This Post Will Be About My Displeasure With The Changing Of The Law & Order Font
January 11th, 2006
They went ahead and did it.
Just when you thought they weren’t going to do it, they turned around and did it without any warning, discussion, debate, diatribe, dialogue, conversation, petition, proposal or primer. Just when you thought a show that had been on for over a decade had settled into getting things right and keeping them that way, they went ahead and threw us all for a loop.
They changed the font for Law & Order.
Dick Wolf, the Executive Producer of Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Criminal Intent thinks he can go ahead and change up the visual elements of the show without angering fans? He thinks he can make a subtle change and no one will care? He thinks that if he keeps the actual font of the opening show logo the same but then changes the font for all the interstitial moments that tell us where we’re going next in the story that no one will notice at all?
Think again, Wolf-meister.
Whereas I used to be able to watch the show with reckless abandon, angered by the criminal acts being purported against the innocents of New York City and rooting for the keen, sharpened minds of the New York City police detectives — now all I can think is, “man, I think they changed the font.”
When a young girl with leukemia is kidnapped on her way home from school and we immediately go to the location of her parents house, I wonder aloud — “is that a Times New Roman font or Helvetica they’ve gone with?” When a young woman on her way home with her baby is stopped and potentially shot at, all I can think is “it’s got to be a 12 point font instead of a 14 bold point font.” When Executive D.A. Jack McCoy waltzes into court with a tough case ahead of him and a slew of witnesses who are going to give him a load of trouble, I always stand up from wherest I sit and shout at the TV screen, “why couldn’t you tell me you were going to change the font!?”
Don’t think you can get away with it, Dickey-me-boy.
Is it a smaller point font or has it just been un-bolded? Is the spacing now different, leaving less room between letters? Should it concern me that I can no longer enjoy the twisting and engaging stories as crafted by a slew of wonderful television writers simply because they’ve changed the font on me?
In soap operas, when an actor leaves the show they always start the next show with a little announcement letting you know that “so-and-so will be now be playing the part of so-and-so.” So, why can’t Dick Wolf and NBC do the same thing with the font? Give viewers a kind of colophon before the new fonted-episodes?
“NBC and Dick Wolf Productions would like to take a moment to let all our dedicated viewers know that we’ve changed the font of the interstitials between each scene. That’s right, we’re now using a 12 pt. Arial bold. We hope you enjoy it. We here at Law & Order really feel as though the new font will breathe new life into the drama you’re about to see unfold before you. We thank all our viewers for their support in our new font.”
Then, at least, I could finally go back to enjoying my favorite TV show.
But until then, NBC, I will fight tooth and nail against this change. I will search endlessly on the Internet in an attempt to figure out just what exactly has been done. Am I insane? Am I just seeing things? Has the font stayed the same, but has the TV signal just made it look different? Is it the HD? What’s going on? Why do I care?
I don’t know, but I do.
And you should too.
According to Dick Margulis Creative services (dmargulis.com) it states that:
“The goal of good typography is to allow the unencumbered communication of the author’s meaning to the reader. Typography that intrudes its own cleverness and interferes with the dialogue between author and reader is almost always inappropriate.”
Obviously Dick Wolf and NBC have missed the mark. Perhaps they need to hire Mr. Margulis. Dick and Dick could work together to solve this problem.
Let’s start a petition.
Comment by Alissa — January 11, 2006 @ 7:30 am
See, that’s what I’m sayin’.
Comment by Pauly D — January 11, 2006 @ 7:44 am
I… just… can’t… stop… crying!
Isn’t there ENOUGH tragedy in the world without us having to endure such travesties as THIS?!?
What happened to the good old days when you could count on your television for wonderful, wholesome, nifty entertainment? Now we’ve got font politics mucking up quality programming, and that’s sad.
Comment by Dave2 — January 11, 2006 @ 8:17 am
Two dicks, I mean heads, are better than one.
Comment by nic — January 11, 2006 @ 8:18 am
I should apologize for that comment … it just came out.
Comment by nic — January 11, 2006 @ 8:22 am
I am shocked and chagrined, mortified and stupefied. This is an outrage! This font changing shim sham is deplorable, unfathomable, improbable.
Comment by H. F. Peterman — January 11, 2006 @ 8:48 am
Maybe you got a new T.V.?
Comment by Paul Watson — January 11, 2006 @ 9:03 am
To think I almost missed this is a crime in itself. I was distracted by other less important things in life, but things like this are a reason that WFME is as essential to to RSS reader as chicken is to KFC’s boneless hotwings (where you can pick your sauce, BTW).
Comment by monkeyinabox — January 11, 2006 @ 9:06 am
PW - Nope, same TV. I’ve been watching this show for years. I’m telling you, it’s a subtle font change that I’ve uncovered. This is a big story that I can only hope someone like CNN picks up soon.
Monkey - WFME is an essential part of your daily allotted reading.
Comment by Pauly D — January 11, 2006 @ 9:07 am
What about the changing of the font on the opening credits of C.S.I.?
Comment by Kevin — January 11, 2006 @ 9:12 am
I foresee yet another spinoff…Law & Order: Font Factor.
Comment by annabel lee — January 11, 2006 @ 9:30 am
I hate when TV producers make dramatic changes to integral parts of the show and assume the audience is too stupid to recognize the obvious difference:
Like switching the “Darren” on Bewitched.
Or the “Lori” on That 70’s Show.
Or replacing the Dukes of Hazzard with a different set of cousins that ride around in a Dodge Charger and shoot their bow and arrow out of the car window.
And now the font on Law and Order.
Do they think we won’t notice these things?
Comment by The Centaur — January 11, 2006 @ 9:47 am
You mean they actually jumped the font shark?
Comment by Rachel — January 11, 2006 @ 10:03 am
Only you Paul. Only you.
Comment by Jacquie — January 11, 2006 @ 10:12 am
*sputters*
That’s just UN-AMERICAN! Simply WRONG.
Comment by LisaBinDaCity — January 11, 2006 @ 10:13 am
PS …. off the subject, but on the record, (and somewhat on the subject since I changed my font here) Barnes and Nobles said my books… yes, that is a plural, will be here before the weekend. I cannot wait to bestow the funny upon myself and my friends. Too bad I don’t know the author. I would love to have an autograph.
Comment by Jacquie — January 11, 2006 @ 10:15 am
Jacquie - How are you able to change font, please? I can’t put italics or anything!
Comment by nic — January 11, 2006 @ 10:39 am
This is almost as big as cutting the Bart writing on the chalkboard intro on The Simpson’s. Another sign of the end of time I guess.
Comment by Chuck — January 11, 2006 @ 10:43 am
Pauly, it’s true, if I don’t have my daily WFME fix I’ll go MAD, MAD I TELL YOU! That’s why we had the private conversation and agreed that you would post daily to help me. To the occasional reader here, that’s why there’s something fresh and yummy everyday. I just need to hope and pray that Pauly never gets into a car accident and loses his ability to write.
Comment by monkeyinabox — January 11, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
The font used for Law & Order up until now has been Friz Quadrata by Linotype: http://www.linotype.com/468/frizquadratabyitc-fami...
I need to look for screenshots of the new version.
Comment by Louise — January 11, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
Louise - I would love a side by side comparison when you’re done. Then maybe we can attach that to the petition, which would (you know) get people on board. People like to see things. Touch things. If they saw the fonts side by side, I think we would really have something.
Louise, I nominate you as Treasurer of the “Replace the Law & Order Old Font Now” group.
Comment by Pauly D — January 11, 2006 @ 4:34 pm
i’ll confess at the outset that i’ve never seen the show so i’m not in a position to judge. still, i join everyone in their disdain for those MONSTERS, because i would never want that to happen to any logos to which i’ve developed a long and lasting relationship.
i will note, however, as an outsider reading the new “law & order” logo for the first time, i think this effort is justified. on both the right and left.
but that’s only a concern at the margins.
Comment by dgm — January 11, 2006 @ 5:14 pm
Ok..all Dickie should be worrying about is fixing Criminal Intent. Wouldn’t it be fun if he put Mr. Big and Vinny boy on the show at the same time…all the time! It even bugs the crap out of me when they switch between the actors on the Tivo listing every week and how there are have different openings. Totally crazy.
Hmmm…way way too much time on my hands. You too, I think.
Comment by Thoughtsgalore — January 11, 2006 @ 5:16 pm
I am so upset that my shaking fingers are having trouble typing this comment. If only I could type it in a different font…
Comment by sandra — January 12, 2006 @ 12:03 am
I have still not forgiven them for getting rid of Angie Harmon
Comment by The Moviequill — January 12, 2006 @ 5:10 am
What the hell is this world coming to?!? Next thing you know, the government’s going to be unconstitutionally spying on us, wiretapping our phones, lying about…
Er, forget it. This world’s already gone to hell in a handbasket. The font thing is just part of the great conspiracy to drive us all to the brink of paranoia. Yeah, that’s it!
Comment by Kristi — January 12, 2006 @ 7:16 am
What? Oh, I’m sorry, Pauly. I was really trying to read your post, but I keep getting distracted because I think someone changed your picture.
Comment by Rabbit — January 12, 2006 @ 12:35 pm
oh good god. i will never be able to relax law and order in utter relaxation again.
Comment by Sarcomical — January 12, 2006 @ 12:56 pm
Actually:
I suspect NBC might have insisted on the Font change to accomodate the change in general to a more widescreen format. It did look out-of-kilter (especially on the opening credits), with with an overall change to digital television happening in the near-future, this probably was done at NBC’s request.
Comment by Walt — January 13, 2006 @ 7:25 am
Walt - You may be right, but it still just doesn’t feel normal. It sucks me out of the narrative.
Comment by Pauly D — January 13, 2006 @ 6:35 pm
The word “font” evokes images of holy water and scary statues with carefully carved genitalia guarded by a museum curator saying “don’t touch that!” to any patron of the arts who is on her eighth grade field trip and innocently looking for a place to hang her empty Hostess twinkie wrapper.
So why are they called fonts? Cuz ya ain’t s’pose’d to touch ‘em!
Comment by MaryAn — January 16, 2006 @ 8:51 am
hey i am in the need for the law&order svu font, any suggetions on which particualr font it is or where one can locate would be helpful. i have been to the ends of the earth and back looking for it.
Comment by sinner — May 17, 2006 @ 3:18 pm