Access Nation (Season 12 Review)
By Hank74
Lennie-10/10
Ed-10/10
Van Buren-8/10
Jack-10/10
Serena-8/10
Nora-8/10
Supporting Cast-7/10
Plot-7/10
Performance-7/10
Value-8/10
Total Grade-83/100
Notes:
Great to see new L&O eps after the Olympics break. Yet this ep wasn't what
I expected it would be. Sometimes you can tell an episode's success or failure
from the intro. When I saw it, I got the sense this one would struggle.
It seems that recent L&O eps have occassionaly used the route where its not
enough to focus in on the actual killer, but blame must be spread to a third
party and turn this out as a conspiracy. In these instances, what we have seen
is after the perp is sentenced, someone in the DA's office goes after a company
for supplying the info or inspiration to the criminal. Good examples of this
includes "Turnstile Justice," "Swept Away,"
"Whiplash," and "Undercovered,"
In this instance I couldn't understand the final part that was going on.
Everybody was talking in such legal and technical jargon that it made my head
spin. Add to that more discussion about 9/11 and the effects of it, you wonder
where is this show going. Will the rest of the season be a discussion about
9/11? More importantly, is it relevant to talk about terrorism for every
episode? Perhaps this one was acceptable, but what next week's ep about a girl
dying due to rebirthing?
The bottom line is it seems this episode didn't have the fluidity that the
classics have. The acting was very choppy at times and it zig zagged between
preachiness and facts. Please don't get into Jack's personal life anymore about
him listening to jazz and using his grandmother's name for a password. I
understand the point they were trying to make, but I don't need to know too
much about Jack or anyone else. Just as long as they are good cops and lawyers
and put the bad guys away.
Finally, what did you think about the coffee sipping scene with Jack and Serena
or Ed getting too rough with the first perp? This is one that doesn't rise to
my standards. How about you?