True Legacy (15 Jun. 2010)

While investigating the murder of a catering business owner, Nichols and Stevens uncover evidence of an affair and a possible larger scandal involving a New York senator.

Director:

Yon Motskin

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Rene Balcer (developer),

Stars:

Jeff Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jeff Goldblum	...	Detective Zach Nichols
Saffron Burrows	...	Detective Serena Stevens
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Captain Zoe Callas
José Zúñiga	...	Senator Victor Caldera (as Jose Zuniga)
Holley Fain	...	Angela Caldera
James Martinez	...	Rick Caldera
Leslie Hendrix	...	Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Laura Harring	...	Marta Caldera
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jarrett Alexander	...	Messenger
Emanuele Ancorini	...	Da Silva
Amir Babayoff	...	Nikhil
Hannah Cabell	...	Mrs. Dugan
Ramon Camín	...	Nando (as Ramon Camin)
Michael Dempsey	...	Ryan Foley
Traci Godfrey	...	Det. Agnes Farley

Storyline

While investigating the murder of a catering business owner, Nichols and Stevens uncover evidence of an affair and a possible larger scandal involving a New York senator.

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Plot Keywords:

extramarital affair | daughter in law | political campaign | food truck

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

15 June 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Cable Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the husband is holding the wife down on the sofa during their fight, her hands change position as the camera cuts to different angles.

User Reviews

Great, subtle villainess perks up this segment

I'm not a fan of the new, improved CRIMINAL INTENT toplining Goldblum & Burrows, but this edition was an excellent one. In fact, the stars were nearly invisible, as the guest cast took over and ran with an intriguing premise.

It's all about political corruption, a topic New Yorkers are all too familiar with. The plot line of an unfaithful daughter-in-law who is the key adviser in the local Latino senator's campaign, getting mixed up in the murder of her boyfriend is pretty silly, especially the trendy "food trucks/catering magnate" subplot. But the way it unravels is not only inventive but leads to a very strong climax.

-SPOILERS AHEAD-

It turns out that the senator's grandson is actually his son (!) and that the matriarch of the family is way beyond Lady Macbeth in her perfidy. She did not merely acquiesce in having her daughter-in-law have sex with her husband to provide an offspring, but actually maneuvered it, and her ruthlessness in using her brother as hit-man to clean up any & all loose ends, in furtherance of her continued family dynasty, is awesome.

Laura Harring, the ultra-sexy actress whose career has gone from the crappy lambada vehicle THE FORBIDDEN DANCE to screen immortality in David Lynch's MULHOLLAND DR., gets the acting assignment of a lifetime in this Dick Wolf opus. Her subtle but dominant performance, eschewing all of the clichés of villains and villainesses past, is breathtaking. The other guest stars are more than adequate, notably Jose Zuniga as her senator husband and Holley Fain as the Irish daughter-in-law. And the whole thing works with Goldblum and Burrows almost invisible, reduced to strictly functional police procedural roles.

Burrows, now a U.S. citizen, makes several goofs during the episode, one of them major. During an exposition scene she pronounces "hotel clerk" as "hotel CLARK", in the British manner, and no director, editor or dialogue coach caught the flub before it got into the televised print. If she keeps that up, Julianne Nicholson will be warming up in the bullpen for a return to the mound.