Law & Order ep20x04 "Reality Bites" (10/16)

[The Borgified Corpse]

A belated start for a review thread for this episode.

I thought it was pretty awesome. Lupo & Cutter are just loads of fun as the leads. I find Rubirosa to be sexier with each passing episode. And the revelation at the end that Arthur Branch would be the judge on the new reality show made me go .

 

[Winged Victory]

How about that use of the split screen? Very cool! At first it was a little jarring, but Connie and Cutter's conversation was all kinds of excellent. "Arrive again?" Poor Connie! She'd never make it as a tv reality star...

And I was LOL at the end about Arthur being asked to judge that preposterous show...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

That bit with Connie yelling into the cellphone about "I'll kill McCoy, I'll kill the producer, I'll kill YOU," while talking to Cutter who is hiding up near the building watching the whole thing, was priceless.

So do you think the guy (Jim Gaffigan) did it or what?

Also, was that yet another cameo appearance by the Unused Rollover Minutes Psycho Lady? On SVU a couple of weeks ago, she played a rape victim with a huge scar on her face. Now I think she was the accountant with the hot legs.

Lupo: I was having a Bad Beard Day.

 

[GhostFaceSaint]

This new group in Law and Order has really saved the show from its near cancellation a few seasons ago, hopefully the show stays alive and fresh enough to stay on the air for a few more seasons.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I hope Van Buren pulls through.

Also, I just gotta say, Linus Roache absolutely rocks. Probably the best casting L&O's done in awhile. I do hope he stays right where he is, career-wise, 'cuz Cutter is brutal in the courtroom scenes. And you'd never guess that Roache's L&O accent is not real...he's that good.

 

[Warped9]

L&O has really come along in the last couple of seasons. In all candor I was on the verge of becoming board and disinterested until they livened things up with the new cast and better writing again.

I loved this week's episode just as much as I loved the episode dealing with the perspectives on torture.

 

[Kira's Mom]

Aw, crap. I keep forgetting that L&O is on Fridays at 8 now. I always miss it. Sounds like it was a good one.

 

[Warped9]

Aw, crap. I keep forgetting that L&O is on Fridays at 8 now. I always miss it. Sounds like it was a good one.

I also almost forgot about that until ten minutes to eight last Friday. Indeed a couple of weeks ago I did forget, tuned in a ten and kicked myself when I realized my mistake.

 

[Marc]

did I somehow miss it or are supposed to assume that Jack McCoy was re-elected as DA for New York?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

did I somehow miss it or are supposed to assume that Jack McCoy was re-elected as DA for New York?

Did you see last season's finale?

In a multi episode arc last season, Jack's opponent in the race for DA was sponsored by the (fictional) NY governor. The governor's wife was put in prison, and the gov himself forced to resign, as a result of events in the season's last episode.

So any DA candidate whose patron was that governor, would be doomed to lose the election. And so we're left to assume that Jack's opponent withdrew, and Jack was then elected (presumably unopposed).

 

[Marc]

did I somehow miss it or are supposed to assume that Jack McCoy was re-elected as DA for New York?

Did you see last season's finale?

In a multi episode arc last season, Jack's opponent in the race for DA was sponsored by the (fictional) NY governor. The governor's wife was put in prison, and the gov himself forced to resign, as a result of events in the season's last episode.

So any DA candidate whose patron was that governor, would be doomed to lose the election. And so we're left to assume that Jack's opponent withdrew, and Jack was then elected (presumably unopposed).

Yeah I saw the Govenor go down and remember Cutter talking about the polls opening in 6 hours never thought about the other canidate withdrawing.

 

[Timby]

This new group in Law and Order has really saved the show from its near cancellation a few seasons ago, hopefully the show stays alive and fresh enough to stay on the air for a few more seasons.

While I agree that Vanilla is at its highest peak ever since Jerry Orbach's departure, surviving for a few more seasons is highly doubtful. Already very costly to produce between New York filming permits (and the ancillary costs going along with crowd and traffic control), actor and crew salaries, etc., the show is performing horribly, ratings-wise, this season. Granted, much of that is due to being shunted once again to the Friday night graveyard, but the financial realities facing the program's future are ... well, undeniable. There's a reason that NBC placed only a 16-episode order for this year, after all.

Heck, the only reason it survived to this season is because NBC wanted Dick Wolf to shut up about the fucking Gunsmoke record. (Well, that, plus the network wants to keep a decent relationship with him because of a planned Law & Order: Los Angeles spin-off for 2011 / 2012 or so.)

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

^I will tolerate no further nay-saying about the future of Law & Order. This show shall last a thousand years! (At which point, maybe Universal will finally get around to releasing the DVDs of Season 7.)

I had no idea Linus Roache wasn't American! His accent is perfect. As the show goes on, it's getting to the point where Cutter may be surpassing Jack McCoy as my all time favorite Law & Order character. He's an even more skilled courtroom ball buster than McCoy ever was.

Lupo was great here. "Bad beard day."

The accountant sitting on her desk was hot & adorable.

When last season ended, even though there was that scandal with the governor, it sounded like it was still a tight race between Jack McCoy & Joe Schappell. I can tell you I breathed an enormous sigh of relief when I saw that McCoy & Rubirosa were back in the promos for this season. I was certain they were setting up a major cast changeover with that election last year.

I agree this cast is among the strongest in Law & Order's history. I thought they took a bit of a dip in Season 17 when they replaced Joe Fontana with Nina Cassidy. But now, Lupo, Cutter, & Rubirosa make this must see TV for me again.

 

[IndyJones]

(Well, that, plus the network wants to keep a decent relationship with him because of a planned Law & Order: Los Angeles spin-off for 2011 / 2012 or so.)

Just what we need: Another show set in LA.