January 3, 2008
Law & Order: The Next Generation
Law & Order returned for its eighteenth season with two episodes last night. As producer Dick Wolf is wont to do, things on the show have changed. The cast changes have definitely skewed things younger and has made the show seem more like Law & Order: The Next Generation. Which isn't a bad thing, since it seemed more like a natural evolution. And don’t worry, we won’t reveal the endings of the episodes in case you TIVOed it.
The first of the two episodes dealt with assisted suicide and, despite being a vehicle to introduce the new cast members, it was a rather good episode complete with several patented Law & Order twists. The new detective, Cyrus Lupo, played by Jeremy Sisto, was working with the NYPD’s intel unit overseas when his brother was found dead in a hotel room. Where other shows would have taken the whole “I’m out to find my brother’s killer” to the point of a tired cliché, the writers here made it seem organic.
The new A.D.A., Michael Cutter (British actor Linus Roache), seemed to almost always have a Blackberry in his hand almost as a visible reminder that he, unlike Jack McCoy, is a new tech-savvy sort of lawyer. And speaking of Jack McCoy, who was appointed as D.A. to replace Arthur Branch, he seemed a bit more hands on than previous D.A.’s on the show.
The second episode was just brilliant - and reminded us of some classic Law & Order episodes - with a kidnapping during a blackout. Again, the show’s writers show their cleverness by not making the blackout seem like yet another standard device; it even seemed like a bit of an in joke for the locals by having the power come on while the detectives were in Astoria. Plus, there were several twists and turns that made the ride an enjoyable one.
In the second episode, it was hard to get a read on Detective Lupo, but A.D.A. Cutter seemed to be more of a get-the-job- done-damn- the-consequences type person (versus "hang 'em high McCoy"). It will definitely be fun this season to see how these new characters evolve. Thanks to the WGA strike, it will be one of the only things in NBC’s lineup that isn’t a fakeality show, which is yet another reason to watch this instead of the unimaginative rubbish.
Law & Order will be back in its traditional Wednesday 10 p.m. time slot next week preceded at 9 p.m. by an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent which has already run on USA (but it's new for NBC).
Top photograph of the Law & Order's 18th season cast (from left to right, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jeremy Sisto, Jesse L. Martin, Sam Waterston, Alana de la Garza, Linus Roache) by Virginia Sherwood/NBC
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i agree that those episodes were great and look forward to the rest of the season.
seems like the episodes were made to air at the beginning of the fall season? taking place during the summertime. they usually put the timing in the show to coincide with the original air date.
i hate l&o. this show is responsible for the further dumbing down of tv shows. the show presses tivo's skip button for us. thung. thung.
it's for people who don't care about tv. it's easy for channel surfers to watch because it doesn't matter how much you've missed, the characters will explain to you what's going on. it spoon-feeds people the story & the facts so no thinking is involved, explaining every little detail. thung. thung.
sounds good to me.
Brad Dourif, IMO, was the best part of the first hour...
i was waiting to hear gothamist's take! i LOVED the shows last night. so much was better about the show than previous seasons: the lighting was more modern and moody, the plot felt much more organic and less formulaic, and the new cast members were a breath of fresh air. i'm really looking forward to next week's show.
Excellent! Can't wait for Law & Order London: http://londonist.com/2008/01/law_and_order_l.php
I stopped watching regular-flavored L&O a while back, but I have to say I also enjoyed their new style this week. The best bit was that scene where Sisto was running down the street blowing his little whistle. I especially liked when he turned the corner and all the other cops came out of nowhere to help him out.