Palimpsest (29 Jun. 2010)

Nichols investigates the death of an old family friend, which may be related to a fabled manuscript that dates back to the time of Christ. But his investigation is complicated by his past relationship with the victim's daughter.

Director:

Darnell Martin

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Rene Balcer (developer),

Stars:

Jeff Goldblum, Saffron Burrows, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Jeff Goldblum	...	Detective Zach Nichols
Saffron Burrows	...	Detective Serena Stevens
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Captain Zoe Callas
Mili Avital	...	Lenore Abrigaille
Erik Jensen	...	Richard Celeste
Brennan Brown	...	Merrill
Louis Cancelmi	...	Bernard
Geraldine Hughes	...	Regina
Tom Bloom	...	Palmer Abrigaille
Kyle Fabel	...	Dylan Weld
Leslie Hendrix	...	Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
Melanie Gray	...	Woman

Storyline

Nichols investigates the death of an old family friend, which may be related to a fabled manuscript that dates back to the time of Christ. But his investigation is complicated by his past relationship with the victim's daughter.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal Cable Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

The MCS captain, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, tells her detectives that the ME is ruling the deaths as a "double murder." "Murder" is a legal term that is applied based on varying statutory degrees of intent, and would not have been applied by the coroner. The correct term would be "homicide," which means "death that is caused by another." "Homicide" can be determined by an autopsy, but "murder" would be applied by the prosecutor.

User Reviews

This ain't your daddy's "Criminal Intent"

This episode provides a complete departure from the tried-and-true procedural boilerplate that we've all come to know and love on "L&O". Here we delve into the realm of Agatha Christie. A game of "Clue" with a London setting, period costuming, and enough red herrings floating around to cater a Slavic brunch. Plop Jeff Goldblum into the midst of this milieu, and you got yourself some real fish-out-of-water fun. Mili Avital, playing the the central character of this set piece, seems to be channeling her inner Ophelia, and gets the most out of a few precious lines of back story with Goldblum. Best of all, nobody watching this episode will ever again get stumped at the spelling bee on the word "palimpsest". Hell. You'll even be able to use that word in a declarative sentence, amazing your friends and winning all sorts of bar bets. A neat little piece of writing and acting by all concerned parties.