How does ‘CSI’ measure up to procedural powerhouse ‘Law & Order’?

With the 25th anniversary of the premiere of NBC’s “Law & Order” on Sept. 13 and the conclusion of the CBS mainstay “CSI” which aired Sunday night, it seems only natural to compare and contrast the two long-running series that both redefined procedural television as we knew it.

Though both series sought to solve crimes, each focused on very different areas. While “Law & Order” famously busied itself with “the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders” “CSI” delved into the science behind those same police investigations. Each a product of the decade they debuted in, “Law and Order” understood the inherent conflict that existed not just between cop and criminal, but between officer and attorney, and found new complications to exploit therein, where “CSI” gave the individuals doing the dirty work at the crime scenes, who would be background figures in any other show, center stage.

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That said, let’s look at how the pair match up when they go head-to-head.

'LAW AND ORDER' VS. 'CSI'
	'Law and Order'	'CSI'
Debut	Sept. 13, 1990	Oct. 6, 2000
Finale	May 24, 2010	Sept. 27, 2015
Setting	New York City	Las Vegas
Number of episodes	456	337
Spin-offs	4; "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury," "Law & Order: LA" LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay (Will Hart / Š NBC Universal, Inc) Will Hart / NBC Universal	3; "CSI: Miami," "CSI: NY," "CSI: Cyber" CSI: MIAMI David Caruso and Sprague Grayden (CLIFF LIPSON / CBS) Cliff Lipson / CBS
Number of franchise episodes	1,054	777
Season ratings high (in millions)	Season 12, 18.7	Season five, 26.26
Emmys, won/nominated	6/37	6/39
Best season	Five	Three
Longest-running cast member	393, S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren S. Epatha Merkerson (Jennifer S. Altman / For the Times) Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times	335, George Eads as Nick Stokes George Eads (CBS) CBS
Young guest stars	Claire Danes, Emmy Rossum, Kate Mara Claire Danes (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times	Taylor Swift, Dakota Fanning, Justin Bieber Taylor Swift (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Guest directors	Eric Stoltz, Tony Goldwyn Danny Feld / ABC	Quentin Tarantino, William Friedkin Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press
Notable crossovers (outside franchise)	“Homicide”	“Without a Trace,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Mythbusters”
Theme-song composer	Mike Post, "Theme of Law and Order"	Pete Townshend, "Who Are You"
Exists in Westphall Universe	Yes	Yes
Series regulars who hunted Hannibal Lecter	None	2. William Petersen as Will Graham in Michael Mann’s “Manhunter” and Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford in NBC’s “Hannibal.” William Petersen, right, and Laurence Fishburne. (SONJA FLEMMING / SONJA FLEMMING/CBS) Sonja Flemming / CBS
Placement on TV Guide’s Best Series of All Time List (as of 12/23/13)	14	Did not place
Dominant controversy	“Ripped from the headlines” format sometimes left real-life victims feel exposed and manipulated.	Science and procedures as showcased were often inaccurate.
Legacy	“Taking the “ripped from the headlines” model to new highs (and lows). Alternate: The clang.	“The CSI Effect” that purportedly raises juries expectations for forensic science and related evidence in trials.

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