While investigating the murder of a senator's ex-wife, detectives find an alarming history of domestic abuse involving the entire family. However, the investigation comes to an abrupt halt w... Read allWhile investigating the murder of a senator's ex-wife, detectives find an alarming history of domestic abuse involving the entire family. However, the investigation comes to an abrupt halt when another dead body turns up.While investigating the murder of a senator's ex-wife, detectives find an alarming history of domestic abuse involving the entire family. However, the investigation comes to an abrupt halt when another dead body turns up.
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- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Asst. M.E. Kendra Washington
- (as Kia Joy Goodwin)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsIn closing arguments, Connie Rubirosa holds up a photo of a broken arm. It is the photo of her brother's injury, not of the victim.
- Quotes
Clint Glover: Remind us how long you've been a detective.
Detective Nina Cassady: Eight months.
Clint Glover: Eight short months. Detective Cassady, two days... two days before you arrested Senator Bailey, you lashed out at him in an interview, isn't that right?
Detective Nina Cassady: I did not lash out. I... responded to him calling me a pissy bitch.
Clint Glover: You responded by losing your cool to the point that your superior officer removed you from the room.
Detective Nina Cassady: My lieutenant asked me to leave when Mr. Bailey started ranting and breaking furniture and had to be restrained by three police officers.
Clint Glover: But it must have been humiliating, wasn't it? To be given a time-out by your boss?
Clint Glover: No? You wanted to get back at my client, didn't you? And you got that chance two days later when you found him defending his life. That's when you decided to frame him for murder.
Detective Nina Cassady: Mr. Glover, if I really had it in for your client, I could have dropped him with a justifiable shooting when I found him stabbing his own daughter to death. But I didn't, because I exercised the control I learned in my training. That control is why your client is alive today.
However, this episode "The Family Hour" cannot compare to the previous seasons' series and here is why: 1) Casting is terrible 2) Writing is terrible: weak dialog, bad action/dialog balance 3) Directing is awful 4) Poor soundtrack 5) Weak theme.
1) So, first, I was very upset about casting (in this whole season). I would really like to know whose idea it was to replace Dennis Farina (Detective Joe Fontana) with Milena Govich (Detective Nina Cassady). I can understand hiring a sexy actress to play a D.A. (e.g. Elisabeth Röhm - A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn). It's OK, I can understand it. Appearance of a good looking woman makes it more enjoyable. But, please do not turn Law and Order into Baywatch! I mean, I have nothing against Govich, she is a great looking woman, but it is not her role.
What characteristics do you think about when you hear the words: police homicide detective? I would say it should be a prick like Jerry Orbach's character (Detective Lennie Briscoe), or some buffed up guy, who would convince a suspect that he/she is guilty even when he/she is not only by looking at him/her. But Govich? The only thing I think about is that she is good looking. The problem is that she is too feminine for this role. She looks too delicate to play a detective on LAO. She just does not blend in. Sorry, but she is no Cagney or Lacey.
Second, the interaction between her and Jesse L. Martin (Detective Ed Green) just does not feel right. They are both similar, so we are aware what to expect from both of them. However, Martin and Farina were a perfect pare. We could not guess what they were going to comment on next, so we payed attention to each sentence. Their dialog was really funny.
2) What happened with witty dialog, fast-paced action, and interesting and controversial themes? First, dialog is really boring. Cut half of what they say and we would still learn as much. Second, camera work is terrible. Angles and characters' pauses are really not what I got used to in LAO. This is one of the reasons I do not watch other versions of LAO, there is too much blah-blah, and very little action.
3) Let's go back a little, some shots I saw in original LAO are really superb! For example, (I do not remember an episode title, but it was about a broker from NYSE who got killed) a shot begins with a camera moving through a shiny metallic surface reflecting a beautiful garden and then cutting the frame in two, and showing the detectives. We then see that it was an open trunk of an expensive car that produced this effect. It was a really cool shot. But if I would have seen this episode prior seeing any previous seasons, I would say what is this weird thing and would never watch it again.
4) No more music makes the scenes appear naked. Again, I compare it to previous seasons, so maybe I am just used to it, but it really does seem that something needs to be added in order to make the scenes move faster. Otherwise, they appear really boring.
5) This episode (The Family Hour) begins with a short scene that shows the personality flaws of a victim when she is still alive (basically she is being a pain in the rear end to everyone). After that, the shot immediately cuts to her dead body and the police examining the scene. OK guys, this is not Columbo! The specific trait of the whole series was that we get to learn about a victim after his/her murder. And then when the trial begins, we try to choose whose side we are on.
For example, who would we support: a dad who killed an insurance agent because he refused to pay for his daughter's medicine and by doing so signed a death penalty for her, or the insurance agent's family who lost their husband and dad. This IS an interesting dilemma. As we learn about the case, we are able to form our opinion about it. But in "Family Hour" episode, it really does not matter because we already know that she was an idiot, so whoever killed her did it for a reason.
It really feels that the funding was cut or something major happened that caused the production take place in fewer locations and with less action. Otherwise, it just does not make sense to me. I really hope that the producers and writers would consider turning back to the established guidelines, with no Baywatch or Columbo elements, but instead with serious drama, suspense and controversy.
- nsbproject
- Aug 6, 2007