Law & Order (TV Series) Born Bad (1993) User Reviews

Debating nature versus nurture

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 23 September 2020]

The subject of nature versus nurture is not new territory and was re-visited quite a number of time throughout the whole 'Law and Order' franchise. That doesn't matter though, as it is a very thoughtful and relevant subject that is important to discuss and it is the sort that suits the franchise's tone to the ground. 'Law and Order' and its spin offs did so well with exploring and not trivialising hard hitting topics, and the whole nature versus nurture debate is just one of those.

"Born Bad" explores this topic very well. Will also agree that this is not the best 'Law and Order' episode. It is not even one of the best and to me there are episodes in Season 4 that are quite a good deal better. Also agree that the latter half is superior to the earlier one. "Born Bad" is still a very good and very powerful episode that hits hard, provokes a lot of thought and one is left feeling a lot of emotions after watching. Definitely well worth watching.

Is it a perfect episode? Not quite, but actually there is very little wrong with it. The first quarter agreed is a little uninspired and somewhat formulaic with it not doing a lot new with familiar ground.

Other than that, "Born Bad" has so much to recommend. The production values are slick and professional, not ever resorting to cheap or untested gimmicks or anything. The music is haunting in the right places and isn't constant or too loud, and the direction gives the drama urgency and breathing space.

Writing-wise, "Born Bad" is a triumph. It's incredibly intelligent and thought-provoking, doing very well in not taking sides when exploring this difficult issue. It especially shines in the final scenes and a very telling conversation between Stone and Schiff in regard to the plea which sums the whole dilemma of the case beautifully. The story doesn't immediately grab, but the legal part of the case is incredibly compelling, exploring the subject with remarkable tact and nuance and one does care about how the case ends.

As said, "Born Bad" is incredibly powerful in the final third, with an ending that brought tears to my eyes. The acting is great from all involved, Michael Moriarty's performance is full of authority and anguish and Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth carry the crime solving with their charismatic presence and entertaining chemistry. Will Horneff is very poignant in the final scenes.

Concluding, very good. 8/10

An Uninspired Beginning Leads to an Interesting Nature vs. Debate

[Better_TV · 8/10 · 29 April 2018]

This is a good'un, but hardly "the best" Law & Order episode ever, as one reviewer before me has claimed.

This one starts out a bit plain, with a dead kid (sad, but we've seen it before) and some suspects with ties to male prostitution and the New York foster care system. The prime suspect/defendant ends up being another foster kid, and that's where the writers use this story to explore the question of nature vs. nurture.

It is a good, if somewhat introductory, examination of that debate, with a focus on whether or not males with "XYY Syndrome" (a real-life genetic condition) make one predisposed to aggressive actions - and whether or not that makes a person responsible for their actions. There's some nice small moments too, like when ADA Claire Kincaid meets with a cynical Wordsworth-quoting children's rights attorney who doesn't mind if some of the "little buggers" get locked up:

"I'm just being pragmatic," he tells her over dinner. "'The child is father of the man.' I gotta live in this city when these kids grow up."

Ultimately, the episode's ending makes very clear that, regardless of what a few scientific studies say, if you don't give someone hope in their life at an early age then they'll just be hopeless by default. It's a sad ending, though you might see it coming.

Just giving it all up

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 26 January 2018]

You will search far and wide for episodes of Law And Order that are more heartbreaking than this one. A fourteen year old boy is found beaten to death on the street and after identifying him which is a process itself, Jerry Orbach and Chirs Noth discover he was a ward of the state and in foster care.

The deceased was part of a juvenile gang and he fell out with other members and got beaten to death because of it. The doer is one of his peers played by Will Horneff.

The grownups in the criminal justice system and the social welfare system debate over what to do with him. Horneff came from a singularly bad environment with a mom that peddled him for drugs and a dad and uncle doing some hard time. Horneff just takes it all in as lawyers his and the Michael Moriarty and the judge debate over what to do. He's committed a lot of bad acts, not just this one he's being tried for.

Quite dramatically Horneff and Helen Gallagher his attorney ask for a sit down with the DA. Horneff has heard he's genetically predisposed to violence and decides he was born to be bad. Usually actions like his mean suicide, but now all he wants is to plead guilty and go to the joint.

Is there anything sadder in this world than a kid not out of his teens deciding he has no future. He probably will do himself in at some point.

Horneff's final scenes in the episode are some of the saddest in the history of the show.

xyy

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 28 November 2010]

This episode deals with a 14-year-old boy with a history of violent outbursts. He's in a foster home because his mother is a drunk and his father and an uncle are in the slams. The defense argues that the boy isn't responsible because it's been found that, instead of the usual combination of X (female) and Y (male) chromosomes, he has an uncommon but real condition of having an extra Y chromosome. That pattern has been found disproportionately among prisoners, therefore the kid isn't responsible for his acts and shouldn't be convicted of murder. Stone and the rest of the DA's office argues that the boy knows right from wrong and is responsible legally.

The episode illustrates some of the features of this series that made it so outstanding in its early years. Stone doesn't exactly "win" the case against the boy. The boy, hearing all the evidence in court, decides that he's doomed anyway and wants to be put away. It's an ambiguous ending.

The police psychiatrist (or psychologist or whatever she is), Olivet, takes the stand as an expert witness and claims the original methodology was faulty. Of course the defense has an equally expert witness who testifies the opposite.

The XYY pattern does, in fact, show up in perhaps 1 percent of the male population and it IS found more commonly among inmates, but it's a shady research area. Men with XYY are a little taller than average and suffer from acne and so forth, but they're not invariably consigned to a life of violence. Their being found so often among prisoners could be due to a number of things other than a penchant for violence.

Maybe XYY interferes in some way with your judgment so that, if you commit a crime, as some men are wont to do, your acts are less thoughtful and you get caught more often than men with the normal chromosomal pattern. It's common knowledge that prisoners are somewhat dumber than average. (That's how they got CAUGHT.)

I don't want to turn this into an essay instead of a review but it raises complicated questions. Suppose they actually could identify all the genes that make us act in a certain way. Suppose they could also identify all the environmental triggers that make us behave one way instead of another. In other words, suppose they could explain exactly what determines your behavior. What does that do to the notion of free will and responsibility? Just for openers, it would be the kiss of death for Christianity. That Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden would be struck by lightning.

Y did he do it?

[safenoe · 8/10 · 30 October 2023]

This is a controversial episode of Law and Order that almost borders on Darwinism in a way. The defense of Chris, the foster brother, is that he has an extra Y-chromosome which some studies have indicated means a predisposition to violence. It's a sad state of affairs, and the ending is sad as well, and you wonder whether he will ever be released from prison with the extra T-chromosome.

Anyway, I'm enjoying watching the early seasons of Law and Order and this episode had an Al Pacino Cruising movie, which coincidentally starred Paul Sorvino. I'm watching this along with catching up on the early seasons of Father Brown.

Next to the "Best of the Best" episode on Law and Oder...Ever

[van1243 · 10/10 · 14 May 2006]

Greetings,

I just discovered this episode after several online discussion with a avid L&O's expert who has recorded every episode of of L&O's from the beginning. He has cataloged and has the most extensive data base with cross references and histories, bar none. I tough I knew it all and was challenged to a contest... "Which unknown actor has guest starred in more than one episodes that spanned 15 years and both were

viewed as one of the top rated episodes ever televised and what are they?" After many hours of research, four "your wrongs,"and a few clues, which he extended me, I finally arrived "Born Bad" and.....I can't tell you the answer, you'll have find that for yourself. But get a copy of both and you will see some of the finest acting and writing for dramatic television and understand why the success of the L&O franchise that I believe will be in syndication long that "I Love Lucy".