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Review: Jack Foley
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by actor Jason Gedrick
on Chapter 8; Audio commentary by director Randy Zisk on Chapter
15; Featurette: 'Making the Case: Season One' (25 mins).
Before there was 24, there
was Murder One, and boy was it good fun!
From the pen of best-selling author and the 10-time Emmy Award®
winner and creator of NYPD Blue
and LA Law, Steven Bochco, came the explosive legal drama, Murder
One - a riveting legal drama that unfolded over the course of
24 tightly-wound, character-driven episodes.
Murder One was a groundbreaking event in TV history as the first
serialised legal drama to follow a single case for an entire season,
intricately exploring every facet of a scandalous, high-profile
Hollywood murder trial - both inside and outside of a Los Angeles
courtroom – from the discovery of the murder victim, through
all of the hearings and gathering of evidence to the trial itself
and the final verdict.
The show focuses on the wide array of players involved in the
trial, from attorney, Theodore ‘Teddy’ Hoffman (Daniel
Benzali) and his team of legal experts, to key witnesses, jurors
and the media.
The programme led the way for a whole host of crime and legal
shows, but only really the real-time format of 24
has matched its intricate plot-twists and finely woven characters.
Prominent Los Angeles defence attorney, Theodore Hoffman, has
taken on the biggest case of his career.
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Hoffman is defending bad-boy TV &
movie star, Neil Avedon (Jason Gedrick), against the charge of
murdering teenager, Jessica Costello.
Jessica is discovered slaughtered in a building owned by wealthy
businessman, Richard Cross (Stanley Tucci, Road
to Perdition) who was originally charged with the murder,
but successfully defended by Hoffman.
As the case twists and turns, it transpires that Jessica was
involved in lurid affairs with numerous prominent men, who have
now all been cast into suspicion.
Much of the fun in watching Murder One was never knowing who
to believe, particularly as the plot revelled in its ability to
toy with the viewer, while throwing in twist after twist to keep
them tuned in.
However, it also boasted a terrific cast, not least in Benzali,
who had already shone as a legal whizz in NYPD
Blue, as well as the wickedly malevolent Tucci, who has made
a career out of providing scene-stealing support turns.
Here, Tucci was in his element, while his scenes with Benzali
provided some truly electrifying confrontations that came steeped
in intelligence.
To reveal too much more about the intricacies of the series would
be to ruin the fun, save to say that fans of the TV run will probably
have fun rediscovering the delights it has to offer, while newcomers
can't fail to be impressed.
It makes for truly compelling viewing, and paves the way nicely
for the October release of the second series, for which Benzali
was replaced with Anthony Lapaglia (of Without A Trace fame).
Murder One: Case One, on DVD, comes with an intriguing look behind-the-scenes
of the groundbreaking series with a 25-minute documentary entitled
'Making the Case: Season One.
Actor, Jason Gedrick, and director, Randy Zisk, also provide
fascinating insights into the show through commentaries on selected
episodes.
Steven Bochco’s first novel, Death By Hollywood,
is also available from Bloomsbury Publishing on September 6, priced
£6.99.
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