Law & Order season 4

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.

Cast and characters
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 the Law & Order's six major characters: both roles would continue to be occupied by women, with Merkerson remaining in the role of Van Buren, throughout the remainder of the series. 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.

Main Cast

 * Jerry Orbach as Senior Detective Lennie Briscoe
 * Chris Noth as Junior Detective Mike Logan
 * S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
 * Michael Moriarty as Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone
 * Jill Hennessy as Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid
 * Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff
 * Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

Recurring Cast
During this season, J. K. Simmons, who would later have a recurring role as Dr. Emil Skoda, appeared in the episode "Sanctuary" as a TV cameraman, Jerry Luppin.