'Law and Order' was a brilliant show in its prime and overall is actually my favourite of the 'Law and Order' franchise and out of it, 'Special Victims Unit' (the longest running) and 'Criminal Intent'. Despite not feeling the same post-Briscoe. Despite never caring for Cassady and ending disappointingly, Season 17 still turned out to be a solid season and showed that while the show was not the show it used to be quality-wise that it had not lost it.
While liking the previous three Season 17 episodes very much, especially the very nearly excellent "Home Sweet", "Fear America" to me was even better and the first properly great episode of the season. Also thought it was a season high point, and a very powerful episode. It is a scary and relevant subject matter that is being tackled, "Fear America" handles it in a way that is really quite terrifying while not being preachy or distasteful.
Still find Cassady and Milena Govich bland, but that is pretty much it when it comes to foibles.
As expected, "Fear America" looks good, with the usual slickness and subtle grit. Really liked too that the photography was simple and close up but doing so without being claustrophobic. The music has presence when used, and luckily it isn't constant, and when it is used it doesn't feel over-scored. The direction allows the drama to breathe while still giving it momentum as well. The acting is near-faultless, especially in the second half where things get increasingly tense. It was great to see Richard Brooks again and he is very commanding here.
The script is thought probing and never rambles, even though there is a lot of talk, and it's unyielding but doesn't talk down. Robinette has some goosebump inducing moments. The story is a powerful one throughout the whole duration, but especially in the second half. It is very twisty without being over-complicated and doesn't trivialise anything that it covers. It is very easy to resort to prejudicial stereotyping when representing minorities, but "Fear America" writes them in an uncompromising but not over-generalised way.
In conclusion, great. 9/10.