With elements of the truly harrowing Kitty Genovese case, "Remand" had potential to be a lot better than it actually was. Especially considering the mostly very high standard of the previous episodes, with only "Blood Libel", the previous episode, disappointing somewhat. Really liked the idea of the story and 'Law and Order' does the "ripped from the headlines" type of stories (a type that is visited frequently) very well and better than a lot of shows.
Sadly it doesn't completely come together in "Remand". An episode that starts off very well but is undone significantly by one aspect that is too prominent and distracting to ignore sadly. It's the second disappointing 'Law and Order' episode in a row and is marginally worse, despite "Blood Libel" being very patchy in story the topic was a lot bolder and it was tackled with guts and good intentions. It also didn't get bogged down in excessive stupidity later on like "Remand" did.
"Remand" though does have a lot done right. The production values are as professional as usual, and this aspect did come on a lot overtime with a sharper and slicker look growing with each season. The music is haunting while not intrusive or overused. The direction is sympathetic without being too low key. Some of the script provokes thought and has a suitable amount of grit, as well as some welcome levity at times with Briscoe.
It also starts off very promisingly, with a case (based upon that of Kitty Genovese) that really did sound intriguing, with well written and taut police work, and actually was up to a point. Briscoe is on typically good form and has a by now well gelled chemistry with Curtis, who has continued to grow. All the regulars are fine and while Marks really annoyed me as a character Talia Balsam gives it one hundred percent, the problem was the way she was written.
Unfortunately, "Remand" went drastically downhill when the case went to trial. The low point being the insultingly ridiculous defense argument that makes no sense at all, bad enough to be laughed out of court and dismissed. Lets not get started with that alternate theory, truly sloppy and borderline illogical writing in a theory proven already to be false and should have been immediately challenged when raised.
Balsam does what she can as Marks, but the character is really annoying and her excessive stupidity is enough to make anybody think "how on earth did she get into this job?" The judge is very nearly as bad. The ending did feel rushed.
Concluding, starts off very well but goes off the rails in the legal scenes. 6/10
