The premise of "The Pursuit of Happiness" could have gone either way in execution. It could have been unsettling and probed a lot of thought. Or it could have been too sleazy and too predictable. It still sounds very intriguing, even if it is very familiar and straightforward. If one is a fan of 'Law and Order' and of the franchise, for a long time have liked it very much, it is hard to not expect a lot from "The Pursuit of Happiness", which does have an appetising title.
While there is a good deal to like about "The Pursuit of Happiness", it is still one of my least favourite episodes of 'Law and Order's' Season 4 and is a long way off from being a standout of the early seasons. It does unsettle. It does provoke thought and grab the attention mostly. It is not too sleazy. It is though very predictable with few surprises. It was also in a way hard to care for the case to be solved and tried because of the victim being one of the season's most hateable.
Shall start with what is good and there is a lot. Have no issue with the intimate but not claustrophobic photography and the subtly gritty look. The music is only used when necessary and is hauntingly understated when it is used, not over-emphasising too much the mood when things are revealed. The script is lean and tight enough which stops the talk from being long-winded, while not jumping around, and is intelligently written.
Direction is accomodating while not letting things get too dull. The story does have some intrigue with the procedural work being quite clever and the legal scenes do as ever impose some interesting questions. The performances are all round are very good, Michael Moriarty being the regular standout and sympathetic Jesse Conti and deliciously smarmy Bruce Altman standing out in support.
Other cases of the season and of the show are a lot more intricate and consistently attention grabbing. The plotting is quite slight and it is one of Season 4's most predictable cases with almost everything being obvious too early, which did dilute any tension quite drastically.
As intriguing as it was, that defense tactic was beyond unrealistically unprofessional and some may find it distasteful (one is on the judge's side on this one). Other episodes did a little better at allowing us to care about the case being solved and tried as said, it was hard to do so completely for this episode when the victim was this over the top detestable and so obviously so early on (there are other episodes in the franchise with detestable victims but in those cases it took quite a bit longer for it to be revealed).
To conclude, well done on the whole but not exceptional. 7/10
While there is a good deal to like about "The Pursuit of Happiness", it is still one of my least favourite episodes of 'Law and Order's' Season 4 and is a long way off from being a standout of the early seasons. It does unsettle. It does provoke thought and grab the attention mostly. It is not too sleazy. It is though very predictable with few surprises. It was also in a way hard to care for the case to be solved and tried because of the victim being one of the season's most hateable.
Shall start with what is good and there is a lot. Have no issue with the intimate but not claustrophobic photography and the subtly gritty look. The music is only used when necessary and is hauntingly understated when it is used, not over-emphasising too much the mood when things are revealed. The script is lean and tight enough which stops the talk from being long-winded, while not jumping around, and is intelligently written.
Direction is accomodating while not letting things get too dull. The story does have some intrigue with the procedural work being quite clever and the legal scenes do as ever impose some interesting questions. The performances are all round are very good, Michael Moriarty being the regular standout and sympathetic Jesse Conti and deliciously smarmy Bruce Altman standing out in support.
Other cases of the season and of the show are a lot more intricate and consistently attention grabbing. The plotting is quite slight and it is one of Season 4's most predictable cases with almost everything being obvious too early, which did dilute any tension quite drastically.
As intriguing as it was, that defense tactic was beyond unrealistically unprofessional and some may find it distasteful (one is on the judge's side on this one). Other episodes did a little better at allowing us to care about the case being solved and tried as said, it was hard to do so completely for this episode when the victim was this over the top detestable and so obviously so early on (there are other episodes in the franchise with detestable victims but in those cases it took quite a bit longer for it to be revealed).
To conclude, well done on the whole but not exceptional. 7/10