The Best of "Law and Order"
The following is a list of my favorite Law and Order episodes with descriptions of what they are about and why I think they are the best. These are all chosen from the first five seasons because I really haven't seen that many episodes from season six or seven. My descriptions do contain some spoilers so if you haven't seen these episodes and are the type of person who likes to be surprised, don't read what I have written because it will ruin all your fun.
1. Indifference
This episode from the first season is probably my all time favorite. It has everything--a great story, fascinating characters, Shambala Green, and as an added bonus we get to learn something about one of the regular characters!
The basic plot is that a six-year-old girl, Deedee Lowenstein, dies from a blow to the head. Her mother turns out to be an abused pathetic woman who doesn't seem to care that her daughter is dead. Deedee's father is a cocaine-using "therapist" who has sex with his patients. Deedee's teacher tells the detectives that she had long suspected that the child was being abused and had even reported it to authorities. The parents become the main suspects in the murder, and even though the police aren't sure which parent hit Deedee, they are both arrested and charged. In the end, Mrs. Lowenstein takes a plea and Mr. Lowenstein is convicted.
One thing that makes this episode so special is that it give us our first glimpse into Mike Logan's character. From the beginning of the hour, Mike is clearly upset by the death of this child, but meeting Mrs. Lowenstein and witnessing her "indifference" makes him extremely angry. Max Greevy notices this and asks Mike about it. Mike tells him how Mrs. Lowenstein reminds him of his mother.
"You give her sympathy, she's going to want a fight. You give her a fight and she's going to want a kiss. You give her a kiss and I swear to God she'll bite your tongue out! Everything's a mirror to her. She holds her dying child up to it and all she sees is how it affects her.
This is the first indication that we are given that Mike Logan had a pretty rotten childhood and may have a darker side. This will not be the only time this is mentioned.
Despite Mike's contempt for the woman, Mrs. Lowenstein is the one who end up making a plea. This is because her attorney Shambala Green, who is the best Law and Order recurring character ever, convinces Ben Stone that Mrs. Lowenstein is a sick, abused woman who need serious psychiatric help rather than jail time. Mrs. Lowenstein supports this by telling about how her husband supplies her with cocaine and was trying to "train" Deedee to be "just like" her.
Mr. Lowenstein says that that's crazy and insists that he "loved Deedee" and would never do anything to hurt her. But Ben Stone tells the jury about how Mr. Lowenstein did not call a doctor when he found his daughter lying unconscious in a pool of blood, so the man is convicted.
The reason that this episode is so memorable to me is that it is so scary. Are there really people out there as crazy as the Lowensteins? I want to say no, its just a TV show. But, like almost all Law and Orders, it is based on reality and that scares me.
2.Confession
This episode was the first one of the second season. I've only seen it once, so forgive me if my memory is not that good. This is the episode where Max Greevy dies, and Mike gets a new partner, Phil Ceretta. Max is killed because he is supposed to testify against some dangerous criminals and someone who will be hurt by his testimony finds out. He is shot right in front of his house, which is very sad. Mike is very upset about this too. When he finds the suspect in Max's shooting, Mike throws him against a wall (fence?) and holds a gun to his head until he confesses. To Mikey's credit, he did not shoot the guy but the "confession" is coerced and that causes problems later. One sweet thing about this episode is that Mike has to meet with the psychiatrist, Dr. Olivet, to discuss his feelings about losing his partner. Dr. O tells Mike that he is going through all of the stages of grief like anger and denial and guilt. One of the saddest law and order moments ever is also in this episode. That is when they have the funeral for Max and Cragan and Mike are carrying his coffin. They both look really sad. That image was one that really stuck in my mind. Something that didn't stick in my mind was how this episode ended. It happens a lot that I can't remember the ends of episodes. I think that's how I can watch them over and over. I guess you'll just have to watch it to know the rest!
3.Prince of Darkness
This episode from season three is about Colombians involved in illegal activities. It starts out when a couple is shot in a restaurant. In an attempt to catch the hitman, Ceretta pretends that he wants to buy a weapon from a illegal gun seller. The shocking thing about this is that the gun dealer flips out in the middle of the sale and shoots Phil. After I saw this for the first time I was convinced that Phil died from some unexpected complication related to his injuries. Phil does not die, however, we find out in future episodes that he does not return to work. The very end of this episode is also pretty shocking. Adam Schiff answers the phone in his office and is told that all of the Colombians involved in the case are dead. "What about the little girl?" asks Ben Stone referring to the child of the couple who was shot in the restaurant. "She was picked up at school by her uncle", Adam replies. After a suspenseful moment of silence, Ben Stone says, "She doesn't have an uncle." Ooooooooh. Isn't that spooky!?! That's my favorite ending!
4. Mayhem
A lot of people don't like this season four episode , but I do. This is one of the few that does not follow the "half-hour of detectives/half-hour of DAs" formula. I think its nice to have an occasional change! I call this episode "All Law, No Order" because it deals only with the detectives. The DAs appear for about a minute and a half. This episode is also different because it all takes place in one day. When they put the place and date at the bottom of the screen for every scene change, this one also has a clock counting seconds. On this day the detective must investigate 5 murders. One is the murder of a talentless actor who moved to New York from Texas. The next is the death of a man who's penis was cut off by his wife. Then there is an Asian store owner who is murdered and the man who killed him is also murdered. the final death of the day is that of Scott Hexter, the suspect in the first murder who as it turns out was innocent. Scott was killed in jail. All of these deaths were unrelated and the only story line that goes through the whole episode is the one about Scott who wouldn't give an alibi because he didn't want his mother to find out that he was gay. His death was sad and disturbing, but so is life sometimes. This is a neat little fast-paced, well-written episode and I think it is one of the most enjoyable.
5. Coma
This season 5 episode is about a comedy club owner who is the main suspect in the shooting of his wife who is not dead, but the bullet is stuck in her brain so she's in a "coma" and has very little chance to come out of it. The only way to real link the husband to the killing would be to remove the bullet in a very risky operation. The husband will not allow it but the woman's sister will so she fights for the legal right to make decisions about her sister's care. The bullet is removed, the woman dies, and the bullet did not come from the husband's gun. The bullet is traced to a dead drug-addict who, it turns out, did shoot the woman. Charges against the husband are dropped but he proved that, even if he isn't a murderer, he is a big jerk by happily saying to Jack McCoy "Thanks to you, no alimony!" Then the detectives discover a videotape of the dead murderer performing in the husband's comedy club suggesting that he was hired to commit murder. No other connection, however, could be uncovered showing that the husband was either very good, or innocent. I love the twist-in-the-end episodes (can you tell) and Coma is one of the best.

Other Favorites

Do you agree with me? Do you totally disagree? Did I spell Lowenstein wrong? E-mail me with your comments!
Katie McIntyre
km3@acusd.edu
Katie's Law and Order Page