Series Law & Order 4 Kids
Let's take the Law & Order series and replicate characters and plotlines. But let's tone down the rough aspects of the good guys, and let's take a special preference to the rare gimmicky stories, ignoring the mass of straight police procedurals that made the show famous in the first place. What we more or less arrive with, after these adjustments, is Law & Order: UK.
D.S. Ronnie Brooks is clearly modeled after Det. Lennie Briscoe. They've had numerous ex-wives and are alcoholics. But somewhere d0wn the line, someone decided to strip Briscoe's character of his acerbic side. Briscoe has a kind of cuddly grandpa appeal, but at the same time he has a highly caustic personality. This is what makes his character interesting. When you strip his character of that side, you're just left with a cuddly grandpa. Brooks talks about his ex-wives from time to time, but it's never very believable that such a kindly old man would ever be engaged in a divorce battle.
Which brings us to D.S. Devlin. I would disucss his character, but there really is no character of D.S. Devlin ... he has no characterization; he is completely flat. He is just a handsome young guy who occasionally offers insight. In watching him, he's not based on Detectives Green, Curtis, Lupo ... I don't think that the writers really gave any thought toward their portrayal of him.
Although James Steel (from the name you can tell he's based on Michael Cutter) is my favorite part of this show, he also is kind of a Jack Mc Coy Lite. We rarely see him engage in the same kind of back-room dealing as Ben Stone, Jack Mc Coy, or Cutter. The "Order" portion of the show should be ethically challenging ... are the DA's being fair? Are the deals they strike strictly legal? These questions are mostly absent from the UK version, which instead presents a more or less straight-forward courtroom procedural. There has been no point where I wondered whether Mr. Steel is a completely moral character. And although Alesha is beautiful and intelligent, she is more of a Southerlyn rather than a Kincaid, Ross, or Carmichael.
The show has a focus on gimmicky episoes, such as the episode where Castle's buddy is a criminal, or where Brooks's buddy is a bad guy ... tone it down guys! Viewers aren't complete morons after all.
Series Law And Order | UK: Get's Better as it Goes
While my learned colleague below may disagree, Uk has a certain charm that has been missing since Adam Schiff left The Mothership. DS Brooks is based off of Briscoe, with bits of Fontana thrown in. He's a bit bland in the early episodes, but gets more interesting as it goes on. DS Devlin was based off of Logan, Curtis, and sadly, Greevy. Devlin was protective of his colleagues, and in the end he sacrificed his life for Alesha and a young witness. DS Casey is his replacement, and he is a mix of Green and Lupo, with Stabler's temper. He seems to have deep seated anger issues, but he'll probably get over it soon. Thorne is clearly young Mc Coy, and acts as such. Alesha is a mix of all the AD As, from Paul Robinette's hate of the Race card, to Carmicheal's temper.