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Mayday: Meltdown over Kathmandu (2021)
Great acting
It seems wrong to enjoy the acting in a show about human tragedy, but Azeem Nathoo is terrific as the emotionally wrecked and rather ridiculous Captain Sultan, while Meher Pedro is also excellent as the doomed first officer forced to listen to his emotional tirades.
From Hare to Eternity (1997)
A sad memory of better things
The idea of a Bugs and Sam cartoon as a tribute to Friz Freleng was a worthy one. But this retread lacks everything that made the original Warner Brothers cartoons great. The jokes are tired; the story is hackneyed, and Yosemite Sam's voice is an abomination. Let's remember the good times instead.
Law & Order: Empire (1999)
The plot has more holes than Katrina Ludlow's $550 lingerie
As the earlier review's title states, this episode could be neatly summarized as "The One with Julia Roberts". Roberts brings Hollywood star power to every scene she inhabits. But, just as stars warp spacetime, Roberts's star power warps the script. Elements of the police procedural and the legal system are still present, but they have been thrown into a blender, with all logic removed.
Roberts plays Katrina Ludlow, a high-powered organizer of charity events. She kills Gil Sanderson, a bond analyst with whom she's having a fling, by slipping Viagra into his drink. (Sanderson had a heart condition that made Viagra fatal to him). Ludlow appears to have been told to do this by Wall Street mogul Julian Spector, whose forthcoming bond issue could have been damaged by Sanderson's negative review -- though the script never makes it explicit to what extent Ludlow was working for / conspiring with Spector.
This cunning murder plot goes awry when Ludlow accidentally leaves a very expensive item of underwear in the victim's house (who hasn't left their panties behind after killing someone?) When the police link her to the luxury lingerie, Ludlow decides to turn state's evidence by handing over her "insurance" -- a bottle of Viagra with Spector's fingerprints on it.
In a normal "Law & Order" episode, we would see Ludlow and her lawyer negotiate an immunity deal with the DA in return for the evidence. In "Empire", Ludlow inexplicably decides to hand over the pills during a weekend tryst with Detective Curtis at a seedy motel.
During Spector's trial, Ludlow is exposed as a liar and a fraud. This leads McCoy and Carmichael to look more closely into Ludlow's financials. They discover that she has embezzled $5 million of a supposed $7 million charitable donation by Spector's family foundation.
In her second inexplicable decision of the episode, Ludlow attempts to bargain for her freedom by threatening to "expose" Curtis on the witness stand. She testifies that Curtis violated the chain of custody of the Viagra when he allegedly had sex with her in the motel. Despite this bombshell testimony, Spector is convicted anyway,
At this point, McCoy and Carmichael appear to have an ironclad muder-for-hire case against Ludlow -- she has been paid, her co-conspirator has been convicted, she has handed over the physical evidence, and she has no immunity deal. Not to mention the fact that she made them look like idiots during Spector's trial. Yet, in a further inexplicable plot twist, the DA's office makes no threat or even suggestion of prosecuting her. Instead, the episode closes with a brief (and nonsensical) discussion of the Roman empire between Ludlow and Curtis.
What should we make of "Empire"? It's certainly enjoyable. Roberts lends a frisson to her scenes. Lennie has some great one-liners (my favorite is his suggestion that he would be more than willing to take Curtis's place for the weekend stakeout). Special mention should also be made of Spector's bombastic but brilliant defense attorney, played by Edward Herrmann, whose withering cross-examination of Curtis is perhaps the highlight of the episode.
Ultimately, however, "Empire" bears the same relationship to a regular "Law & Order" episode as a dream does to real life. The faces may be prettier, but nothing makes any sense.
Out and Out Rout (1966)
Rudy Larriva ought to apologize for crimes against the Roadrunner series
This is a huge disappointment for anyone familiar with the classic Warner Brothers shorts directed by Chuck Jones. Rudy Larriva takes the reliable formula honed by Jones, and changes it for no good reason. The biggest violation, by far, is the background music: what used to be spare and subtle has become ever-present, intrusive and annoying. I have no desire to watch this short ever again.
Law & Order: Scoundrels (1994)
Great episode with one flaw
"Scoundrels" is one of the most memorable Law & Order episodes. It has many of the ingredients that made the series great: complex plot twists, interesting characters, sparkling dialogue, excellent acting, and, most of all, a memorable villain in convicted fraudster Willard Tappan (who, incidentally, happens to bear a chilling physical resemblance to the late Jeffrey Epstein).
There is a plot hole, which I won't give away in detail. Suffice it to say that the legal mechanism by which Jack McCoy resolves the case is hugely implausible. The extent to which this bothers you will probably determine your reaction to the episode as a whole. For myself, I'm happy to enjoy this as a work of human drama rather than legal realism.
Law & Order: Second Opinion (1994)
Introducing Jack McCoy
The plot need not detain us for long: a therapist who promotes "alternative" treatments for breast cancer is prosecuted after her patient dies. It's as legally implausible as anything in the "Law & Order" universe, but without the drama of the series at its best.
Fortunately, there is another reason to watch this episode: the debut of Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy, the character who would dominate the remaining 16 seasons of "Law & Order". And this is very much an experimental Jack McCoy -- McCoy 1.0, if you will. He barges into the DA's office like a bull in a china shop, his aggressive and chauvinistic personality verging on the obnoxious. We learn that McCoy is a womanizer who has had relationships with all three of his previous female assistants. This lends a special frisson to his interactions with Kincaid; indeed, the tension between the two ADAs supplies most of the interest in this episode.
Those who are familiar with the remainder of the series will find it fascinating to see how Waterston modulated his portrayal of the character into something far more subtle and interesting in later episodes.
Law & Order: Punk (1998)
I feel like sentencing Abby Carmichael to 8 1/3 to 25 after this episode
I've never warmed to Abby Carmichael as assistant DA, but she's utterly unbearable here. Her smug self-certainty and complete lack of empathy come to a head in this story of a woman, previously convicted by Carmichael of drug offenses, who has been a victim of repeated rape by prison guards. There's a revelation at the end of the episode that is supposed to put a new spin on Carmichael's attitude, but it's too brief and superficial. The overall feeling is one of frustration and anger, despite the terrific performance by Cara Buono.
Law & Order: I.D. (1996)
Ingenuity and drama
This episode combines two brilliant ideas, either of which on its own would have been sufficient to make a great hour of TV. Put together, they make this one of the finest episodes of Law & Order ever made.
First, there is a devilishly ingenious murder plot. Joanne Sullivan is on the run from underworld casino bosses whom she has been cheating along with her husband. To escape her pursuers, she murders her sister, leaves her body naked in an elevator, and assumes her identity. Because Joanne resembles her sister, the plot succeeds: the police believe that she's really her sister Lucy Sullivan, who leads a quiet and unexciting life in their hometown of Terre Haute, Indiana.
However, it's easy to overlook the intricacies of the crime, because they are quite overshadowed by another drama: the escalating sexual harassment of new ADA Jamie Ross by Judge Nathan Marks. Jerry Adler's performance makes Marks, with just this one appearance, the most memorable judge of the entire series. In Adler's hands, Marks is supercilious, condescending, arrogant -- an easy character to hate, yet also brilliant in his wit and wordplay.
Carey Lowell, in just her second appearance as Ross, handles herself with aplomb, seemingly relishing much of the verbal combat. And McCoy gets to go to jail for contempt. The scene where he introduces DA Schiff to his new cellmates (including a murderer) is hilarious.
This episode also raises some worrying questions about the extent to which the human frailties of judges affect the integrity of the criminal justice system. In this case, the system works and Judge Marks eventually gets put in his place. In the real world, perhaps he would not.
Law & Order: Survivor (1996)
From comedy to tragedy, a masterpiece
This episode is brilliantly written and acted.
The first half consists of a series of comic vignettes as the detectives seek to build a case against billionaire businessman Richard Peterson for the murder of his friend and coin dealer. There are several minor characters, each with only a minute or two of screen time. They include the "Italian aristocrat" who serves as the two men's mistress, but is actually from South Carolina; the rich businessman who "gets horny" thinking about coins as he works on his luxury yacht; the haughty restaurateur who refuses to divulge his clients' secret conversations; and the nubile young reporter who tried and failed to invite Peterson back for "coffee". All have memorable interactions with Briscoe and Curtis, Briscoe having a wonderful time flirting with the ladies.
Things turn serious when the focus of the investigation shifts to Judith Sandler, the child of a Holocaust survivor. Her father owned the missing coins, but was unable to recover them from a Swiss bank after the war. Sandler, wonderfully acted by Karen Allen, has an extreme personality: touchy, overwrought, claustrophobic. It soon becomes apparent that she is the real killer, but the evidence against her is suppressed when Ross exploits her claustrophobia in order to get her consent to search her apartment.
While Sandler represents tragedy, Peterson (skilfully acted by Michael Willis) represents comedy: a larger-than-life character who's having so much fun collecting coins and running his business empire that it's hard to dislike him, even when his lies unwittingly set into motion the tragic murder of his friend.
McCoy gets less screen time than usual, but Ross shines. Note especially her first appearance: the camera almost caresses her as she glides into the frame during Peterson's interrogation.
Law and Order had its strong and weak spells over its twenty years, but this episode sums up what could happen when everything came together -- perfect writing, camera-work and acting.