Greetings,
Hey, you know all that excitement I expressed when I talked about Anita Van Buren and how great it was to finally have a female on Law & Order? Well, that goes the same for now, because she wasn't the only one shaking things up for the boys in Season 4. No, this is when we also get the first of the female ADA's, Claire Kincaid. She started a trend that never ended. So, let's talk about her.
Claire Kincaid was portrayed by Jill Hennessy from 1993 to 1996. Yeah, Law & Order did not make a ton of mistakes, in my opinion, but letting her go after only three years was one of them. Anyway, as I said, she started in Season 4, working alongside Ben Stone. They may have butted heads a bit. I certainly don't know why. I mean, she was a feminist, agnostic and pro-choice, so, clearly, a Republican. Okay, maybe not, but at least they agreed on their opposition to the death penalty. After a year with Stone, she got partnered up with Jack McCoy, and that partnership extended beyond the realm of the professional world. Yes, they were apparently involved romantically, despite the ever so slight age difference. Now this relationship was never shoved in our faces. Actually, it was barely hinted at over the two years they worked together, not even being confirmed until about Season 9. Maybe the writers thought it would be uncomfortable for the audience if they made a big deal about it, or maybe they just thought it was a good idea to let them draw their own conclusions. Whatever the reasons, I think it was handled well.
When it came to the goings on of the job, Claire was more than competent, though she did have her share of problems. In one case, she was nearly fired for not sharing some evidence, a move which backfired. She was forgiven by Stone, however, since he told her he had made similar mistakes. She was also involved with a judge for whom she worked before coming to the DA's office, and when he was on trial for something, she had to resign for a time. Despite the occasional "oops", she always had a support system. I recall her always having a good rapport with the detectives, and, in her last episode, we get some great scenes with her and Van Buren, showing that they had a wonderful, real friendship. And it was nice to see some girl talk.
Oh, darn. Now I have to talk about sad stuff. The final episode for Season 6 was also the final episode for Claire Kincaid. It was called "Aftershock" and it was the episode most focused on the personal lives of the characters. Sadly, it ended with Claire giving Lennie a ride home from a bar and getting killed by a drunk driver. Irony. This whole thing was so the heck out of nowhere. I really don't think anyone saw it coming, least of all Jill Hennessy. Apparently, she thought she would be coming back, maybe paralyzed or otherwise injured, but still alive. No such luck. Actually, she often joked that she would still have loved to come back, even if it was in some weird flashback. Or as a ghost. Hey, why not? She pretty much hasn't aged in twenty years, so it totally could have worked. Still, that was quite a sad event in the life of the series, but it was voted as the Most Memorable Law & Order Departure on tv.com. You go, girl.
I guess I should mention something for those of you who are very much impressed by the acting of Jill Hennessy. If you consider the episode "Corpus Delicti" in Season 6 to be her finest performance, you might not want to tell her. Why? Because that was not her! No lie. She had to go off to film an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, so they got her sister to fill in for her. Her identical twin sister, Jacqueline. And no one knew! Amazing. Oh, and yeah, that makes these two sisters "Jack and Jill". You Canadians are hilarious.
Anyway, even though our time with her was limited, I enjoyed all of what we got with Claire Kincaid, not to mention Jill Hennessy. Jill portrayed her so well that I can't even think of anyone better to be the first in a long line of female ADA's. Also, I consider these three short years to be a warm-up for her time on the excruciatingly awesome Crossing Jordan. But whether here or there, this is where my personal fandom began, and it continues on.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
