Have loved the original 'Law and Order' for a long time, particularly the earlier seasons, and consider it my personal favourite of the 'Law and Order' franchise. Did like the idea for Season 16's "America Inc", though it is not new territory for the show and has the dangers of heavy-handedness and one-sided-ness. 'Law and Order' do have a good track record at making something great and more complex than expected out of stories that don't sound out of the ordinary on paper
"America Inc" is a very good episode, if falling a little short of being great despite having a lot of great things individually. Like a lot of episodes in 'Law and Order's' late seasons and actually 'Law and Order' in general, it is a case of one half being superior to the other. But not because one half is bad, just that there is one half that executes the storytelling especially even better. Though perhaps it could have done a little bit more with the subject covered, which is a challenging role and a brave one to tackle.
Beginning with the good, it is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
The script is generally taut, with little fat, and intelligent. The story does intrigue and is tense and moving, the policing scenes are solidly done and the legalities are accessible and intriguing. On the most part, it is not one sided and McCoy and Melnick's chemistry helps makes the legal portions riveting. The moral dilemmas of the case are handled nicely. The acting is very good from all, with Pablo Schreiber standing out as a real snake of a character.
Did feel that "America Inc" is a bit routine to begin with, with the investigation not being as complex as the second half.
Melnick has been written better and more tactfully, how badly she mismanages the case seemed out of character for her and her views on the war are laid on too thick and makes her come over as biased. Absolutely agree regarding McCoy being spot on with what he says about conflict of interest.
Overall, very good. 8/10.
"America Inc" is a very good episode, if falling a little short of being great despite having a lot of great things individually. Like a lot of episodes in 'Law and Order's' late seasons and actually 'Law and Order' in general, it is a case of one half being superior to the other. But not because one half is bad, just that there is one half that executes the storytelling especially even better. Though perhaps it could have done a little bit more with the subject covered, which is a challenging role and a brave one to tackle.
Beginning with the good, it is a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid with each episode up to this stage). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
The script is generally taut, with little fat, and intelligent. The story does intrigue and is tense and moving, the policing scenes are solidly done and the legalities are accessible and intriguing. On the most part, it is not one sided and McCoy and Melnick's chemistry helps makes the legal portions riveting. The moral dilemmas of the case are handled nicely. The acting is very good from all, with Pablo Schreiber standing out as a real snake of a character.
Did feel that "America Inc" is a bit routine to begin with, with the investigation not being as complex as the second half.
Melnick has been written better and more tactfully, how badly she mismanages the case seemed out of character for her and her views on the war are laid on too thick and makes her come over as biased. Absolutely agree regarding McCoy being spot on with what he says about conflict of interest.
Overall, very good. 8/10.