Kid Pro Quo (30 Apr. 2003)

A prep school headmaster is accused of murdering his school's admissions director after overruling her on a controversial admissions selection.

Writers:

Eric Overmyer, Dick Wolf (creator)

Stars:

Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
Jesse L. Martin	...	Detective Ed Green
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Sam Waterston	...	Jack McCoy
Elisabeth Röhm	...	A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	D.A. Arthur Branch
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Glynis Bell	...	Shelby Jennings
Olivia Birkelund	...	Clarissa Wagner
Megan Byrne	...	Myra Camp
Justine Caputo	...	Chloe Wagner
John Cariani	...	CSU Julian Beck
Ellen David	...	Mrs. Koven
Darin De Paul	...	Foreperson
Jeffrey DeMunn	...	Professor Norman Rothenberg
Susan Greenhill	...	Leslie Beecham

Storyline

A prep school headmaster is accused of murdering his school's admissions director after overruling her on a controversial admissions selection.

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Plot Keywords:

latin phrase

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Network Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Detective Brisco and Detective Green examine the victim's apartment, they come across a Playbill program and ticket for the opera La Boheme. Briscoe is derisive, but Green tells him that "You don't have to love opera to love La Boheme. It's a Broadway play, bro." Detective Green is played by Jesse L. Martin who was an original cast member of the Broadway play Rent, which is based on La Boheme. (The play Rent was adapted into Rent.)

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Quotes

Wyatt Scofield: Admissions makes teaching kindergarten look like a day at the beach. The parents can be... Rather zealous, can we say, in pursuit of their goals.

User Reviews

The Knowles School

This episode of Law And Order, Kid Pro Quo, takes us into a world of exclusivity like we plain folk rarely see. Like Jerry Orbach and Jesse Martin, I can't wrap myself around the concept that it's so important that kids get into a prep school kindergarten. I have trouble turning over in my mind the idea of a prep school kindergarten. As Orbach says he's got a legacy his father went to PS 26 and so did he.

Roger Rees as the headmaster of the Knowles School who puts on such highfalutin' condescending airs and yet is not above a little upper crust bribery to bump some kid out of a scholarship to get dibs on an otherwise expensive Co-op totally dominates this episode. He's such a condescending twit you want to smack him on general principles even before Briscoe and Green arrest for murdering the woman who was the admissions director at the Knowles School.

I remember years ago seeing a production of The Cherry Orchard and one of Chekov's great characters was that of Piers who was the house servant to the aristocratic Russian family who were the protagonists. He totally identifies with them and their point of view that he thinks of himself as one of them. But when they flee to Crimea until this peasant revolution blows over, he's left behind like the furniture in the mansion. And as the play ends he's wandering around like a lost soul not believing he was abandoned.

Something very similar like that happens after Sam Waterston does a devastating cross examination to Rees. He's left high and dry after the verdict. He thought he was one of the upper crust and he finds out he's just hired help like poor Piers.

Nice episode of the fabled anthology series, don't miss what Roger Rees does with the pompous and pretentious Wyatt Scofield.