Cheap Murder One - The Complete First Season (DVD) (Jim Charleston, Randall Zisk, Nancy Savoca, Joe Ann Fogle, Steven Robman, Donna Deitch) Price

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Customer Reviews of Murder One - The Complete First Season

I'm not sure I see what the others see
I'm about halfway through this season, and I am enjoying it. I like the fact that the trial takes the full year, I enjoy the plot twists and turns, and the fact that the story does not follow conventional TV script writing. It's fun to watch and keeps me glued. So that's fine. <
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>But where does this overflowing praise come from for the acting and scriptwriting? The acting for television is about par: but the characters are largely inaccessible and difficult to like. Daniel Benzali who plays Teddy Hoffman is an interesting character, but the fact that he is largely either quietly raging, stoic, or spouting wisdom makes him an extremely difficult character to identify with and like. <
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>The "charismatic" TV and film star, Neil Avedon, is not charismatic and has the voice of a 12 year old. I simply can't find myself sharing any emotions with these guys. <
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>The scriptwriting is so-so, full of cliches, and I don't find the courtroom banter very realistic. The reporting of "Law TV" isn't terribly realistic either. Often I find myself wincing at some of the lines these characters are forced to recite. On the other hand, I do enjoy some of the depth of the conversations that take place, particularly between Hoffman and the Distric Attorney. <
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>Another problem - this show is awfully white. Every lawyer is the firm is tall, white, and beautiful. Most of the lawyers they come in contact with are the same. The stereotypes of the slimy divorce attorney, the frumpled distric attorneys, and the rap gang are a little overstated. <
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>Some of the acting performances are good, but the actors try too hard to send signals with facial expressions. Watch a real live court case and see if you can notice a smile on the face of an attorney that wins a motion. The director tries too hard to give us glimpses and they are overdone. <
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>Being a veteran viewer of The Wire and The Sopranos, this show really doesn't hold up all that well. Having said that, I am enjoying it.

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Excellent--ahead of its time
It's probably been said before, but 24 owes a lot to the first season of Murder One, in that both shows focus on one major story arch, with a bunch of twists & turns so that the end is quite a surprise compared to where we started. It's a shame that they abandoned the one-trial-per-season format for S2, which was probably a major reason for its cancellation (along with the departure of the show's center Ted Hoffman). <
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>Now we can relive the suspense. I only had vague memories of how good this show was when I first saw it, and watching it again makes me realize that this show was so far ahead of its time, it blew just about every other drama out of the water. <
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>THe large part was the interesting cast of characters: <
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>Ted Hoffman: The lead defense counsel, who serves as the shows' moral center, despite being in an amoral job, one in which he himself says he has to check his conscience at the door. <
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>Neil Avedon: THe movie star with good looks, and a bad drug habit, who may have actually killed Jessica Costello. <
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>RIchard Cross: The devil incarnate, one who turns up at just about every point in the trial. Played wonderfully by Stanly Tucci, he is a calmly sinester gentleman who is seeking to cover his own ass, while pretending to be everyone's friend. <
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>Julie Costello: The victim's sister, who is Richard's girlfriend, and always has her own agenda. <
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>Graham Lester: The ultra-sleezy psychiatrist, who may or may not be involved in the murder, but who is almost certainly involved in the cover-up. <
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>Gary Blanco: Didn't receive as much attention as the other characters, but he was wonderful comic relief. <
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>Miram Grasso: A wonderful opponent for Ted Hoffman, a sweet, but tough-as-nails assistant DA, who will not hesitate to go for the throat if it helps put Neil Avedon behind bars. <
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>If this show had any major flaws it was that the junior members of Hoffman's firm really didn't have much of a personality in the early part of the show, and that the subplot cases they were given seemed to be little more than busywork. Once they dropped it (after the show's holiday haitus), the secondary firm characters really stepped up, especially Justine, who was clearly torn between two loyalties, between Ted Hoffman & Richard Cross, which was one of the more interesting mini-arcs of the second part of the season. <
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>The other thing I wasn't too keen on was the Hoffman family dynamic. I know what they were trying to do, but I'm not certain it came off as well, although the ending was nice (in that there was no real ending, which was true to life). <
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>The extras were sparse, with two commentaries and a 25 minute featurette. The commentaries were OK at best, but the featurrette was great, as they got most of the major players to come in and comment on that season. <
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>All in all, an excellent show that deserved far better treatment than it got from ABC (and how many times have we heard that about a network)? <
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Brilliant show---WAAAAAY ahead of its time!
I remember being one of the 10 people who watched "Murder One" when it was originally aired on ABC and thinking it was brilliant. In watching the DVD now, after ten years, it has not only held up beautifully, it is probably more appreciated now. <
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>Were it aired today, it would be an absolute HIT! Unfortunately, ABC kept moving it around the schedule when putting it up against "ER" (then in its prime--I am NOT a huge ER fan, by the way) failed, so that only the most dedicated viewer could find it. <
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>The casting is dead on, although in this day and age, Bochco probably would have seen that there was a broader range of ages and races represented amongst the lawyers in the Hoffmann and Associates lawfirm. It is worthy of note that this show was probably one of the first, if not the first, that has an openly gay character in the form of Hoffmann's office manager. <
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>Daniel Benzali is simply wonderful and it is truly a shame that this fine actor, with his understated performance, does not get more work. Stanley Tucci is nothing short of amazing in his role as billionaire Richard Cross. Note the physicality of his performance--how he moves around a room and seems to do so little, but you are riveted to his every movement and word, and yet he makes your skin crawl. You will find many guest stars in the various episodes show up in other Bochco shows later so it is clear he is loyal to his actors. <
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>One thing the viewers should also note is the remarkable sets which were used. This show really set the standard. It is largely as a result of this show that other courtroom dramas which followed emulated (I'm thinking especially of all the "Law and Order" and "CSI" versions)the realistic sets with even the smallest details (note the phone on the judge's bench is actually PLUGGED IN). This is NOT Perry Mason! <
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>If there is any particular weakness to the show, it was Patricia Clarkson's role as Annie Hoffmann, the wife of the lead attorney, Ted Hoffmann. For the most part, she's given nothing to do but make salad and pour wine and be the supportive wife. In the latter episodes (and I don't want to spoil the outcome too much) she is disenchanted from her husband's defense of a person who seems to be guilty of a horrific crime.....excuse me, this is what defense attorneys DO!!!!!!!!!! And this could NOT have been the first case that her husband ever defended someone who 1. was not a sympathetic character and 2. might be guilty of a terrible crime. This was the only truly false note in the entire show. Don't get me wrong....I think Patricia Clarkson is a fabulous actress and she gives the part her all...I just don't think the part was well written and thought out. <
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>That said, this show will not seem dated to you at all. In fact, I gave the DVD set to a friend of mine who had never seen the show when it aired on TV. He thought it was a current show that he simply hadn't seen yet. <
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>I know Bochco would probably not consider revisiting the concept he attempted in "Murder One." Perhaps you can't go home again. But attempted now, this show would be a winner. <
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>Pop some popcorn and don't budge in the middle of any episode unless you use the "pause" button. There's a lot going on in this show--great acting, great direction (camera work lightyears ahead of what was being done at the time), truly beautiful set work and dialogue that you only now see in some of the absolute best shows (all mostly Bochco shows too). Enjoy it and pass it on to friends...they'll thank you.