Friday’s more-than-solid premiere of Law & Order tells us one of two things: either creator Dick Wolf is right, and the show has 20 more years of cops and courts left in it, or they’re setting up one hell of a series-ending season.
We all know (mainly because Wolf’s been telling anyone who’ll listen for just about forever now) that tying Gunsmoke’s two-decade record was a major goal. With Friday’s premiere he sets about realizing that goal for this 20th season. And after a series of bumpy transitions among the police and prosecutor ranks (I still think Dennis Farina was a mistake, and wow, Annie Parisse really couldn’t take it for just one season?), it finally looks like the show has the right combination of actors and scripts.
It’s settled, that is, so long as the Lieutenant’s (S. Epatha Merkerson) cancer doesn’t take us down a dark path just in time for the finale. See, this is why I wonder if this really is the final season. Merkerson is the cornerstone of that show. She’s been on longer than Sam Waterston, Steven Hill, even our beloved late Jerry Orbach. They cannot, in good conscience, kill this character off without taking the show with her. Yes, I know, we survived Jerry’s passing, and the show went on. But it wasn’t the same—it still isn’t.
It also looks like either a really great argument for season 21, or a really great eulogy for a show we’ve basically grown up with, that Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) is again being allowed to get his Atticus Finch on. Whatever your politics, you have to admit that there’s a frisson of excitement every time he gets that glint in his eye, the damn-the-consequences square of his shoulders as he explains just how righteous his indignation is. There’s fire and brimstone powering that brilliant legal mind. Of course, the government couldn’t let uppity little McCoy have his verdict. But I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Jack’s wrath, not by a long shot–and happy to say so. This is the kind of material that shows Waterston at his best. Whatever happens, it looks as if the writers are trying to give their two vets Emmy-worthy arcs, and frankly, that works out well for all of us.
Numb3rs
Compared to L&O (it was the same night, so I’m comparing), Numb3rs was a more subdued way to kick off the season. Love that Charlie (David Krumholtz) and Amita (Navi Rawat) and finally making it official, but there’s talent on that show that’s so underutilized (I’m advocating for you, Peter MacNicol and Judd Hirsch). What’d you guys think of the anarchist plot? I was a bit underwhelmed.
As for tonight, we’ve got two kick-offs and they’re opposite each other, Fox’s Lie to Me at 9pm, and NBC’s newbie Trauma. Here’s a quick take on both:
Lie to Me:
Lightman (Tim Roth) has got a full plate in the season opener. He’s supposed to be vetting a Supreme Court nominee, his ex-wife’s moving to Chicago and taking their kid with her, and a girl (Erika Christensen) claims she witnessed a murder…in a psychic vision…even though she’s not psychic. It’s a multi-faceted role for Christensen, and one that she’s carries off capably (though not masterfully, by any means). But I’ll say this for the episode: It wasn’t predictable. None of the arcs concluded as I’d suspected, which is rare. Trust me, it’s not that I’m so smart, it’s that I’ve been watching these things since Banacek. SKIP TO TRAUMA IF YOU DON’T WANT A SPOILER One especially nice change, though, is the revelation that Kelli Williams’ Dr. Foster is finally divorced. The whole doesn’t-she-know-her-husband’s-lying-to-her? plot last season undercut the character, leaving her seeming weak and stereotypical–another woman who’s killing it professionally, but whose personal life is a wreck. She has a nice speech addressing the issue that begins to resurrect Dr. Foster, at least for me.
Trauma:
Right off the bat this show gets one of my special awards—the Wheatie—for best use of a helicopter since ER dropped one on Dr. Romano (Paul McCrane)…twice.* I’m not going to spoil it, but seriously, people, they must’ve spent a fortune on this pilot. The freeway wreck you’ve seen in the previews is a nice adrenaline rush too, as is a Bullitt homage in the episode. Basically, this one’s for people who dig Southland or Flashpoint, but wish it had more explosions, or long for an updated take on Third Watch.
Essentially, if you’re DVR-free and forced to choose, I’d go with Trauma to check out the new show. Lie to Me wasn’t a disappointing opener, but it didn’t feel like a crucial one, either. What did you think, Coppers? Did the Law & Order premiere work as well for you as it did for me? Are you still crunching the Numb3rs?
One important bit of business: I’ll be out Friday, so there will be a much-abridged edition of Beat Cop, with an open thread for y’all to talk about The Mentalist, Bones, and whatever else strikes your fancy. We’ll jump on Christian Slater’s latest, The Forgotten, next week. And hey—let’s be careful out there.
*Yeah, I know, they dropped it on him once, having only sliced his arm off the first time. But “dropped” sounded better, and I needed a little poetic license. Bygones?
Photo Credit: Will Hart/NBC
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Love the “Banacek” reference.
I suspect this will be the end of the road for L&O. Maybe just as
well. Sisto and Anderson have no chemistry. Roache overacts.
Luckily, Waterson and Merkerson are still there (and de la Garza is good).
I enjoy L&O, even though I don’t understand a lot of the legalities of it. I hope the show is around for at least another season, that way they can beat out Gunsmoke, season wise. Heck, why not make it two more seasons, even it out to a nice 22 seasons on the air.
Law & Order is still one of the best dramas on tv and I hope, ratings wise, it does well on Friday. I’m glad that Sam Waterson still has a lot of screen time. I was worried when he was promoted that we wouldn’t see much of him anymore. I like all the cast. I disagree with jfms (sorry) but I like Sisto and Anderson together although my favourite detetives were Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt. They were a great team.
The classic Law and Order eps take a run of the mill murder and turn it into an international incident – so much so that by the end of the hour you’ve forgotten about how the episode began. Love the characters, the indignation of injustice, whether from McCoy or Ben Stone (two liberals whose beliefs come in constant conflict with their duties) has always made the show watchable. And seeing Roche pull the same crap on Waterston that Waterston pulled on Stephen Hill is always fun.
As for Numbers – I’ve always felt it was one of the more underrated shows on TV. There is a sincerity on the show, characters actually caring for each other, that you don’t see much of in the genre. Figure NBC moves Law and Order to the first hour that opens up on Monday or Wednesday.
I’m totally loving Beat Cop! Shows that aren’t Lost or on the CW deserve recaps too. Thanks Alynda!
A resounding Ditto form me!! I’m glad that these deserving shows are finally getting some attention.
I love Jack McCoy, but there are times when I get very angry with him. Friday night I hated him. I thought Mike balanced the horror at torture with the fear of another 9/11, but Jack cared more about the rights of known terrorists than of my right to be safe. Maybe the victim didn’t like being the instrument of another man’s death, but I’m sure he would have felt a lot worse if that prisoner had been released and had bombed a location where his sister was. The only good argument of the night was the witness who said torture doesn’t work; I’m not sure if he’s right, but that would be the only reason to stop IMHO.
Seriously?
I’ve been underwhelmed with Numb3rs since last season (I watch it only if the storyline seems interesting which is not too often these days). Too many main characters and I’m a bit tired of Charlie and Don. I’d rather see more utilization of the other characters as mentioned above (including a long overdue romance for Colby).
Is there a reason you didn’t include Law & Order SVU in this beat cop roundup? I thought last week’s season opener was one of the best shows they’ve had in a while. Wentworth Miller and Christine Lahti were both fantastic and added an incredible dynamic to the show. Where’s the love?
Bobbi,
We were all over SVU in Beat Cop’s Friday edition. I’d send you the link, but I’m on my Blackberry.
Pretty much every episode of Numb3rs underutilizes a few of the regulars (even Don and Charlie were placed in the background a couple eps last season) and focuses on one, in Friday’s case David.
Although I was a little concerned about MacNicol referencing going to the LHC for 6 months … is he doing 24 again?
I think it’s more of a cost cutting thing. Which is too bad. I miss the character and think Charlie really needs Larry’s cosmic view to balance him out.
The best part of Numbers has always been (IMO) the relationship between the father and his sons. Very few shows on TV today portray such good, strong and loving family relationships between men. It seems the past few seasons they have found less ways to work Judd Hirsch into the show and it is affecting the guality.
I actually thought there was some good moments with Judd Hirsch, especially when he went and spoke with David and checked on Don but he also checked on David. I think he sees all the guys in Don’s group as his children, especially David.
There is no reason whatsoevet that L&O couldn’t go on forever with franchises in every major city – just as “Tatort” has been doing in Germany since 1970. Each region has its own set of detectives – sometimes there’s a cross-over. The opening sequence has NEVER been changed. It is gritty, grainy and very retro – but they never changed it – and it still works – just as I’m convinced that out there somewhere, Mannix, Danno, Rockford, Columbo, Cannon, Barnaby Jones, Harry O, Kojak, Baretta, Quincy, McCloud, Charlie and all the angels, MacMillan AND his wife, Pepper Anderson, Christie Love and even Banacek – still work.
Lie to Me 2.0 got off to a great start. Erika Christiansen was awesome as was Tim Roth. The increased suspense and sense of danger and adrenaline that Shawn Ryan brings was palable.
All I’ll say is…’get ‘em McCoy!’…that’s what I used to always yell at the tele when I religiously watched the original Law & Order. I’ve started watching again, if they stay on this path, I’ll be watching for awhile to come.
Just for the record, Steven Hill (Adam Schiff) has been on since the very beginning, before Merkerson joined the cast. Van Buren replaced Cragen.
I’m a Law & Order geek.
Chris, Merkerson has been on for more episodes than anyone in the history of the show, including Hill. But you’re right, he was there first. She appeared in the first season as a cleaning lady (in the show’s proud tradition of using actors in multiple roles), then was asked back as Van Buren. For those who might not have recognized her, it’s because in her first role she wore her natural braids. Van Buren’s hair is a constantly changing wig.
Not as jarring as the episode where Jerry Orbach was a sleazy defense attorney. That one kept me up at nights.