"Foul Play" sounded like the sort of story that 'Law and Order' was known to excel well in. It does sound ordinary on first glance, but had real potential to be an episode that had a topic that was current and happened a lot back then and is still relevant. 'Law and Order' did do well often at making something complex out of what sounds basic when getting the basic jist of the synopsis. Other episodes in Season 12 took on more challenging subjects with rather varied success, but that was in no way an issue.
Although Season 12 did better episodes, such as "For Love or Money" and "Myth of Fingerprints", which had more emotional impact and intensity, there are also far worse episodes ("DR 1-102", "The Fire this Time"). Where realism was not a strong suit, where the subjects were not handled tactfully and focused on less interesting characters. "Foul Play" is not a great or perfect episode, but in my view it is not deserving of being one of the lower rated episodes of Season 12.
It does start off on the ordinary and familiar side, with familiar plot tropes, though it still intrigued and Briscoe and Green are a great team. The conclusion is somewhat over-crowded and rushed.
Did think too that the supporting characters could have been written with more subtlety and not as stereotyped. Elisabeth Rohm is still wooden and the chemistry between her and Sam Waterston (fine as usual) is completely bland.
The acting otherwise though is very good across the board, with strong performances from Orlando J Torres and Larry Joshua. The regulars are excellent, especially in the second half. The story becomes a good deal more interesting when things turn out not what they seemed at first, and the turn in the plot is not handled abruptly or jarringly. The case also becomes more intricate and handles a relevant subject with edge and enough tact.
Furthermore, "Foul Play" doesn't look drab or gaudy, and the editing is far from slapdash. The music avoids getting too melodramatic in the more dramatic moments while not being too low key, it has always been a good move that it is used relatively sparingly. The direction especially shines in the character interaction in the second half. The script is beautifully balanced, there is a lot of talk but taut enough to avoid it from waffling.
Good episode all in all. 7/10.