Murder One - Season 1

Rating:
Summary: great show
Review: Having watched every episode of Murder One I can tell you it was interesting and well concieved. It profiles a single sensational murder trial and the events surrounding it. The acting is terrific and the story is captivating including a great finale. I compare it to the first season of NYPD Blue - one of the best single seasons of all time. The problem with the show when it aired live was that people couldn't get into it after missing several episodes. Now with the DVD anyone can sit down and watch it at their own pace.

Rating:
Summary: Overlooked Masterpiece II
Review: I echo Mike's review. This one's a "can't miss" for home DVD. The main trial that follows the series in Season 1 also has some "sidebar" mini-trials conducted by some of the assistant Defense Lawyer team members which helps keep some variety interests during the 1st season. As the previous reviewer said, Daniel Benzali is absolutely amazing in his role of the lead defense lawyer in this series. Also of note is the prosecuting attorney Barbara Bosson (from "Hill St. Blues"). Stanley Tucci, as Mike's review states, is "chilling" as one of the suspects in the primary murder trial during the season's episodes.

Thanks, Mike for the info on why the 2nd season format changed and why Daniel Benzali wasn't in the 2nd season.

If you like murder trial series and "who-done-it's", this one's a can't miss DVD purchase.

Rating:
Summary: An Overlooked Masterpiece
Review: I had given up all hope of seeing this show on DVD. Murder One is one of a number of shows that was killed by inept network executives. It seemed to change timeslots on a monthly basis, got preempted by ABC frequently, and finally disappeared for weeks before the network decided to air the final slate of season one episodes. As a result, most of America missed this fantastic show.
Muder One's hook was the fact that, unlike most legal dramas that do a case or two a week, the entire season dealt with a single sensational Hollywood murder trial. Jason Gedrick, late of the also excellent and abandoned Boomtown, starred as Neil Avadon, a Hollywood celebrity accused of murder. Daniel Benzali does fantastic work as the lead defense attorney (he got so fed up with the network's interference that he left the show after this season) but the real powerhouse performance is from Stanley Tucci as the shady and manipulative Richard Cross.
The final handful of episodes, dealing with the resolution of the trial, got enough ratings to warrant the network's renewal of the show for a second year, but pressure from the executives forced a change in the show's one-story-per-season format.
This is an overlooked gem of a show that deserves a second life on home video. You won't be sorry if you give it a chance.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Show You Didn't Watch
Review: TV Guide hailed Murder One as 'The Best Show You're Not Watching' mid first-season, and, believe me, they were right.

The premise of Murder One is simple enough; to take you, step by step, through a sensational murder trial. A series of twists and turns within the first four episodes leads to the arrest of drug-addicted movie star Neil Avadon who turns to his former lawyer Ted Hoffman for help.

The show takes you through the entire trial, from jury selection to the verdict and beyond. Each episode reveals more about the case itself, about the young victim Jessica Costello, and the tragic life she led up until her murder. The defendent, Neil, has no memory of the night she died and doesn't even know himself if he's innocent or guilty.

Ted Hoffman and Associates, the law firm at the center of the trial, is staffed with brilliant attorneys who passionately fight for Neil and their other clients with an exuberance and passion seldom seen in present-day law shows. They actually *care*, and through them you will, too. I'd love to tell you more, to detail the fascinating and brilliant plot twists and revelations that you'll journey through watching this show, but to do so would spoil the incredible experience of seeing it yourself, from episode one to the end.

This show first aired when I was thirteen years old. Eight years later I still vividly remember it as one of the best, most well-written and riveting dramas I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.