Still, the plots of most of these episodes are strong and up to the best Law & Order standards. Despite a surprisingly sub-par pilot about a murderous Broadway producer (which includes, by the way, a hilariously gratuitous scene in a spa), there are many standout episodes, including "Bang & Blame", with a brilliant Jeff Perry as a defendant who thinks he's blameless, and "Blue Wall", named for the code of silence the detectives are met with from police officers after a gay teenager dies while in police custody. (It also honors the "ripped from the headlines" L&O tradition with "Pattern of Conduct", a mirror of the Kobe Bryant trial.)

All in all, it's an above-average effort. Sometimes it coasts on the perfect structure of the Law & Order franchise, and the cast needed time to gel, but it kept getting better and better. Unfortunately, now it doesn't have the chance to mature into the show it would have undoubtedly become.

Oh, one last gripe -- I hated the theme song. I love the original, old-school theme song, and this one is like a remixed version on crack.

Special Features:

The actual "special features" are hardly special -- one ten-minute documentary that reveals nothing, and a handful of useless deleted scenes. However, the set also wisely includes the excellent SVU crossover episode "Night", which, paired with the Trial By Jury follow-up "Day", boasts brilliant guest appearances by Alfred Molina, Angela Lansbury, and Bradley Cooper. Also included is the sole unaired episode, "Eros in the Upper Eighties", a great story about a likable doorman who turns out to have an unhealthy obsession with one of his tenants.

Show Grade: B+
DVD Grade: B
Overall Grade: B+