Law & Order (TV Series) Angelgrove (2008) User Reviews

Jesus Camp Revisited

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 6 February 2011]

Angelgrove is the name of the religious camp run by Reverend Sean Astin where he's busy raising an army of young Christian warriors like those shown in the disturbing documentary Jesus Camp. When one of his young disciples takes the biblical injunctions literally and young Will Denton with two other juveniles stone his mother to death for adultery, man's law comes in to play.

This episode of Law And Order shows the nether world of free speech and just how much is permissible before it becomes incitement to violence. ADA Linus Roache has his work cut out for him. Our highest courts have been struggling with that issue for years. Will Roache and Alana DeLa Garza do any better?

Angelgrove will disturb most normal people, fanatics of whatever stripe will approve of what pastor Astin is preaching.

Incitement

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 17 October 2022]

Have always found a lot to like about all three of the three best known and popular 'Law and Order' shows (the original 'Law and Order', 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent', the others are more variable). Although 'Special Victims Unit', great in the earlier seasons but less consistent in the latter ones, has topped the original as the longest-running of the franchise in terms of seasons, my personal favourite is the original, if more the Briscoe years and before.

Am always very nervous whenever this premise is tackled. The franchise has always varied when it brings religion into any argument for any topic, especially in regard to homosexuality and sexual abuse. Was interested though in how it would explore whether a murder was carried out through influence (a familiar theme for the franchise but not so much powerful religious figures). The original on the whole has handled religion quite well, 'Special Victims Unit' is wildly variable (especially in the latter seasons). "Angelgrove's" subject is heavy and very controversial, and the execution here pulls no punches but is a lot more intricate than it sounds.

The first quarter is somewhat ordinary and routine from not doing an awful lot new with not so novel territory, the exception being the brutal and different murder method.

Did think that the conclusion was on the rushed side, which was not uncommon for the show or of this season. Am also continuing to be a little frustrated by the underuse of McCoy.

However, "Angelgrove" succeeds a lot more than it didn't. The production values are solid and the intimacy of the photography doesn't get static or too filmed play-like. The music when used is not too over-emphatic and has a melancholic edge that is quite haunting. The direction is sympathetic enough without being leaden and the script is tight and always intriguing, have always been left thinking hard for a while after as it is a subject worth pondering on.

While the story doesn't start off exceptionally, it is riveting and really thought provoking without being heavy handed in the second half and while the execution is unyielding and extremely disturbing it didn't feel too much of one side in its tackling of the relevant issues of free speech and violence incitement. The acting is very good from all the regulars, and there are two particularly strong supporting performances from Will Denton and even more so against type Sean Astin.

Very solid on the whole. 8/10.

Christofascists and Madrassas in the US

[lastliberal · 8/10 · 23 September 2008]

I must have missed something when Fred Thompson was running for President. Sam Waterston got promoted and they brought in a new character Jeremy Sisto to partner with Jesse L. Martin, and added Linus Roache as Waterston's replacement on the prosecution's staff.

Despite the staff changes, the story of a boy stoning his mother was compelling. I knew the Christofascists had Jesus camps in this country, but I never suspected that we could have Islamofascist-type Madrassas to indoctrinate the youth into killing for Christ.

One would have to be completely clueless to suspect that a jury would convict in this case. Of course, the prejudices of the average juror would compel them to let this wacko go.

God, in his infinite mercy, spared her soul.

[Mrpalli77 · 9/10 · 12 March 2018]

A man was watching himself in a car mirror with a friend when rocks start falling from a terrace. Police found a woman (who owned an art gallery) dead in his penthouse brutally beaten by some of the stones. She was about to perform a show involving paintings that portrayed women with burqa, offensive to muslim people. After chasing Albanian immigrants, Green and Lupo figured out the victim had an affair with the painter, named Konstantine. Her son, Jason (Will Denton) was very angry because she committed adultery (he was a sort of Born Again Christian who lived with drug addicts in a den, a pastor brainwashed him); he was driven by God's will to do such a terrible murder. Is he mentally ill?

"Christian warriors": this episode showed us young christian integralists, all troubled kids with no place in the society driven by a mad minister; I don't think it could happen in America, anyway it's what really happen in the poorest muslim countries, in an environment of fear. Back to the episode, the sentencing is unbelievable.

The episode made no sense

[gurbanek · 1/10 · 23 April 2024]

There were so many things this "Pastor" said that made no sense and the DA proved himself to be utterly incompetent. For one, why didn't the DA use one of the commandments to point out "Thou shalt not kill". How do you justify murder when it's expressly forbidden by the one you're trying to use as a reference; God in this case. Murder bad. Not a single person in the episode thought of that?

Secondly, the boy acknowledges Christ at one point, but his entire argument is that he needed to "free his mother from sin". That argument dismisses the entire point of Christ as the one who died to save the world from sin. Why not bring that up?

The DA could've fought back using their own beliefs. Instead, he seemed rather careless as if he had no desire to win the case. Very odd oversights or just poorly researched/written.