Anything related to music immediately grabs my attention, being a musician myself. It has been proven many times on detective shows and legal dramas that death/murder and music are a good combination, not just all three shows in the 'Law and Order' franchise but also the likes of 'Murder She Wrote', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Endeavour' (well actually all the 'Inspector Morse' franchise), 'Monk' etc. Despite being a familiar setting, it is a timeless one and the story did seem interesting.
"3 Dawg Night" was a very good episode on first viewing and it still is a few re-watches later. After the big disappointment that was the previous episode "The Fire this Time", 'Law and Order' is back on track if not quite on pitch perfect form with "3 Dawg Night". It is not a perfect instalment by all means, none of the previous Season 12 episodes are and the same goes with the season overall, but it does succeed a lot more than it fails.
It is a little on the ordinary side to begin with and the ending felt rushed and too much of a cop-out, really do have to agree with the verdict not ringing true (am aware that there are always verdicts that one doesn't agree with that happen most days in real life, but this one was one that was too much of a cheat.
Elisabeth Rohm shows once again why Southerlyn deserves her reputation of the most maligned 'Law and Order' regular character, despite being the longest serving prosecuting assistant. The character has very little personality and Rohm is just so robotic.
However, so much is good. It is as ever shot with the right amount of intimacy without feeling too up close, even with a reliance of close up camerawork. That the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time is great too. The music isn't over-scored, manipulative or used too much. There is intimacy and tautness in the direction. The rest of the regulars are all fine, particularly Sam Waterston who dominates the legal scenes with great authority, while Briscoe and Green are such a great pairing. Cyrus Farmer and Kerry Washington are strong in support, particularly Farmer.
Script is intelligent and lean with no signs of fat. It also has intensity, emotional impact and even the odd sprinkle of humour with Briscoe's one liners. The debating intrigues and provokes thought. The story on the whole is securely paced and has some nice edge and grit. The legal scenes are riveting and have tension, where it was easy to care for what the verdict would be. The music setting is made good use of, although it is a style of music that is not my cup of tea.
Concluding, very good. 8/10.
"3 Dawg Night" was a very good episode on first viewing and it still is a few re-watches later. After the big disappointment that was the previous episode "The Fire this Time", 'Law and Order' is back on track if not quite on pitch perfect form with "3 Dawg Night". It is not a perfect instalment by all means, none of the previous Season 12 episodes are and the same goes with the season overall, but it does succeed a lot more than it fails.
It is a little on the ordinary side to begin with and the ending felt rushed and too much of a cop-out, really do have to agree with the verdict not ringing true (am aware that there are always verdicts that one doesn't agree with that happen most days in real life, but this one was one that was too much of a cheat.
Elisabeth Rohm shows once again why Southerlyn deserves her reputation of the most maligned 'Law and Order' regular character, despite being the longest serving prosecuting assistant. The character has very little personality and Rohm is just so robotic.
However, so much is good. It is as ever shot with the right amount of intimacy without feeling too up close, even with a reliance of close up camerawork. That the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time is great too. The music isn't over-scored, manipulative or used too much. There is intimacy and tautness in the direction. The rest of the regulars are all fine, particularly Sam Waterston who dominates the legal scenes with great authority, while Briscoe and Green are such a great pairing. Cyrus Farmer and Kerry Washington are strong in support, particularly Farmer.
Script is intelligent and lean with no signs of fat. It also has intensity, emotional impact and even the odd sprinkle of humour with Briscoe's one liners. The debating intrigues and provokes thought. The story on the whole is securely paced and has some nice edge and grit. The legal scenes are riveting and have tension, where it was easy to care for what the verdict would be. The music setting is made good use of, although it is a style of music that is not my cup of tea.
Concluding, very good. 8/10.