Tabloid

Had the victim in this case not been a celebrity this case would have been routinely closed. But because she was a celebrity is the reason this incident happened in the first place.

A prominent woman attorney is run down and killed by a car as she ran out into the street. She was being chased the way Princess Diana was by a scandalmongering tabloid reporter. Sad, but case closed.

Not for her grieving husband Timothy Carhart. The reporter is still fishing for a story about their child and when he won't quit Carhart shoots him. That gets closed with an arrest of a perpetrator who can't wait for a day in court to tell his story.

Joe Mantello the victim was a particularly rancid specimen of human being. Still while crossed the bounds of decency he was doing nothing illegal.

The show explores the issue of free speech and the public's right to know versus that of one's privacy. Maybe we are lucky that 99% of us lead such obscure lives the vast majority doesn't care.

The verdict is an interesting one.

'Law and Order', and actually frequently the whole 'Law and Order' franchise (especially 'Special Victims Unit'), often excelled when it came to having cases that made the viewer feel truly sad and angry. It also often excelled when it came to tackling difficult and even polarising topics, some with stories inspired by real life cases (hence what is meant when one calls a case "ripped from the headlines"). And doing so in a way that doesn't hold back and pulls a large emotional punch.

Season 8's penultimate episode "Tabloid" is a very solid one, and tackles a very relevant and not always easy to tackle subject (that is very topical today, always has been and always will be) very well and in a way that still holds up. It is a subject that riles me up daily and should be depicted more than it already is. It is not flawless and like a lot of Season 8 episodes "Tabloid" is another case of one half being better than the other, but it certainly hits a lot more than it misses.

"Tabloid" isn't quite the great episode it could have been. It does start off on the routine side and doesn't have many surprises, the only big one being the verdict.

Other episodes perhaps have more tension and complexity.

However, there are many great things here. As ever, the production values are slick, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid overtime). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key.

Furthermore, the script is sharp, intelligent and gritty, again with a lot to take in without feeling too much. It is especially good when raising interesting questions regarding freedom of speech and explores the moral dilemmas very tactfully and in a way where more than one viewpoint is understood. The story may be unoriginal and uneven, but most of it (namely when the case comes to trial) is compelling and has enough intrigue in the legal scenes.

As said, "Tabloid's" subject and the issues raised are easy to relate to, are worthy of a lot of discussion and are very relevant, even more so now actually. The performances are never less than very good all round.

Concluding, very good if not great. 8/10.