Mystery TV reviews
by Ishmael Williams

Crossing Jordan

Somewhere I read that the number one alternative reading choice for SF&F fans is mysteries. Like any generalization, this is both true and baloney. But for me it's true, I love a good mystery. And Crossing Jordan is no exception.

Which of course I mean, in getting right down to it, that I like this show.

It stars Jill Hennesey, an alumnus of the long running Law and Order. She plays a medical examiner who was pretty much driven back to her home town of Boston by her outspokenness, her unconventionality, and her desire to solve crimes. Any resemblance to Quincy stops here.

Hennesey's Jordan Cavanaugh is to the more serious minded, if you will, what Jack Klugman's Quincy was to the tongue in cheek. She's smart, tough and brainy, and can spot the anomaly in a "routine" death, launching an investigation that usually no one else wants to do. She ferrets out the clues, and follows them to the inevitable ending.

The quirky point to this show, though, is the piecing together of the crime. Once the evidence has been gathered, Jordan consults with her father, a retired police detective played well by Ken Howard. Working together, each assumes a role in the murder, with Hennesey usually taking the role of the victim. As she settles into the mindset of the victim, the background changes, and you find yourself at the crime scene. It's a compelling moment, and fascinating to watch each of them lose themselves in the mindset of victim and murderer.

The cast is rounded out by two unknowns who provide the comic relief, and Miguel Ferrer, a marvelous actor, who plays what appears to be Jordan's immediate supervisor \ colleague. He has his own angst with a rebellious teenage daughter, and a rebellious employee.

As noted, Jordan Cavanaugh is smart, and brainy, but she's also sexy as all get out, and hopefully proves that underneath beauty, brains can be quite a turn-on. My fear on this show is that it's a one joke premise. How long can we watch an M.E. solve the murder week after week after week? Well, Quincy went for seven years, with a gruff, gravelly voiced Jack Klugman. The alluring and charming Jill Hennesey would be able to carry this show for at least that long.

Give it four out five beakers.

Law & Order

It has had more cast changes than any other show in history. Currently, none of the cast appearing was in the first or second pilot episodes. And yet, it's the longest running drama on television right now.

The premise is simple. During the first half or so of each hour long episode, the police investigate a crime. During the second half, the District Attorneys prosecute. Often, while the detectives have put together a fairly solid case, the DA's actually find who did it. This has become the Law & Order twist.

It's not a classic mystery show, a true who-done-it. It's actually a police procedural, as we watch the detectives follow clues and question witnesses. Eventually, there comes someone who looks likely for the crime, and the investigation really heats up. Comes the arrest, and the DA's take over. They too find themselves following clues, but where the police were concerned with who did it and how, the attorneys focus more on the why, and how to make it stand up in court.

There are mysteries involved with this show: how come they seem to have a different interpretation of certain rules o flaw; why do these cops investigate the crimes they do, which takes them all over the city, it seems, well out of their home precinct; among others. What isn't a mystery is how this show has survived despite cast changes that began at the end of season 1. Simply, it is well written, and focuses pretty squarely on the crime, investigation and prosecution. What little we learn about the personal lives of the cops and DA's we learn as they investigate. We don't visit their homes, and rarely do we view their personal angst. It's a very clean show.

Unfortunately, I must report that it has become somewhat formulaic. In the early years, we saw a variety of crimes: rape, drug dealing, prostitution, organ theft, assault. Now, every episode is a murder. In early years, some crimes were very straight-forward: they settled on a suspect and prosecuted. Now, each episode seems to have a twist - the defendant you think they have dead-to-rights turns out to be the wrong one; someone else may confess, or the motive may be something more obscure.

Gone also are the previous humanistic touches - discussing cases over dinner, and revealing moments of ethics and deep seated feelings. Now everything is crisp, fairly cut and dried. It almost feels like that with the departure of Benjamin Bratt, no chemistry is left, and nothing new can be added. The acting is still good, and except for the L&O "formulas", the writing and stories still entertain. But it certainly has gone far afield from its humble roots.

Still I remain a loyal fan, and stick with the newer episodes as well as the eps in syndication. I give this show 4 out of 5 beakers.

Crossing Jordan

Four Beakers
(out of five)

Law & Order

Four Beakers
(out of five)

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