Season 1 of 'Law and Order', the first show in the 'Law and Order' franchise (so the original) and my personal favourite (despite it not feeling the same post-Briscoe) was a very solid one, with even the weakest episode "Everybody's Favourite Bagman" still being pretty good. Outstanding, ones rewarded my highest rating, episodes were not many, with most of the episodes getting the very good to great ones. The outstanding episodes were there though in Season 1.
"The Torrents of Greed: Part 1" is one of the outstanding episodes. In fact, both parts of the "The Torrents of Greed" two parter are pretty outstanding, with a slight preference for the more tension-filled Part 2, and among the best episodes of the season. Perfect examples of why the early seasons of 'Law and Order', so pre-Briscoe and the early Briscoe years, are worth watching and not deserving of being forgotten in favour of the more frequently aired Season 7-onwards episodes.
All the cast are on top form here. George Dzundza and Chris Noth are as hard-boiled as ever and Michael Moriarty squeezes out every bit of juice from Stone (a character that the writers always seemed to have fun with). Christina Baranski made Katherine an increasingly interesting and strongly developed character, but it's Charles Cioffi's truly sinister Masucci (one of the early seasons' most formidable opponents based on John Gotti) that dominates. They are helped by a tautly structured and thoughtful script and well drawn characters, it doesn't get much more threatning than the Mob and mob bosses and Masucci proves that.
Furthermore, the story is ceaselessly compelling and piles on the tension. The conclusion makes one shocked and angry as ought. The slickness in the production values still remains, as do the stick-in-the-head-fast theme tune and appropriately placed and understated background scoring.
Overall, outstanding. 10/10