User Reviews

The story starts with a shooting of a white kid and a young black girl at a playground and no one in the neighborhood talking. After some arm-twisting by McCoy, members of the community come forward to start to offer pieces of the puzzle...which then gets significantly more complicated. The elements of the story (racism, gentrification) are well played and not heavy-handed. The legal complexities (self-defense, murder, etc.) are teased out in an excellent trial with even a defense lawyer offering a "defense" to an objection.

Overall, it's probably one of the best episodes of Law and Order. It's why we watch.

This Law And Order story is concerned with rising racial tensions in a Manhattan neighborhood that is becoming gentrified. An incident that starts with a white kid's basketball is taken and ends with that same kid and a little black girl being shot dead.

the shooter is Kevin Carroll a black man who was afraid for his son and went a bit crazy in fear for his son. But coming in for her share of the blame is Ally Walker who drove her sons along with the dead boy to the park armed with baseball bats to get the basketball back.

Linus Roache makes a calculated decision concerning trial strategy. And the wisdom of a mixed racial group of citizens on the jury gives us optimism for the future.

A little girl (black) and a teenager (white) were found dead in a playground by the same gun. The boy lived in that black neighborhood and he hanged out with two caucasian friends. They were about to play basketball and four black guys stole them the ball. Nobody saw no evil, like in a old mafia movie. Luckily, an old man changed his mind, telling the detectives the name and who the robber with basketball jersey was. His father took the blame because the three white boys menaced to hit his son with baseball bats in order to have their ball back (the other casualty was just an innocent bystander). The mother (Ally Waker) of the two white kids still alive hid the bats in the trunk of her car: she encouraged them to stand up for themselves in order to gain respect from the bullies. Pressures from audience it's something very hard to deal with, McCoy knows that, the entire black hood is ready to explode.

A classic episode involving hate between black and white community. I've already seen hundreds of plot like this. It's up to the jurors to avoid riots that could emerge from the sentencing.

Decided a while back (three years ago) to review all the episodes of the original 'Law and Order', 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent', being someone who really likes all three shows in their prime/early years. Really loved a lot of the early seasons episodes of all three shows, while also finding all three less consistent later on (with the original not feeling the same post-Briscoe and even began to lose consistency in Season 11, 'Special Victims Unit' was the one that declined the most though).

The subject matter for "Driven" was a good one and have always admired the show (as has been said a number of times) that explores challenging topics and the way it does so. Personally do think that the episode could have afforded to do even more than it did, with the subject being more complex than what is shown. "Driven" is still well above average and a marked improvement over the previous two episodes. Not one of the best of Season 18, also not one of the worst.

As said, it could have gone into more depth. What is present does intrigue and did evoke strong reactions, but it could have done with more tension and what is shown doesn't provide much that is hugely insightful (interesting still but not illuminating massively). While it does raise some interesting questions, part of me felt that the right questions were not asked and it is those questions that would given the episode more depth and dimension.

It is a bit ordinary to begin with and again the conclusion could have done with more time to explain, it's not predictable or too complex but again a bit rushed.

However, it is slickly made, nothing elaborate but it also doesn't look static and suits the gritty tone. The music isn't too melodramatic or spilling out the emotions and is not constant. The direction is assured enough, particularly in the character interaction. The script is thought provoking and doesn't come over as waffly despite there being a lot of talk.

While nothing is unexceptional here, the story still compels and is not too simple or too complicated. Also intriguing enough to make one want to read up more on the subject. After the legal portions in the previous four episodes being rather underwhelming, the legal portion is by far the most intriguing up to this point because of the issues raised, that it isn't predictable and because the characters aren't as underwritten. The acting is very good.

Overall, not great but well above average. 7/10.

This whole case is smoke and mirrors. The "Real Question" was never asked!

It started with the Black kid taking the white kids basketball. This question was never asked in the course of the trail. "Why did they have to take the ball? Why did they have to start trouble in the first place." Then the black kid lied about taking the ball to the police.

There would have been no problems had there been no confrontation over someone taking the ball.

Why should one person who is being bullied stand back and and take it (and not fight back) and the bully get away with being a bully? That is all wrong.

The basketball court was in a public park, and EVERYONE had equal right to plat on the basketball court. Not just one group of kids over the other group of kids.

I feel as a mother with two kids, that my kids would have had as mush right to play in this park as much as Anyone Else's kids.