WRITING: On the greatness of Steven Bochco's MURDER ONE

A 2005 freelance DVD review I wrote for Hollywood Elsewhere about one of my favorite TV shows of all time, MURDER ONE. RIP the great Steven Bochco.

In 1996, as “Murder One’s” ratings against “ER” began slipping, ABC ran a promo with a man standing in front of a TV/VCR. A cassette popped out, and “ER” was written on the tape label in marker. The speaker’s message: “Watch ‘Murder One.’ Tape ‘ER.’” “Murder One” was so radical that even its ads broke the mold. Steven Bochco’s ambitious conceit – one trial, tracked day in and day out, from crime to arrest to verdict, over twenty two episodes – stands as a precursor to “24’s” focused reformatting of the medium, and also to the cinematic ambitions of HBO’s best shows.

But more so than even its structure, or its uniformly superb acting, what’s striking about “Murder One” is its urgency. The impact of the OJ Simpson case on American life reflects heavily in The People vs. Neil Avedon (Jason Gedrick), a spoiled Hollywood bad boy accused of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl. The show approaches issues of celebrity, race, and entertainment in the justice system with slick cynicism and cold rationality, exemplified by Daniel Benzali’s commanding performance as defense attorney Teddy Hoffman, who speaks with a tiger’s purr and accepts each new twist without a flinch. There’s a confident swagger to every scene of every episode – in the acting, in the dynamic visual mix of faux-Court TV footage, expressive lighting, the camera circling through the courtroom and cutting in for the right close-up, in the media flashbulbs and sordid LA underworld burying the truth under drugs and seedy sex. “Murder One” stands as a summation of our mid-‘90s obsession with glamorous depravity, yet, as Benzali observes, it’s also touched by Chandler-esque noir flourishes, a drive to separate that grey back into black and white.

The “Making the Case” featurette at the end of disc six catches up with most of the principal performers, though Stanely Tucci, the show’s impeccably smarmy black heart, Dylan Baker, and Patricia Clakson are notably absent. Also absent is Bochco himself, and Aaron Schneider, the DP credited for much of the show’s look. Two episodes feature fairly paltry commentary tracks – one by director Randy Zisk, the other by Gedrick – but it is funny listening to Gedrick describe how he stalked a beautiful co-star. Little is said about the show’s short run, but that might be better left to commentary on the Anthony LaPaglia cases. Or maybe that ad I remember just says it all.