Denial (8 Oct. 1997)

Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college age lovers who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.

Director:

Christopher Misiano

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), David Shore (teleplay),

Stars:

Jerry Orbach, Benjamin Bratt, S. Epatha Merkerson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
Benjamin Bratt	...	Detective Rey Curtis
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Sam Waterston	...	Jack McCoy
Carey Lowell	...	A.D.A. Jamie Ross
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
James Rebhorn	...	Charles Garnett
Benjamin Hendrickson	...	Warren Talbert
Jan Maxwell	...	Mrs. Sarah Talbert
Mags Chernock	...	Christina Talbert
Zach Chapman	...	Tommy Horton
J.K. Simmons	...	Dr. Emil Skoda
Doris Belack	...	Judge Margaret Barry
Evalyn Baron
Mark Zimmerman	...	Judge Nathan Murray

Storyline

Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college age lovers who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage mother | college student | bookstore | confession | teenage sex | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1997 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is J.K. Simmons first appearance as Dr. Emil Skoda.

User Reviews

Interesting legal episode

In "Denial" we find the crew investigating a dead baby in a hotel room. The detective side of the story is pretty unremarkable, with no real detours and nothing too amusing about their trip from crime scene to suspects. However, the legal side of the episode is quite good, exploring what happens when parents go to trial for killing a newborn, one of the most offensive crimes out there.

I thought this was a good episode because these cases crop up every few years and often play out in the ambiguous, frustrating way they do in this story. This episode is a downer and it's supposed to be one, because this is an ugly issue any realistic way you look at it.