There are crime based shows and then there is Law & Order and the various subsets that this show has. There are plenty of reasons why this show and all its spin-offs have become such great hits, all over the world, and today, this write-up intends to look at the same. The show opens with the following statement: "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories."

The show tries to depict life, the way it generally is, in the city of New York; with the daily routines as well as the crimes that underlie the city’s lifeline. Most of the Law and Order episodes start with a scene that is a part of NYC’s daily life – joggers in Central Park or people rushing to work. It is while indulging in such routine and mundane activities that ordinary people discover, or rather, stumble upon the crime. There have also been episodes where it is beat cops who discover the crime, many a times, the crime being a murder.

If you watch Law & Order episodes on a regular basis, chances are that you would already be aware of the fact that the show revolves around the fictional 27th Precinct. There are generally two investigating cops – one senior and one junior, both of whom report to their boss, who is either a lieutenant or police captain. It is these detectives who investigate the crime. They not only talk to the witnesses and suspects, but also analyze the crime scene and collect the evidence required to solve the crime. At regular intervals, they report the progress to their superior officer.

For those of you who watch Law and Order episodes online would know that the next step is the entry of the prosecutors. With the help of organizations such as the forensics lab, the medical examiner's office and at times even professional psychological analysts, the investigative officers and district attorneys try to bring the guilty to justice. Many a times, even the investigating detectives are brought up on the stand to testify against the criminals.

Download Law & Order episodes and you will get to see how the case progresses, when it moves from the crime scene to the courtroom. There are often situations where the prosecutors try to create plea bargains, but most of the times the cases are taken to court with the intention of conviction. Once the case reaches the courtroom, the attorneys take over. The cases are all from the point of view of the prosecution, where the assistant district attorney tries to prove the guilt of the guilty.