Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.
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Did you know
- TriviaWhen A.D.A. Claire Kincaid first meets E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy, he tells her he had relationships with three former assistants in 24 years in the DA's office. This means the character began with the DA's office about 1970, so by the time the series ended in 2010 he would have been with the office about 40 years.
- GoofsDr. Haas's lawyer states that one of the side effects of chemotherapy is weight gain, which is not true. Patients on chemotherapy often undergo drastic weight loss, mostly due to the frequent nausea and vomiting that chemo drugs cause.
- Quotes
Detective Mike Logan: If it was me, I'd just have the operation.
Lt. Anita Van Buren: Oh really? You got anything you'd think twice about having cut off? 7th grade, what was the first thing that made you notice little Susie sitting across the aisle?
Detective Mike Logan: Come on, I was 13 years old.
Detective Lennie Briscoe: Oh, and everything's changed since then?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: That was the first thing that made little Susie feel like a woman, and trust me, it never goes away.
Detective Mike Logan: So what're you saying, Lieutenant? If you got the big C you'd just curl up with a bowl of chicken soup and a rabbit's foot under your pillow?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: What I wouldn't do, Mike, is be sitting around here eating cold pizza with you guys. No offense but in my last days I'm going to spend it with my husband and my kids.
- ConnectionsReferences E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
It also was the first episode of the fifth season. And it was a pretty good and interesting one on the whole, though 'Law and Order' did have better season openers (did much prefer all of the previous four season openers) and there were Season 5 episodes that were a lot better than "Second Opinion". My feelings on McCoy here were pretty mixed and the attitudes towards the subject matter (a typically difficult one) have definitely changed and moved on since.
There is a lot to like about "Second Opinion". It is a typically slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was an issue, but by this point it was a good deal more refined). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too sedate.
Writing is intelligently written, stays tight (amazing for an episode with a lot of talk) and offers some nice insight into the attitudes and feelings towards mastectomy. Van Buren's is especially telling. The story does intrigue enough and personally did like the chemistry between McCoy and Kincaid. The latter being an interesting character here and her investigation of the treatment of women patients is where "Second Opinion" is at its most thought-provoking. The performances are great all round, McCoy as a character may not have been easy to warm to here but Sam Waterston looks at home and is commanding. Jill Hennessy is excellent as is Elizabeth Ashley.
McCoy however is a lot more likeable later on and came on a long way, here he is too much of a jerk and his attitude towards getting a conviction is on the near-unprofessional side. Can understand where one commentator is coming from regarding not being convinced by treating mastectomy as being difficult for women, although it has always been divisive depending on the person as said attitudes have moved on a lot since 25 years so towards it.
It does start off a little on the slow and routine side but does pick up when there is more revealed.
Overall, pretty good start to Season 5 but the season had far better episodes, as did the show. 7/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 5, 2020