3 Dawg Night

A bouncer forbade two girls from getting in a fancy club maybe because they were not classy enough. Suddenly, a shooting took place and all the party guests ran out in a hurry. The victim, a wannabe musician who didn't manage to succeed, was found dead on the ground with several bucks next to him. Detectives realized he was clean from drugs and booze and the dispute had to be over music issues: the place is frequented mostly by African American rappers and that night two guest stars and lovers (just like Jay Z and Beyoncè) were confronted by the victim who criticize the rapper (named G-Train), calling him "sellout" for leaving the street rhyme to more commercial kind of music. Anyway nobody saw anything and even if they did, they are not willing to testify in court.

Both policemen and lawyers have to deal with public opinion and a wall of silence set up by the few witnesses. A star is hard to be convicted, mainly because there are fans waiting outside the courtroom, so proofs and motives have to be overwhelming. Great performance for the later Django Unchained leading actress Kerry Washington.

It's one of those rap rivalries. In a crowded club a man is shot dead near a coat room and nobody sees a blessed thing despite dozens of witnesses being around. When all is said and done Cyrus Farmer one of the biggest names in the rap world is arrested.

Ostensibly the reason is because the deceased who was a wannabe in the rap world accused Farmer of being 'sellout' whatever that constitutes. An insult that can be answered only one way.

Forensics are important here because no one is talking. But Farmer's reputation for the violent content of his work might convict him on that alone.

Sam Waterston figures it out and the reslt might surprise you,

Anything related to music immediately grabs my attention, being a musician myself. It has been proven many times on detective shows and legal dramas that death/murder and music are a good combination, not just all three shows in the 'Law and Order' franchise but also the likes of 'Murder She Wrote', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Endeavour' (well actually all the 'Inspector Morse' franchise), 'Monk' etc. Despite being a familiar setting, it is a timeless one and the story did seem interesting.

"3 Dawg Night" was a very good episode on first viewing and it still is a few re-watches later. After the big disappointment that was the previous episode "The Fire this Time", 'Law and Order' is back on track if not quite on pitch perfect form with "3 Dawg Night". It is not a perfect instalment by all means, none of the previous Season 12 episodes are and the same goes with the season overall, but it does succeed a lot more than it fails.

It is a little on the ordinary side to begin with and the ending felt rushed and too much of a cop-out, really do have to agree with the verdict not ringing true (am aware that there are always verdicts that one doesn't agree with that happen most days in real life, but this one was one that was too much of a cheat.

Elisabeth Rohm shows once again why Southerlyn deserves her reputation of the most maligned 'Law and Order' regular character, despite being the longest serving prosecuting assistant. The character has very little personality and Rohm is just so robotic.

However, so much is good. It is as ever shot with the right amount of intimacy without feeling too up close, even with a reliance of close up camerawork. That the editing has become increasingly tighter over-time is great too. The music isn't over-scored, manipulative or used too much. There is intimacy and tautness in the direction. The rest of the regulars are all fine, particularly Sam Waterston who dominates the legal scenes with great authority, while Briscoe and Green are such a great pairing. Cyrus Farmer and Kerry Washington are strong in support, particularly Farmer.

Script is intelligent and lean with no signs of fat. It also has intensity, emotional impact and even the odd sprinkle of humour with Briscoe's one liners. The debating intrigues and provokes thought. The story on the whole is securely paced and has some nice edge and grit. The legal scenes are riveting and have tension, where it was easy to care for what the verdict would be. The music setting is made good use of, although it is a style of music that is not my cup of tea.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.

'3 Dawg Night' is another episode from the L&O universe that makes "Best of" lists and largely because it features guest star spots from actor Idris Elba (before he went big) & actress Kerry Washington. I'm going to go against the grain however and tell you to check out this tale instead for what is has to say on themes of celebrity culture and to a lesser extent African Americans deep distrust for the police and staying silent. Another loosely "ripped from the headlines" story as well.

A shooting at hot NYC nightclub Megafly leaves one person dead. As Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) piece together the victim was an aspiring musician who had an altercation with huge music star Darryl 'G Train' Collins (Cyrus Farmer), his bodyguard and famous actress girlfriend Allie Lawrence (Washington). The bodyguard is quickly ruled out leaving McCoy (Waterston) and ADA Southerlyn (Röhm) to arrive at the conclusion Collins was the shooter, but it's not that simple.

Elba plays the club floor manager who in formula fashion becomes a viable suspect at one point and in the mix of people not wanting to "snitch". For me though seeing actor David Aron Damane as the bodyguard was the best. Fans of the many L&O series will know it was common for actors to be recast in multiple roles over the years. He put in a fun appearance in 'Special Victims Unit' as a black man & celebrity who was secretly gay "on the downlow". Washington is solid, but her role also doesn't ask much from her.

This episode '3 Dawg Night' has good bits of dialog and watching the cast have to go through high priced lawyers to talk to their celebrity suspects is a hoot. The show was always frank about the preferential treatment money could buy you. It even features one of those twists of fate where the victim isn't as wholesome as it first appears. It's a shame there isn't the level of justice you crave at the end though.

As a fan of this franchise for decades, I had to come back to this episode 20+ years later.

Criminal Intent , SVU etc. I am exceptionally endeared to the production and interpretations offered by the creations of Dick Wolf.

Thespians, actors, storyline , plot and character development All of it!! The concept/trope/idea/conceptualization of "pulled straight from the headlines" certainly applies here , henceforth, my review title , IYKYK (if you know you know) . Kerry Washington and Idris Elba I think as young actors/ thespianship was a delight watching them develop their craft as often is the case when revisiting Law and Order, seeing actors strike out in the beginnings of their careers.