Murder One

All all indications are that the new version of Murder One will be just as well done, just as riveting as last year's. In the second episode, there are several unexpected twists and turns that will keep you engrossed in the story. [10 Oct 1996, p.5]

TV's most magnetic, compelling new leading actor in years, Benzali is unusual in the medium because he knows that understatement can carry more impact than shouting and scenery chewing. [19 Sept 1995, p.E-1]

If its premiere epitomizes what's ahead, Steven Bochco's intense legal drama Murder One will be the best new series of the fall season. Period. Case closed. Jury dismissed with thanks...With "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law" and "NYPD Blue" already heading his resume, Murder One is quintessential Bochco, a well-acted, smartly written, meticulously presented hour that turns the law inside out while telling a good story that makes you feel like you're spying on these people through a peephole. Created by Bochco, Charles H. Eglee and Channing Gibson, it has that irresistible thing that identifies a series as a creative success: You can't wait for it to return.

By far the best new drama of the TV season...Murder One is profound, brilliant, mesmerizing and scary. [19 Sept 1995, p.1E]

This new version of Murder One is not as taut as the original. But it is more focused. And even though it lacks Stanley Tucci and his mesmerizing performance of last season, it has a strong cast and the occasional clever gambit, most notably Ralph Waite, the fine actor still best known as Papa Walton, depicting a subtly menacing power behind the urban scenes. I've seen the first two episodes. I'm hooked.

What remains is the Bochco trademark: intelligent writing and good acting, which give the characters a richness that is appealing and deep, even if the courtroom is the real star. [10 Oct 1996, p.C1]

Murder One is dead on arrival...The first two episodes this year fail to generate any real interest in who's guilty or innocent. And if that's the case now, the final verdict on this series will be swift and just...If we don't care whodunit, why should wewatchit?