... And usually Law & Order always entertains with interesting interpersonal relationships and issues and unexpected twists and turns in the plot, and this episode has that, but it all seems to land with a thud.
A woman is studying advanced chemistry in a diner at night, chatting with the proprietor. She then leaves and is a victim of a hit and run driver just outside the diner. There are the usual red herrings and the unexpected culprit. And then there is the attorney for the defense who is a law school acquaintance of Serena's who is about as subtle as a sledge hammer and has all kinds of ethical problems because she really just cares about a corner office at her law firm more than she cares about what is best for her client. Paint me surprised???
This episode could have gone in several interesting directions - the downsizing of state financed mental hospitals and care, the cut throat nature of the pharmaceutical industry, etc. But it just doesn't. It seems like an uncommon throwaway episode of L&O. The only eye catching moment is when it is announced that the murder victim, who we see alive and well before her death, is seventeen. Having seen her in close ups she looks at least 27.
The one stand-out scene is with Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson) doing the bad cop/ good cop routine with detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). Van Buren as the good cop gets a confession out of a sympathetic perp with empathy, conversation, and a cup of coffee.
A woman is studying advanced chemistry in a diner at night, chatting with the proprietor. She then leaves and is a victim of a hit and run driver just outside the diner. There are the usual red herrings and the unexpected culprit. And then there is the attorney for the defense who is a law school acquaintance of Serena's who is about as subtle as a sledge hammer and has all kinds of ethical problems because she really just cares about a corner office at her law firm more than she cares about what is best for her client. Paint me surprised???
This episode could have gone in several interesting directions - the downsizing of state financed mental hospitals and care, the cut throat nature of the pharmaceutical industry, etc. But it just doesn't. It seems like an uncommon throwaway episode of L&O. The only eye catching moment is when it is announced that the murder victim, who we see alive and well before her death, is seventeen. Having seen her in close ups she looks at least 27.
The one stand-out scene is with Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson) doing the bad cop/ good cop routine with detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach). Van Buren as the good cop gets a confession out of a sympathetic perp with empathy, conversation, and a cup of coffee.