Foul Play
By Hank74
Lennie-10/10
Ed-10/10
Van Buren-8/10
Jack-10/10
Serena-8/10
Nora-8/10
Supporting Cast-9/10
Plot-8/10
Performance-8/10
Value-8/10
Total Grade-87/100
Notes:
There was some improvement compared to the last few weeks. Obviously this was
another "ripped from the headlines" story involving the Danny Almonte
case. Again, when they do something which is obvious to everyone, TPTB needs to
make more adjustments to make this interesting and not look like a copycat. I
would say they accomplished this halfway. But still it was interesting from
start to finish and hence I would recommend to you taping this.
I liked the conservative approach which they took in this ep. It reminded me of
something from the early days. They kept the storyline tight by not zigging and
zagging everywhere. The first part was trying to find the perp, second part was
narrowing it down, third part was finding a motive and other suspects, and the
final part was proving everything in court. Add in the immigration issue and
explotation of young boys who barely can speak English, and you have a decent
episode. I liked the acting of the guests involved. Lee Shepherd, as a lifetime
repeat offender, was great again as the defense attorney. I also liked Victor's
performance along with Frank Leahy, played brilliantly by Larry Joshua. He was
the defense attorney who represented the priest/sex molester in "Sisters
of Mercy." Again I say this was good, but more could have been done to
spice things up a bit. Perhaps more debate between the "Order" part,
an interview of the kids by Skoda or Olivet, seeing what exactly the INS would
have done on this, and perhaps digging deeper in Leahy's supposed
"baseball factory."
Great to see a scene with Jack playing basketball with other attorneys. I know
you Jack lovers will drool seeing him in a sweatshirt and shorts. Could you
imagine seeing Stone in that with racquetball from season 2?
This marks the second time we've seen a major character playing sports, the
other being Claire at the end of "Savior" from season 6.
Overall, a good episode and perhaps a nice indication of how things will end
for season 12.