The fourth season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 15, 1993, and May 25, 1994. This is the final season to feature Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone. It is also the first season to include a shorter opening sequence and theme (at 46 seconds), which would be used for the remainder of the series' run. Season four was released on DVD December 6, 2005.
Contents
Cast
Changes
There were two cast changes from season 3:
Anita Van Buren (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) replaced Don Cragen (Dann Florek) in the role of the detectives' supervisor (although Van Buren was a Lieutenant while Cragen had held the more senior rank of Captain)
Claire Kincaid (played by Jill Hennessy) replaced Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) as Assistant District Attorney.
This was the first time women played any of Law & Order's six major characters: both roles would continue to be occupied by women, with Merkerson remaining in the role of Van Buren, through the show's cancellation at the end of its 20th season, although she did not return when it was later revived. It was also the first time in Law & Order's history that two major cast changes were made simultaneously; the next such double change did not happen until the beginning of season 17.
Michael Moriarty, who played Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone, left the series at the end of the 4th season and was replaced by Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy from 1994 until 2008, when he became District Attorney.
Guest
Tovah Feldshuh as Defense Attorney Danielle Melnick