Law & Order (TV Series) Hubris (2001) User Reviews

Charming and frightening

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 9 March 2018]

Seldom in the history of the series has Law And Order prosecuted so frightening a criminal as Tim Guinee. Soft spoken and charming, the overriding factor in this show is that he murdered a woman he was dating and her small daughter and the elderly couple who employed her. All massared at her job site which was a jewelry store.

The victim's expertise in the jewelry business is what gets her killed as she suspects she's been given something stolen as a present. The others were killed to eliminate witnesses.

Before the police investigation is finished it's discovered that Guinee is implicated in crimes across the country. He also decides to go pro se and act as his own attorney.

No doubt one of the scariest dudes Sam Waterston ever prosecuted.

But justice is finally meted out in the end.

Watch this one definitely. Tim Guinee will creep you out.

Conceit

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 3 May 2022]

Have loved the original 'Law and Order' for a long time, particularly the earlier seasons, and consider it my personal favourite of the 'Law and Order' franchise. The story on paper for "Hubris" (suitably unsettling title) sounded really interesting and had a suitably uneasy feel, with it centering around a type of character that one roots for to be sent down. Even from as early on as reading the title, it is clear from the outset that "Hubris" was not one of those intended to be easy watches.

"Hubris" turned out to be a great episode with a very memorable (to put it lightly) perpetrator. While not one of my favourite 'Law and Order' episodes, it is to me one of the best episodes of Season 11 and the best one easily since the season opener "Endurance". Am saying easily because most of the episodes in between didn't match that episode's quality and disappointed. "Hubris" however does not disappoint and its best aspects are outstanding.

Maybe it gets a little rushed towards the end and the idea of somebody being so easily manipulated when the perpetrator's intentions are pretty clear takes some swallowing.

A lot is truly excellent though. As usual, the production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough while also taut.

Furthermore, the script challenges enough without being too much of a challenge in terms of understanding what's going on. It is not routine in the policing scenes and is very thought provoking and uncompromising when it comes to court. McCoy's legal trickery is especially well done and shows how shrewd and ruthless he can be within reason. The story has enough twists and turns to satisfy, the atmosphere is far from sugar-coated. Also loved how Carmichael's no nonsense take no prisoners approach shines the most it's done in a while.

One remembers the perpetrator for a long time afterwards, the hold he has over the courtroom is quite chilling though one can see how people would be charmed by him, less easy to swallow is how manipulation happens a little too easily. Love Briscoe and Green (my favourite of the police pairings for the show and the longest running one) together, their chemistry having a lot of entertainment value as well as grit. All the regulars are excellent with no exception, while Peter McRobbie makes a promising appearance as Bradley. Tim Guinee is unforgettably unnerving and the main reason as to why "Hubris" makes as big an impression as it does.

Concluding, great episode. 9/10.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 29 September 2008]

TV/Movie actor Tim Guinee (Iron Man, Blade) was the focus of this episode.

His smarmy character that enchanted the ladies with his quiet voice and "aw shucks" manner got him out of most scrapes across the country.

He managed to best Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and escape justice once again, but he finally met his match in the sweet thing (Catherine Wolf) on the jury that he conned.

Peter McRobbie, as Judge Bradley has been on all of the Law & Order spin-offs, and a dozen episodes of Law & Order. He is no nonsense and really adds to the show.

Totally Worth watching!

[ginicebark · 29 December 2021]

This episonde was totally worth watching. You may think there was a travesty of justice, but then you see the end and everything is ok. =) So my review must contain 150 characters. The tapes are the key and the tapes are suppressed. It's unbelievable that our justice system really works like this. Unreal....

Dr Bowman and Hal 9000 reunite?

[leachey-900-945993 · 10/10 · 8 May 2019]

Is it just me, or did it seem that Keir Dullea as Defense Attorney Paul Lyman defending Tim Guinee as Mark Landry actually seemed more Dr Bowman talking to Hal?

I love Law and Order, watch and re-watch them often, also love 2001: A Space Odyssey!

Can anyone be that charming, or that desperate

[labenji-12163 · 8/10 · 9 January 2021]

This episode just solidified why Abbie Carmichael was my favorite ADA. Love her no nonsense, show no fear, take no prisoners attitude.

But I could not fathom any guy being so charming that a woman on the jury would fall for a man on trial for such crimes as this guy. Nor can I believe that a single woman is so desperate to even consider that some random man she is chosen to review his innocence or guilt during a murder trail is datable during the proceedings. I'm just sorry he didn't strangle her to death.

Takes Two to Tango

[refinedsugar · 8/10 · 19 April 2024]

'Hubris' is one of those episodes with a loopy hook for the guilty party that you just have to accept and ride out the fun time. I'll admit at first I thought the story was very much absurd. Imagine my shock when after the fact, I find out it's loosely based on a true story. I don't get how people - mainly women - fall in love with murderers, convicted criminals and hatch fantasy romances. Then again, I'm also not a mental health expert or desperate for attention.

A murder robbery at a jewelry store takes a different direction when it's found the two pairs of victims were killed hours apart meaning Gail Churchill with her daughter was the intended target. Initial suspicion gets pointed at her ex-husband, but fingerprints come back to a mug shot. Gale's real estate boyfriend Mark Landry (Tim Guinee) who's got a criminal history under another name. In court, he represents himself and zeros in on the jury foreperson (Penny Balfour) who's wooed by his charm, well spoken manner and steps over the line.

The writing is well on the wall before the end of the trial. Past history of coming into women's lives, stealing, murder. A keen manipulator he even gets another lady to supply him with a fake alibi. Around the 40 minute mark the stupidity gets its payoff and was worth the wait. Guinee is super effective in his role though we do have to sit thru the cliche of having smart detectives getting key evidence thrown out. For those who are curious about the true crime it's based on look up 'Gillian Guess'.

List of murder suspects, motives, dirty hidden secrets is usually the name of the L&O game, their formula but 'Hubris' isn't about that. It's a ridiculous tale that I still can't believe is mirrored in reality, but it never stops being entertaining. Forget his criminal history you might not been privy to - the guy's on trial for killing four people viciously (one a child!) - and you help him out, go out with him, see him as your "soulmate". You can't make this stuff up, people.

Cute.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 9 January 2016]

The usual skilled craftsmen are at work in this episode, which has a young con man murdering a family in order to get at some money, having murdered for the same reason earlier in Utah.

The original twist here is that the psychopath, Tim Guinee, acts pro se, with the assistance of Kier Dullea, and flirts openly with the pretty young foreman of the jury, Penny Balfour.

For a psychopath, it's a good act of innocence. Guinee plays the character is timid, weak-voice, and somewhat helpless. It's an appealing persona and Balfour responds by hanging the jury.

She later relents and come across with the truth -- Guinee, on bail, had begun dating and cosseting her and she thought he was going to be the only man in her life. Alas, the romance wasn't helped when McCoy brought in another girl friend that Guinee had persuaded to commit perjury for him. Women don't like that stuff anymore than men.

The ending is kind of tacked on. Guinee pays for his peccadilloes by deus ex kitchen knife. No good psychopath would be so stupid as to walk into a situation like that, but good riddance anyway. I hate charming men.