Law & Order: The Complete Original Series DVD review
Jan 11, 2026- Permalink
Law & Order is an iconic police procedural that had its original twenty season run on NBC in the US from September 1990 to May 2010. The shows followed a pretty defined formula: the first half followed the detectives of NYC’s 27th precinct as they solved a violent crime, while the second half followed the work of the district attorney’s office and the prosecutors as they take the case to court. Though many of the cast would change over the two decades, the formula was almost always the same. The cast over the years included George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek, Michael Moriarty, Richard Brooks, Steven Hill, Paul Sorvino, Jerry Orbach, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jill Hennessy, Sam Waterston, Benjamin Bratt, Carey Lowell, Angie Harmon, Jesse L. Martin, Dianne Wiest, Elisabeth Röhm, Fred Dalton Thompson, Dennis Farina, Annie Parisse, Michael Imperioli, Milena Govich, Alana de la Garza, Jeremy Sisto, Linus Roache, and Anthony Anderson. The show rebooted in 2022 and as of 2025, is in its 25 season. The show has spawned six offshoots: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Law & Order: LA, Law & Order: True Crime, and Law & Order: Organized Crime. There are also two international versions: Law & Order: UK and Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent.
In November of 2016, a complete series DVD set was released containing the then complete twenty seasons. That version came with a hefty price tag, a box with a hinged lid and a large book containing an episode guide. That release was both out of reach for most fans and eventually out of print. In December 2025, Universal released a slimmed down version of the box set, minus the fancy lidded box and episode guide and with a more palatable price point. Entitled Law & Order: The Complete Original Series, the 104 disc set is still large enough to double as a weight to increase your arm strength. Thanks to Allied Vaughn and Universal, I was given a chance to take a look at this release.
I tend to say this in a lot of TV on DVD reviews, but for the person in the back asking, “Why no Blu-ray or 4K?” it’s a question of economics. The market for a twenty season, 456 episode series is a niche one. DVD is still the cheapest physical media to manufacture. The show looks quite good and with about 4 episodes a disc, there’s enough room to breathe without looking terribly compressed. Universal did a good job here. The show has always had a muted colour palette and, half tongue in cheek, I’d say the DVD format lends itself to the stories of violent crimes in the Big Apple. The show is present in a 4:3 aspect ratio for seasons 1-4, switching to 16:9 in season 5.
On the audio side of things, there’s an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Subtitles are available English SDH. As is the case with box sets that are compiled from individually released seasons, a few of the seasons might contain Spanish and French subtitles but most don’t. In fact, the second season even contains a French soundtrack. The audio is crisp and clear, the snap of the guitar in the iconic theme hits your ears beautifully. The ambient noise and effects in this stereo mix are effective and dialogue is clear and prioritized.
Law & Order: The Complete Original Series spreads the 20 seasons over 104 discs. The set does not come with a digital code. Extras are spread throughout the seasons, though some seasons don’t have any extras. There’s “The Creation of Law & Order with Dick Wolf”, a 14 minute featurette where Wolf discusses the origins of the series and a trailer for the interactive game “Law & Order: Dead on Money” which makes you realize how far game graphics have come. “Law & Order: The First Three Years” is another lengthy (30 minutes) featurette with George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Jerry Orbach, Dann Florek, Paul Sorvino, Michael Moriarty, and Richard Brooks where they discuss casting, research and filming. There’s the usual assortment of deleted and extended scenes, a tribute to the late Jerry Orbach, a set tour, and four crossover episodes: three with the cast of Homicide: Life on the Street and one with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Law & Order: The Complete Original Series is a massive DVD set of an iconic and beloved show. It’s pretty hard to find somebody who has never heard it’s distinctive “chung chung” audio sting. This Universal re-release contains the previous nicely done audio and video presentation and by packaging it in a cheaper box without the episode guide it makes it once again accessible to fans who missed out on or couldn’t afford the initial release. If you love Law & Order, then this release is highly recommended.