Branding the franchise — CSI and Law & Order step up the competition this fall

LOS ANGELES — "Law & Order" creator/executive producer Dick Wolf is feeling a bit petulant these days. Not that that's anything new — his curtness with TV critics is a given.

But, whatever you do, don't ask him about the upcoming competition between the original "Law & Order" and the new "CSI: New York," a battle that begins Wednesdays at 9 p.m. this fall.

Or at least don't suggest that both "Law & Order" and "CSI" are television "franchises."

"Not 'franchises.' One 'franchise,' one 'brand' " Wolf said. "Very important difference."

OK, so, "CSI" is a brand and "Law & Order" is a franchise?

"No, no. 'CSI' is a franchise. 'Law & Order' is a brand," Wolf said with a pained expression.

This seemingly meaningless distinction is "kind of a continuous burr under (his) saddle."

"Let me explain it, hopefully, quite clearly," Wolf said condescendingly " 'CSI' is a franchise. It's like the Palm restaurant. If you go to Los Angeles, if you go to New York, if you go to Chicago, you get a great steak. The only thing that changes is the caricatures on the wall.

" 'Law & Order' is a brand. Hopefully, it's the Mercedes-Benz of television shows. Each of the shows is distinctly different. They have distinctly different attitudes. The way you can tell it's a brand is the variation of Mike Post's theme and the ching-ching."

Later, during a separate session before TV critics, the folks at CBS and "CSI" went out of their way to praise Wolf and the "Law & Order" franchise. Er, uh, brand.

"I think Dick Wolf is one of the greatest producers in the history of network television," said Viacom co-president and co-COO Leslie Moonves, who runs CBS. "And I think 'Law & Order' is a spectacular show.

"But I think, clearly, he shows that's he's a little worried about the 'CSI' franchise by those remarks."

But it's clear that Wolf's barb about the sameness of the "CSI" shows stung at least a bit. "We are a forensic-procedural drama. There's absolutely no question about it," said Anthony Zuiker, the man who created the "CSI" franchise (or is that brand?), and who will be running the new show. "But in my opinion, the shows feel very, very different."

The third "CSI" will be "slightly more character-driven," Zuiker said. "We're going to attempt to have shorter scripts. We're going to attempt to have more music. We're going to attempt to literally let the moments play and get to know these wonderful characters a lot sooner."

"I think arguably 'CSI' is as different as 'Law & Order' is," Moonves said. "There's also a rating thing that's going on. 'CSI' is going up, 'Law & Orders' are going down."