Greetings,
Welcome back to the Law & Order Top 100 countdown. And now for Numbers 80 through 71.
#80. "Dining Out" (Season 15) - I hear we may have had a few scandals involving celebrity chefs in our time. Well, here's Law & Order's take on this. And their take is that you should never trust a good looking chef. I certainly don't. Every time I see Rocco DiSpirito, I just run, run, run in the opposite direction. Seriously, though, this does call to attention how being good at something, has nothing to do with whether or not you'll get famous for it. Also, this episode has the Sklar Brothers playing twins, because they are, and getting roughed up by Dennis Farina, because who wouldn't be.
#79. "Sweeps" (Season 4) - There's nothing like a hunger for high ratings to make people working in television do stupid things. And, even more stupid, think they're going to get away with it. Look, I'm all for dishing out justice to those who deserve it, but if it's vigilante justice, just leave it to Batman. Kidding aside, if you give hurt the power to rule your life, it will only multiply within it.
#78. "Gunplay" (Season 15) - This is going to sound wrong, but I love the episodes where cops get shot, murdered, or otherwise victimized. Of course, this is terrible in real life, but on the show, it lets the actors who play the cops investigating said crimes be especially passionate. They always put their all into it, but when you have to act in a "that could have been me" scenario, it brings something extra out. In this case, with Det. Green, a victim was one of his friends, so a lot of emotion was put into this performance by Jesse Martin. Well done.
#77. "Rubber Room" (Season 20) - So, this was the finale...ish. Yeah, it was the final episode, and it was very good. Still, I do wish this show that lasted TWENTY YEARS got a better sendoff. I count my blessings, though, because it could have been worse. We could have gotten a terrible episode. We didn't. Plus, there was a feeling of closure and moving on to a lot of the plot. I do wish this show's ending was more of an event, but I'll take a good episode any day
#76. "Tabula Rasa (Season 9) - Hey, kids! Are abnormally large rats not enough to keep you off the subways in New York? Well, how about the fear of getting pushed in front of one of the trains? Thank you, Law & Order, reminding us with each passing episode that Nora Ephron's New York does not exist. Anyway, this one turns out to be about a guy who kidnaps his children after a divorce. Call it a double standard, but I think if it were a woman doing this, we would think she had a good reason. If it's man, he's just wrong. Well, hold on to that, because Jay O. Sanders gives a punch-in-the-face worthy performance as this jerk. That is a compliment, by the way.
#75. "Fixed" (Season 15) - Here's something you don't see too often. A show doing a sequel to a previous episode fifteen years after that first one. Of course, most don't last long enough to do it. Anyway, this guy, who was a convicted child killer and got out of jail, gets hit by a car and left for dead. My response is an 'Oh, no' with all the passion of Willy Wonka saying 'Stop, don't, come back'. Now when this guy, who was probably in his sixties, got out, he found himself a young girlfriend...with two kids...who she left alone with him on a regular basis. And she was quite nonchalant about the whole thing. Look, nothing against the actress. She was great. But this character? I was about ready to slap her in the face. So were Green and Fontana, thus, they are awesome.
#74. "Bottomless" (Season 18) - Relax. It's not what you think. Well, it kind of is, because missing pants are involved, but not whilst they are being worn by anyone. So, again, relax. Anyway, this guy's pants allegedly go missing from a dry cleaner's, and said dry cleaner's lawyer niece is murdered, then it all circles back to a corrupt businessman at a huge department store corporation. Um, I'm a bit dizzy after writing that, but watching the episode is just enjoyable. Oh, and this one guy tries to double cross Lt. Van Buren in this episode. Ha, ha, silly person. Don't you know that of all the things in life that you just don't do, that's one of them.
#73. "Kid Pro Quo" (Season 13) - A lot of people may say that education in this country is a bit of a joke. I can't say I totally disagree. I've heard that some of the best education a child can receive is the kind that costs their parents a small fortune. But I also hear that these "rich people schools" sometimes take poor kids, because...well, let's not make speculation about their motives. Apparently, it's a thing, though. So, all of this must mean that there is much competition to get into these places. Yeah, pay close attention to the scene where an upper class mother explains to Briscoe and Green that they are leaving the city in shame because their five-year-old did not make the kindergarten cut. What is even the heck? Anyway, all of that might make people a little desperate. Or maybe that's just a red herring, as Law & Order likes to throw into the mix. I'll never tell. And hello, there, Roger Rees. You were fantastic in this episode.
#72. "Boy on Fire" (Season 20) - Speaking of teachers, I hear many stories that some of them have just given up on trying to make things better, since the system seems to not work and never be on their side. Again, I can't exactly disagree there either. But what if a teacher is too passionate about what goes on in her school and with her students? I'm sure you are thinking this is going to be about a certain thing that certain female teachers have been guilty of, but it's not. It's kind of worse.
#71. "Angel" (Season 6) - I know I've always said I'm not a kid person, but I sure don't like it when they die, even on TV. I especially don't like it when babies die. That's what happens in this episode, when a woman claims her baby was kidnapped, but it wasn't. You see where this is going. Now I could complain about this one, since it brings in this whole "my religion makes me crazy" sort of defense. Yes, those do bother me. But it was done in a very compelling and emotionally charged way, so I have to give them credit. Much credit also goes to Benjamin Bratt, as I think this was one of his finest performances ever in the series.
Join me next time.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
