1:2 "Echo Park" 10 - 6- 2010

[DonnaJo]

Just saw this via my DVR.

Loved the first half (Law)! I was on the edge of my seat. I am getting to really like the partnership between Skeet & Pornstache (can't remember names).

The second half (Order) was terrible. Terrence Howard was way too over the top. His female partner was boring. And Peter Coyote didn't impress me as the DA. The silent exchange in the courtroom between him and Howard was silly. I much preferred last week with Alfred Molina.

And please....already we have an entire episode with Skeet's wife (a retired Detective) as one of the main characters? That is not typical Law & Order, and I didn't like it.

I hope this series gets a chance, before NBC panics and pulls it. I think it has potential. I haven't seen the ratings.

[idget]

What troubled me was the detective's wife motivation. Did she know the woman was innocent and was trying to impress the superiors or did she really think the woman was guilty and then coerced the confession. Either way, it disappoints me.

[DonnaJo]

I agree, Idget. They didn't adequately address the wife's motives. I wonder if that was deliberate, and we'll be seeing more of the relationship between Rex and his wife?

I do recall that Rene Balcer mentioned in an interview on the LOLA NBC site that this show would be going a little more into the character's personal relationships. More so than the mothership did.

[trisha]

I also thought that Terrance Howard was over the top with the emotions. For a moment there I thought he might even cry. While I appreciate that he's got a strong moral core -- something much needed given the lack of ethics we're apparently going to be seeing from the D.A., I'd rather see that presented as righteous conviction and tenacity rather than getting weepy for people who got a raw deal. Just about everyone driven to commit murder has strong reasons for doing it, particularly those portrayed on the L&O's. Is TH going to get misty for all of them? He also really went out on a limb for Winters, which, unless they're supposed to be good friends, adds to the feeling of him being a pushover. :/

I also didn't like the manslaughter offer. She stalked and mudered a woman that she admitted was harmless. What really got me was her "it wasn't fair," refrain. Life isn't fair, lady! You don't get to rage against the injustices done to you by stalking, terrorizing and stabbing someone 14 times.

On the positive side, I really like the new intro. Short and sweet, leaving more time for storytelling, and the theme music has a wonderfully ominous feel to it. Well done Mike Post!

[alliehalliwell]

I liked the story line of this episode. Didn't mind Terrence Howard but I felt a little bit like he was Jack McCoy...but then that could just be because I really liked McCoy in the DA role and he had a similar moral drive (at least from what we can tell so far). I don't mind if Howard's character ends up being like McCoy or not, I just thought I'd point that out.

I think I do like both cops, again I'm not sure the names on the show except Skeet is Det. Winters and apparently the female lawyer is Miss Rice. I'm trying to figure out who everyone is and for some reason I just seem confused.

I also didn't like the manslaughter offer. I think, that for it to be justice, maybe they should have done 1st degree murder, with time served to knock a few years off but to still punish her. But then, I always want the bad guy to be locked up for life with no parole...

I liked this episode partly because we got a glimpse into the Winter's life. With that said, I hope we find out at one point, if his wife did coerce the woman or not, or if she was just the last person that made the woman panic or breakdown in frustration and therefore confess...I'd like to know either way.

I'm not sure if I like the wife or not but that's not a huge deal. I would however, like for this show to have at least ONE successful family relationship as most of the L&O's show dysfunctional families. So hopefully the Winters' might be that first for the Wolf franchise.

I think for me, though I didn't mind Terrance Howard, I haven't been too crazy with the Order - half of the show as Donnajo mentioned. I think it was more of a show than anything. The mothership used to have the evidence appear or huge curveballs thrown at them when in court and so far this series just restates what we know or uses obvious reveals. I think it was obvious that in this episode, this woman - as traumatized as she was - was obviously out for revenge (ie, the whistling, and the letter). It was the only reveal in court...thus, making our time watching that second half moot. It wasn't necessary except to get viewers emotionally involved, which I wasn't. The lady's not that great an actress (she's 'okay') but I felt nothing when she was crying. Anytime I see a great actress cry, then I start crying. IF the killer was a great actress then and only then, would I see any reason to show this courtroom scene.