'Excalibur', was a refreshing return to form, after last week's 'out of character' episode 'Persona Non Grata' and a worthy finale to an exceptional season.

The Spitzer ripped-from-the-headlines elements didn't overwhelm the overall story- if anything it really made this episode. It would have been an open and shut case were it not for the power struggle between McCoy and the corrupt Governor- his ultimatums- and the threat to Jack's job. But far more than losing his DA position, McCoy stood to lose himself- nearly sacrificing his values and principles to acheive a compromised justice. I don't think anyone actually thought that Jack McCoy would give in to the Gov's demands, however, it was interesting to see him tempted by the dark side.

I was a bit disappointed by this episode. The characters- not cast- but the suspects and whatnot- just seemed really unbelievable and poorly acted. Perhaps just the premise was a bit too childish for original Law and Order- I can't imagine watching this show during the Stephen Hill days and have them discussing 'bfriends.com'. The part with Cutter showing the defendent the bones, unlikely and distasteful as it was, would have been much more stunning in front of a jury. The defense attorneys would have been foaming at the mouth objecting as he juggled evidence bags with skulls and stuff in them, the judge would have been mortified, and the suspect would have broke down crying about Kristen and implicated his girlfriend on the spot- instead there were too many scenes in the second half where not enough was getting done. I've said enough... I'm going to go on bfriends and chat with my girl, the fifty year old police chief.

Haven't written a L&O review in a while but...
Great Connie episode. I have a lot of respect for Alana DeLaGarza, who came in the same season as the infamous Milena Govitch- and has really proved herself an asset to this show. The chemistry between Rubirosa and Cutter is as always very fun and the situation really allowed Waterston to shine and prove that even with reduced screentime, Jack McCoy will never lose that endearing 'outrage' that we have come to know and love. The first half was kind of blah but the premise of having the DAs office both prosecute and defend without compromising the prinicpals of an adversarial system is a refreshing plot device and shows that other crime dramas can still learn from a show in its eighteenth season.

While I am still admittedly more of a fan of the 1990s Spider-man series, I did really enjoy this episode. The scene and explanation for Sandman's transformation were superior to the recent movie... which spent hundreds of dollars trying to get the special effects right. Sandman's moves were much more inventive and I'm so glad they didn't give him a sympathetic backstory- that really took away his threateningness in Spider-man 3. And despite being 'tweened' in Spectacular Spider-man, Gwen and Harry are still deeper here than in SM3. I still am not crazy with all their character designs but in terms of Sandman, I think they're right on the money.

Now this was funny. I love the movie Heavy Metal and seeing Kenny in the Heavy Metal landscapes and Cartman's Anne Frank kitten retreat... that's the kind of stuff that makes South Park real funny. Too many episodes about celebrities or religion or poignant topics, make the show preachy. While there was obviously the issue of drugs and a kyle-esque speech by his father at the end, the hallucinations made it worth watching. If that's what happens when you snuff cat urine then damn... it looks like the Heavy Metal scenes cost a lot of money to animate- I think they must have taken it out of the Britney episode.