Happily Ever After (23 Oct. 1990)

A family man is shot to death inside a parking garage. Police soon discover the crime was not a random act of violence. Stone tries to get one of the suspects to testify against the other.

Director:

Vern Gillum

Writers:

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

Stars:

George Dzundza, Chris Noth, Dann Florek

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
George Dzundza	...	Sergeant Max Greevey
Chris Noth	...	Detective Mike Logan
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Michael Moriarty	...	Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone
Richard Brooks	...	A.D.A. Paul Robinette
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
Roxanne Hart	...	Janet Ralston
Bob Gunton	...	Gil Himes
Barton Heyman	...	Victor Norris
Kelly Neal	...	Willie Tivnan
Meg Mundy	...	Helen Ralston
Chip Zien
Caris Corfman	...	Elizabeth Strickland
Richard Poe	...	Forensic Scientist
Philip Bosco	...	Gordon Schell

Storyline

Detectives Greevey and Logan investigate the shooting death of Alan Ralston who was killed in his parking garage after returning home from a party. His wife Janet Ralston survived the attack but was injured in the attack. There were many people on the street outside the garage but no one other than a wino will step forward. They do find a crack pipe and the wino identifies Willie Tivnan who admits he was there but didn't see anything. Greevey isn't sure they have the right guy. Willie is definitely a mugger but one who uses a knife and never a gun. As well, the Ralstons stolen credit cards have never been used. When evidence comes out that Janet may be having an affair with her financial advisor Gil Himes, they have another possible motive for the crime. She eventually claims she had nothing to do with the crime and that Himes acted on his own as she broke off their affair. Willie Tivnan provides the information ADA Stone needs to charge Janet with her husband's murder.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 October 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Det. Sgt. Maxwell "Max" Greevey: [Referring to a shooting victim who Max suspects isn't as innocent as she seems] That's amazing. I know cops who been in shooting cases that can't remember their badge numbers afterwards. Her husband gets shot, she gets shot, victim of a horrible crime, she remembers every second.

User Reviews

Good Instinct

Chris Noth who aged right before our eyes in the various Law And Order shows as Detective Mike Logan broke in with a real good partner. In this episode George Dzundza as Sergeant Max Greavey closes a a murder case and then gets second thoughts. He and Noth may have arrested a young kid with a crack habit who just doesn't feel right as a perpetrator because he never used a gun. Kelly Neal was in an apartment garage because he was smoking some crack and it turned out to be this scene of a murder. Hopefully he gets off the crack and sends nightly prayers to God for George Dzundza whom we know gets killed in the first episode of the following season of Law And Order.

Neal is an easy collar, but it doesn't feel right. But when Dzundza brings it up to Dann Florek his ulcer goes into overtime. Very discreetly and with a time limit he has Dzundza and Noth reinvestigate and sure enough wife Roxanne Hart and lover Bob Gunton planned the whole thing right down to him shooting her in a not vital spot to make it look like a mugging. Poor Neal almost fell into it just by being there.

When they get it right and both are arrested it becomes a lovely bidding war to see who sells out who first. For ADA Michael Moriarty and later Sam Waterston, this episode shows that a prosecutor probably should take a course in poker because it sure helps dealing with high price defense attorneys like Barton Heyman and Philip Bosco who was making the first of several appearances as a lawyer on Law And Order.

A really good episode from the earliest days of the series.