S21.E01: The Right Thing

[Door County Cherry]

Airs Feb. 24th, 2022

Quote

Newly acquainted partners Bernard and Cosgrove investigate the murder of a notorious entertainer. A dispute over throwing out a confession creates a rift in the DA’s office.

Please be aware that this episode is scheduled to run 65 minutes long so make sure your recording devices are set accordingly unless you're watching live. 

For the live viewers, since so many of us have been waiting forever, this thread will be available for a watch party. I'll be here.  

Promo:

 

[Prairie Rose]

Carey Lowell is a guest star!

[Door County Cherry]

They zushed up the opening.  They did not need to zhuzh up the opening.  They also went a bit overboard on the cop lights and DRAMA in the background. Or that little drum beat as Frank talks to that one witness with an attitude.  

6 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

Carey Lowell is a guest star!

I would not have recognized her. 

[CSunshine76]

1 minute ago, Door County Cherry said:

They zushed up the opening.  They did not need to zhuzh up the opening.  They also went a bit overboard on the cop lights and DRAMA in the background. Or that little drum beat as Frank talks to that one witness with an attitude.  

I would not have recognized her. 

Literally came here to see if that was Carey Lowell. The voice is the same, but I would never have recognized her either! 

[Prairie Rose]

Just now, Door County Cherry said:

They zushed up the opening.  They did not need to zhuzh up the opening.  They also went a bit overboard on the cop lights and DRAMA in the background. Or that little drum beat as Frank talks to that one witness with an attitude.  

I would not have recognized her. 

Yeah, I'm not crazy about the modernized opening and aesthetics. Why is Jamie an ADA again? She was a judge last time we saw her (TBJ)!!

[Door County Cherry]

Just now, Prairie Rose said:

Yeah, I'm not crazy about the modernized opening and aesthetics. Why is Jamie an ADA again? She was a judge last time we saw her (TBJ)!!

I don't mind that she's an ADA again but some explanation would have been beneficial.  

[Clawdette]

While Carey is still pretty, she doesn’t look like herself. It’s not plastic surgery gone bad; it’s plastic surgery gone weird. 

[Arcadiasw]

4 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

Yeah, I'm not crazy about the modernized opening and aesthetics. Why is Jamie an ADA again? She was a judge last time we saw her (TBJ)!!

Maybe they are not counting TBJ as canon? 🤷‍♀️ I did not recognize her either. Did she have work done?

[Prairie Rose]

5 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

I don't mind that she's an ADA again but some explanation would have been beneficial.  

Yes, otherwise they have a major continuity gaffe right out of the gate!

[SusieQ]

I get that the cops are allowed to lie. But don't they have to read her her rigts??? Did I miss that?

[MerBearHou]

I had to Google to see if Carey’s been sick.  She does not look well.

Got a little chill when Sam Waterston walked in the room.  As though no time had passed.

[Prairie Rose]

Is it just me, or do they need to turn up the lights? The lighting is so dark, it was hard to see the squad and interrogation rooms.

[shapeshifter]

16 minutes ago, SusieQ said:

I get that the cops are allowed to lie. But don't they have to read her her rigts??? Did I miss that?

Not if she's not "under arrest" (School of L&O).

<shallow>
I couldn't hear anything Carey said because I was so distracted by her looks -- not so much "bad," but [NOT] the way she used to look and yet still supposed to be the same character.

Waterston's eyebrows need to be trimmed for large-screen HD TV.
</shallow>

Edited February 25, 2022 by shapeshifter
typo: forgot to type "NOT"

[SuzieQ]

25 minutes ago, Clawdette said:

While Carey is still pretty, she doesn’t look like herself. It’s not plastic surgery gone bad; it’s plastic surgery gone weird. 

I don't think she had anything done as her neck looks like an 80 year old woman.  I think she just aged and looks like the 61 she is.

[Kemper]

It kind of looked to me like Carey Lowell has simply aged naturally.  

 

 

 

[SusieQ]

1 minute ago, shapeshifter said:

Not if she's not "under arrest" (School of L&O).

<shallow>
I couldn't hear anything Carey said because I was so distracted by her looks -- not so much "bad," but the way she used to look and yet still supposed to be the same character.

Waterston's eyebrows need to be trimmed for large-screen HD TV.
</shallow>

Thank you! Of course she was a suspect but not under arrest. Duh.

Yeah, Carey looks -- don't know how to explain. Just weird.

[SusieQ]

Oh, there's a SuzieQ and a SusieQ (that's me!) in the same thread!

[SuzieQ]

1 minute ago, SusieQ said:

Oh, there's a SuzieQ and a SusieQ (that's me!) in the same thread!

That is funny!!  And right before I saw this post, I read your earlier one and and initially thought "I didn't post that"😄

[MerBearHou]

So great to have this back!  I love that the episode was 50-50 Police Work and Trial Work as the premise originally was.  SVU doesn’t do enough Trial work.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I didn't expect that to be so bad.  This cast is really uncharismatic.  I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Arcadiasw]

Kinda disappointed we didn't get a scene of Jamie and Jack together but that look they shared said a lot. 

Just now, Ms Blue Jay said:

I didn't expect that to be so bad.  This cast is really uncharismatic.

I think some of the cast need to find their footing. I'll give it a few episodes for them to gel. 

[scarynikki12]

I'm giving this a few episodes to find it's rhythm and then I'm out. So far I don't really like anyone but Jack and even that's due to nostalgia. I get why having a Cosby based story would be appealing for the show but don't make it the first episode. Give us a murder where the evidence is almost entirely circumstantial so we can see the lawyers do their job to get that conviction. IF they had to make the Cosby based story the first episode then why not do something like Nicole fired through a window and killed someone else by mistake. Put a twist on it that can make us be ok with a conviction.

[MerBearHou]

I am in the camp of “give it time to find its groove”.  The unfiltered cop is too much and way too stiff; Anthony Anderson is “off” too.  I like Hugh Dancy and his 2nd chair.  Carey Lowell was stunt casting and to me, that didn’t work out so well, both for Carey or the story.  I am absolutely fine with the woman getting convicted and I do hope she gets a light sentence, but at the end of the day, she did murder a man in cold blood.

[Clawdette]

I think Carey had eye work done - not a face lift.  But, to me, the eyes are what make you "you."

While I wasn't carried away with the first episode, I didn't expect to be.  There are so many new faces to weave in to the narrative we all loved and this is going to take some time.  Having Anthony Anderson in the second scene was a steadying presence and I wish they hadn't made Jeffrey Donavan's character so strident right out of the box. Jamie Ross was always my favorite ADA and I was glad to see her in spite of the distraction.  

Hugh Dancy is such a polished actor that he eased right into the lead ADA spot so that arena should be fine.  And, having Jack McCoy back as the paterfamilias was just what we needed.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Clawdette

[WendyCR72]

Just seems weird to me that Jamie would give up being a judge to be a lawyer again. As for her looks, I think it is just natural age. All the repeats we see, the younger versions of the actors is pretty ingrained. But time marches on.

I didn't like the changes to the opening. Should have just let the tried and true stand.

For all intents and purposes, after 12 years off, this was essentially the pilot 2.0, so I am willing to give it time.

[cambridgeguy]

Maroun really got shortchanged in this episode - Price dominated the trial part until the closing argument.  Hopefully they'll give her more to do without needing to draw on her family's tragic past.

Cosgrove came across as a little too adversarial, but if memory serves Curtis and Green were stiff hard asses when they were introduced to create conflict with Briscoe, and they ended up mellowing out pretty quickly. 

Edited February 25, 2022 by cambridgeguy

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

Cosgrove came across as a little too adversarial, but if memory serves Curtis and Green were stiff hard asses when they were introduced to create conflict with Briscoe, and they ended up mellowing out pretty quickly. 

Hell, Lennie himself was a lot more abrasive when he first popped up, almost in douche territory, and we all know how beloved the character became.

[Jenniferbug]

12 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

Kinda disappointed we didn't get a scene of Jamie and Jack together but that look they shared said a lot. 

I was disappointed about this too. When Price subpoenaed Jamie, I was thinking "and what does Jack think about that?" It seems like a missed opportunity for a scene. 

Cosgrove was annoying and came across as a caricature. I wouldn't be sad if Bernard has to solve the murder of his partner before the season is over. I liked Jeffrey Donovan on Burn Notice but he didn't feel natural here. 

I liked Price alright, and hope we get more of the female ADA (?) soon as she was just kind of there till the end of the episode. 

I'm just so happy to have this show back!

[GHScorpiosRule]

WTF??? Way to ruin a good character DICK.🤬🤬🤬 Did he forget that Jamie was a judge on Trial By Jury? And even though she’s returned to the DA’s office, she’s a fucking officer of the court! Bet they’ll let what she did drop. 🤬🤬🤬

I HATE the opening. I HATE the new court room-looks cheap and tacky.

I HATE Cosgrove and his racist tendencies. Can they Max Greevy him? Pretty please? Losing his temper because that guy told him to kiss his ass? PUHLEAZE.🙄🙄🙄🙄

I do like the new Loo! And Bernard is still the same, thank goodness. But a line about Lupo and Van Buren would not have been amiss. 

I also like Nolan. But Sam is giving me shades of Rohmbot, with her having to actually prosecute criminals! Oh the HORROR! Not all murder victims will ne nice people. And I knew from the minute King spoke, this would be ripped from Cosby. Seriously? And Jamie in the role of the SA who made that stupid deal that let him off on a technicality. Oh BROTHER.

Hey there, Alicia Copolla! Both she and Carey looked…odd. Their faces looked…waxey. Maybe it’s the lighting or make-up?

Yes, the cops can lie to suspects, but of they’re asking what happened, and she’s clearly in custody, they have to Mirandize them! At least it’s keeping in tune with previous seasons when the cops fucked up and the confessions got thrown out. Nolan should have ripped Cosgrove a new ASSHOLE, instead of that mewly reprimand. 

I want René Balcer. I only recognized Jankowski, Forney (producers from the beginning) and Segonzac the director-who was also on this show from the beginning.

And PLEASE, for all that is HOLY, STAHP with the musical score during scenes with Jack in his office, the squad, questioning witnesses, and the courtroom!!! They need to SERIOUSLY go back and watch the early to mid years.

LOVED, LOVED LOVED seeing Jack again!

Hey! The hat and trench coat is back next week!

I have more, but I’m blanking. So I think I’ll go watch ”Life Choice” now.

Edited February 25, 2022 by GHScorpiosRule

[scarynikki12]

4 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

When Price subpoenaed Jamie, I was thinking "and what does Jack think about that?" It seems like a missed opportunity for a scene. 

Not to mention her taking the fifth. Both of those deserved some Jamie/Jack time and we were denied. I do hope this means that Jamie will be a recurring ADA. I think they're probably just going to pretend Trial By Jury never existed since it didn't take off.

5 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

I liked Jeffrey Donovan on Burn Notice but he didn't feel natural here.

It's been long enough that they could have written him to be Michael Weston-esque without it being jarring. If I stick with the show I hope they let him show that Burn Notice humor and charm. He does asshole very well but it's not what I want to see long term. Plus L&O has a long history of inserting pockets of humor in episodes.

[GHScorpiosRule]

16 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

Maroun really got shortchanged in this episode - Price dominated the trial part until the closing argument.  Hopefully they'll give her more to do without needing to draw on her family's tragic past.

That’s pretty typical though. It was rare for each of the second chairs to get equal billing, so to speak. Ben, Jack, Mike. They all dominated.

17 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Hell, Lennie himself was a lot more abrasive when he first popped up, almost in douche territory, and we all know how beloved the character became.

Not at all comparable! Lennie wasn’t an asshole; neither was Ed. Rey, on the other hand…but still not as bad as Cosgrove. And that’s saying something since I hated Rey!

[Crs97]

Carey didn’t look like she had any lipstick on; her face looked monotone to me, which was off putting.  Also, when did ADA’s get such nice offices?  Partners in law firms don’t have it so good.

The courtroom was off as well.  When he gave his opening argument, I saw a coat rack behind him in a place a closet wouldn’t go.

I hate Cosgrove.  I didn’t like the assistant either, which was impressive considering she managed to annoy me without saying much.  Frankly, the whole thing was off.  This could quickly fall into “be careful what you wish for” territory.

ETA: I wrote the above 10 minutes before it ended.  Maroun giving the closing does not change my opinion of her.  I hope Jack fires Ross immediately after she pled the fifth.

Edited February 25, 2022 by Crs97

[Prairie Rose]

I think casting Camryn Manheim as the new LT was a smart move, but she had next to nothing to do in this first episode. What's really weird is that she and Carey Lowell are less than a month apart in age, but CM looks so...different? Younger? Different?

The main problem I have is the production values. It looks too slick, and I could have done without the overhead shots at the crime scene. It looks too much like they are making a movie. L&O never was that. I think I will go watch some reruns.

[WendyCR72]

On 2/24/2022 at 9:47 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I want René Balcer. I only recognized Jankowski, Forney (producers from the beginning) and Segonzac the director-who was also on this show from the beginning.

I'm not even sure René Balcer is even in the US now. Wasn't his last series, Jo [using actors from the franchise and Criminal Intent history - strange series!], Paris based? At least Forney, Jankowski, and Segonzac [who seems the go-to director in the entire franchise!] are still around.

[mommalib]

That Cosgrove is a jack ass, but I don't want to see him mellow out too soon I think he needs to be put in place over time by Bernard. Glad Anthony Anderson is in this and great to see the legend Jack McCoy, I like Price and Maroun well enough. The lady from the Practice is no Van Buren but I guess she doesn't have to be. Hopefully she gets fleshed out more.

Edited February 25, 2022 by mommalib

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

Not if she's not "under arrest" (School of L&O).

At some point, she doesn't need to be under arrest.  It's complicated but if they're interrogating her believing her to be a suspect, instead of just a witness, and she's of the belief she's not at liberty to leave, then they should have Mirandized her.  If I were her defense, I'd argue that the minute Cosgrove said "tell us the truth and we'll let you leave" she didn't feel like she could leave and should have been read her rights.

That said, since they didn't use the confession or try to get it entered, it was pointless.  If I were the ADA and Cosgrove told me how to do my job, I would have hung him out to dry in trying to get that confession entered. 

14 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

I was disappointed about this too. When Price subpoenaed Jamie, I was thinking "and what does Jack think about that?" It seems like a missed opportunity for a scene. 

That does seem like the kind of scene where Jack would normally go meet Jamie for dinner to get her to talk instead of Dancy's character.  Maybe bring up their mutual close calls with the bar. 

I actually thought all the acting was fine.  Even Donovan who I thought looked stiff in the promos.  He's definitely rough around the edges but I'm hoping some of the real life chemistry between Anderson and Donovan spills over into their on screen interactions.

Overall, this felt a bit off because so much of it was acting like they haven't been there before in the fact that they felt they had to spice things up in the background--the music, the sirens....etc.  It felt forced and it was making its actors work hard to find the naturalism.  It kind of clashed.

But I did like the script.  And like I said, the acting/characters were better than I expected.  Hopefully, as we move past the exposition stage, things will smooth out. 

[WendyCR72]

Considering the slicker nature of L&O: OC, I think it is sadly the "new normal". I wish it was more like "old" Mothership, SVU, and Criminal Intent in look/tone, too, as that "look/style" is how I associated this franchise.

But the slick look and low lighting must be how Wolf and Company see "updating" or "modernization". I could live without it.

[Prairie Rose]

1 minute ago, WendyCR72 said:

But the slick look and low lighting must be how Wolf and Company see "updating" or "modernization". I could live without it.

It just takes me right out of the episode.

[WendyCR72]

28 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

Plus L&O has a long history of inserting pockets of humor in episodes.

Maybe, but so did the spinoffs. I mention them here because now SVU is joyless and OC takes itself way too seriously. The last I saw any humor was on Criminal Intent's final season, and that was 11 years ago. So I'm not hopeful here. I'll be pleasantly shocked if this revival relaxes enough to allow a smile or laugh.

I wish TPTB remembered that you can still be serious with a bit of humor to not be 100% depressing.

[stonehaven]

I liked CM but the rest? Not so much. The show had no real verve too it.....almost a visual dirge. There was no humor or real chemistry but like others, I'm willing to give it another shot to watch it grow.

As for what they did to Jamie Ross, that was horrific. Ross tried to rein in Jack back in the day. NO WAY would she stand by and not try to prevent a murder. Aside from the ethical thing, she had to know from watching enough revenge cases, that revenge eats away at the soul and gives a part of the victory back to the perp. Also, there's no way she would have made a deal to the rapist guy. Speaking of deals, why didn't the DA at least entertain a plea deal if they weren't using a confession?

Save the press, give her the light sentence and move on?

This episode was a hot mess and the more I watched, the madder I got because "Rubber Room" was a fantastic series finale and this shit all over it....

Thank God, Ghosts was on to clear the stench from the room....

[Ohiopirate02]

22 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

I think casting Camryn Manheim as the new LT was a smart move, but she had next to nothing to do in this first episode. What's really weird is that she and Carey Lowell are less than a month apart in age, but CM looks so...different? Younger? Different?

 

I noticed a lot of sun damage on Carey.  She looks like she never used the proper SPF when she was younger.  In comparison to Camryn, fat can make you appear younger.  It's the classic conundrum, ass or face? 

[Prairie Rose]

3 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Maybe, but so did the spinoffs. I mention them here because now SVU is joyless and OC takes itself way too seriously. The last I saw any humor was on Criminal Intent's final season, and that was 11 years ago. So I'm not hopeful here. I'll be pleasantly shocked if this revival relaxes enough to allow a smile or laugh.

I wish TPTB remembered that you can still be serious with a bit of humor to not be 100% depressing.

Yes! Gallows humor!

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 minutes ago, Arcadiasw said:

This was a whole makeover and not reminiscent at all which I think is what the fans want.

Not this fan. The sets didn’t need a makeover. This is supposed to be season 21 of the original series. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

[wanderingstar]

Cosgrove is insufferable. Surprised to see Jamie Ross. I thought she was shown as a judge at some point. Kind of a basic case. I kept waiting for a twist. Price and Maroun are very bland, but maybe they'll improve. Not sure I will stick around for that, though.

[Xeliou66]

I have a lot of thoughts on the premiere, here they are -

Overall a solid effort - certainly not flawless but a solid start to the revival of my favorite show of all time. The case was good, it was clearly ripped from the headlines with the victim being based on Bill Cosby, and it was a solid investigation and solid legal stuff.

Awesome to see Jack again, but he was only in 2 scenes! I don’t know how much of a workload Sam Waterston wants, but he should’ve been more involved given that it was the premiere. And they blew a major opportunity by not having him be the one to talk to Jamie (more on Jamie below), he worked closely with her for 2 seasons, he should’ve spoken to her instead of Price. Hopefully there is more Jack in future episodes, because he’s the face of the show and is an awesome character and I was thrilled to see him again.

The cast seems to have strong chemistry - Price and Maroun have the potential to be a great prosecuting duo, I really liked both of them, and while it was highly unusual to have the second chair give the closing argument, it worked in this case, even if the fact that Maroun’s sister was murdered was something of a cliched background, she gave a strong closing and it gave her a chance to shine in the first episode which was good.

Price was too confident he could win without the confession, he should’ve listened to Jack and tried to get it admitted. That being said Frank fucked up when he said “no DA will prosecute you”, it was almost like he was telling her she had immunity, which was a no no. If he hadn’t said that I think the confession would’ve been fine to use, but since he said that, I think a judge would’ve tossed it.

Nice to see Bernard again to provide a familiar face to the police side. And the new Lieutenant was good, I liked when she told Bernard and Cosgrove to quit bickering and solve the murder, it’s impossible to replace a legend like Anita Van Buren but she appears to be a worthy successor. 

Cosgrove came off as a jackass a few times, and I didn’t like him getting in Price’s face and he overreacted when the gangster told him to kiss his ass, but I think there is some depth to the character and he does have good chemistry with Bernard even if they see things differently sometimes, so hopefully they will smooth over the rougher edges with Frank. It was interesting that he called Bernard “Kev”, Lupo never once called Bernard by his first name which I found interesting.

Now to the bad part of the episode - Jamie Ross. It was a nice surprise at first to see her, but god they fucked up, she was always one of the least biased, most straightforward ADA’s and now she is taking the 5th and shielding a killer, they threw her under the goddamn bus and ran over her with it. I wish she hadn’t even appeared if that’s what they were going to do. And they blew an opportunity by not having her and Jack share a scene, and they didn’t even say what her future in the office would be after this case. What a piss poor effort with regards to Jamie, bad writers, bad!!

They did a good job of recreating the sets IMO. And I really liked the closing shot of Price looking up at the courthouse. 

So overall this was mostly promising - the classic L&O formula of investigation/legal proceedings is back, the case was intriguing, the characters have good chemistry and are promising, and it’s awesome to have my favorite show ever back. I loathe what they did to Jamie, but she isn’t going to be a regular so that won’t affect the show going forward. Certainly not a flawless outing but a pretty good start to season 21!!

Edited February 25, 2022 by Xeliou66

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I thought she was shown as a judge at some point.

She was. On the forgotten/failed spinoff, L&O: Trial By Jury. An explanation for her switch would have been nice.

Maybe TPTB figured no one watched TBJ, so no one would care. But it messes with continuity, because some of us do remember.

[buttersister]

Quote

Jack would normally go meet Jamie for dinner to get her to talk instead of Dancy's character. 

Could you please write the scripts, Door County Cherry? Cause I didn't love this one and it looks like another woman villain next week, plus, the character assassination of Jamie Ross. Blech.

In Dick Wolf's script, Jack didn't know what defund the police meant. I was excited going into this, not sure at the moment. But several cast members I like to watch, so here's hoping.

[Arcadiasw]

9 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Not this fan. The sets didn’t need a makeover. This is supposed to be season 21 of the original series. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

That's what I am saying. We want something reminiscent to the original run (the squad room) and not a makeover (the courtroom).

[stonehaven]

I may be one of the few but I like Trial By Jury....this reminds me a bit of L&OLA. It just all seems a bit uneccessary but it's there.

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

wish TPTB remembered that you can still be serious with a bit of humor to not be 100% depressing.

Didn't Anthony Anderson have one chuckle-worthy line? I can't recall, but I think so--in the squad room, maybe?

 

30 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

the minute Cosgrove said "tell us the truth and we'll let you leave" she didn't feel like she could leave and should have been read her rights.

Oooo. I missed that line. Thanks. 
Maybe the writers originally intended to include having her say she was told she couldn't leave, but they needed to edit for time and decided that it wasn't necessary to include a reference to Cosgrove's "tell us the truth and we'll let you leave" to get to the point that using a confession that the jury would learn was coerced from a rape victim by lying to her was a losing strategy. 
And, ultimately, it was about murder being a crime that is legally punishable--which has been used before on L&O, as others here can probably cite.

 

13 minutes ago, Xeliou66 said:

Price was too confident he could win without the confession, he should’ve listened to Jack and tried to get it admitted.

Heh, but that was right out of Jack's old playbook, if I'm not mistaken. Or was it Cutter's? Or both?

 

41 minutes ago, Prairie Rose said:

I think casting Camryn Manheim as the new LT was a smart move, but she had next to nothing to do in this first episode. What's really weird is that she and Carey Lowell are less than a month apart in age, but CM looks so...different? Younger? Different?

14 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

fat can make you appear younger.

And my plumper age-mates are not crippled with osteoporosis. 
Camryn Manheim was easy to watch because she looked natural, wrinkles and all. 
I'm not sure, but I think Carey looked a bit better in her second and third scenes--perhaps shot a day later after the Botox (if that's what the problem was). A little face lift seems warranted for TV, but Botox is not the actor's friend. I keep imagining some Botox-hawkers hanging around the places where the filming is happening, and I blame them.