Law & Order (TV Series) Hot Pursuit (1995) User Reviews

No revolutionary pretense

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 21 March 2018]

Unlike the Patty Hearst case on which this is so clearly based there is no high falutin' mumbo jumbo rhetoric about people's liberation, Symbionese or otherwise. No, the kidnapper played by Rusty DeWees is a most dangerous criminal but makes no pretense of being anything else.

Not that any investigations on Law And Order leisurely and dilatory but this one that Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt are pursuing has a special sense of urgency. A man and woman stickup team is on a killing spree and have kidnapped one woman for her car as a getaway vehicle. It's an old fashioned shootout at a convenience store brings them down.

But the female turns out to be a socialite kidnapped by this man who really got into the criminal lifestyle. Amanda Peet swears she was just a frightened bystander. But that's not what Sam Waterston is thinking when he charges Peet.

His rather devastating cross examination is something to see.

Fast-paced start, solid finish

[knucklebreather · 9/10 · 2 June 2011]

This episode continues L&O Season 6's commitment to more action, apparently, with what I think is the first of several "ticking clock" episodes from this time period. The plot involves a male-female team of desperadoes (both white of course, making the season 5-for-5 now in documenting the Caucasian menace) robbing night clubs and stores in Manhattan. They are out of control, have apparently abducted a woman from one of their robberies, and the police mobilize big time.

The detective portion of the show is fast-paced and concludes with a dramatic scene at the arrest of the duo. All of this fast-paced action was designed to be crowd pleasing, and it sure was. What makes this episode memorable is that it's all done in a realistic (for television) way, with no real absurdities to distract you from the compelling police pursuit.

In the legal portion of the show, we learn that the female member of the pair was abducted from her family's estate and claims to have been forced into the crimes by her violent abductor. This was actually done very well too, mixing an interesting story with some vintage L&O courtroom drama. It's basically believable and shows why L&O was pretty darned good, at least compared to nearly any other courtroom show like Mattlock where the bad guy will probably make a spontaneous confession on the stand or something absurd. This L&O episode has a particularly good example of the series general commitment to pretty darned good and realistic enough courtroom drama.

Really, I'd forgotten how solid this episode was. This is not just a "ripped from the headlines", L&O-does-Patty-Hurst... it's a fine, original drama from beginning to end.

Amanda Peet looked good and did well

[kwebster-11879 · 8/10 · 21 May 2022]

I thought it was an interesting episode. I kept looking at the actress playing Leslie Harlan. I knew I had seen that actress somewhere before, but couldn't place her ; especially during her crying scenes. Nice to find out it was an early Amanda Peet role. She did well. I'm glad the verdict came down as it did.

In pursuit of justice

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 21 January 2021]

"Hot Pursuit" in my view one of the most interesting stories on paper for Season 6. It is one of those "ripped from the headlines"-influenced stories, that the original 'Law and Order' did mostly incredibly well in in primarily the early seasons. Here the case has shades of both the Patty Hearst case and the Caril Ann Fugate one, with it resembling more the former. Both harrowing stories, with the latter especially being a big influence on films about spree-killings (i.e. 'Badlands').

In my view, "Hot Pursuit" was the third outstanding episode in a row for Season 6, is one of the season's best episodes and one of the best and most interesting ones of the early seasons to tackle a "ripped from the headlines" kind of story. It contains too two of the most memorable scenes of Season 6 and is more action-packed than the usual 'Law and Order' episode at this stage of its run. As ever with 'Law and Order', the moral dilemmas of how to handle the case is handled very well indeed.

Where to start with what is done so well, which is everything? Lets start with the two standout scenes. One is the truly exciting pursuit/apprehension scene, which to me is one of the most thrilling of not just Season 6, but also of the early seasons and possibly of the whole of 'Law and Order'. The other is the tense and emotionally shattering cross examination, really got the goosebumps and feels there.

The more action-oriented scenes are fast paced and expertly shot and choreographed in an episode with more action than usual. "Hot Pursuit" is also one of the finest examples of the season and of the early seasons where the policing and legal scenes are equally good, instead of one half being more compelling than the other like what was seen in other Season 6 episodes. The story is always believable and never silly, with a case that grabbed me from the get go and never stopped being intriguing and investable in atmosphere.

As usual, the legal scenes are very intelligently written, especially towards the end. Briscoe and Curtis are progressing, though there is still a way to go. Likewise with Curtis himself as a character, have no issue with Briscoe and never have. Can't fault the performances, with a memorably affecting yet also unsettling turn from Amanda Peet.

Production values are slick and professional, not ever resorting to cheap or untested gimmicks or anything. The music is haunting in the right places and isn't constant or too loud, and the direction gives the drama urgency and breathing space.

Outstanding once again. 10/10