I remember 100 Centre Street and it as the antithesis of Law and Order (which was a fine series may I say). I'd say in 100 Centre Street, not all the good guys win, but sometimes the bad guys do, and I guess that's life.100 Centre Street was gritty, hard-edged and somewhat fatalistic, and whilst it pre-dated the OJ Simpson trial of the century by about 5 years, it was prescient in many ways. One scene though did disturb me I'm afraid and it speaks subtle volumes about racial casting and depictions in the USA. It was where an African-American got into a violent altercation with a Chinese- American at his takeaway store. The store owner got knocked out unconscious and the culprit poured boiling oil in the store owner...how gruesome. A moment later the culprit screamed understandably.I don't know if the culprit was ever caught but what was in the writers' mindset when crafting this scene? Why not feature an Italian-American whose faced is covered with a pizza? Or a Greek- American whose faced is smothered with souvlaki? Or a Scottish- American whose faced is stuff with Big Macs?Also I wonder if the takeaway store owner got casting credit in the episode?

The commercial says: "After some nights, it gets to you".. yeah right..It didn't get to me and I am not watching it again. Can't believe A and E renewed this crap. It should not be allowed outside of the likes of the USA Network.This show eats dirt when compared to Law and Order. Where Law and Order is a tightly-written and expertly-edited show, this show is an unrealistic softcore soap opera that is filled with stereotypes and formulaic trivialties. Heck..it is even apparent in the theme music: Law and Order has the guitar-driven funky and energetic score and this one has the whiny trumpets and sax (Yuck).Just because they throw in a couple of court scenes with some legalistic dialogue doesn't make it a good serious show.So what if Sidney Lumet was behind it. Am I supposed to kneel down and like it anyway? Bah..I can just FEEL the inferiority complexes of the writers and the director from the way they do the characters. Alan Arkin trying to be the worldly "been there and done that" OLD judge, the nice BLACK woman with good advice for everybody, the main female character who is RICH girl falling in love with a lower class ITALIAN guy.Then there are the supporting hispanic characters who in one scene are SERIOUS lawyers but in the next scene become drug snorting sex-loving office SLUTS. (They obviously did this to provide the titillating sexual action without having to make the main characters be the "bad boy or bad girl".) Then there is the guy who is totally career-focussed but can still manage to be a sexual stud with a feminine side. Gosh I could go on and on..Nothing original. The plot is slow-moving, inconsistent and dull. The episodes meander all over the map without any continuity in character or story. They wasted like 10 minutes in one episode showing a bedroom scene. The gratuitous swearing is only added so that the bored audience will sit up and take notice. Gritty.. my a$$.The bottomline is that after watching this show, I don't come away feeling satisfied and happy. I also do not find the characters and story believable from my point of view. So, this show failed for me.Too bad.. back to the reruns of Law and Order...

The dedicated lawyer who wants to stay in the D.A.'s office to make a difference. The rich girl turned lawyer who wants to prove herself and not rely on daddy. The budding romance between the two. The family problem that forces the dedicated lawyer to make hard decisions. The liberal judge and conservative judge (race of each is incidental) The bad decision by the judge (either judge; interchangeable) that causes terrible consequences. All in the first episode.Gee, Mr. Lumet, how original... YAWN!

I like this gritty, well written drama. Good acting, realistic stories. I just have one complaint: The story line involving the brouhaha over judge Alan Arkin releasing the young kid who subsequently killed a young cop seemed a little disingenuous, since the kid was before the judge for jumping a turnstile in the subway. No mention of any violent crime. No one could have forseen that the kid would have committed a violent crime. Except for that one point, this looks like a terrific show. Hope to see it on A&E