Law & Order (TV Series) A Losing Season (2001) User Reviews

I thought it was just a freak thing. You know a carjacking or something.

[Mrpalli77 · 8/10 · 7 November 2017]

An old couple was standing in line before a red traffic light. Suddenly, a fender bender occurred, caused by a car behind them. The driver, together with another guy with a cast in the right arm, ran away shortly after. The elderly couple was stunned in noticing a wounded body was lying in the trunk. The victim is a black girl who works in a bank and she is the head of the loan department. She is pregnant and her soon to be husband (Albert Jones) is the bank manager. Doctors manage to save baby's life, but his mother dies shortly after the offspring. Briscoe and Green manage to find the two men at a local workshop, but later on detectives figure out they're actually two lowlife thieves who stole the car in a parking lot, looking for spare parts. There is another lead to follow: she could have granted a loan for drug trafficking and the one who called the hit may have two motives in killing the girl.

Another episode in which the victim lead two different lives: she's not so close to her husband (even if he's a supportive man so beloved by the mother in law) and she's drawn to more successful guys. Luckily popular sportsman are not above the law.

Not a loser

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 4 May 2022]

'Law and Order' was a great show in its prime. Have said more than once about preferring the earlier seasons, and that is true for 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent' as well. Season 11 was more hit and miss and a lot less consistent than the mostly solid to good (often great) Seasons 1-10, with some great episodes but also some real disappointments. Especially true post-Briscoe. "A Losing Season" sounded very interesting on paper, not an original concept but interesting setting.

And it is done quite well here in "A Losing Season". It is not one of the best episodes of 'Law and Order', not by a long stretch. Or one of the top 10 episodes of the season. Though certainly a long way from being one of the worst on both counts. It is in my view one of the high middle episodes of Season 11 (certainly one of the better ones of the uneven first half of it), with a nice idea done enough justice by solid if never amazing execution.

The pacing isn't perfect. It is a little routine and formulaic to begin with. Will agree too that everything with the father denial was rather clumsily written and not delved into enough, with a character that feels shoe-horned in.

Furthermore, like some episodes from Season 11 and also before and since, the final quarter felt too cramped and was in need of more breathing space.

However, a lot works extremely well. Can find nothing to fault the production values for though, the slickness and grit still present and likewise with the more fluid editing. The music is used relatively sparingly and is not too intrusively orchestrated, fitting too with the mood. The direction is generally alert but also sympathetic, shining in the character interactions in the legal scenes. Liked the tautness, edge and thought-probing of the second half's writing.

While enough of the first half absorbs thanks to the teaming of Briscoe and Green, which has gelled and contrasted so well and both are interesting wonderfully portrayed characters, the more intricate and meatier second half is more riveting despite the rushed conclusion. The moral dilemmas are interesting and provokes a lot of thought. The acting is very good from all the regulars and the supporting players aren't too shabby either.

Good if not great. 7/10.

Neighborhood Connections

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 7 March 2015]

A pregnant woman is found shot and dying in the back of a stolen car, she dies and her 29 week infant is touch and go on life support. She worked as a loan officer in a bank and was squeaky clean, apparently.

The investigation by Briscoe and Green centers on a rising pro basketball star who knew her back when. Kevin Daniels is the star and stars in any field of endeavor always think that things can be fixed. Daniels also has a friend in Dorian Missick a known drug dealer whom he arranges some clean money from a bank to finance drug operations, but stays he thinks at a respectable distance.

Daniels has had problems all his life, but his basketball talent and the value some place on it has saved him on more than one occasion. Nobody wants to believe Daniels is guilty of anything. Like Bill Cosby, like OJ. It's the biggest barrier Sam Waterston has in prosecuting him.

It must be obvious to you that Daniels is the father of the victim's child, something else he doesn't want to acknowledge. The show handled that issue rather clumsily as it also introduced a character who is identified as the victim's fiancé.

Still not a bad show, in fact it's always good when someone with privileges is shown that privileges have their limits.

Twists for their own sake

[lor_ · 7 August 2023]

This convoluted story has plenty of dead ends and red herrings in the investigation by Jerry & Jesse: will the real suspects be among small-town boosters who steal car parts, bank employees working in Harlem or a pro basketball player down on his luck.

The victim is a pregnant girl, found dying in a car trunk after an accident. Our intrepid heroes, including d.a.'s office Sam and Angie, track down the real bad guy, but it's not very interesting, given the lack of real clues or suspense. Instead, the viewer is merely passively following the trail. And a subplot about corruption in pro sports goes nowhere.