Swept Away - A Very Special Episode
- Episode aired Feb 28, 2001
- TV-14
- 44m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
259
YOUR RATING
A reality show cast member kills one of his castmates during a heated argument. But was the confrontation staged, and who is ultimately responsible?A reality show cast member kills one of his castmates during a heated argument. But was the confrontation staged, and who is ultimately responsible?A reality show cast member kills one of his castmates during a heated argument. But was the confrontation staged, and who is ultimately responsible?
Photos
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the opener, Detective Ed Green tells Detective Lennie Briscoe that this could be his 'big chance', to which Briscoe quips "I'll wait for the musical version". Jerry Orbach had a successful stage career on Broadway before being cast in Law & Order (1990). He actually originated to role of El Gato in the off Broadway production of The Fantasticks, the longest running off Broadway play in history. YouTube has a clip of Orbach singing "Try to Remember", the signature song from the play, recorded from the Ed Sullivan Show. For fans who know Orbach only from Law and Order, it's quite a revelation. He also voiced, and sang for, Lumiere in Disney's animated Beauty and the Beast (1991), prior to portraying Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order.
- GoofsMcCoy offers the defendant a sentence of 2-6 years if he pleads guilty to manslaughter in the second degree. However as a violent class C felony manslaughter two carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years, the law would not allow a minimum sentence of two years.
- Quotes
Lt. Anita Van Buren: [hearing Ed describe "Deal with It"] Never seen it, already hate it.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Horrible Bosses (2011)
Featured review
A long way from special
The premise is one of not many premises up to this point of 'Law and Order's' run to not appeal to me at all. While 'Law and Order' and the franchise in general is so addictive when binge watching, reality shows are not my thing at all (most are sensationalist trash) and the channel in recent years after giving many a chance is always changed whenever they come on. And considering how much they dominate the news when they're on, nothing is missed.
"Swept Away: A Very Special Episode" does not change my mind at all, if anything it enforces it. It is a long way from special and indicative of why the premise of the episode did not appeal. There are some great episodes of Season 11 and it was starting to get better, but "Swept Away: A Very Special Episode" sees a return to disappointment. With a few of the similar flaws to the other disappointing episodes of Season 11 and others on the way.
It's not all bad. It's slickly shot and tightly edited with no drabness or garishness in sight, even with the gritty tone. The music is not too melodramatic and is thankfully not constant. There are moments of tension.
Also thought that the performances are all very good, particularly from the regulars. It starts promisingly with a hard hitting opening.
However, quite a lot doesn't work. It was interesting to see the portrayal of reality shows back then, but it is a portrayal that is quite old fashioned and out of date now with nothing insightful or subtle about it, such as how the audience perceives it. It represents everything that makes me hate 'Big Brother' so much for instance. The story apart from a promising start overall didn't grab me all that much, coming over as routine and thin on the ground, along with feeling predictable, at times silly and at times muddled. Also did consider the truth before it was revealed.
Pacing generally could have been tighter and the final quarter tries again to cram too much in in too short a time. The supporting characters don't feel like real people and more like reality show cliches. While there are a lot worse legal portions in the season, the legal portion in "Swept Away: A Special Episode" lacks tension and did feel strongly that the wrong party was prosecuted, especially considering that they weren't the direct causes or intended what happened.
Overall, not great. 5/10.
"Swept Away: A Very Special Episode" does not change my mind at all, if anything it enforces it. It is a long way from special and indicative of why the premise of the episode did not appeal. There are some great episodes of Season 11 and it was starting to get better, but "Swept Away: A Very Special Episode" sees a return to disappointment. With a few of the similar flaws to the other disappointing episodes of Season 11 and others on the way.
It's not all bad. It's slickly shot and tightly edited with no drabness or garishness in sight, even with the gritty tone. The music is not too melodramatic and is thankfully not constant. There are moments of tension.
Also thought that the performances are all very good, particularly from the regulars. It starts promisingly with a hard hitting opening.
However, quite a lot doesn't work. It was interesting to see the portrayal of reality shows back then, but it is a portrayal that is quite old fashioned and out of date now with nothing insightful or subtle about it, such as how the audience perceives it. It represents everything that makes me hate 'Big Brother' so much for instance. The story apart from a promising start overall didn't grab me all that much, coming over as routine and thin on the ground, along with feeling predictable, at times silly and at times muddled. Also did consider the truth before it was revealed.
Pacing generally could have been tighter and the final quarter tries again to cram too much in in too short a time. The supporting characters don't feel like real people and more like reality show cliches. While there are a lot worse legal portions in the season, the legal portion in "Swept Away: A Special Episode" lacks tension and did feel strongly that the wrong party was prosecuted, especially considering that they weren't the direct causes or intended what happened.
Overall, not great. 5/10.
helpful•111
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 4, 2022
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content