The Canon: Law and Order ADAs

An ongoing series of lists that provides the definitive order of things in the universe.

For Law and Order junkies, sorting through the revolving door of characters can sometimes be a challenging thing.

Some debates are easy. Lenny is almost universally the favorite cop, if not the favorite character. And I can't think of anyone who prefers Ben Stone to Jack McCoy.

It gets a wee bit complicated when you get to the DAs. Most fans love the exasperated and deadpan Adam Schiff, though I'm in a probably small minority who likes Fred Dalton Thompson's slightly obnoxious, and conservative, Arthur Branch (granted, he's pretty much played the same character in just about everything, including Hunt for Red October and his actual duties in congress -- but hey, I like him). Lewin stunk, no arguments there.

The ADAs, however, inspire the most discussion. You had the more strident and humorless Robinette, who basically got lost in the shuffle because LandO was such a sausage-fest to start out with. (But Richard Brooks had an awesome turn as psychotic and strangely funny bounty hunter Jubal Early on Firefly). You had the feminist and agnostic (yay!) Kincaid who wound up having a fling with McCoy, only to die in a car wreck and deprive us of her perfect bob and beauty mark. Next came Ross (short hair!) with her manipulative and shitty ex-husband and liberal idealism, who eventually became a judge. She was followed by Abby "Hang 'em High" Carmichael, with her Texas drawl and voice like whiskey filtered through a 4 pack a day habit. Next up was Serena Southerlyn, known for perpetrating on viewers one of the biggest "what the fucks?" in TV history: "Is this because I'm a lesbian?" What would pop culture be without that line? I can't figure this one out, because she was decent enough on Angel, but on LandO I've seen driftwood give more eloquent and passionate line readings. Gorgeous eyes and the rare LandO blonde should count for something, but not even the lesbian undertones (oh wait. There weren't any until the last 3 seconds of her final appearance) could save the awful emoting. She gave way to the earthy and more conservative Borgia, who wound up dying in a trunk. Finally, we have Rubirosa, who seems to be more balanced politically and portrayed by a seemingly talented actress, though we haven't yet learned that much about her.

So how do they stack up in my book?

Best Law and Order ADAs:

1. Abbie Carmichael
2. Claire Kincaid
3. Connie Rubirosa
4. Jaimie Ross
5. Alexandra Borgia
6. Paul Robinette
7. Serena Southerlyn