Boy on Fire (1 Mar. 2010)

Two teens from an underachieving high school are accused of burning to death a student from a more successful charter school, and Lupo and Bernard suspect that their principal is providing them with a phony alibi.

Director:

Rose Troche

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Luke Schelhaas (teleplay),

Stars:

Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson, S. Epatha Merkerson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Sisto	...	Detective Cyrus Lupo
Anthony Anderson	...	Detective Kevin Bernard
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Linus Roache	...	Executive A.D.A. Michael Cutter
Alana De La Garza	...	A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa
Sam Waterston	...	Jack McCoy
Debra Winger	...	Principal Woodside
Aaron Grady Shaw	...	Moses Dolan (as Aaron Shaw)
Shamika Cotton	...	Mrs. Dolan
Cheryse Nicol Pickens	...	Jolie Henderson
David Aaron Baker	...	Jake Nemeth
Melvin Mogoli	...	Abel Dolan
Selenis Leyva	...	Rona Henderson
Gerardo Rodriguez	...	Alberto Ramirez
Natascia Diaz	...	Cecilia Ramirez

Storyline

Two teens from an underachieving high school are accused of burning to death a student from a more successful charter school, and Lupo and Bernard suspect that their principal is providing them with a phony alibi.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Media Studios (UMS)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode is based on the September 2009 murder of of Chicago high school student Derrion Albert, whose fatal beating was captured on video. The teen was attacked during a riot between schoolmates who live in different neighborhoods.

User Reviews

An average episode that had the potential to be much more

In the opening minutes of the fourteenth episode of L & O's 20th season, the brutal murder of a sixteen-year-old occurs. Fortunately for the viewers, scenes of the fiery death of the young man are kept to a minimum, but still brief enough to send chills down one's spine, especially in the "videotaped" evidence.

However, the constraints of the hour-long format hinders the installment's probable intent: to explore the problems that arise between students that attend public schools and those that attend the perceived-to-be-better charter ones.

Debra Winger does well in her guest-starring turn as the principal of the public school where the possible suspects attend. Other fine work is provided by the actors respectively portraying the chief suspect Abel, his mother, and the young actor who plays Moses, the student that had been tutored by the victim and Abel's brother.