Favorite/Least Favorite Episodes

[MMLEsq]

I decided to start a thread to discuss specific episodes -- favorites and least favorites.

Edited April 5, 2014 by MMLEsq

[MMLEsq]

Season 7 contains a lot of my favorite episodes and probably my least favorite.

Favorite:  Legacy (S7, E10) --  Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate the shooting of James Shepherd, who had just returned home from an outing with his wife Robin and 8 year-old daughter. Forensics reports that the same weapon was used in a hit some two years before by a professional hit-man. A fixer points the finger at Robin Shepherd's former mother-in-law, Estelle Muller, whose son Rick was married to Robin until he died some 5 years ago in a rock climbing accident. Jim Shepherd was with him when Rick died and and Estelle is convinced he was responsible for her son's death. She offers to plead guilty if Shepherd is investigated for murdering her son. A new autopsy on Rick Muller shows he was hit on the head with a baseball bat before he fell. The DA decides to proceed against Jim Shepherd.  My favorite scene in the episode is at the very end:

ADA Jamie Ross:  "Almost a record!  They convicted him in an hour and a half."
DA Adam Schiff:  "How's the wife doing?"

Jack McCoy:  "Shaky, but she served him with divorce papers on his way out of the court room."

DA Adam Schiff:  "Gotta be tough finding out you married your stalker."  <--- maybe my favorite L&O line ever

Least Favorite -- The 3-episode D-Girl/Turnaround/Show Time (S7, E15-17) - Detectives Briscoe and Curtis investigate when the partial remains of a woman are found in the river. The autopsy reveals the woman was cut up with a large knife. She had cosmetic surgery and they manage to identify her as Heidi Ellison, the president of a Mattawin Studios in Hollywood. They focus on her personal trainer, Evan Grant, but he goes off to Los Angeles before they can get a blood test from him. The detectives follow him there but have trouble getting the blood sample when the court order ADA McCoy obtained is quashed. They find a way around that and Grant is returned to New York. He may have a reasonable alibi however. They then focus on Ellison's ex-husband, director Eddie Newman. Curtis meanwhile ends up on a date with an attractive studio executive, Lisa Lundquist.  The murder weapon - a hundred year old knife - is found and turned into the police. The knife was found near a small airport where Ellison's ex-husband,Eddie Newman, took a private plane to Los Angeles on the night she was killed. After the police find her blood in his car, they issue an arrest warrant for Newman and Briscoe and Curtis head back to LA. They arrest him but Newman's lawyers - who include Jamie Ross' ex-husband - contest his extradition forcing McCoy and Ross to fly to LA to argue their case. Meanwhile, Curtis gets a job offer from studio executive Lisa Lundquist - and the offer of a relationship.  The trial of Hollywood director Eddie Newman begins amid a media circus and aggressive defense lawyers. It all becomes too personal when Jamie Ross' ex-husband Neil Gorton, one of Newman's lawyers, applies for sole custody of their daughter. When McCoy questions Jamie's work ethic and priorities, she quits. Ray Curtis turns down Lisa Lundquist's offer of a job and a relationship, but she offers to testify on the animosity Newman had towards his ex-wife. The case isn't going well for the prosecution, particularly when the defense comes up with what seems to be an alternative suspect.

TNT must love D-Girl/Turnaround/Show Time because it seems like they air those three episodes a lot.  Including again this morning.  I'm kind of neutral on Lauren Graham generally, but she really annoys me in these episodes.  I'm not sure why.

[ChlcGirl]

Let's see .. favorite episodes.  The final two in Season 9, Refuge I and Refuge II.  The one where a 10 year old boy is the only witness to a hit by the Russian mob.

[Mrs. P.]

I don't know the season or episode number, but one that has always stuck with me has the sociopathic little girl with the long curly blond hair who kills a boy and then puts a battery in his mouth to 'restart' him.  I'll never forget that little girl - so cold and menacing.  She referred to the death of the little boy as 'he got dead.'

This was also the show when the former prosecution expert psychologist testified for the defense and successfully argued that the girl should be given an opportunity to be rehabilitated.  I hated the outcome of the show but never forgot it.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I don't know the season or episode number, but one that has always stuck with me has the sociopathic little girl with the long curly blond hair who kills a boy and then puts a battery in his mouth to 'restart' him.  I'll never forget that little girl - so cold and menacing.  She referred to the death of the little boy as 'he got dead.'

This was also the show when the former prosecution expert psychologist testified for the defense and successfully argued that the girl should be given an opportunity to be rehabilitated.  I hated the outcome of the show but never forgot it.

Oooooh, one of my favorites! It was Season 10 and the episode was "Killerz", and it was Liz Olivet, who, by now was in private practice, and who felt that the psychotic little murderer was not a lost cause, while Skoda said she was a serial killer and that Jack just found/caught her early.  The judge was a stupid sap. Considering that before this aired, I had already read and heard about children who had killed other children. She so deserved to be put away. And Hallee Hirsh, who played her, was so very, very good, with that sinister smile she gives to that sweet looking boy at the end.

[MMLEsq]

One of my least favorites episodes is the one where Julia Roberts guest starred ("Empire"/S9,E20: A businessman planning to build a new football stadium in New York City is on trial for murder. But the prosecution's star witness, a professional fundraiser who was having an affair with the victim, may have her own sinister motives.)

I know she was dating Benjamin Bratt (Rey Curtis) at the time, but it just didn't work for me.  I felt zero chemistry between them. 

Also, in my opinion, Julia Roberts -- while certainly great in a number of movies -- sometimes tends to "overact" in dramas and I definitely saw that in this episode.

There's been so many famous actors and actresses that have appeared on L&O, I'm thinking of starting a separate thread on Guest Stars....what do you think?

[ApathyMonger]

Right now, I'm watching "Exiled: A Law And Order Movie." It's very bad. Despite the title, it somehow feels more televisual than the actual series (it doesn't help that the movie is in 4:3, while the show had been filming in widescreen for years).

I love Chris Noth, both as Mike Logan and in general, but this is terrible. The music is incredibly overdone, and the performances (including a pre-SVU Ice-T) are brutal.

[radishcake]

Check out the Guest Stars thread that MMLEsq started! 

[MMLEsq]

As for my favorite, it's an oldie: "Mushrooms" (S01, E17), which featured our beloved Lt., S. Epatha Merkerson, as the grief-stricken mother of an infant killed by a fourteen-year-old.  From the image of the bullet-ridden baby swing to the courtroom revelation as to how the shooter found himself at that address with his gun, it's a gut-wrenching hour.  The scene when they find Merkerson's character at work cleaning offices and tell her about her child's death is heartbreaking.

I just saw that episode last week.  It's interesting on how some of the episodes just stick with you -- whenever I think about that episode I think about the scene with the revelation that the 14-year-old killer had gone to the wrong address because he couldn't read. 

[radishcake]

Oh man. Mushrooms is just heartbreaking in so many ways. This episode did the thing that I think the show was the best at, showing that small choices can have huge consequences while also showing how NYC (and other major metropolitan areas) failed their citizens. The criminal justice system was/is left having to wade through bureaucracy for ACTUAL justice for it's people. 

[Princess Sparkle]

My all-time favorite, though it is gut-wrenching to watch, is Indifference.  Stone with rare rage (though, true to character, it's quiet and simmering), Logan admissions about his mother, and absolutely fantastic (and terrifying) performances by the actors playing the parents.  Just hearing the wife say "Pookie" sends shivers down my spine.

 

I also love, love, love the performances in Sanctuary.  Michael Moriarity just gave a master class of acting in that episode - still wish that would've been his final episode instead of Old Friends.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[LennieBriscoe]

Favorite: The episode where they all go to witness an execution.

 

Least favorite: Any episodes that include the Russian Mob. Boring!

[MMLEsq]

My all-time favorite, though it is gut-wrenching to watch, is Indifference.  Stone with rare rage (though, true to character, it's quiet and simmering), Logan admissions about his mother, and absolutely fantastic (and terrifying) performances by the actors playing the parents.  Just hearing the wife say "Pookie" sends shivers down my spine.

 

I also love, love, love the performances in Sanctuary.  Michael Moriarity just gave a master class of acting in that episode - still wish that would've been his final episode instead of Old Friends.

Yes, that's a great one.  Truly one "ripped from the headlines" -- so much so that I seem to remember some sort of special disclaimer at the end (because it was so clearly based on the Steinberg case).  It's interesting that David Groh guest starred in two episodes during the early years that, for me, were particularly memorable.  One was Indifference; the other was Censure, where Claire has to admit that she had an affair with the accused judge. 

 

Favorite: The episode where they all go to witness an execution.

Interesting.  I don't particularly care for the one where they all go to witness the execution.  I guess I just prefer the usual set up of: crime takes place, police investigate, DA prosecutes.  Another episode that I don't particularly care for is Mayhem, which is all Order & no Law.

[radishcake]

Favorite: The episode where they all go to witness an execution.

 

Least favorite: Any episodes that include the Russian Mob. Boring!

OOooh but what about the russian mob one with Alison Janney? She just wants to make the baby food! Damn that one was so creepy to me because "Russian Mobsters who will chop off your fingers! They're just like us!" *shiver

[T-A-C]

I'm going to say one of my favorites is "Mad Dog" from Season 7. I find it an interesting episode, mainly for how it's one of the occasions where McCoy's sense of righteousness is portrayed as a character flaw with serious consequences. The ominous musical score and Burt Young's performance really helps sell this episode.

 

As for least favorite... Season 17 has some utterly, utterly awful episodes, but I think "Talking Points" takes the cake just for how obnoxiously, offensively bad it was.

[FormerMod-a1]

WE has been showing a series of my least favorite episodes.  The 3 parter that goes to Hollywood and back, and involves Jamie's ex.  Followed by Mad Dog where a serial rapist is released from prison (his term was up?) and his daughter only thinks the best of him, and Jack persecutes and hounds him and then he rapes daughter's friend and daughter kills him    It's like they don't want me to watch the channel tonight.  That's OK.  I've been watching the X-Files on El Rey instead.

[radishcake]

OK guys, dun dun DUN. I don't hate the 3 parter. Maybe it's my irrational love of Janene Garafolo but I enjoyed the change of venue and the OJ-lite judge. All the fun parts. I don't even hate Lauren Graham! So there you have it. My secret revealed.

*please throw your tomatoes LOW, I don't need a seed in the eye. ;)

[rujasu]

Hmm, I don't hate that one either.  It's okay.  It suffers from the usual problem of the Curtis episodes, namely that Curtis is in it, but otherwise I find it quite average.

[WendyCR72]

Well, for moi, it was Rey's constant sanctimony and preaching about his beliefs and disparaging others when they didn't coincide, or so it seemed. Drove me crazy.

[radishcake]

Yep I'm with @WendyCR72 Rey's sanctimonious BS really got on my nerves. I did love pairing him with Brisco though to take him down a peg or two.

[rujasu]

The sanctimonious part didn't bother me too much with Max Greevey.  That might have been part of it, but I think there's also a lot of credit to be given to Benjamin Bratt and his unmatched blandness.

[radishcake]

Yeah I find it interesting that I didn't mind it as much from Max. Maybe because he didn't play his character so condescending?

[callie lee 29]

Hell, it wouldn't be Law and Order if someone wasn't sanctimonious. Olivia & Eliot over at SVU, Greevey, Logan, McCoy, even Lenny could get the self-righteous shorts in a twist from time to time. Curtis didn't really seem all that much different than many others. But that 3-parter, jeez... possibly the worst episodes ever. (Most) anything with the Russian mob is pretty bad as well.

 

Favorite episodes? That one's hard. I pretty much love anything with Robinette and Stone.

[Eolivet]

I want to find someone who actually likes that three-parter.

 

Me. I love anything with the late, great Michael Zaslow (Ben Hollings, and the charismatic villain Roger Thorpe for many years on "Guiding Light"). I also loved seeing Lauren Graham before she was "famous," even if she is coming on to Curtis for reasons unknown. And it contains one of my favorite McCoy one-liners when describing Eddie Newman's descent from aspiring auteur to mainstream kiddie movie guy: "A daring neo-realist foray into Jellystone Park."

 

(But I mainly love it because my husband and I watched "Turnaround" the night of our first date, and we were the only two people we knew who loved Law & Order, and we've been married for 13 years, so it always will hold a special place in my heart.)

 

I have two least favorite Law & Orders, where I am absolutely guaranteed to turn the channel. The first is "Agony," the one with the awful serial killer who got off on torturing women and burying them in Fort Trion Park and then coming back to look at them...yuck. When he commands Abbie to "Sit down" and listen to how he made those women beg for their lives and say they admired him... :shudders:

 

The second one I don't even know the name, and I can't remember if it's Curtis or Green, but it's a little girl who was raped in a building by a fuse box, with an entire bug of bug spray stuffed down her throat, and they originally think it's one guy, but it turns out to be the oh-so-helpful building super who I believe admits he didn't use the bug spray to kill her (:shudders:), but pretty much got off on her suffering, and then has the unmitigated gall to offer a half-hearted defense of his crime: "I thought she liked me."

 

Nothing will get me to turn the channel faster than those two episodes. There were many vile, scummy criminals but these two just took the cake.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Eolivet

[Maherjunkie]

 

Oooooh, one of my favorites! It was Season 10 and the episode was "Killerz", and it was Liz Olivet, who, by now was in private practice, and who felt that the psychotic little murderer was not a lost cause, while Skoda said she was a serial killer and that Jack just found/caught her early.  The judge was a stupid sap. Considering that before this aired, I had already read and heard about children who had killed other children. She so deserved to be put away. And Hallee Hirsh, who played her, was so very, very good, with that sinister smile she gives to that sweet looking boy at the end.

Any time a parent says "A child is my best friend" you know you are headed for trouble!  I loved Mayhem.  Logan all the way through, with full hair and figure.

[dustylil]

Eolivet, that episode was Monster and it was from Season 8.

 

An episode also from the same season that I particularly dislike is Blood. That is the one where a new mother is murdered just after giving up her baby for adoption and her husband is hiding his ethnic background. The  racial issues themselves are quite interesting but the plot of the episode was utterly ludicrous to my mind.

 

The baby's mother appeared to want the child. They had several months to come up with a plan. If there were concerns that the father's African-American heritage was going to be revealed, why not have her leave town to have the baby? If the child resembled his first child, she could then return with the baby. If it did not, they could inform their friends and family that the child had tragically died at birth and then privately adopt a baby (of mixed race who had health issues and was therefore available to them) to help them overcome their sorrow? It is a variation on the Loretta Young goes away to have Clark Gable's baby  story - but with married people :) That way the woman gets to keep her child and the husband's secret is safe. Sheesh. It is not rocket science.

 

I too join in the dislike of Rey. In addition to his ongoing sanctimony and the idea of all women (and at least some men) being bowled over by his sex appeal,  he was apparently vastly and irritatingly knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects. In Season' 7's Terminal Lennie and Rey are questioning a travel agent about his business affairs. He tells them about a tour to Sofia. Rey responds - for no particular reason - "Bulgaria?". I recall saying to my television, "No, Nebraska."

 

I have a couple of episodes that I try not to miss when they are aired.  Mushrooms is among them, Of the middle years one of my all-time favourites is the seventh season's Legacy. It has a stalker, a hired killer and a suspicious mother-in-law. And it  has the wonderful Frances Sternhagen.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I think we need an Unpopular thread for just this show! Hee.

 

I will always, always find the first five years the best of this franchise, because it was before it got so fucking politically correct. And when I say that, I mean, the first five years didn't shy away from controversial subjects and was so very raw and real to me.  Next to Rohmbot, I found Claire to be the weakest of the ADAs. I can't quite put my finger on it, could be because of the relationship between her and Jack, which to my usually discerning mind, went right over my head until the finale of "Aftershock", and it could be her not being as strong, and always an underling. First of Stone (which was understandable, she was new), and then Jack. 

 

I think one of the best episodes in Season 7 was "Ritual", even if I didn't like how Rey and Lennie arrested that doctor in front of everyone at the line for Lady Liberty.

 

But I think the reason why I don't love the Rey years especially, and maybe it's my dislike for Rey, but it just seemed, more and more, that the constitutional rights of the defendants were thrown right out the window, and when it came up in court, they looked like complete asses. Did they not think that this would come to bite them on the ass, technical violation or not? And Jack's holier than thou ripping into them didn't help, considering Jack did his own cutting of corners when it suited him. Not to mention the edict "get a confession/find the evidence no matter WHAT."  Kind of like Jack Nicholson's famous speech in A Few Good Men about people asking for protection then questioning the manner in which he provided it or something. Whatevs.

 

I didn't really start to watch again until Detective Beauty Queen, and yeah, she was the worst, and I hated a lot of the episodes.

 

As for "Blood", I really love when Van Buren goes into interrogation and says "Hello, my brother." That whole scene was great.  As for the episode, I believe Burdette, had said that he didn't want any more children and his second wife agreed...but then got pregnant, and I guess he told her to give it up? I can't recall if abortion was ever brought up as an option. And she just changed her mind about giving the baby up or something.

[Princess Sparkle]

 

 

The second one I don't even know the name, and I can't remember if it's Curtis or Green, but it's a little girl who was raped in a building by a fuse box, with an entire bug of bug spray stuffed down her throat, and they originally think it's one guy, but it turns out to be the oh-so-helpful building super who I believe admits he didn't use the bug spray to kill her (:shudders:), but pretty much got off on her suffering, and then has the unmitigated gall to offer a half-hearted defense of his crime: "I thought she liked me."

 

 

That's based off the Girl X rape in Cabrini Green, and I've never been able to bring myself to watch that episode - what happened to the actual little girl was so horrifying that I don't think I could watch the episode without dissolving into tears.  It's scary when the monsters on the show pale in comparison to the real life counterparts.    

Edited September 12, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[txhorns79]

The baby's mother appeared to want the child. They had several months to come up with a plan. If there were concerns that the father's African-American heritage was going to be revealed, why not have her leave town to have the baby? If the child resembled his first child, she could then return with the baby. If it did not, they could inform their friends and family that the child had tragically died at birth and then privately adopt a baby (of mixed race who had health issues and was therefore available to them) to help them overcome their sorrow? It is a variation on the Loretta Young goes away to have Clark Gable's baby  story - but with married people :) That way the woman gets to keep her child and the husband's secret is safe. Sheesh. It is not rocket science.

 

I don't remember every detail of the episode, but was there any reason to believe that the baby's mother would have gone along with that plan?  You'd have to have a mother who was not only willing and ready to hide her pregnancy, but then ready to engage in an elaborate deception to make people think her baby died, along with setting up a phony adoption.  And that doesn't even get into the fact that you'd have to trust her to go along with this plan forever.  I mean, I realize Law and Order had its share of terrible parents, but that doesn't seem like a particularly plausible solution for that situation. 

Edited September 15, 2014 by txhorns79

[dustylil]

I am unclear as to  the confusion. Why would the woman have needed to hide her pregnancy for this ruse to succeed? It was the baby not the pregnancy that was the "problem". Leaving town to give birth was all that would be required.

 

Regarding the phony adoption, all she  and her husband had to do was tell people (friends and extended family) that the child was adopted. There would be no false adoption set-up required. It is not like people  are required to show assorted documents to all and sundry when they acquire a child through adoption. Why would any adoption story the couple told people be doubted? The ex-wife might have had her suspicions, but she was scarcely in any position to express them.

 

As to the baby's mother going along with the plan - if the choice being offered to her was 1) being forced to give up her own child to be raised by strangers or 2) putting this ploy in place and having her own baby in her arms in her own home within a matter of weeks, why wouldn't she agree to it?

[Ailianna]

Not everyone is comfortable living a lie.

[txhorns79]

Regarding the phony adoption, all she  and her husband had to do was tell people (friends and extended family) that the child was adopted. There would be no false adoption set-up required. It is not like people  are required to show assorted documents to all and sundry when they acquire a child through adoption. Why would any adoption story the couple told people be doubted? The ex-wife might have had her suspicions, but she was scarcely in any position to express them.

 

I don't think that is correct.  Presuming the child would see a doctor, attend school, or otherwise engage in activities that might require the parents to provide documentation attesting that they are the parents, the secret would get out, because someone would notice that while the parents claim to the world that the kid was adopted, the paperwork the parents provided (like a birth certificate) shows they are the biological parents.  Trust me, if you believe that secrecy rules or laws would keep all those various staff members who saw the paperwork quiet about such a juicy bit of gossip, you would be mistaken.  Heck, it might even get the parents reported to child services because what they were doing was really messed up.                 

 

 

As to the baby's mother going along with the plan - if the choice being offered to her was 1) being forced to give up her own child to be raised by strangers or 2) putting this ploy in place and having her own baby in her arms in her own home within a matter of weeks, why wouldn't she agree to it?

 

Why in the world would she accept either choice?  She's an adult.  Unless we were supposed to believe the victim was as craven as the ex-wife, I think she would just say she's having her baby, and regardless of whether the baby looks black or white, she will not go along with either plan.  That would be that, so to speak. 

Edited September 16, 2014 by txhorns79

[dustylil]

As to why she would accept such a choice, I have no idea. But that was one of the basic factual elements of the case  in that particular episode.  She did make a decision and gave the child up for adoption.  And then appeared to regret it. Whether she was craven, was  blindly accepting of her husband's wishes, or did so for some other reason -  we never did learn as she was killed early on.

 

Of course, medical, educational, and other authorities would have to be made aware of the exact nature of the child's connection to the parents. But in my earlier post I specifically referenced family and friends as the ones to be misled. That was the group that the baby's father  in this episode seemed to be most concerned about.

 

I don't think it  would take all that much effort to make sure there was no overlap with their social circle and their child's school and medical professionals if there was concern of the secret leaking out.

[radishcake]

Do you guys need a bunny? 

 

*it's actually a kitten! ;)

[radishcake]

Don't you love that I've used this kittybunny so much Aquarian1?! You are the best! 

[txhorns79]

But in my earlier post I specifically referenced family and friends as the ones to be misled.

 

You are entirely right.  If you are only trying to mislead one set of people, and you could guarantee that the people you were lying to never intermingled or otherwise had contact with the set of people to whom you revealed the truth, along with guaranteeing that the child you are lying to never came across the truth (or for whatever reason, agreed to cover up the situation), the plan could work.   

 

Though I would note, with the Loretta Young situation you cited, Young may have thought she covered up the issue (she even went to the trouble of publicly staging a fake adoption), but people knew or highly suspected the truth because of the way she ran off to England to hide that she was pregnant, and that her eventual "adopted" child had obvious resemblances to the father.  Young just refused to admit it publicly for many years.   

Edited September 18, 2014 by txhorns79

[Maherjunkie]

She saw what happened to Ingrid Bergman.

[TanGyal]

My favorite episodes are all from Seasons 5 - 8 - the best years, if you ask me, but I do really like a few from the later seasons. Especially the ones with the best Lennie quips.

 

Favorites (in chronological order)

- Precious - S05E07 - sad, but really well-done...McCoy at his sanctimonious best...

- Seed - S05E15 - with Dr. Dilbert or Gilbert, depending where you watch it (oh, the infamous name dub!)

- Savages - S06E03 - McCoy's first death penalty case

- Corpus Delicti - S06E11...some great Lennie sarcasm here

- Survivor - S07E04...this might have the best quotes - "Detective! I believe you're trying to make me laugh!"

- Legacy - S07E10...agree with a previous post - this is a great episode.

- Barter - S07E12..."I remember when I realized my father was a son of a bitch...I can't imagine what it must be like to know you raised one."

- D-Girl-Turnaround-Showtime - S07E15-17 - I *actually* like this 3-parter! The third one is the best one...

- Blood - S08E07...interesting, but I don't know why they couldn't have casted a baby that actually looked to be half black, half white (like me)

- Shadow - S08E08...."Harmon, you son of a bitch..."

- Castoff - S08E13

- The Ring - S13E05...this episode gave me the chills...

- Absentia - S13E13...McCoy's sarcastic cross cracks me up

- Smoke - S13E24...the Michael Jackson case, but those damn parents creeped me out!

- Hands Free - S14E17...the Robert Durst episode

- The Drowned and the Saved - S19E22...the senate horse trade episode...

 

There are only a few episodes I really can't stand...the Good Girl, Mad Dog and We Like Mike episodes in Season 7 I really don't like or I find them kind of boring. I'm sure if I really thought about it, I could think of dumber episodes. Oh, that 3 Dawg Night episode in Season 12 was awful. But, like I said, there's definitely more...

[cooksdelight]

"Harm" was just rerun on Sundance. Give the OB-GYN hell, Abbie! :) Her last question "Do you remember any of their faces or did you even manage to look up?" was killer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629289/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

[ChlcGirl]

Ah Abbie. She was a tough lady! My favorite ADA:)

[Spartan Girl]

Another great Abbie quote was in "Refuge Part 2", when she's grieving over the murder of her friend, yet still has the the guts to call out the Russian mobster's lawyer about the little boy being in the hospital: "He can't talk because the people your client hired didn't cut his throat deep enough." The venom in her voice was superb.

[BW Manilowe]

Another great Abbie quote was in "Refuge Part 2", when she's grieving over the murder of her friend, yet still has the the guts to call out the Russian mobster's lawyer about the little boy being in the hospital: "He can't talk because the people your client hired didn't cut his throat deep enough." The venom in her voice was superb.

I haven't seen that in a few weeks (I just get the TNT & WE reruns, which I don't think are quite back to that ep yet, though at least 1 of those networks is showing Abbie eps right now), but I thought Abbie said the kid didn't die because the knife didn't go deep enough, not that he couldn't talk because of it. I'm probably wrong though.

[Spartan Girl]

I haven't seen that in a few weeks (I just get the TNT & WE reruns, which I don't think are quite back to that ep yet, though at least 1 of those networks is showing Abbie eps right now), but I thought Abbie said the kid didn't die because the knife didn't go deep enough, not that he couldn't talk because of it. I'm probably wrong though.

Yep, you were right. Still an awesome Abbie moment though.

[topanga]

I don't know if these are my least favorite episodes, but I happened to TiVo and watch these two disturbing episodes in a row:

• "Venom," where a mother has had an incestuous relationship with her son for years and somehow convinces him to commit murder. Followed by
• "Smoke," where two parents agree to let their older son spend time alone with a rich pedophile in exchange for money they'll use to pay their younger son's medical bills. 

I don't know which parents were more despicable. What's worse is that none of them thought they'd done anything wrong to their children. 

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

I don't know if these are my least favorite episodes, but I happened to TiVo and watch these two disturbing episodes in a row:

• "Venom," where a mother has had an incestuous relationship with her son for years and somehow convinces him to commit murder. Followed by
• "Smoke," where two parents agree to let their older son spend time alone with a rich pedophile in exchange for money they'll use to pay their younger son's medical bills. 

I don't know which parents were more despicable. What's worse is that none of them thought they'd done anything wrong to their children. 

Yeah. And in Venom, didn't the guy choose his mother over his wife in the end?

[roseslg]

8 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Yeah. And in Venom, didn't the guy choose his mother over his wife in the end?

He did!! 

[topanga]

10 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

Yeah. And in Venom, didn't the guy choose his mother over his wife in the end?

Yes, he did. He went to prison (and so did his wife, if I remember correctly), but he refused to implicate his mother. 

[Spartan Girl]

14 hours ago, topanga said:

I don't know if these are my least favorite episodes, but I happened to TiVo and watch these two disturbing episodes in a row:

• "Venom," where a mother has had an incestuous relationship with her son for years and somehow convinces him to commit murder. Followed by
• "Smoke," where two parents agree to let their older son spend time alone with a rich pedophile in exchange for money they'll use to pay their younger son's medical bills. 

I don't know which parents were more despicable. What's worse is that none of them thought they'd done anything wrong to their children. 

Even worse is that Serena didn't think the monsters in "Smoke" did anything wrong.  All because of the fact they had a sick kid.  I wanted to smack ALL THREE OF THEM upside the heads.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 8/31/2016 at 8:11 PM, topanga said:

I don't know if these are my least favorite episodes, but I happened to TiVo and watch these two disturbing episodes in a row:

• "Venom," where a mother has had an incestuous relationship with her son for years and somehow convinces him to commit murder. Followed by
• "Smoke," where two parents agree to let their older son spend time alone with a rich pedophile in exchange for money they'll use to pay their younger son's medical bills. 

I don't know which parents were more despicable. What's worse is that none of them thought they'd done anything wrong to their children. 

I don't know if this proves the 'parents on L & O are terrible!' or disproves it, but as a counter to this I'll offer season ten's Endurance, because Megan Follows is so damn good as the distraught mother who proves that she knew she did a terrible thing and would have died with her son given half the chance.

[303420]

Right now, season 7 episode 2, "I.D.," is on We and I'm reminded how very much I love this episode. It's the one where they find a female body in an elevator and pin the murder on the victim's sister. It turns our that the defendant is actually the victim - she killed her sister in order to assume her identity. 

This is also the one with the skeevy judge who makes quips about Ross's sex life. Bonus: McCoy locked up for contempt! It also has an appellate scene and I always enjoy those.

Definitely a top five episode for me at least.

I share the hatred of the three-parter in LA.