I don't know in particular why, but I never liked Diane Wiest as DA in Law and Order. In fact, I think it may have been there worst major casting decision of for the entire run of the series.
~~the coins in the jar are for charity,~~
~~the coins in the tray are for sharing~~
What bugged me most about Nora is her finding an excuse for every killer why they don't deserve the death penalty, "A woman doesn't deserve it, an 18 year old with his whole life ahead of him doesn't deserve it", bitch, these people snuffed out innocent human lives for kicks and cash, they ain't gonna change, they can't be rehabilitated, and nothing's gained by feeding and housing them for 50 years on the taxpayers' dime.
shareI think they were just changing things up like they did with each character change(detectives were different from the next, the ADA's, etc). Even when McCoy ended up in that part, he was different from when his character started.
shareWhat bugged me most about Nora is her finding an excuse for every killer why they don't deserve the death penalty, "A woman doesn't deserve it, an 18 year old with his whole life ahead of him doesn't deserve it",Yeah when she felt sorry for the teenager who beat the Chinese food delivery man to death because he didn't have the money to pay for his order, and made it seem as if the DA's office was committing a horrible crime by seeking the death penalty, I was practically yelling at my TV screen "WTF? Are you for real?"
Actually Sam Waterston (McCoy), whom really WAS Law and Order (along with Jerry Orbach)...wait for it...opposes the death penalty in real life even though his character sometimes doesn't (see below). Sorry to sink your boat; not to mention the death penalty was really off the table in NY anyway. It was last used in NY in... drum roll please...1963!
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2015/10/actor_sam_waterston_others_sup.html
Let's make sure we distinguish between the actor/actress and the character he or she played. I think Nora's character was subpar but Wiest herself is a good actress.
As for the worst casting decision, that has to go to Milena Govich, who played Detective Cassidy for one awful season. Both Govich and her character were lousy.
The addition of Milena Govevich as the junior detective. The series tried a female detective in the detective pairing. While the concept was sound, the casting wasn’t. Govevich is an attractive actor, but not a very skilled one. Her presence actually sank most of the episodes that she was in, and by the end of the season the narratives were written to demonstrate how unsuited the other characters thought that she was for the role. At the end of her only season, the character left and she replaced by actor Jeremy Sisto.share
Definitely the worst DA. The actress is very good, but the character didn't work. Same thing happened with Fontana.
shareYou know, I agree about Fontana. I can’t help but wonder whether Dennis Farina’s prior experience as a cop in Chicago didn’t shade the way he played Fontana, even just a little. He wasn’t horrible, but many times I’d watch and find myself thinking, “Dude, you’re liking this way too much. Dial it back some.”
I was not a fan of Det. Fontana either, and I was also never a fan of Det. Green, so to me the show felt like it was in purgatory during the time that they were partnered. Arthur Branch being the DA then also didn't help. The worst time was probably the beginning of season 15, when Serena was still the ADA: the regular cast then featured four out of six characters (and actors) that I really didn't care for.
shareI actually didn’t mind the character Arthur Branch – except for the Harvey Honeysuckle Tennessee accent, which at the very least seemed way out of place in New York City. What made Branch work though (at least for me) was the fact that Fred Thompson had been in a former life an attorney, serving at one point as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. This was Thompson at work years back (when he had hair) questioning Alexander Butterfield before the Committee, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQXopJ5U-Q
shareThe addition of actor Dianne Wiest as the District Attorney. While Wiest is a veteran actor and has performed well in numerous feature film and stage roles, for some reason her presence was flat on the show. While they had her showing strength in a few notable episodes, she came across as a “mother figure” in a role that didn’t require it. She left after two seasons, with her real life complaint being that she was unused to the lengthy shooting schedule of network television.share
It could have been because she was a defense attorney masquerading as a prosecutor
shareYes...I like Diane Wiest as an actress, but didn't like her character much at all. I liked Arthur Branch better than Nora...but Adam Schiff was definitely my favorite.
sharei didn't care for her either
share