2 hour premiere on January 2, 2008

[NikkiGreen]

According to NBCUMV, the new season starts on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 9:00PM with a two-hour premiere.

So...NBC is going to put the Mothership back in its original timeslot! ;D

[Techguy]

Per NBCUMV this is the episode description:

"LAW & ORDER"
"CALLED HOME / DARKNESS"

01/02/2008 (09:00PM - 10:59PM) (Wednesday) : DETECTIVE CYRUS LUPO (JEREMY SISTO) LEAVES TERRORIST REGIONS TO RETURN TO HIS OWN FAMILY TERROR AT HOME. After four years abroad, Detective Lupo (Sisto) returns to the United States to find his brother committed suicide by lethal injection because of his incurable illness. Before the case is closed, another man is found dead, having killed himself in an identical fashion. Lieutenant Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson) permits Lupo to work the case alongside fellow Detective Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin). Lupo and Green are suspicious of a recent parolee formerly known as "Dr. Death," and through further investigation they are inclined to believe "Dr. Death's" daughter (guest star Marin Ireland) could be a follower of her father's work. Also starring: Sam Waterston, S. Epatha Merkerson, Linus Roache, and Alana De La Garza.

[DonnaJo]

I really enjoyed "Darkness," the second episode. I had DVR'd both, and just had a chance to finish watching it.

Love the younger, brasher, new characters. I had forgotten that cops used to use their whistles to give each other signals when in pursuit on foot - how clever to bring that into the plot. That Rene Balcer, he always has such novel ideas.

So, Wednesday evenings for me will be re watching CI & then the mothership, both in beautiful HD, which I can't do now. USA does not have an equivalent HD channel with my provider. ;D

[diablodeblanco]

Enjoyable episode. I think I'm going to have a bit of a hard time getting use to McCoy as the head honcho.

[nosee]

Oh I don't know. I think that's where McCoy belongs. I love the new ADA. He's a gutsy son of a gun!

[diablodeblanco]

nosee said:

Oh I don't know. I think that's where McCoy belongs. I love the new ADA. He's a gutsy son of a gun!

I wonder if they'll have an episode that shows McCoy having problems adjusting to his new position? He did seem to enjoy duking it out in the courtroom with the defense attorneys and hostile witnesses.

[Sirenna]

I'm really enjoying the new season too. The new partner whose brother was involved in the assisted suicide plot line reminds me of Goren physically. I think its his bulk. and hair.

McCoy is definately feeling like he's been put out to pasture when he's around the brash ADA. It's great acting all round.

[DonnaJo]

sirenna said:

The new partner whose brother was involved in the assisted suicide plot line reminds me of Goren physically. I think its his bulk. and hair.

Not to mention his dark, brooding expressions & obvious deep emotions. I think Balcer will love putting some of his Goren traits onto Jeremy Sisco's character, LOL.

Wondering if there will be evidence of a past affair between Lupo & his brother's wife? Words were passed between them that were odd & there is quite a bit of tension there. Someone else pointed out that Lupo seemed very fond of his "nephew."

[Techguy]

I'm in between NFL playoff games so this will have to be quick! ;D

I watched the 2-hour premiere, the first time I watched original L&O in many years. I really like the new cast makeup. I smiled when I saw the Carmel Ridge references--thank you Rene Balcer for the subtle reminder. And I was LOL when Sam Waterston's Jack McCoy observed about his new digs "This is a working office now, not a showroom." Somehow I don't think Fred Thompson was laughing if he was watching.

Techguy *like Gen. Douglas MacArthur I too shall return, maybe at halftime*

[mimi]

I stopped watching the Mothership regularly because it couldn't sustain 2 good episodes in a row. I got 3 hours of amazing story telling and really good acting.

Called Home, was a gem for me! Controversial stories tend to be filled with clichés, but you've got to give the writing team a high-five because it didn't fall into that trap. Brad Dourif is true to form in his character Dr. Death. It was a powerful scene when he stated the right to choose how one lives and how one dies. A great symmetry between the fact that he was on the stand and taking a stand. Darkness was more on the classical side but still it was a solid, well-written episode.

I enjoyed that the episodes focused on the story and not on introducing the 2 new characters. They jumped right in and their personalities were incorporated in the stories. Linus Roache and Jeremy Sisto brought me back because the former was in one of my favorite movie (Wings of the Dove) and the second was in my favorite series (6 Feet Under). Roache plays a fiesty ADA and Sisto is excellent in characters that have intricate, emotional background.

I'm looking forward to the new episodes and sadly I'm more excited about L&O than I am about CI.

[Techguy]

mimi said:

I'm looking forward to the new episodes and sadly I'm more excited about L&O than I am about CI.

Could it be because of the Rene Balcer factor? Based on the original L&O premiere, my interest in the show has definitely been resurrected. I haven't been this enthusiastic since the Briscoe/Logan days. I could get more into original L&O than CI, at least more than the G/E episodes. The Logan episodes continue to hold my interest--maybe it's the Rene Balcer x Chris Noth factor that's responsible.

I hope original L&O can sustain the momentum of this season's premiere without soap entering the picture. In the opening episode, when Det. Cyrus Lupo's brother's widow brings up how Cyrus hadn't been to visit his cancer-stricken brother "because of me" I got the hint that either Cyrus and his sister-in-law hadn't been on good terms or...Cyrus and his brother's wife had something going on between them. Then in the second episode, Det. Lupo's sister-in-law shows up for a job interview. Is she getting screen time because the show is going to develop a relationship between them? I so hope the show doesn't go there.

[NikkiGreen]

I'm so glad L & O is back. Thank you, Mr. Balcer.

And I like the new cast. However, I did end up doing a doubletake not seeing SW doing 'the walk' after all these years.

I'm looking forward to the new episode this Wednesday and to a story, very soon, from Ms. SenGupta.

[mimi]

techguy said:

Could it be because of the Rene Balcer factor?

Probably, but I think it's more than that. I saw familiar names in the credits and I think when a team knows one another and work well together, it shows on screen.

What I liked about the episode is that it held itself nicely. I believe the story is the foundation on which you build the rest of an episode, other elements such as characters, music, locations, etc. are added to make a cohesive whole.

[Techguy]

The L&O premiere finished either #4 (USA TODAY) or #7 (Zap2it) in total viewership in the Broadcast Top 20 for the week of Dec. 31-Jan. 6, drawing almost 13.5 million viewers.

[NikkiGreen]

According to nbcumv, repeats of the two episodes are currently listed as follows:

Saturday, January 19 at 10:00PM.................Called Home
Saturday, February 2 at 10:00PM..................Darkness