The 2025 TV schedule is historic for the Law & Order franchise, with the original series kicking off its 25th season on September 25, which also happens to be just over a week after the 35th anniversary of the franchise itself. In honor of the Season 25 milestone, I decided that I would watch the pilot for the very first time and see how the episode that started it all in 1990 compares to present-day Law & Order on NBC.
The pilot was called “Prescription for Death” and first aired on NBC on September 13, 1990. The death of a young woman in an emergency room prompts her grieving father to accuse her doctors of murder, putting Detective Max Greevey (George Dzundza) and Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) on the case under the supervision of Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) before passing the case over to EADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), and DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill).
