The 15 Best Law & Order Characters Ranked

"Law & Order" is the series that just won't quit. The first episode of creator Dick Wolf's signature franchise aired in the fall of 1990 and would continue to thrive for another 20 years, generating six spin-off series, UK and Russian versions, and a TV movie. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Law And Order: Organized Crime" are still on the air, with another spinoff, "Hate Crimes," waiting in the wings. Most exciting of all, the mothership itself, the OG "Law & Order" with its characteristic DONK-DONK, is on its way back.

Dualistic and trim, "Law & Order" makes for fine comfort food viewing. Approximately twenty-five minutes are spent with the detectives who, as they say, must investigate the crime, and the rest goes to the district attorney's office, who must prosecute the offenders. Formula shakeups are rare, the province of the Very Special Episode. The main cast becomes familiar, and their backstories are slowly doled out over the course of dozens or hundreds of episodes. Gradually, we choose our favorites. With "Law & Order" about to return with new crimes and new characters to enjoy, let's take a look back at 15 of these old friends.

As the first prosecutor "Law & Order" fans got to know, Ben Stone seemed like a mild-mannered guy who favored concise language delivered in an almost monotone voice. But under that mask was a consistently angry and combative force; the type of man who'd call you 'sir' right before he hits you with his car. His relationship with his boss, Adam Schiff, was often respectful even when they disagreed. Unlike later DAs, Stone rarely went against Schiff's orders, though he would argue his side when he felt it butted up against his morals. Yet no matter what he felt, Stone would get the job done.

Stone served the office for four seasons, quitting when a witness he'd pressured into testifying was slain despite his efforts to protect her. It wasn't the first failure to be taken personally by Stone, but it would be the last. His departure marked the end of the first era of "Law & Order," setting the tone for all district attorneys to come.

Detective Curtis was reliable, earnest, and had a real problem with keeping it in his pants. It's unfortunate how often this trait came up, overriding his chance at a higher position on this subjective list. To the show's credit, he dealt with the consequences of his behavior in a realistic way, although the subplot of his wife's struggle with multiple sclerosis often felt unfair. Then again, chronic illness is unfair to the individual, never a convenience and always a trial. He was human in his failings, a good detective with personal blinders on. Sometimes this became a factor in his investigations. Like many immigrants and first-generation Hispanic kids, he was a faithful religious conservative with sometimes liberal concepts of the law.

Lennie Briscoe was slow to accept him after the departure of Detective Logan, although Curtis was less hot-headed and more attuned to the flexible cultural landscape of New York City. He heralded the coming technical changes to the business of being police, always hip to trends and easygoing with witnesses. Fun to watch and only occasionally self-righteous, Curtis made himself liked with ease.

The office of the District Attorney retains licensed mental health professionals to help assess suspects and witnesses where necessary. "Law & Order" represents this real world fact via the empathetic Dr. Elizabeth Olivet. She's typically gentle with the suspects she's assessing for the DA's office, and her long tenure on the show has given us a wealth of opportunity to get comfortable with her. The episode where she entraps her own rapist is tough viewing, showing not just her persistence, but the depth of care she shows her clients. She's a comfort in tough episodes.

Dr. Skoda is a psychiatrist with a contrasting edge. More enigmatic than Olivet, he keeps himself emotionally at arm's length. Often given the wilder, more blatantly psychopathic suspects, Skoda's earthy control of the situation makes him a great foil. His scenes with a truculent suspect are often the highlights of the episode, helped by the fact that he's played with cool competency by the Academy Award-winning J.K. Simmons.

For many "Law & Order" fans, Detective Logan is the good-looking face of the show's early era, but his tenure wasn't as remarkable as memory makes out to be. He was hot-headed to a fault, with his departure from the show coming as the result of his cold-cocking a politician in the face (To be fair, the guy had it coming). Early episodes highlight the uglier parts of Logan's nature, with a low point being his hesitation to believe Dr. Olivet when she reports her rape at the hands of her gynecologist. It's not fair to judge him by his mistakes alone, however, and he still deserves to be lauded as one of the series' best leads.

A bit classist and blind to his prejudices, Logan was effectively human. He could and did grow, though his temper would remain. He was also surprisingly enduring. Though his departure from the mothership was ignoble, Logan would end up starring in the only spin-off movie made, "Exiled," and he would return to the franchise in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" for four seasons.

Temporarily appointed (by Rudy Giuliani himself, in a now-bizarre cameo) after Adam Schiff left office, Nora Lewin's term in office is the shortest in the series, and that's a shame. Lewin was a vibrant twist on the formula, with Dianne Wiest's lively attitude making sure she was never mistaken for matronly. Lewin was a law professor before she was installed, capable of assessing incoming cases from a logical but never lofty distance.

Lewin's tenure saw her apply ethical musings to the real world, though, and her personal ethics would be challenged more than once. In fact, those challenges were the hallmark of her run on the series. No fan of the death penalty, politics forced her to consider more than her own viewpoint when sending a murderer to death row. She was also called to testify before a grand jury investigating ADA Southerlyn's intervention in a hostage situation. Lewin's testimony untangled the legal nuance behind Southerlyn's involvement as a lawyer, but not the suspect's lawyer. Hesitant but truthful, Lewin upheld the laws she held dear.

ADA Kincaid replaced Paul Robinette and lasted for three seasons, acting as a bridge between the Stone and McCoy eras. It's a term that feels longer than it was, with Claire's connection with both Schiff and McCoy making her feel like she'd been there forever. For some, she was the best ADA, always prioritizing her caseload and without an overdose of the personal baggage that bogs down other legal dramas.

Like many of her peers, Kincaid epitomized efficiency. She found a niche in forcing McCoy to temper his borderline legal shenanigans in court, acting as his conscience when he'd try to leave his in his jacket pocket. Kincaid, for better and worse, is also the recipient of a final appearance that was actually heartbreaking in a world of cheap shock endings. A special episode that shows the impact of putting a criminal to death ends with Kincaid sacrificed to balance that moral weight. Her death had a lasting impact on both the show and its audience, despite the attempt to later paint her as another one of McCoy's conquests.

Jack McCoy, legal name John. J. McCoy, is a contentious old goat, a holier-than-thou stickler with Opinions, and he wants to make them the defendant's problem. Sometimes it's what you want to see in the DA's office. Other times, it's a reminder that the power the office wields can be abused, even with good intent. It keeps McCoy interesting, and his elected DA boss in a state of bewildered exhaustion. His clashes with Arthur Branch were often necessary and complex, with little to make it clear which of them was correct.

When Branch left and McCoy was appointed to helm the DA's office in his stead, it was a karmic victory. Many of McCoy's chickens had come home to roost, granting him the perspective he needed to temper himself at last. He remains resolute, a steadfast supporter to his crew; one excellent moment finds him supporting ADA Rubirosa after she's forced to act as a suspect's defense attorney when a labor strike gums up the gears of justice. The office is on the cusp of turning against her. He takes a stand against all of them, reminding all that this is how the law is supposed to work.