'People who won't stop working while being questioned by the police' and other L&O tropes

[CoderLady]

Depends on the timing. If it's in the final minute or so of the episode, it means some victim's family member has ambushed an unjustly acquitted perp on the street and administered some karmic justice. If it happens earlier enough to make a difference, it's someone coming forward with a piece of important evidence that changes the course of the case. Whatever it is, there will be fun times ahead in the next scene.

[Ailianna]

23 minutes ago, CoderLady said:

Depends on the timing. If it's in the final minute or so of the episode, it means some victim's family member has ambushed an unjustly acquitted perp on the street and administered some karmic justice. If it happens earlier enough to make a difference, it's someone coming forward with a piece of important evidence that changes the course of the case. Whatever it is, there will be fun times ahead in the next scene.

Or at the last minute, it may be that a victim or witness's family member(s) have just been killed.  "She doesn't have an uncle."

[topanga]

After the detectives examine the body at a crime scene, they grab the uniformed officer closest to them and rattle off a list of orders: "I want you to canvass a 6-block radius for witnesses. Get the registrations of all 200 cars in this parking lot. Check for a purse or ID in every dumpster, garbage can, and drain hole within a mile of here. Set up a road block along the perimeter of this parking lot." Do the detectives even know who this officer is? He could be a rookie on his first call. And no one ever writes anything down, but it all seems to get done somehow. 

[Moose135]

10 hours ago, topanga said:

After the detectives examine the body at a crime scene, they grab the uniformed officer closest to them and rattle off a list of orders: "I want you to canvass a 6-block radius for witnesses. Get the registrations of all 200 cars in this parking lot. Check for a purse or ID in every dumpster, garbage can, and drain hole within a mile of here. Set up a road block along the perimeter of this parking lot." Do the detectives even know who this officer is? He could be a rookie on his first call. And no one ever writes anything down, but it all seems to get done somehow. 

I suspect with some exceptions, those are all typical things to do at a crime scene, so it's probably standard procedures.

[topanga]

On 6/6/2016 at 10:03 PM, Moose135 said:

I suspect with some exceptions, those are all typical things to do at a crime scene, so it's probably standard procedures.

I know. I just find it funny that the detectives entrust this important work to one random patrol officer--they have no idea who he is, if he knows how to delegate those responsibilities, and you rarely see them saying this to the officer in charge--whoever that may be. 

[Arcadiasw]

I like some of the random conversations that occur before the body is discovered. Sometimes there's an arguing couple, a parent scolding a kid, people gossiping. Sometimes I want a follow up to these conversations. 

 

I also like when citizens offer the cops free food. I think Lennie got more free food than anyone. I'm not sure how often, if at all, it happens in real life but it's nice to see.

[mansonlamps]

Well overall crime is down but the crime has shifted around for sure.  I know where my mom grew up in Chicago was a "nice" neighborhood a long time ago that is now one of those neighborhoods that gives us the name Chiraq.  If any old people complain it's not entirely unjustified.

[CriticalMass]

On 6/17/2016 at 9:53 PM, Arcadiasw said:

I like some of the random conversations that occur before the body is discovered. Sometimes there's an arguing couple, a parent scolding a kid, people gossiping. Sometimes I want a follow up to these conversations. 

 

 

Me, too! Like the 2 female assistants that left work looking for a cab, bemoaning that the boss would use a car service; the boyfriend is a cheating dog, she's going to call his mother; those conversations always leave me wanting more, but I know they're going to stumble upon a dead body and they're not actually relevant to the case. 

[Raja]

On 6/17/2016 at 6:53 PM, Arcadiasw said:

 

I also like when citizens offer the cops free food. I think Lennie got more free food than anyone. I'm not sure how often, if at all, it happens in real life but it's nice to see.

I grew up on the Chief Parker influenced LAPD shows Dragnet and Adam-12 and those offers of food was the opportunity to say LAPD was no longer corrupt in that way, seein it as the first step to taking bigger bribes as Sergeant Friday or Officer Malloy turned down the offer

[topanga]

On 6/17/2016 at 9:53 PM, Arcadiasw said:

I like some of the random conversations that occur before the body is discovered. Sometimes there's an arguing couple, a parent scolding a kid, people gossiping. Sometimes I want a follow up to these conversations. 

 

I also like when citizens offer the cops free food. I think Lennie got more free food than anyone. I'm not sure how often, if at all, it happens in real life but it's nice to see.

When they first became partners, Lennie used to get free food, and douche-bag Rey would look down his sanctimonious nose at him. (Maybe that only happened once). But it's ironic that Lennie turned out to be the honest one, and Rey became the lying cheater. Isn't that how it always works?

[Charlesman]

I absolutely adore that, when given any random address in New York City, Lennie Briscoe always knows the closest bar and/or pizza joint. Lennie rules.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, Charlesman said:

I absolutely adore that, when given any random address in New York City, Lennie Briscoe always knows the closest bar and/or pizza joint. Lennie rules.

"Don't mess with a civil servant, my friend." ;-)

[roseha]

On 7/12/2016 at 5:48 PM, Charlesman said:

I absolutely adore that, when given any random address in New York City, Lennie Briscoe always knows the closest bar and/or pizza joint. Lennie rules.

Lennie also always knew right away that an alleged address would be located at a place "in the middle of the East River."

Edited July 14, 2016 by roseha
unintentional self-quote!

[KHenry14]

The annoying thing to me is the evidentiary problems that come up frequently. And the DA loses some key evidence because of a screwup usually by the cops. I understand that Wolf is putting these into the show for dramatic purposes, but some of these situations are so ludicrous that it drives me nuts. 

There, I feel better for getting this off my chest.  ;)

[Spartan Girl]

A trope that annoys me is the perp that only shows remorse literally at the eleventh hour: for example, the drunk driver that ran over three people in "Under the Influence" and didn't even care...even tried to pin the blame on his girlfriend (whom he bullied) until conveniently the moment of the trial where Jack showed him pictures of the victims. "I'm not a monster!" Yeah, I don't buy it, asshole.

Then there was that spoiled little bitch in "Causa Mortis" whose boyfriend murdered a woman for a car. For the better half of the episode, all she cared about was keeping the car. She and her lawyer even orchestrated it so that the weapon would be thrown out of evidence. It wasn't until Jack and Jamie threatened to turn them both over to the Feds that she started crying that she was "so sorry about what happened". Nope, don't buy it either.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Spartan Girl
Spelling typos

[roseslg]

I wanted that girl to go to jail too.  She showed absolutely no remorse, Fernando was only doing it for her, blah, blah, she needed the car to drive her mother to work.  Lady, someone is dead because of your wants!  

[fastiller]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Then there was that spoiled little bitch in "Causa Mortis" whose boyfriend murdered a woman for a car. For the better half of the episode, all she cared about was keeping the car. She and her lawyer even orchestrated it so that the weapon would be thrown out of evidence. It wasn't until Jack and Jamie threatened to turn them both over to the Feds that she started crying that she was "so sorry about what happened". Nope, don't buy it either.

 

37 minutes ago, roseslg said:

I wanted that girl to go to jail too.  She showed absolutely no remorse, Fernando was only doing it for her, blah, blah, she needed the car to drive her mother to work.  Lady, someone is dead because of your wants!  

Yeah!! It's called a MetroCard.  Look into buying one for your mother!!!

[roseslg]

11 minutes ago, fastiller said:

 

Yeah!! It's called a MetroCard.  Look into buying one for your mother!!!

Or, a token :).  I think they were still using tokens in those days.  

[Spartan Girl]

58 minutes ago, fastiller said:

 

Yeah!! It's called a MetroCard.  Look into buying one for your mother!!!

Or earn the money yourself!

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

A trope that annoys me is the perp that only shows remorse literally at the eleventh hour: four example, the drunk driver that ran over three people in "Under the Influence" and didn't even care...even tried to pin the blame on his girlfriend (whim he bullied) until conveniently the moment of the trial where Jack showed him pictures of the victims. "I'm not a monster!" Yeah, I don't buy it, asshole.

 

(Bolding Mine).

@Spartan Girl, I'm going to assume you were ragey when you typed this, because I KNOW you're not one who makes spelling mistakes! [insert sticking out emoji here!]

Because I know you meant "For example" and "whom he bullied."

Edited August 31, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule

[Cobalt Stargazer]

11 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

A trope that annoys me is the perp that only shows remorse literally at the eleventh hour: four example, the drunk driver that ran over three people in "Under the Influence" and didn't even care...even tried to pin the blame on his girlfriend (whim he bullied) until conveniently the moment of the trial where Jack showed him pictures of the victims. "I'm not a monster!" Yeah, I don't buy it, asshole.

Then there was that spoiled little bitch in "Causa Mortis" whose boyfriend murdered a woman for a car. For the better half of the episode, all she cared about was keeping the car. She and her lawyer even orchestrated it so that the weapon would be thrown out of evidence. It wasn't until Jack and Jamie threatened to turn them both over to the Feds that she started crying that she was "so sorry about what happened". Nope, don't buy it either.

Don't forget that wench who got her ex-boyfriend (the father of her kid) all riled up because a gay male couple adopted the baby, resulting in the ex beating one of the adoptive parents to death. I can't remember the title of the episode, but her fake sad face at the end when she tells the surviving partner, "Tell him that his mother loved him very much" makes me wish the guy had slapped her instead of just saying, "I'm sure you'll tell yourself that a lot later on."

[Spartan Girl]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

(Bolding Mine).

@Spartan Girl, I'm going to assume you were ragey when you typed this, because I KNOW you're not one who makes spelling mistakes! [insert sticking out emoji here!]

Because I know you meant "For example" and "whom he bullied."

Oh god, I'm so embarrassed. Yes, I was ragey and im going to go back and edit now. Thank you!

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Oh god, I'm so embarrassed. Yes, I was ragey and im going to go back and edit now. Thank you!

No thanks necessary! What are cyber friends fer?

I actually miss the tokens, honestly. I remember using them when we returned to New Yawk for a visit in my teens (I was born there; lived there until I was about four, then moved south to MaryLand (ugh)) and so many childhood memories. Then when I moved there 10 years ago for work, they were using the Metro Card.

[Spartan Girl]

All this reminds me of another annoying trope: the trope where some priest/Catholic organization claims that the perp becoming a born-again Christian and doing good things for charity is an adequate substitute for jail time. It was especially maddening in the one episode regarding the cold case of a "former" racist that killed his sister's African American boyfriend, then supposedly turned his life around, using the fact that he wasn't found out for so long was proof that God's plan for redemption didn't involve him going to jail.

BULLSHIT. I'm Catholic and I know damn well -- and this goes for any religion, whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc -- that there's only one way to repent for a wrong. And that is by owning up to what you did, and ACCEPTING THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.

Edited August 31, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just now, Spartan Girl said:

All this reminds me of another annoying trope: the trope where some priest/Catholic organization claims that the perp becoming a born-again Christian and doing good things for charity is an adequate excuse for jail time. It was especially maddening in the one episode regarding the cold case of a "former" racist that killed his sister's Africcan American boyfriend, then supposedly turned his life around, using the fact that he wasn't found out for so long was proof that God's plan for redemption didn't involve him going to jail.

BULLSHIT. I'm Catholic and I know damn well -- and this goes for any religion, whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc -- that there's only one way to repent for a wrong. And that is by owning up to what you did, and ACCEPTING THE COSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.

OMG! And the Priest in season three's "Forgiveness.". Such utter rage. At least the priest in Season One's "The Secret Sharers" was telling the actual murderer to go to the police and confess, after Nicky confessed to murdering his girlfriend/fiancee's rapist. But yeah, this also is a hot button issue for me.

[shapeshifter]

I immediately thought of this thread title, "'People who won't stop working while being questioned by the police' and other L&O tropes," when the episode, "Shotgun," aired and, while being questioned Elliot Gould's character kept vacuuming his store until Bernard yanked the plug out of the outlet.

Edited September 5, 2016 by shapeshifter
grammar typo

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On 8/31/2016 at 4:23 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

OMG! And the Priest in season three's "Forgiveness.". Such utter rage. At least the priest in Season One's "The Secret Sharers" was telling the actual murderer to go to the police and confess, after Nicky confessed to murdering his girlfriend/fiancee's rapist. But yeah, this also is a hot button issue for me.

On that note, Deep Vote was on TNT yesterday morning, and reporters withholding information when they know it relates to a crime that was committed makes me just as insane as when priests do it. They're talking about 'journalisitc integrity' and 'protecting their sources', and I'm just like, "You do realize that people got killed, right?"

[Spartan Girl]

13 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

On that note, Deep Vote was on TNT yesterday morning, and reporters withholding information when they know it relates to a crime that was committed makes me just as insane as when priests do it. They're talking about 'journalisitc integrity' and 'protecting their sources', and I'm just like, "You do realize that people got killed, right?"

Don't forget the attorney-client privilege being used as an excuse to be an accessory to the crime. I'm thinking about "Bodies" and the douchebag lawyer who got all sanctimonious about that legal loophole when he refused to disclose the location of the bodies that his creepy serial killer client had locked up, despite the distress of the (potential) victims' families. Why that stupid prick was so eager to check them out in the first place absolutely sickens me: "I was just curious!" They were DEAD GIRLS! They deserved to have a proper burial instead of rotting in some freak's closet!!

What was the point of him clutching at his pearls when he was going to jail and his name in the legal world was mud anyway? But his response to Jack saying that the bar might be willing to make an exception to the privilege: "Shame on them." I wanted to kick him the balls. And once again, I wanted to smack Serena for feeling sorry for him. His willingness to fall on his sword without letting those families have closure deserved zero pity. 

[topanga]

Yesterday I stumbled upon two episodes with almost the exact same scene: a young woman who recently moved to New York for work/love/good old Hudson University gets murdered. She's from somewhere in the Midwest or the south, and her grieving parents tell the detectives "we begged her to move out of the city. We begged her." 

--I must admit, that line always gets to me.

[WendyCR72]

Not so much a trope as a sound I hear a lot on the Mothership. The drive-by horn sound as a scene begins. I know this really was filmed on the streets of NYC, but I heard this in so many episodes...

[cfinboston]

On 7/13/2016 at 10:15 PM, roseha said:

Lennie also always knew right away that an alleged address would be located at a place "in the middle of the East River."

To be fair anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Manhattan would know that. Street addresses start low/single digits off Fifth Avenue and get higher as they move towards the East/Hudson Rivers.  A street address like 800 East 56th Street would obviously in fact be in the East River.

 

My favorite corollary on the bartender trope is the retail clerk or restaurant host that always has receipts from recent transactions just sitting there. The detective will suggest they "check the receipts" to find a suspect's name or when he was at the store.

[cfinboston]

My other favorites are the frequency with which detectives use "inevitable discovery" and "exigent circumstances". Like "we don't have a warrant so we'll just say we heard a cry for help coming from the apartment." Or "we may not have had a warrant but we'd have found it anyway so we'll use inevitable discovery."

 

And the sociopathic kids. In addition to the Mothership "Killerz" There's 2 SVU episodes with sociopathic kids. Plus the Mothership episode with Ellen Pompeo where she rapes her sister and then asks the detectives if they found her earings.

[Katy M]

On 9/5/2016 at 7:09 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Don't forget the attorney-client privilege being used as an excuse to be an accessory to the crime. I'm thinking about "Bodies" and the douchebag lawyer who got all sanctimonious about that legal loophole when he refused to disclose the location of the bodies that his creepy serial killer client had locked up, despite the distress of the (potential) victims' families. Why that stupid prick was so eager to check them out in the first place absolutely sickens me: "I was just curious!" They were DEAD GIRLS! They deserved to have a proper burial instead of rotting in some freak's closet!!

What was the point of him clutching at his pearls when he was going to jail and his name in the legal world was mud anyway? But his response to Jack saying that the bar might be willing to make an exception to the privilege: "Shame on them." I wanted to kick him the balls. And once again, I wanted to smack Serena for feeling sorry for him. His willingness to fall on his sword without letting those families have closure deserved zero pity. 

Back in college in my business law class (obviously this was cirminal law, but my professor was a lawyer, so I guess that's why he brought it up) told us about a case where a lawyer was defending someone for murder.  The man got convicted.  After the trial the lawyer told the families where the bodies were buried because he wanted them to have closure. He was disbarred  So this is a real thing.  But, no, I don't think he went to dig them up ahead of time just to see.

[ifionlyknew]

On 11/8/2021 at 10:26 AM, Katy M said:

Back in college in my business law class (obviously this was cirminal law, but my professor was a lawyer, so I guess that's why he brought it up) told us about a case where a lawyer was defending someone for murder.  The man got convicted.  After the trial the lawyer told the families where the bodies were buried because he wanted them to have closure. He was disbarred  So this is a real thing.  But, no, I don't think he went to dig them up ahead of time just to see.

I wonder how many anonymous tips are actually from lawyers who  have guilty clients.