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Once upon a time, there was a great show called Law & Order that had a neat, fresh premise--show a murder case from the discovery of the crime all the way through to the end of the trial. It was current and topical, ripping off cases from the headlines and thinly (sometimes very thinly) fictionalizing them. Creator Dick Wolf's ruthlessness toward his cast also ensured that no one was safe. Sometimes, the detectives or prosecutors ended up victims themselves.
Fifteen years later, it has gone through numerous cast changes and spawned three spin-offs. Alas, despite occasional shots of the old brilliance in episodes like "Collision", it has also sunk deep into the morass of Dick Wolf's right-wing obsessions in the past six years. Half the time, I can't tell just what crime ADA Jack McCoy is trying to prosecute, and his conviction rate, compared to real-life DAs, is laughably low. Often, he seems to be trying people just for being rich, smug jerks. It's also quite irritating that African-Americans are so frequently portrayed only as druggies, pimps, prostitutes or irate professional victims (who always play the race card and get off), despite their appearance in the regular cast. The constant changes to the cast have further eroded the viewer's ability to empathize with the characters. They've become cookie-cutter outlines, not real people. It's not the fault of the actors. They're still good; it's the writing that sucks.
This used to be a brilliant, innovative show. But it has long since jumped the shark and it's not coming back. Let's put it to bed already.
score /10
thesnowleopard 18 August 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1153049/ |
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29-11-2019 00:49:32
