Approach The Bench: Law & Order General Discussion Thread

[KHenry14]

In a series that had a lot of creepy episodes, the top of the creepy list for me is Season 20's "Just a Girl in the World" featuring the electric Camille Chen as a young women who seduces Lupo in order to avoid prosecution. Camille's portrayal of this disturbed young woman chills me every time I see it. And the last courtroom scene where she is getting caught and she tries to blackmail the judge while on the stand is priceless. This episode creep's me out everytime I see it. Anyone else feel that way?

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

In a series that had a lot of creepy episodes, the top of the creepy list for me is Season 20's "Just a Girl in the World" featuring the electric Camille Chen as a young women who seduces Lupo in order to avoid prosecution. Camille's portrayal of this disturbed young woman chills me every time I see it. And the last courtroom scene where she is getting caught and she tries to blackmail the judge while on the stand is priceless. This episode creep's me out everytime I see it. Anyone else feel that way?

I would rank that pretty low on my personal creepy scale. I have decided that I cannot watch Criminal Minds at all, most horror shows, and can only watch SVU when I'm feeling pretty healthy. For me that episode was like: She is so going to dig her own hole to conviction. Although I would think psychiatric facility would be best--you know, to protect the other women in prison from her.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Under the Influence is on Sundance right now, and I can't decide if its perversely hilarious or as obnoxious as shit that Jack is on the warpath against the drunk guy who committed the hit and run while pouring himself a drink in his office and bitching at Jamie to stop thinking like a defense attorney. I get that he was deep in his feelings about Claire and angry because the driver that killed her got such a light sentence, but it's still really annoying that he was willing to collude with that nasty little judge to win the case.

[Raja]

On 6/28/2016 at 3:00 PM, KHenry14 said:

In a series that had a lot of creepy episodes, the top of the creepy list for me is Season 20's "Just a Girl in the World" featuring the electric Camille Chen as a young women who seduces Lupo in order to avoid prosecution. Camille's portrayal of this disturbed young woman chills me every time I see it. And the last courtroom scene where she is getting caught and she tries to blackmail the judge while on the stand is priceless. This episode creep's me out everytime I see it. Anyone else feel that way?

I saw it as more sad than creepy. For a late episode this one went over the pond to Law & Order UK really fast

[Spartan Girl]

On June 30, 2016 at 10:59 PM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Under the Influence is on Sundance right now, and I can't decide if its perversely hilarious or as obnoxious as shit that Jack is on the warpath against the drunk guy who committed the hit and run while pouring himself a drink in his office and bitching at Jamie to stop thinking like a defense attorney. I get that he was deep in his feelings about Claire and angry because the driver that killed her got such a light sentence, but it's still really annoying that he was willing to collude with that nasty little judge to win the case.

Yeah, but that defendant was an asshole. He ran over THREE PEOPLE and he didn't even care. Not to mention that even sober he was an abusive asshole to his girlfriend and even tried to pin the blame on her before embracing the drunk defense. And I so didn't buy his last-minute remorse at the trial when Jack showed him the pictures of his victims. Jack probably did cross the line with this one, but that guy sure deserved more than he got.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Yeah, but that defendant was an asshole. He ran over THREE PEOPLE and he didn't even care. Not to mention that even sober he was an abusive asshole to his girlfriend and even tried to pin the blame on her before embracing the drunk defense. And I so didn't buy his last-minute remorse at the trial when Jack showed him the pictures of his victims. Jack probably did cross the line with this one, but that guy sure deserved more than he got.

I don't disagree, and you make good points, because the defendant's 11th hour "I'm not a monster" goes against his whole attitude over the course of the episode. But Jack's full steam ahead push to get him strapped to a gurney was something the anti death penalty Claire would probably not have thanked him for. I was and am indifferent to the personal relationship between them, but in Savages, the episode where Victor Garber plays a crooked banker who shoots and kills an undercover policeman, she was adamantly against the guy going to death row, and its Jack who tells her that the decision to go for the death penalty was difficult enough without her making him feel guilty about it.

And then later in Agony when Abbie was trying some end-run to make sure that that serial killer ended up with a needle in his arm, Jack kept trying to caution her and pull her up short, and then she finally says something to the effect of, So you're the only one who's allowed to do things like this? I guess my issue is the lack of consistency from him in addition to his annoying tendency to be self-righteous when he knew that the person he was trying to avenge would have been silently judging him over the whole thing.

Hmm. I think I've been watching this show too much. ;-)

[Spartan Girl]

Yes, Jack was no stranger to hypocrisy, especially when it came to Mike Cutter. I raised my eyebrows in the one episode (where an unstable woman's brother made her crazy on purpose so he could sell away her stuff without her interfering) where he told Mike off for stretching the truth just to win a case. Like he never did that a million times before.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I've always said I didn't take long for Jack to turn into a politician. I thought it would take at least one season. But nope- turned into one shortly after being appointed or however he became interim DA.

[Ailianna]

I think in a place like Manhattan DA's Office, if you're the man in charge, you get politics or politics gets you.  I can't even imagine the number of powerful and influential people constantly asking for favors or reminding him of past debts, or putting pressure on him for this or that.  I think Jack is smart enough to realize if he wanted to keep the job, he would have to play the game.

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I think in a place like Manhattan DA's Office, if you're the man in charge, you get politics or politics gets you. 

I don't think you get to be the Executive ADA in that office if you aren't a politician, never mind becoming the DA.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

9 hours ago, Ailianna said:

I think in a place like Manhattan DA's Office, if you're the man in charge, you get politics or politics gets you.  I can't even imagine the number of powerful and influential people constantly asking for favors or reminding him of past debts, or putting pressure on him for this or that.  I think Jack is smart enough to realize if he wanted to keep the job, he would have to play the game.

I agree, and IMO the reason Adam was always in such a bad mood is because he had people yapping at him when Jack was prosecuting cases against this or that influential person, especially since going by the show half of Manhattan's upper crust were either drug addicts or murderers. Arthur had a little more sense of humor about it, but Arthur was also a realist who knew that politics came with the territory.

[WendyCR72]

How ironic, per the "Charged Up" Quizzes, that the Mothership was originally supposed to film in L.A., considering that setting failed later on! Makes me wonder had it happened, and NYC was attempted a la Los Angeles, if that would have had the same result.

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

How ironic, per the "Charged Up" Quizzes, that the Mothership was originally supposed to film in L.A., considering that setting failed later on! Makes me wonder had it happened, and NYC was attempted a la Los Angeles, if that would have had the same result.

Really? According to Wolf and Dzundza, in the first season interviews, it was going to be Vancouver. And Dzundza was okay with that because his family would be closer than say, New Yawk. He hated having to move there and it didn't help that he and Noth clashed. I think he was happy that he left after the first season.

[WendyCR72]

34 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Really? According to Wolf and Dzundza, in the first season interviews, it was going to be Vancouver. And Dzundza was okay with that because his family would be closer than say, New Yawk. He hated having to move there and it didn't help that he and Noth clashed. I think he was happy that he left after the first season.

Yeah, the choices were Boston, Chicago, or Los Angeles, and Los Angeles was the answer. Maybe Vancouver was a preliminary thing and L.A. the final first choice?

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

 I think [Dzundza] was happy that he left after the first season.

I've been watching the first season tonight on WE, and I had the realization that Dzundza looked like an evil cherub when he smiles. He was in his mid-forties when the first season aired, but between the chubby cheeks and the portly belly, he looks all cuddly until he smiles, and then its like, Wait.... ;-)

[WendyCR72]

Funny how the music in the first season was more "in your face", a more '80s style to it. (As was having the actual episode titles in the beginning of those episodes.) But hey, while it was 1990, save for one of the pilots, the '80s influence stuck around a lot of things until maybe 1993-ish, anyway.  :-)

And Mike Post did the music, and he has scored lots of '70s/'80s/'90s shows, anyway...

[wknt3]

6 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Funny how the music in the first season was more "in your face", a more '80s style to it. (As was having the actual episode titles in the beginning of those episodes.) But hey, while it was 1990, save for one of the pilots, the '80s influence stuck around a lot of things until maybe 1993-ish, anyway.  :-)

And Mike Post did the music, and he has scored lots of '70s/'80s/'90s shows, anyway...

Yeah a lot of those early episodes feel very 80's now. Not just stylistically, but some of the plots too especially the politics. Of course a lot of that is the fault of historical movements and socioeconomic trends for not neatly fitting into ten year periods starting and ending in years ending in 0...

[FormerMod-a1]

WE TV is airing a L&O Binge right now, however the Info Button has it listed as Season 12, but it's actually Season 1!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 7/5/2016 at 10:25 PM, WendyCR72 said:

Funny how the music in the first season was more "in your face", a more '80s style to it. (As was having the actual episode titles in the beginning of those episodes.) But hey, while it was 1990, save for one of the pilots, the '80s influence stuck around a lot of things until maybe 1993-ish, anyway.  :-)

And Mike Post did the music, and he has scored lots of '70s/'80s/'90s shows, anyway...

Also, they do a lot of close-ups. Out of the Half-Light was on earlier, and in the scene where Paul goes to the alleged rape victim's apartment to talk to her parents, the camera had a very tight focus on Paul and the girl's dad individually, which is something that almost never happened in the later seasons.

[WendyCR72]

9 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Also, they do a lot of close-ups. Out of the Half-Light was on earlier, and in the scene where Paul goes to the alleged rape victim's apartment to talk to her parents, the camera had a very tight focus on Paul and the girl's dad individually, which is something that almost never happened in the later seasons.

God, I remember the real event "Out of The Half Light" was based on, Tawana Brawley. Happened upstate, where I lived and still do. I think I said this in the thread before, but damn. You could not escape Al Sharpton on the news at all during the Summer of '87. Then it was discovered she lied. What a disaster.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The Brawley thing happened the year I graduated from high school, actually. Sharpton was on the TV all the time down here, too.

[WendyCR72]

34 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

The Brawley thing happened the year I graduated from high school, actually. Sharpton was on the TV all the time down here, too.

Ah, so we're close-ish in age. That was the summer before I entered 10th grade, so you only have around 3 years on me.  :-)  I'm shocked Sharpton weathered that scandal so well and is still doing his thing almost 30 years later.

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

God, I remember the real event "Out of The Half Light" was based on, Tawana Brawley. Happened upstate, where I lived and still do. I think I said this in the thread before, but damn. You could not escape Al Sharpton on the news at all during the Summer of '87. Then it was discovered she lied. What a disaster.

Ugh. It's hard enough for real rape victims to come forward without this kind of crap happening. 

[roseslg]

Nothing much to add, but my husband has made mention (and not in the positive way) about my excessive watching of L&O.  I've tried to cut down and only watch when he's not home.  He was home Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  I mean, those are marathon nights on Ion and WE.  I mean, I try not to watch on the weekends on TNT... I don't know if this marriage will work out :). 

[Maherjunkie]

Remind him Robinette, Stone, and Logan come first.

[shapeshifter]

I just caught 15.2, "Mammon," for the first time:

Quote

When a wealthy venture-capitalist is found dead in his home, Fontana and Green zero in on the victim's young wife (Andrea Roth) and her contractor boyfriend (Daniel Sunjata)

I thought it was very refreshing the way Sunjata delivered his "I didn't do it" lines so convincingly. It seems every other suspect has lied so transparently that it makes me wonder how anyone (detectives, girl friends, jurors, etc.) can possibly believe it, but he had me wondering about his innocence until the end.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 7/14/2016 at 9:08 AM, roseslg said:

Nothing much to add, but my husband has made mention (and not in the positive way) about my excessive watching of L&O.  I've tried to cut down and only watch when he's not home.  He was home Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  I mean, those are marathon nights on Ion and WE.  I mean, I try not to watch on the weekends on TNT... I don't know if this marriage will work out :). 

He must have been overjoyed to see Sweet Home Alabama back to back on WE last night, then. Stupid Reese Witherspoon. ;-)

[Maherjunkie]

I wonder how Logan would have treated her if she pulled the "Don't you know how I am?" crap.
 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

So apparently WGN is going to be getting in on the act of airing the Mothership, at least according to the On Demand lineup the last time I checked it. They're supposed to be airing the season nine episodes later this month, but thus far there's no confirmation on the station's website. @WendyCR72, I know you usually pay attention to the scheduling as well, can you confirm or deny this?

[WendyCR72]

47 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

So apparently WGN is going to be getting in on the act of airing the Mothership, at least according to the On Demand lineup the last time I checked it. They're supposed to be airing the season nine episodes later this month, but thus far there's no confirmation on the station's website. @WendyCR72, I know you usually pay attention to the scheduling as well, can you confirm or deny this?

Yeah, I did see that, too. WGN America used to air CI but they have since switched to the Mothership.

But all their site has is "Weeknights Late Night". If it is filling CI's berth altogether, it'll be something like 4:00 a.m., as that's the listing I used to see for CI. (Never watched there.)

[BW Manilowe]

On August 10, 2016 at 3:00 AM, WendyCR72 said:

Yeah, I did see that, too. WGN America used to air CI but they have since switched to the Mothership.

But all their site has is "Weeknights Late Night". If it is filling CI's berth altogether, it'll be something like 4:00 a.m., as that's the listing I used to see for CI. (Never watched there.)

WGNAmerica has been airing the Mothership most/all week at 4AM Eastern (5AM Eastern Sunday night/Monday morning) for at least a couple/a few weeks now. They were towards the end of Jamie's run as ADA when they started & they just started Abbie's run as ADA this week; the episode DWB aired early this morning. Then they ran another ep I've already forgotten the plot of at 9 Eastern this morning, followed by a long Blue Bloods marathon. At least right now they're not running the 4-hour Friday morning mini-marathon of the Mothership on WGNAmerica anymore.

While I'm here, in case anyone's interested Elisabeth Röhm has been in Hawaii for most of the last week, filming a guest spot on Hawaii Five-0.

I don't follow her on social media, but I found out about it because others retweeted her Tweets about it to Hawaii Five-0 Twitter feeds I do follow.

Her appearance--& she might be a recurring character, I'm not sure--should be in either Ep 703 or 704 of their show (I think that's what they're filming right now, anyway), so early in the season unless they air eps out of production order for some reason. I'll try to post an airdate for her ep when I find out. It probably won't be until at least October though, since Hawaii Five-0's season premiere's not until September 23rd.

[BW Manilowe]

There's a Mothership marathon scheduled on ION today (Monday), from 12 Noon Eastern/11AM Central (NOW) until 1AM Eastern/12 Midnight Central.

And WGNAmerica airs the Mothership at 5AM Eastern/4AM Central Saturday night/Sunday morning; I was mistaken on the day in my previous post.

They *don't* air it Sunday night/Monday morning, & they air it at 4AM Eastern/3AM Central Monday night/Tuesday morning-Friday night/Saturday morning.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Very random, but I was watching 1977's Oh, God! on DVD last night, and Paul Sorvino has a role in it as Reverend Willie Williams. And the addition of a white suit and a (bad) attempt at a southern accent does not make Mr. Sorvino come across less like a gangster. :-P

Edited August 16, 2016 by Cobalt Stargazer

[fastiller]

On 7/2/2016 at 5:43 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I've always said I didn't take long for Jack to turn into a politician. I thought it would take at least one season. But nope- turned into one shortly after being appointed or however he became interim DA.

Not related to McCoy becoming a politician, but related to him taking on the office of DA: I loved how the set dressers really understood the different personalities of the DAs.  Schiff was obviously a person who farmed out much of the day-to-day so his office remained mostly clear of papers.  When McCoy took occupancy of the room there were red-wells all over the place.

[BW Manilowe]

USA Today reports that WE TV will air 5 episodes featuring the late Steven Hill's Adam Schiff character, starting at 8PM Eastern, during this coming Tuesday's "Charged Up" Binge-a-Thon (honestly, it probably wasn't that hard to do since I think they were still airing Schiff eps anyway; the tribute eps are out of order from what they're currently running though). It appears to be a "Best of Schiff" marathon within the marathon & includes a number, if not all, of the favorite Schiff eps mentioned since Steven's passing. The episodes & their scheduled air times are listed in this linked article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/awardcentral/2016/08/26/wetv-plans-law-and-order-marathon-to-honor-steven-hill/89408726/

[Cobalt Stargazer]

2 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

ABBIE DON'T GOOOOO

Took the words right out of my mouth.

You might be watching this morning on TNT, @Spartan Girl, but Hubris is on right now. Dumb Bunny Forewoman makes me want to smack her, but I'll settle for her being leveled with a "You're an idiot" look from Abbie.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

You might be watching this morning on TNT, @Spartan Girl, but Hubris is on right now. Dumb Bunny Forewoman makes me want to smack her, but I'll settle for her being leveled with a "You're an idiot" look from Abbie.

Yup, I saw it. But I wish Abbie had informed her that her confession would be useless since she'd just be portrayed as a woman scorned. She obviously didn't give a shit that he killed a child before he dumped her. What a [REDACTED].

And no, killing the guy at the end didn't make up for it. I don't advocate violence against women, but the dead girl's father should have decked her.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 minute ago, Spartan Girl said:

Yup, I saw it. But I wish Abbie had informed her that her confession would be useless since she'd just be portrayed as a woman scorned. She obviously didn't give a shit that he killed a child before he dumped her. What a [REDACTED].

And no, killing the guy at the end didn't make up for it. I don't advocate violence against women, but the dead girl's father should have decked her.

To use a phrase that was common on TWoP: WORD.

I'll add my two cents' worth and say that I didn't believe that he had come to kill her. That she killed him because he dumped her. And that she probably provoked him to put his hands around her throat or whatever wounds she had.

Stupid twit.

[Maherjunkie]

Sundance marathon on now.  Not much left, but there.

[BW Manilowe]

WGNAmerica seems to be messing with their scheduling of the Mothership again.

This week--at least--it's on at 9AM Eastern Monday & Friday morning. And it's on at 4AM Eastern & again at 9AM Eastern (2 different episodes) late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning & late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I knew that WGN had added the Mothership to their lineup, and they've been running season nine in single episodes at 4 AM. Are they running different seasons now, or the same one(s)?

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

I knew that WGN had added the Mothership to their lineup, and they've been running season nine in single episodes at 4 AM. Are they running different seasons now, or the same one(s)?

WGN (America) has had the mothership for at least three years, and it also airs the early seasons.l Not sure why some seem to think it's a new thing with them. Unless they stopped airing during the 3:00 EST hour? I find I have to take breaks and took this off my dvr schedule awhile back, but when i did, early seasons were still airing.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

@GHScorpiosRule, I didn't find out about it until I was randomly checking the On Demand listings, since On Demand airs the early episodes as well, and it said that WGN was airing some episodes in addition to TNT and WE.

[BW Manilowe]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

WGN (America) has had the mothership for at least three years, and it also airs the early seasons.l Not sure why some seem to think it's a new thing with them. Unless they stopped airing during the 3:00 EST hour? I find I have to take breaks and took this off my dvr schedule awhile back, but when i did, early seasons were still airing.

If you mean 3PM Eastern, WGNA hasn't aired it there in a long time. For a long time they were airing, like, 4 eps in a row from 9AM-1PM Eastern on Fridays. Then they changed that to some other schedule I forget. For most of the last month, they've been airing the end of Jamie Ross as Jack's ADA & the Abbie Carmichael as Jack's ADA eps... At 4AM Eastern 5 days a week & 5AM Eastern 1 other day a week.

Now their schedule for this week shows The Mothership airing at just 9AM Eastern this morning (Monday) & Friday morning, & airing at both 4AM Eastern & 9AM Eastern tomorrow (Tuesday), Wednesday, & Thursday morning (a different ep in each timeslot). I don't know if that's permanent or just for this week though.

I didn't know about it earlier, but it turns out ION has been airing The Mothership since about 11AM or Noon Eastern today. They're airing it until the usual end time, 1AM Eastern. It appears to be Jack/Rubirosa/Cutter/Lupo/Bernard/Van Buren eps. That's the cast I've seen since I found the marathon anyway.

Even with today's marathon, ION is still scheduled to run the usual Wednesday Marathon, from either 11AM or Noon Eastern to 1AM Eastern Thursday morning. At least according to the listings on the Titan TV site. I checked.

[SparedTurkey]

So, I recently bought seasons 9-11 on dvd and I have to say...Abbie is my favourite. I despise her politics (i.e. saying a woman can find another type of birth control other than abortion which...just no, no wonder you were from Texas) and the whole show just comes across as very 90s. But I still like her as much now as I did when I was watching it at 12. I like her and Jack together, with the detectives. I love the faces she makes at any defence attorney that are just asking for it and any witness/defendant who is that stupid they are asking for it.

And I really dislike Rey. Sanctimonious prick

[WendyCR72]

I have said that my estimation of Jamie Ross has improved upon re-watch, but Rey Curtis? I like him even less. He was a complete douche to Lennie in the early days of their partnership, and Lennie should have popped him.

I do admire Lennie's restraint in not starting drinking again (well, until "Aftershock") in having to be stuck with his high and mighty act all day long.

[Arcadiasw]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 5:34 PM, BW Manilowe said:

USA Today reports that WE TV will air 5 episodes featuring the late Steven Hill's Adam Schiff character, starting at 8PM Eastern, during this coming Tuesday's "Charged Up" Binge-a-Thon (honestly, it probably wasn't that hard to do since I think they were still airing Schiff eps anyway; the tribute eps are out of order from what they're currently running though). It appears to be a "Best of Schiff" marathon within the marathon & includes a number, if not all, of the favorite Schiff eps mentioned since Steven's passing. The episodes & their scheduled air times are listed in this linked article:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/awardcentral/2016/08/26/wetv-plans-law-and-order-marathon-to-honor-steven-hill/89408726/

I'm surprised they are not showing Jeopardy.

[Maherjunkie]

They could make a sculpture, with "Make a deal" down at the bottom.

[BW Manilowe]

Watching the first ep with Robert Vaughn as Schiff's friend turned nemesis, Carl Anderton, right now on WE's Schiff marathon. Mental illness or not, the character was a big bully, in my opinion. And Vaughn played him to perfection (Was he ever nominated for an Emmy for the role? He should've been.); especially in the scene when he breaks down in front of Adam, Jamie, & Jack after they tell him they've discovered his secret bipolar disorder. Every time 1 of the Anderton eps comes up, I love to hate him (he recurs because he backs a slimy judge as the next DA because of the wrong he believes Adam, et al, did to him, personally, though he wasn't the accused, in the original episode). And I hate that he won't have his grandson, who also is bipolar, treated--as Jack & company recognize he needs to be--apparently because he's afraid his own bipolar disorder will be discovered.

[roseslg]

It would seem as though half of Adam's friends were crooks of some kind.  I guess if you are in a high enough position you will bump into a lot of them.  I think the Adam smackdown I like the most was when he had that chat with the judge who was sexually harassing Jamie and through Jack into jail for contempt.   He didn't shout, he didn't really yell, but he was able to convey how he could really destroy that judge.  When Nora did it in later episodes, I didn't quite buy it.  Branch, meh.