Law & Order (TV Series) Tombstone (2005) User Reviews

For reasons of his own

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 February 2013]

In this episode of Law And Order, Dennis Farina and Jesse Martin catch a case involving a young female attorney who is found in her office with her skull bashed in with an award she received. Apparently it's the custom in this particular firm to give plaques to those attorneys who work on some really tough, but successful cases. The plaques are euphemistically called 'Tombstones' hence the title.

The deceased was beautiful and sexy young attorney who liked to enjoy life. Forensics reveal she was both 10 weeks pregnant and had sex that evening and the fetus and the sperm from her last tryst show no match. Already any competent defense will be putting her sex life on trial.

Farina and Martin settle on young Paul Fitzgerald who may have gotten into this firm on an affirmative action deal so to speak and not on race. Everyone else there seems to have graduated from Ivy League law schools, Fitzgerald came from Hofstra. But he's brilliant and the fair haired boy of the senior partner Fritz Weaver, who alibis him up and down for reasons of his own that have nothing to with this case, but some problems Weaver is having.

One of the witnesses and a former cop who was involved with the deceased is Robert Clohessy. When he's reluctant to testify, Martin is sent to bring him in. Clohessy is killed and Martin wounded in a driveby shooting. That case gets solved on Law And Order, Trial By Jury. This was done so that Martin could be in the film version of Rent which he appeared in on Broadway.

Fritz Weaver shines in this episode as the senior partner in a white shoe law firm who's in one big jackpot anyway he turns.

Tense tombstone

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 28 July 2022]

Have always found a lot to like about all three of the three best known and popular 'Law and Order' shows (the original 'Law and Order', 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent', the others are more variable). Although 'Special Victims Unit', great in the earlier seasons but less consistent in the latter ones, has topped the original as the longest-running of the franchise in terms of seasons, my personal favourite is the original, if more the Briscoe years and before.

"Tombstone", actually a first part to a two parter (which concluded on the very short lived 'Law and Order: Trial by Jury'), to me is a great episode. A strong contender for the best one of the second half of Season 15, the best since "Gunplay" and the last one of the season to be great (was mixed on the next four). It may not be 'Law and Order' firing on all cylinders, but as far as Season 15 goes, "Tombstone" is one of the better episodes.

A bit routine to begin with, but it very quickly becomes a lot twistier and more intricate.

Photography while very close up doesn't come over as too static or filmed play-like, while the production values are typically solid and have subtle atmosphere while not being drab and keeping things simple. When the music is used it is haunting and has a melancholic edge that is not overdone. The episode is sympathetically yet uncompromisingly directed. The acting is very good, Jesse L Martin and Fritz Weaver particularly (do agree that Annie Parrisse has settled very well and is a big improvement over Elisabeth Rohm).

It is an intelligently and tautly scripted episode, especially when in court and the hard boiled banter between the detectives. The story becomes increasingly intricate and twisty, without feeling rushed or convoluted, and there is genuine tension as the conflict mounts. The ending did shock me on first viewing and it still does have the shock factor, the abruptness of the resolve didn't sit right with me at first as it was not clear to me whether it would continue in another episode. It does luckily, but it does mean having to watch another show to see the conclusion. Not my favourite kind of ending, incompleteness is a danger, but executed well here and makes one want to see the episode concluding the story (it's concluded on 'Trial by Jury').

Overall, great. 9/10.

You work your side of the street and I'll work mine.

[Mrpalli77 · 7/10 · 21 December 2017]

A successful lawyer was killed by a blunt object in her place of work. She used to work late hours, together with her collegues and she didn't have any personal life outside; even the sister she lived with rarely saw her apart from weekends. She had some affairs inside the law firm (against company policy), but all the relations seemed to be just related to sex without any involvements. Medical examiner realized she was four weeks pregnant and she had consensual sex the night of the murder, so detectives started asking to all men collegues to give them "voluntarily" DNA samples. Her sister (Pamela Gray) was in anger because the victim was portrayed as a whore by the press. Anyway that helped the investigation and the perp (one of the few who didn't have a night stand with her) was arrested. But his boss needed him and posted the bail....

Detective Green was shot in the chest while escorting a witness to the court; his fate is unknown. It's the second time a detective in the original series is wounded by a bullet, the first was Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) after an undercover operation went bad.