User Reviews

This Law And Order episode deals with New York's Bravest the Fire Department. The bodies of a fire chief and his wife are discovered in their apartment which was torn up pretty badly. While Anthony Anderson and Jeremy Sisto are investigating this case one of their suspects is killed during a fire and the death is labeled suspicious.

This case is fraught with political consequences for Sam Waterston. He has a heated exchange with Robert Clohessy head of the Firefighter's Union and loses their endorsement to his primary opponent.

What were the murders all about? All I'll say is it's blast from 40 years past.

The basic plot is not much new for the original 'Law and Order', but when it did do anything that involved fire it was mostly done very well. This is also the sort of story that the show did well generally. 'Law and Order' visited many subjects a lot, admittedly varying in quality but mostly solidly and more. But managed to do so without feeling too stale on the whole apart from towards the end. It also did well with making stories that sounded basic more interesting than they sound.

"All New" is another very good, nearly great actually, episode in a very consistent second half of Season 19 which saw almost all the episodes (excepting "Crimebusters") rated 7 and above by me. Not many seasons of 'Law and Order' that had second halves as consistently good as the one from Season 19. Not one of my favourite episodes of the season, but with more than enough to show why the show was so good at its best and what its appeal is. Even if there is a slight feeling of running out of ideas on occasions, "All New" is constantly intriguing and blazes at its best.

Foibles are very few, but the only two really are things that a lot of episodes this season had. A formulaic first quarter that didn't quite ignite and a slightly rushed ending.

On the other hand, there is a lot to like in "All New". The production values are still fully professional, the slickness and subtly gritty style still remaining. The music is sparingly used and is haunting and thankfully non-overwrought. The direction shows some nice tension in the legal scenes, which is where "All New" fares a good deal better. The script is intelligent, lean enough and thought-provoking on both sides of the arguments.

The story is compelling when it gets going, and the more intricate and meatier it becomes the more the intensity burns. McCoy indeed has an exchange that is the very meaning of heated. The acting is very good from all the regulars and Eric Michael Cole unsettles in his role as a well fleshed out character with an interesting past. An interesting past that was not expected compared to how the episode first began.

In summary, very well done. 8/10.