"Law & Order" Point of View (1992)

Director:

Gilbert Moses

Writers:

Rene Balcer (writer) &
Walon Green (writer) ...

TV Series:

"Law & Order" (1990)

Original Air Date:

25 November 1992 (Season 3, Episode 9)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

A woman claims she killed a man outside a bar because he was going to rape her, but was it really a mob hit? Logan is partnered up with Lennie Briscoe, and Ceretta tells Logan that he isn't returning to the precinct after his shooting. |

Plot Keywords:

Attorney | Detective | Police | District Attorney | Evidence

Cast

Jerry Orbach	...	Detective Lennie Briscoe
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
Carolyn McCormick	...	Dr. Elizabeth Olivet
Elaine Stritch	...	Lanie Stieglitz
Lisa Eichhorn	...	Mary Kostrinski
Gary Basaraba	...	Kevin Reilly
Caroline Aaron	...	Valerie Walker
Alan North	...	Jimmy Scanlon
Michael Ingram	...	Officer Andy Libik
Delphi Harrington	...	Suzanne
Paul Sorvino	...	Sergeant Phil Cerreta

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Wolf Films

Quotes:

Lanie Stieglitz: [Stieglitz, Stone's opponent of the week, has just realized that her client has been lying to her] I cannot and I will not perpetrate a fraud on the court. It's unethical and illegal. I'm not going to put you on the stand tomorrow, Mary, and I am not going to make a closing argument. And the jury is going to wonder why.

Movie Connections:

References Thelma & Louise (1991)

Up to Par.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Spoilers: This is a decent episode of "Law & Order," made during its peak period, with its usual good cast. Here, a man picks up a woman (Lisa Eichorn) in P.J.'s and she shoots him dead on the street during what she claims is an attempted rape. Her lawyer (Elaine Stritch) throws up a feminist defense -- Eichorn weighs 118 pounds and the dead guy weighs 240, and she genuinely believed she was about to be raped. It turns out that Eichorn had been paid by a gangster to knock the guy off, and when Stritch learns this she refuses to continue the defense. The DA wins the case and Eichorn goes up for 15 to life.

One of the most impressive features of the series at its best has always been the economy of the script. Rarely are family relationships brought up and they are never dwelled on. The writing rushes ahead with the momentum of an express on the BMT. Bing, bang, boom. It's efficiently cut even for dramatic, ambiguous scenes. In this instance, what Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, the shrink, who is on the stand. She believes Eichorn was justified, but she does not want to cross her friends and employers in the DA's office. The message gets across in only a few minutes without frills or thespian razzle-dazzle. But the writing isn't dull either. It's enlivened with occasional cynical wisecracks and bon mots. It's not always politically correct. And it's not afraid to bring viewers face to face with formal legal issues either.

Guest stars include Elaine Stritch, who was quite a personality on the New York stage in real life, an unpredictable and sometimes outrageous alcoholic wit. Older now, she looks and sounds as if she could chew nails.

Worth catching.