Season 18's first episode "Called Home" introduced two characters. One was Mike Cutter, who on the whole was a great character despite the quality of the legal scenes being a lot less consistent in the last three seasons. The other is Cyrus Lupo, who was not a bad character at all (though better as co-lead than lead) and a vast improvement over his predecessor Nina Cassady. The subject matter is another interest point, not an easy one to do sensitively.
But on the whole "Called Home" manages to do so. It is a pretty good start to Season 18, which was uneven but was solid once it got going (the second half of it being much better than the first), but had potential to be better than it was. As an introduction to the two new characters, it's pretty decent and fares better than some of the franchise's character introductions despite the legal scenes underwhelming a bit. As far as Season 18 goes, it's in solid middle, neither one of the best or worst.
"Called Home" does a lot right. Have nothing to fault the production values for, which are suitably slick and gritty without being static or gimmicky. Or with the music, used relatively sparingly and didn't sound over-scored or over-emphasised. It is a dependably directed episode and is thoughtfully and leanly scripted on the whole. Did like the first half a good deal, where there was intrigue and it didn't feel routine. The subject matter is a difficult one and hits hard when done right, and it hits hard here in a complex and tactful way on the whole.
Jesse L Martin shows no signs of fatigue as Green and has proven that he is every bit as good as main lead as he as a co-lead. Jeremy Sisto fares well too and certainly has a lot more personality than Cassady (character development-wise he was a lot more interesting). While Martin and Sisto don't scintillate together, they do work well as a team and there is some nice grit and entertainment value to their interactions. Linus Roache makes a good first impression and does have presence in the courtroom, just wish that his material was as good as him. The supporting cast is solid.
Usually the legal scenes fared better than the policing on 'Law and Order', where they tended to be more suspenseful and intricate. For a lot of the first half of Season 18, it was surprisingly the opposite. There is some intricacy and suspense, but somehow the episode becomes on the bland and unsettled side when it goes to court and the complexity and tension could have come more consistently. Didn't like the underuse of promoted McCoy, and when he does appear the spark he had before isn't there.
Alana De La Garza is also blander than she was in Season 17. Did find the final quarter slightly heavy handed.
On the whole, pretty good if inconsistent. 7/10.
But on the whole "Called Home" manages to do so. It is a pretty good start to Season 18, which was uneven but was solid once it got going (the second half of it being much better than the first), but had potential to be better than it was. As an introduction to the two new characters, it's pretty decent and fares better than some of the franchise's character introductions despite the legal scenes underwhelming a bit. As far as Season 18 goes, it's in solid middle, neither one of the best or worst.
"Called Home" does a lot right. Have nothing to fault the production values for, which are suitably slick and gritty without being static or gimmicky. Or with the music, used relatively sparingly and didn't sound over-scored or over-emphasised. It is a dependably directed episode and is thoughtfully and leanly scripted on the whole. Did like the first half a good deal, where there was intrigue and it didn't feel routine. The subject matter is a difficult one and hits hard when done right, and it hits hard here in a complex and tactful way on the whole.
Jesse L Martin shows no signs of fatigue as Green and has proven that he is every bit as good as main lead as he as a co-lead. Jeremy Sisto fares well too and certainly has a lot more personality than Cassady (character development-wise he was a lot more interesting). While Martin and Sisto don't scintillate together, they do work well as a team and there is some nice grit and entertainment value to their interactions. Linus Roache makes a good first impression and does have presence in the courtroom, just wish that his material was as good as him. The supporting cast is solid.
Usually the legal scenes fared better than the policing on 'Law and Order', where they tended to be more suspenseful and intricate. For a lot of the first half of Season 18, it was surprisingly the opposite. There is some intricacy and suspense, but somehow the episode becomes on the bland and unsettled side when it goes to court and the complexity and tension could have come more consistently. Didn't like the underuse of promoted McCoy, and when he does appear the spark he had before isn't there.
Alana De La Garza is also blander than she was in Season 17. Did find the final quarter slightly heavy handed.
On the whole, pretty good if inconsistent. 7/10.