Punk

One of the biggest appeals of 'Law and Order' has been the topics it addresses and issues that come with the topics addressed. Also with how they are explored, the execution more often than not was hardly sugar coated or trivialised and was often pull no punches in quality. On first watch, "Punk" struck me as a very good episode that does so much right. Despite disliking Carmichael's, speaking as somebody who usually likes her, attitude.

My feelings on "Punk" are pretty much exactly the same. It is still a a very good episode on the whole with many fantastic things, as well as a couple of things done not so well that were also sporadic recurring problems. It's not one of the best episodes of Season 9 and not one of the best of 'Law and Order', but still has plenty to show why 'Law and Order' is such a fine show and why it in its prime was my personal favourite of the franchise.

"Punk" is another case of one half being better than the other, with it starting off quite unexceptional and routine.

Also really didn't like Carmichael's selfish and non-empathetic attitude towards the case, which is laid on too thickly.

However, so much is done fantastically. It is a slickly made episode, 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 with each episode up to this stage). 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, "Punk" has a thoughtful script that like a lot of 'Law and Order' episodes raises interesting questions worthy of debate with somebody, the moral dilemmas of the case treated intriguingly. The story is tactful but also pulls no punches, making one feel sad and angry. Nothing is too simple or too complicated and the second half even is riveting and keeps one guessing the more complex it gets. The character writing and interaction are near-on point and the conflict has genuine tension.

While not caring for Carmichael's character writing, Angie Harmon still plays her very well and has settled likewise. Melnik is a great character with a lot of passionate energy. A big selling point with "Punk" is the exceptional performance of Cara Buono, who has a complex unsettling presence and makes her character feel real.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.

Cara Buono's performance here as the working class girl who makes some bad choices and winds up in the state prison system dominates this particular Law And Order story. What also drives this story is the history between her and Angie Harmon.

Back in the day when Abbie Carmichael was working in the Narcotics Bureau Buono was one of hundreds of people she prosecuted. Buono made a really bad choice in that one, she was left holding the bag with her boyfriend's drugs. So instead of turning him in, she took the rap for him out of some misplaced sense of street loyalty. It wound her up in a women's prison where she joins the ladies' auxiliary of a gang called the Paganos and uses those connections to get a certain correction officer killed because he was harassing her.

The portrait of this victim is one of a true sleaze-bag, but one who would probably never be caught because of the code of silence among prison guards. After all they're the ones you have to rely on to get yourself out of tight spot if you find yourself in one with all those prisoners.

Tovah Feldshuh makes one of her guest appearances as Sam Waterston's favorite defense lawyer Danielle Melnick. The jury hears all about the victim and has a real problem here. I love Feldshuh's character she's such a passionate advocate in all her appearances.

I've known people like Buono in my life. They make bad choices and continue to make them. You love them, but you want to strangle them at times. I also have to say there's an element of narcissism in Buono's character the way she personalizes what Angie Harmon did back in the day. It's called doing your job.

This is a gripping story, but Cara Buono made this episode. Her performance is a standout! Why is she listed below the men? I had a difficult time finding out who she is. I just rewatched the episode for about the 4th time, always taken by her portrayal.

I remember seeing her in a Law & Order Criminal Intent episode and Vincent D'Nofrio and Katherine Erbe were heading the cast. I didn't catch her name then, but when I saw this Law & Order episode I recognized her, even though it was a totally different type of role. I think her acting in this episode was very convincing and moving. This was an episode that caused me to think and care about this character. When an actor or actress makes me want to care about them, no matter how flawed the character is, that, to me, is one of the main ingredients I look for in considering great acting! Cara Buono's portrayal in this role was,for me great acting! I'd go so far as to say she should have at least won an Emmy nomination for her role in this.

Two black boys were playing american football in a playground, when one of them noticed a white middle aged man on the ground, shot dead. He begged before being killed on his knees. The victim, a correction officer, lived Upstate and he came to the Big Apple to pay a visit to his child, a football player. Detectives tried to collect information about the inmates who got parole in the last few months. Anyway the officer was not so clean: working in a women's prison, he used to blackmail prisoners (raping them from time to time); the only chance prosecutors had to reach the truth was to persuade a single mother (Cara Buono), currently in the prison hole, to speak. The gun used in the murder belonged to a scarred portorican, connected to her thanks to prison brotherhood. When prosecutors realized she had a miscarriage because of the rape, things got worse....

It's hard to have sympathy for the murdered guy as the episode moves on. Who is the real victim after all? Other guards are involved in the case, so all become very difficult, because they considered inmates like "cage animals". Eventually we learn some "shocking" personal information about Carmichael.