Law & Order (TV Series) Harvest (1997) User Reviews

Top dollar for a heart and lungs

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 14 February 2015]

This Law And Order story is a real heartbreaker. Armand Schultz is driving through Washington Heights after getting off the George Washington Bridge and runs afoul of some real bad dudes, one of them was drunkenly waving a pistol around and shooting it into his car and Schultz's wife is critically wounded.

With a little bit of trickery on the part of Carey Lowell they nail the shooter Carlos Pizarro. But she and Sam Waterston note some time line discrepancies as to when she was actually pronounced dead.

The arrogance of some in the medical profession is truly astounding. The surgeon who operated on her is Michael Nouri and it's his last day at that hospital. He's getting top dollar not for just himself, but he's bringing in the victim's heart and lungs for transplant. Nouri might have just hurried the victim's date with eternity.

Legal necessity compels Waterston and Lowell to try Nouri and Pizarro for the murder. Nouri resents even being associated with this gang banger and can't comprehend the seriousness and the ethical problems of what he did.

Nouri and Pizarro, an unlikely pair of murderers both give some outstanding performances. David Marshall Grant makes a brief appearance as another ADA and a friend of Lowell's. He will figure prominently in a future episode.

It's a legal quagmire for the NY County DA's office.

First, Do No Harm

[s_l_wood · 9/10 · 28 October 2010]

This episode contains two great aspects of the Law & Order series: an interesting story, and a disturbing villain. A woman is shot in what looks like a typical robbery or gang shooting; basically, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is shot by some young hoodlums. She dies later on in a hospital. The investigation starts by focusing on the street punks who shot her, but her actual death in the hospital begins to look suspicious. It becomes clear that a stylish, egotistcal doctor let her die so he could arrange for her organs to be used for medical research, resulting in him getting a more lucrative job. Law and Order has great stories with thrilling twists, and this situation is a fine example of such a plot. What seems like a simple crime, a person dying in yet another shooting by riffraff, actually involves a shocking and sordid incident in which a slithery person lets someone die, despite the saving of life being the whole point of his profession. And this doctor makes a great villain: he is smug, smooth and urbane, and it is revealed that his profession has let him enjoy the high life: multiple homes in New York City, fancy sports cars, and so forth. There is a great scene in which the doctor is indignant and outraged that he is being associated with the young punk who shot the woman in the first place, who he describes as "street scum." He seems to firmly believe he is a much finer form of human being than the other criminal. One criminal shot a gun at someone from a distance in the dark, another watched someone die slowly, despite having more than enough training and equipment to save her, and then lies about it repeatedly, all because he is rich, but not rich enough. He clearly is the more ruthless of the two criminals, yet his sense of entitlement is so profound he scoffs angrily at being associated with the other criminal. He also clearly believes that his job as a doctor is not to save lives, but to earn a high salary, and will sacrifice lives to do so. His motives and glaring lack of a conscience are held under a microscope for the viewer to see, and Law and Order allows us to see criminals and their crimes in detail, as opposed to the summaries of such incidents in the newspaper. Well done NBC.

One of those great delayed-issue episodes

[ColonelPuntridge · 9/10 · 5 April 2018]

Delayed-issue episodes like this one are my favorites. I mean episodes where the episode seems, for the first half or longer, to be about one rather ordinary thing, kind of a bread-and-butter episode, and then the real issue emerges, to everyone's surprise. I'm not gonna say more, because I don't want to put in a spoiler.

In addition, we get a first-rate performance by Michael Nouri, familiar to sci-fi fans for having starred in THE HIDDEN (1987), one of the most exciting sci-fi thrillers of the 1980s, which introduced mega-stars Kyle MacLachlan and Claudia Christian.

Harvesting death

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 10 June 2021]

Some off the bat might dismiss "Harvest" as having a story that sounds nothing new. Sure, it is a subject that was not a new one at the time for the franchise and was done more than once since. This is a case though where that does not matter in the slightest, as this (and its variants) is an important subject matter and one of the most harrowing and most complicated of Season 8 and of 'Law and Order' in general. Namely down to the ethical questions and behaviours that come with it and trying to see it from more than one point of view.

"Harvest" handles this difficult subject matter beautifully and it is one of the most uncompromising yet most tasteful treatments of the subject for not just the franchise when explored but in general. There is nothing sugar-coated about it, yet nothing is over the top or exploitative, all dangers with exploring the subject and its variants and not fallen into. "Harvest" is a great episode, not just of Season 8 (one of the best) but also of 'Law and Order' in general.

The episode does start off on the ordinary side and the third episode in a row for Season 8 to not have much that shocks or illuminates in the early portions.

Once "Harvest" gets into gear, which is actually quite quickly, it becomes absolutely riveting and has a suitably complex second half without being convoluted. Quite a feat as this is a subject that is not always easy to make accessible or easy to get the head round. While the script has a lot of talk and a lot to digest, it is tight enough to not become rambling and always provokes a lot of thought without being overly serious that it becomes too dreary.

When it comes to the story execution, there is an atmosphere that is suspenseful (thanks to a villain that is very easy to hate without being too obvious and rooting for him to get what is deserved) and pulls no punches. The ethical issues and moral dilemmas are handled in a thoughtful and not heavy handed manner, the subject doesn't feel exploited and unlike some episodes of 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent' it is not made too clear and shoved down the throat what the writers' stance is on the subject. Instead explored from all sides and it is easy to see where most characters are coming from, excepting the villain. It is a complex case and a twisty one, where there is a constant air of surprise when the case comes to court.

Production values are still slick and suitably gritty (without being too heavy in it). The music is not too melodramatic and is not used too much, even not being too manipulative in revelations. The direction is tight and involved while having breathing space. While all the regulars are great, Michael Nouri gets top honours. He is outstanding and really leaves one unsettled.

In summary, great. 9/10.