User Reviews

This episode belongs to both Jerry Orbach and to guest star Kevin Conway who puts Briscoe in a real jackpot. Benjamin Bratt's sense of outrage helps a lot as well.

Both Briscoe and Curtis are put on a drug raid in the charge of Conway who is a veteran cop who has some history with Briscoe. During the course of a confrontation with a known drug dealer Conway pulls out his weapon and shoots him dead.

Cops are supposed to back each other up and Orbach accepts Conway's version, but Bratt will not say he saw something there he didn't see like the victim reaching for a weapon. When it turns out that Conway himself is corrupt and was doing an execution for a drug lord he in turn accuses Briscoe of past corruption.

Not to law enforcement though, to one of those citizen crime commissions headed by an arrogant, self righteous Josef Sommer. Sommer is great himself, he reminded me of John McIntire's character in The Asphalt Jungle.

But Conway who is a true snake is a wonder to watch in this story. Viewers know that Lennie Briscoe has his flaws, but is honest and we feel for Orbach and the jackpot he's put in by a really dirty cop and an arrogant citizen looking for headlines.

Corruption at the work of authority figures is not a novel theme to explore in detective/legal dramas and the 'Law and Order' franchise was no stranger to it. It is though a very interesting subject and is always worth addressing, likewise with many other re-visited subjects, being existent at the time and still relevant today. Season 7 was a very strong season up to this still very early stage, with three of the five episodes (and the weakest of the five "Good Girl" still being good) being outstanding.

Of which "Corruption" is one of those three. The others being "I. D." and "Survivor". On paper it sounds fairly ordinary and familiar, so not much extraordinary, but the execution is actually a lot more intricate than one would think and the episode is made even more special by the truly great performances and character interaction. Eighteen episodes later, "Corruption" still manages to be a standout of Season 7. One of its best and what 'Law and Order' at its best is all about.

What stands out here is the acting. Jerry Orbach is typically hard boiled, with some sass but also moments of poignancy, he was always wonderful throughout his long stint on 'Law and Order' but this performance is one of his best due to the embodying of a wide emotional range Briscoe undergoes in a tough situation. One where one really does root for his innocence, especially with his accuser being the very meaning of serpentine, personally had no doubt that he was but that doesn't stop the story from having a lot of tension.

Kevin Conway is the other acting revelation, of all the supporting characters of Season 7 Flynn is up there with the most loathsome. Conway is effortlessly uneasy as him and at his most snake-like (like in the church) an absolute creep and not one to be trusted by any stretch. He and Orbach scintillate together and brings chills down the spine. Benjaim Bratt's outrage is very convincingly delivered and something that is not just justified but exactly what the viewer feels. Josef Sommer is suitably arrogant.

The production values as ever have slickness and grit, with an intimacy without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when it's used but does so without being intrusive, some of it is quite haunting too. The direction is also understated but the tension never slips. The script is another truly fine one, with "Corruption" being one of the season's best written episodes. It is very intelligently crafted and has intensity and edge while handling the topic sensitively too. Complete with some blistering dialogue for and between Briscoe and Flynn. The story is never too obvious and never too convoluted either, always complex and clever and not near as ordinary as it initially sounds.

Summing up, another fantastic episode. 10/10.

I've sat thru a ton of films, tv shows exploring this topic and it takes a steady hand to pull it off without coming off cheesy, cliche. 'Corruption' is not a finer example because everything is telecast from a mile away. It's also one of those tales that tries to do it without any preexisting history, background on the villain. You're supposed to be satisfied with a simple setup and be emotionally invested because it involves a main character. It's really an example of episodic tv at it's rushed lazy lowest form.

Det. Briscoe (Orbach) & Curtis (Bratt) are detailed to an undercover drug bust with Lenny's past partner Det. Flynn (Kevin Conway). At the moment of exchange, Flynn call "gun", shots are fired and the suspect is dead. He claims he went for his piece but neither Briscoe, Curtis or other cops as backup saw what really occurred. Curtis digs into it feeling something is off and uncovers a link to a major drug pusher Hector Garcia that goes back to Flynn, Briscoe's days in the 116th precinct. When it becomes clear there's a case of a dirty cop, McCoy (Waterston) goes after him but faces not only issues from the court system, but a man willing to throw old friends under the bus to save himself.

It's hard to be entertained or care when you can predict where the story is going at every point and it isn't done with any real emotional weight. Some history into Briscoe is interesting - his drinking problem explored more, a past girlfriend - but counterbalance that with cliches about cops sticking together, getting their stories straight, mistresses, payoffs, murder for hire, slaps on the wrist. Don't even get me started on that last minute hollow ending meant to deliver a sense of justice, but doesn't. 'Corruption' is as one note as it's title going thru formula paces without any heart.