Family -- For pure TV dominance, All In The Family was a remarkable franchise. Spin-offs
and spin-off of spin-offs that still took place in the Bunker universe include Maude, The Jeffersons, Good
Times, Archie Bunker's Place, Gloria, Checking In, and 704 Hauser (even the house got its own show).
Of course, it's a remake of a British series, so maybe they deserve the credit. Which brings us too....
American Idol -- A spin-off from the UK series Pop Idol (which bizarrely floundered, letting Simon
Cowell launch The X Factor and steal their thunder). Nonetheless, American Idol was itself a monster
success, passing All In The Family by being the #1 show in the country for six years in a row (it's gonna
do it again this season too). it has been duplicated all over the world to massive success. Chalk up another
one for the Brits. But hey, this isn't a sitcom or drama. Still, it was worth a mention. Which brings us to
L&O.
Law & Order -- It has launched four direct spin-offs, including the current hit Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit (12 seasons and counting), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (ten seasons) and the less
successful Law & Order: Trial By Jury and Law & Order: LA. Homicide: Life On The Streets is another
direct spin-off from the show. It ran for seven seasons, featured major characters from the earlier show
and included crossover episodes making it explicit that these shows took place in the same fictional
world. New York Undercover and In Plain Sight are more of a stretch but can make their arguments.Putting those two aside, that's still a tremendous amount of television springing from this one series. No
wonder they almost launched a cable channel devoted entirely to L&O.
Which leads us to the boxed set of the future: it could contain all five series (once SVU calls it a day). Of
course, it won't be complete because some other L&O series will already be on the air or in the works. So
a number of shows can compete for the title of biggest franchise of all time. But for now, this is the boxed
set to beat.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinionMOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
Fox News Viewers Know Less
Than People Who Watch No
News: Study
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Jenny From The Block's Fiat
Commercial A Sham
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'Give Us The Bird'
PHOTOS: Pepper-Spraying
Cop Makes His Way
Throughout Art History
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Long Lost Daughter
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Dr. Peggy Drexler
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Other
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Yourself
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'Twilight: Breaking
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Jimi Hendrix Named
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Of All...
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'NCIS'
Daniel Radcliffe
Almost Wasn't Harry
Potter
'Community':
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Easter Egg In
Halloween...makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz was provided with a free copy of the boxed set with the understanding that he
would be reviewing it.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
Buy a link here Sponsored Links
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Black Friday: HDTVs as low as $23.74
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More in Entertainment...
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MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1of 2
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Member Dies On Set
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For Bodysuits (Photos)
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Stuffing
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Of All Time Revealed!
Scotty McCreery's Big Lip
Sync Fail At Thanksgiving
Day Parade
HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3
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FALL SPECIAL: Mom Reveals $5 Wrinkle Trick That
Has Angered Doctors!
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Map Your Flood Risk
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Black Friday: HDTVs as low as $23.74
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QuBids.com
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The Smartest Show On TV
Proves It With Secret
Scene
Like 990
The Roots Greet Michele
Bachman With 'Lyin' Ass
Bitch'
Like 4K
theellenshow
RetweetI'm so thankful for @MarloThomas
and Jennifer Aniston and theincredible work they do for children.
You can help them. http://t.co/8e6dE
willyouatme
RetweetThis is your brain on love (beautiful
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC)http://t.co/a6gW3YVI /via
@HuffingtonPost
FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORE
ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE
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Michael Giltz
Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ
Read more
Law & Order , TV Shows , Dvds , Entertainment News
4 9 1 0React
Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyDVDs: Law & Order's Record-
Breaking Boxed Set
LAW & ORDER: THE COMPLETE SERIES ($699.00; Universal) -- As far as I can tell, Law &
Order: The Complete Series is the biggest boxed set in history with the most hour of programming
devoted to a single series. No wonder: the show ran for 20 seasons. Gunsmoke could match it, since that
too ran for 20 seasons. 60 Minutes has been in primetime for more than 40 years; Oprah could match it
with her daytime talk show; The Ed Sullivan Show ran for decades too; Doctor Who is going strong and
some children's shows, soap operas and animated series and other programs around the world have gone
on and on. But in the US at least, when it comes to sitcoms and dramas in primetime, L&O has the
biggest boxed set in history. The Simpsons has more episodes (it's the longest running sitcom andanimated series in history), but since they're half hour shows, Dick Wolf's L&O still has it beat for a long
time to come in the number of hours it has.
FOLLOW US
'Titanic' Trailer! Celebs On Parade
'DWTS' Reunion Jean Paul Gaultier:
From the Catwalk to
the...EDITION: U.S.
November 24, 2011
Like 63
Posted: 11/11/11 04:49 PM ET
SHARE THIS STORY
Submit this storyGet Entertainment Alerts
Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIESCONNECT
FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORELike 51KMusic Movies Rihanna Television Game Changers 2011 More Log in
So all in all this is a very impressive boxed set. Much of it is done well. It contains 20 seasons but the set
is slim enough to fit on my shelf alongside other DVDs. Still, if you prefer you can remove the individual
seasons and place them on the shelf instead. Happily, the DVDs are in standard cases, not those horrible
cardboard sleeves that can make them hard to get out and very scratched. They also contain the crossoverepisodes with Homicide. On the downside, Season 14 is presented in a cropped, full screen version used
for syndication; that's not acceptable in a set this lavish and expensive. And where's the Chris Noth TV
movie Exiled from 1998? Still, you'll spend weeks watching it before you even realize those items are
missing, That's how long it'll take to plow through this comfort food for people who love procedurals.
So here's a question: is Law & Order the greatest franchise in US TV history? Here are some other
contenders:
Star Trek -- six TV shows (including the animated one), massively popular feature films and (as with all
these franchises) there is more to come. If you ignore the books and merchandise and movies and focus
just on TV, this is a mighty impressive series.
The Simpsons -- Again, this is a monster when it comes to merchandising; it and Star Trek probably
far outstrip L&O once you add in movie and toy sales. But focusing strictly on TV and even including
Futurama, which isn't really a spin-off as such, this will have to settle for legendary classic rather than
the title of biggest franchise of all time...unless that Krusty spin-off gets a move on.
All In The Family -- For pure TV dominance, All In The Family was a remarkable franchise. Spin-offs
and spin-off of spin-offs that still took place in the Bunker universe include Maude, The Jeffersons, Good
Times, Archie Bunker's Place, Gloria, Checking In, and 704 Hauser (even the house got its own show).
Of course, it's a remake of a British series, so maybe they deserve the credit. Which brings us too....
American Idol -- A spin-off from the UK series Pop Idol (which bizarrely floundered, letting Simon
Cowell launch The X Factor and steal their thunder). Nonetheless, American Idol was itself a monster
success, passing All In The Family by being the #1 show in the country for six years in a row (it's gonna
do it again this season too). it has been duplicated all over the world to massive success. Chalk up another
one for the Brits. But hey, this isn't a sitcom or drama. Still, it was worth a mention. Which brings us to
L&O.
Law & Order -- It has launched four direct spin-offs, including the current hit Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit (12 seasons and counting), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (ten seasons) and the less
successful Law & Order: Trial By Jury and Law & Order: LA. Homicide: Life On The Streets is another
direct spin-off from the show. It ran for seven seasons, featured major characters from the earlier show
and included crossover episodes making it explicit that these shows took place in the same fictional
world. New York Undercover and In Plain Sight are more of a stretch but can make their arguments.Putting those two aside, that's still a tremendous amount of television springing from this one series. No
wonder they almost launched a cable channel devoted entirely to L&O.
Which leads us to the boxed set of the future: it could contain all five series (once SVU calls it a day). Of
course, it won't be complete because some other L&O series will already be on the air or in the works. So
a number of shows can compete for the title of biggest franchise of all time. But for now, this is the boxed
set to beat.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinionMOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
Fox News Viewers Know Less
Than People Who Watch No
News: Study
Loyal Dog Refuses To Leave
Owner's Grave, Goes Week
Without Food
Charlie Angus What if They
Declared an Emergency and
No One Came?
Kris Humphries: Husband
From Hell?
Kirstie Alley Looking Good
Jenny From The Block's Fiat
Commercial A Sham
Bourbon Distillery To Obama:
'Give Us The Bird'
PHOTOS: Pepper-Spraying
Cop Makes His Way
Throughout Art History
Jack Wagner Confronted By
Long Lost Daughter
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Dr. Peggy Drexler
We Can Be Thankful for Each
Other
Dylan Ratigan
This Thanksgiving, Occupy
Yourself
Like 317K
Like 42K
Like 44K
Recommend 808
Like 237
Like 3K
Like 193
Like 5K
Like 233
'Twilight: Breaking
Dawn's' Taylor LautnerOn His Most
Challenging Scene And
Jacob's MassiveTransformation (Video)
Jimi Hendrix Named
Greatest Guitarist
Of All...
Robert Wagner:
Murder Suspect On
'NCIS'
Daniel Radcliffe
Almost Wasn't Harry
Potter
'Community':
Beetlejuice Secret
Easter Egg In
Halloween...makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz was provided with a free copy of the boxed set with the understanding that he
would be reviewing it.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
Buy a link here Sponsored Links
57-Year Old Mom Looks 25
FALL SPECIAL: Mom Reveals $5 Wrinkle Trick That Has Angered Doctors!
ConsumerLifestyleAlerts.org
Map Your Flood Risk
Find Floodplan Maps, Facts, FAQs, Your Flood Risk Profile and More!
www.floodsmart.gov
Black Friday: HDTVs as low as $23.74
Black Friday Special! 100s of HDTVs being sold for as low as $23.74.
QuBids.com
New Trick in TENNESSEE
If you drive 25 mi/day or less you better read this...
Insurance.Comparisons.org
More in Entertainment...
TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 9
MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1of 2
More Entertainment News at THR.com
More Celebrity News at People.com'G.I. Joe' Sequel Crew
Member Dies On Set
Jennifer Lopez's Love
For Bodysuits (Photos)
Cynthia Nixon: Max Will TryHis First Thanksgiving
Stuffing
READ MORE
Kim Kardashian'sThanksgiving Contribution?Sweet Potato Soufflé
READ MORE
Heidi Klum Takes Her Kidsto Katy Perry's Concert
READ MORE
Katy Perry to Play Marilyn Monroe
on Broadway?
Adam Sandler and Friends'
Thanksgiving in Maui
'TOWIE' Star Amy ChildsOpens a Salon
The Greatest Guitar Player
Of All Time Revealed!
Scotty McCreery's Big Lip
Sync Fail At Thanksgiving
Day Parade
HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 3
HOT ON TWITTER 1of 2
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
Volunteering
Terrorism
Serena
Williams
Video
Holidays
TV
Latino Politics
Zimbabwe
Thanksgiving Buy a link here Sponsored Links
57-Year Old Mom Looks 25
FALL SPECIAL: Mom Reveals $5 Wrinkle Trick That
Has Angered Doctors!
ConsumerLifestyleAlerts.org
Map Your Flood Risk
Find Floodplan Maps, Facts, FAQs, Your Flood RiskProfile and More!
www.floodsmart.gov
Black Friday: HDTVs as low as $23.74
Black Friday Special! 100s of HDTVs being sold for as
low as $23.74.
QuBids.com
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »
The Smartest Show On TV
Proves It With Secret
Scene
Like 990
The Roots Greet Michele
Bachman With 'Lyin' Ass
Bitch'
Like 4K
theellenshow
RetweetI'm so thankful for @MarloThomas
and Jennifer Aniston and theincredible work they do for children.
You can help them. http://t.co/8e6dE
willyouatme
RetweetThis is your brain on love (beautiful
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC)http://t.co/a6gW3YVI /via
@HuffingtonPost
FRONT PAGE POLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT TECH MEDIA LIFE & STYLE CULTURE COMEDY HEALTHY LIVING WOMEN LOCAL MORE
ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE
Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ
User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | About Our Ads | Contact Us
Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Part of HuffPost News