Law & Order (TV Series) Undercovered (2002) User Reviews

Wow, didn't see that coming

[labenji-12163 · 8/10 · 14 January 2021]

I was shocked and appalled that the jurors were deadlocked. That means that someone agreed that killing people (other than in a case of self defense) is a justifiable defense.

And now that the insurance company reversed their decision, coupled with the hung jury the message they are sending to the next person is just to kill the claim adjusters or pharmaceutical employee. Hell, why do we need malpractice -- if your surgeon makes a mistake, just kill them.

Why do we continually value young life over adults. People, children's lives are no more precious then that of adults. If this character had committed the same crime for the same reason but for his 80 year old mother, no doubt the jury would have found him guilty because we don't see senior citizens as having the same value as a 9 year old child.

This is why we need to keep sentimentally and religion out of our laws.

Something no parent should face

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 16 April 2016]

This Law And Order episode is the story of the murder of an insurance claims investigator who cast the deciding vote on a panel as to whether Juan Carlos Hernandez's daughter should get an experimental drug for her leukemia. The thing has not cleared the endless bureaucratic hurdles of the FDA. But it might represent the young girl's last and best chance.

No parent should ever be in that position. The victim also had a wife and kids. This is one nasty case that Sam Waterston has handed him.

A lot of very important issues are discussed and weighed here. This story is not to be missed.

$2,500 per month for life

[Noir-It-All · 6/10 · 3 June 2020]

This episode focuses on the health insurance industry. This particular company offered the patient's family two choices: a bone marrow transplant (it was unlikely this particular patient would find a match in time.) Or, a drug recently made available the company would not cover and the family could not afford

However, both sides of the aisle could have questioned the pharmaceutical industry as well. One dose of the new drug the insurance company voted not to support was $2,500 and the young leukemia patient would need it monthly for life . Apart from the lack of longitudinal studies, cost was clearly the main reason it was turned down by the majority of the company"s special cases committee.

But, did the drug have to be this costly?

No one has the right to do that, not even a grief-stricken father.

[Mrpalli77 · 7/10 · 14 November 2017]

A street cleaner was performing his duty early in the morning when he bumped into what seemed to be a bum passed out by the sidewalk. Actually he was passed away with his skull fractured from behind by a blunt object like a hammer. Maybe a local homeless could have seen the murderer, but he was drinking far from his spot at the time of the murder. The victim (Joseph Culliton) is a meek employee and a family man: the same night, he recorded a video, planning to surprise his wife who was about to turn 50 that week. The murderer was driving a cable van reported stolen the day before, anyway detectives realize it hasn't been stolen at all, because there is no sign of breaking in the vehicle. The victim worked in an health insurance company and the employee played a crucial role in a decision over the murderer's daughter (she had leukemia and insurance company has to deal with expenses, even if the choice made - a bone marrow transplant - has very few chance to save her life).

I think that health (as well as education) is a matter of public interest, so there is no reason in give it to private hands. In this topic, Europe is one step forward than United States, a situation well explained by Michael Moore in "Sicko".

Deadly insurance

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 25 May 2022]

'Law and Order', and actually frequently the whole 'Law and Order' franchise (especially 'Special Victims Unit'), often excelled when it came to having cases that made the viewer feel truly sad and angry. It also often excelled when it came to tackling difficult and even polarising topics, some with stories inspired by real life cases (hence what is meant when one calls a case "ripped from the headlines"). And doing so in a way that doesn't hold back and pulls a large emotional punch.

"Undercovered" certainly doesn't hold back and has a large emotional punch. It certainly made me sad and angry. While not one of the very best episodes of 'Law and Order', contrary to it being one of the lower rated Season 12 episodes it to me is one of the better episodes of the season. Due to having one of the season's most controversial subjects and tackling it more sensitively than most episodes of Season 12 with less challenging subjects. Not perfect, but from personal view it was very good.

Will agree about the verdict being a complete head scratcher and not realistic, 'Law and Order' and the franchise in general was no stranger to endings that makes one go "what" in shock but in real life there are really not many people that would find someone's actions, no matter their circumstances, condonable. While feeling sorry for the perpetrator in some way, their actions were not condonable.

Southerlyn is a complete deadweight and adds nothing.

However, "Undercovered" succeeds a lot more than it fails. As ever, the production values are slick, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started (never was it a problem but it got more fluid overtime). The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key.

Furthermore, the script is sharp, intelligent and gritty, again with a lot to take in without feeling too much. The story pulls no punches and hits home for any desperate parent in similar positions. It's a tough subject and it's handled with little judgement on either side or one-sided-ness, the moral dilemmas of the issue being thought-provoking and enough to make one feel saddened and angered. The performances are excellent.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.