Paradigm

Dennis Farina joins Law And Order for two seasons as Jesse Martin's new partner and they get the case of a recently returned female army reservist from Iraq who is killed with her body carefully laid out with a cross painted in pig's blood across her chest. The victim was a member of a military police unit and as it turned out had done duty at the now infamous Abu Ghiraib prison. Which we learn was also a place that Saddam Hussein used for his prisoners, political and otherwise.

The perpetrator using an advertising gimmick lured the victim to the crime scene and did the deed. It turns out that she is the Arab wife of an American businessman and is a naturalized citizen herself. In fact Sarita Choudhury claims herself as a prisoner of war.

Sorry lady, you can't be an enemy combatant and an American citizen. Can't have it both ways.

Not the best Law And Order episode, still Dennis Farina was an interesting contrast with Jerry Orbach.

Two white collar were about to have sex in an empty office during lunch break. The girl noticed a dead body on the ground with a cross drawn in the chest with blood. The new detective Fontana remarked a number on victim's shoulder: it belonged to a military unit. She was deployed in Iraq as a reserve to raise some money; her parents and boyfriend saw her acting a little weird after coming back home. Some pictures found in her safe deposit box helped detectives realize she used to torture suspects. A woman of Iraqi descent, an American citizen married to an oil company engineer, was connected to the victim: her brother was tortured in Baghdad and then killed in an ambush. The prosecution become political because the Arab girl stated she was a war prisoner; that's what MCCoy tried to avoid, trying to convince public opinion it is all about personal payback rather than political.

There is no love at first sight among detective Fontana (Dennis Farina) and his new team. Neither Van Buren nor Green get along with him, but it's just the beginning.

As Fred Thompson's time on the show continues,he gets more opportunities to show case his conservative beliefs. His snippy battles with ADA Serena get more personal and pointed. Apparently, the writers ignored the power dynamic and sexism between the two. I miss Steven Hill.

The Season 15 opener is most notable for being the first episode of Joe Fontana, after the very sad death of Jerry Orbach (who had played the iconic Lennie Briscoe since Season 3). So there were giant shoes to fill. Had high hopes actually for Season 15, having been so impressed by Season 14 on the whole, despite being apprehensive about Briscoe being replaced because it wouldn't feel the same. To be honest, post-Season 14 didn't feel the same and neither did most of the police leads other than Green but it could have been worse.

"Paradigm" was not a particularly promising start and was somewhat disappointed. Especially after being so blown away by the Season 14 finale. While Season 11 was when 'Law and Order' started to become hit and miss, apart from still having a number of wonderful episodes post-Season 14 felt like a different and less consistent but never terrible show. Changes can take a while to settle (sometimes they can settle straightaway, Briscoe for example was right at home as soon as he was first introduced), and none of the changes introduced here settled immediately.

Of course there are good things, none of the episodes of 'Law and Order' are irredeemable, even the disappointing ones. The photography is slick and subtly gritty as usual and while the locations are limited in number they are still pleasing to look at and the more intimate ones aren't claustrophobic. The editing has also come on a long way since the show first started and it was always good from the very beginning, just that it became smoother and crisper as the production values became more refined. The music is haunting while not going over the top and not being intrusive, too constant and melodramatic music would have ruined the mood and would not have let the dialogue do the talking as effectively.

Jesse L Martin is very good, he is one of three casting members that were consistently good when the show wasn't the same. The other two being Sam Waterston, ruthless and authoritative, and the not talked about enough S. Epatha Merkerson, both solid as rocks. In fact most of the acting is fine.

However, Fontana for me didn't make the biggest of impressions, Briscoe's grit and snappy wisecracks and one liners are missed (neither can be seen here with Fontana). Dennis Farina is on the bland side and it did take a while for him to find his groove, and even for the "not getting on yet" chemistry the chemistry between him and Martin is disconnected.

The story also didn't grab me, with a routine first half and an over complicated second that does too little with the prisoner of war theme. The dialogue lacks tautness and edge. Elisabeth Rohm is wooden (as she more often than not was as Southerlyn) and Fred Dalton Thompson mumbles his way through his lines. The chemistry between the two isn't there, the acrimony being taken too far.

Overall, underwhelming first episode. 5/10.