Norma Fire Movies
- 2003
The recent, highly publicized arrest of a longtime fugitive from American justice was the evident source of this 2003 Law & Order episode. It all begins with a jewelry-store robbery in which the owner is killed and a customer (Mandy Patinkin) is wounded. A suspect is brought into court, only to be dismissed when the surviving victim fails to show up to testify -- and with good reason: The missing witness is none other than a notorious political activist, who had fled the U.S. years earlier to avoid a murder rap of his own. The question: Can a man who was tried and convicted in absentia still be sent to prison on the basis of the original trial -- or do the detectives and the lawyers have to reopen a case in which most of the evidence is cold and many of the original participants are dead? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The strangled body of a woman is found in the Bronx. The victim had an abundant supply of Ecstasy in her handbag, a clue which leads the detectives to a drug dealer named Paz (Peter Greene). As the investigation proceeds, a past murder case is reopened -- whereupon the D.A.'s office comes to the disturbing conclusion that an innocent man may have been convicted. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
The unidentified bodies of two teenagers are found. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) discover that one of the victims was traveling with her sister -- who may have participated in the murders, either willingly or unwillingly. This episode features guest appearances from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit regulars Christopher Meloni (as Detective Elliot Stabler) and Mariska Hargitay (as Detective Olivia Bensen). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
An embittered HIV-positive male goes on a sexual rampage, infecting as many women as he can. After one of the perpetrator's partners dies, Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) charges the man with murder. The subsequent prosecution is endangered by a tricky ethical issue involving "right to privacy" -- and this time, McCoy may not be able to implement damage control. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this opening episode of Law & Order's first (and thus far only) three-part story, a female Hollywood studio executive is found murdered -- and decapitated -- in New York City. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) head to Tinseltown to check out the suspects, among them the dead woman's abusive ex-husband, Eddie Newman (Scott Cohen), and shady personal trainer Evan Grant (Jeffrey D. Sams). Meanwhile, assistant D.A.'s McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Ross (Carey Lowell) work overtime to make sure that Briscoe and Curtis are not overstepping their jurisdictional bounds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
There is no shortage of suspects when a high-profile lawyer is murdered. Among the likeliest "candidates" are Willard Tappan (Michael Zaslow), a crooked financier who specializes in fleecing wealthy women, and John Curren (Jonathan Hogan), the now-impoverished son of Tappan's most recent victim. Edie Falco of The Sopranos fame appears as defense attorney Sally Bell, who'd once been "serious" with Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
A newly excavated skeleton forces Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) to reopen a murder case that he worked on years earlier. The wily "perpetrator" in the original case, Phillip Swann (Zeljko Ivanek), hopes to use the rediscovered remains to force a new trial. But as so often happens in Law & Order, what seems obvious at first is likely to change at a moment's notice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The authorities receive an anonymous tip that a wealthy man has been murdered by his wife (Caroline Lagerfelt). But the dead man's doctor insists that his patient died of heart failure, and is successful in blocking a police autopsy. Can there be a coverup and conspiracy afoot? The episode's highlights include a heated argument between detective Logan (Chris Noth) and his new boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson). Also, watch for an appearance by co-star Noth's then-girlfriend Beverly Johnson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
