Law & Order (season 5)

The fifth season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 21, 1994, and May 24, 1995.

Law & Order
Season 5
Season 5 U.S. DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes23
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 21, 1994 (1994-09-21) –
May 24, 1995 (1995-05-24)
Season chronology

Cast

Jack McCoy (played by Sam Waterston) replaced season 4's Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) as Executive Assistant District Attorney. Mike Logan (played by Chris Noth) departed the cast after this season, thus making Adam Schiff (played by Steven Hill) the last remaining first-season cast member.

Main cast

Recurring cast

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
891"Second Opinion"Ed SherinMichael S. Chernuchin & Jeremy R. LittmanSeptember 21, 1994 (1994-09-21)6940818.30[1]

Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charge for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.

902"Coma"Jace AlexanderEd ZuckermanSeptember 28, 1994 (1994-09-28)6940619.50[2]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the shooting of a woman, Sandra Dobson, who is now in hospital in a coma. She was shot while sitting in her car and it looks like she may have been the subject of a robbery or a car-jacking. Logan's gut feeling however is that her husband, Michael Dobson (Larry Miller), may have been involved, something that the odd location of his fingerprints may support. The injured woman's sister Kathleen O'Brien (Debra Monk) claims that Dobson frequently struck his wife but the suspect is either innocent or a very good liar who has covered his tracks very well. With little physical evidence to go on, Jack McCoy seeks the sister's help in having the bullet removed from the victim's brain, an operation that may kill her.
913"Blue Bamboo"Don ScardinoS : Hall Powell;
T : Morgan Gendel;
S/T : René Balcer		October 5, 1994 (1994-10-05)6940215.50
When a Japanese businessman is killed, the investigation reveals that the man was a misogynist who treated women like dirt. So they suspect that he tried to force himself on a woman Martha Bowen (Laura Linney) and she fought back. Eventually the trail leads them to a woman who knew him in Japan. After she is arrested, her lawyer decides to utilize the battered woman defense. McCoy does his best to counter because the man's associates want justice.
924"Family Values"Constantine MakrisRené Balcer & William N. FordesOctober 12, 1994 (1994-10-12)6940117.70[3]

Detectives Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of Laura Madsen, a successful editor at a book publishing firm. Her car is found parked near a bridge with her shoes and other effects on the front seat. Her body is eventually found in the river and the medical examiner concludes that she was dead before she hit the water. The police initially suspect her ex-husband, Victor Connor, who of course denies having anything to do with her death. He has an alibi for the time she disappeared however. When they learn that her new husband Steve Martell (Stephen Shellen) is something of a philanderer he becomes their new prime suspect. Laura's 17 year-old daughter Maggie Madsen (Sarah Paulson) – gives her stepfather an alibi and tells the police they were having an affair. He denies having the affair with his stepdaughter and determining just which of the two is telling the truth is ADA McCoy's major challenge

  • This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Fatherly Love"
935"White Rabbit"Steven RobmanEd Zuckerman & Morgan GendelOctober 19, 1994 (1994-10-19)6941118.20[4]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the burglary of safe deposit boxes at a private vault where the thieves broke in through the floor. The case is quickly solved but in the course going through the stolen goods, they find a gym bag with a revolver that has had its serial number filed off and a large amount of cash. It turns out the money was taken by anti-Vietnam war radicals in an armored car robbery in the 1971 where a cop was killed. It leads them to Rita Levitan, real name Susan Forrest, who is now a married to an accountant and living in suburban New Jersey. ADA McCoy is prepared to accept a plea but the dead policeman's wife objects and McCoy finds himself at trial with little evidence to present. His only solution is to get some of her cohorts to testify against her. William M. Kunstler guest stars as himeself.
946"Competence"Fred GerberMichael S. Chernuchin & Mark B. PerryNovember 2, 1994 (1994-11-02)6940917.90[5]
When someone tries to mug Van Buren she pulls her gun and shoots the perp. She discovers that the person she shot is a mentally challenged young boy. While she's being investigated. Briscoe and Logan learn that someone else was with the boy who had the gun. McCoy sets to get hia companion for felony murder claiming that bringing the mentally challenged boy with him and getting killed him in the process is his fault. But his lawyer tries to make the mentally challenged boy as being the one who wanted to rob someone.
957"Precious"Constantine MakrisRené Balcer & I.C. RapoportNovember 9, 1994 (1994-11-09)6941017.50[6]
When Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of a three month old baby, Emily, who was taken while she and her father Marty Willick were in the park. He dozed off for a few minutes and when he awoke, she was gone. The detectives begin to have second thoughts about the veracity of Willick's story and finally the truth comes out: Willick claims that he and his wife found her dead in her crib. The medical examiner finds that the baby has symptoms of asphyxia, though it could have been a crib death. When they learn that two other of the Willick's children also died of crib death, they are certain one or both of the parents were responsible for Emily's death.
968"Virtue"Martha MitchellMark B. Perry & Jeremy R. LittmanNovember 23, 1994 (1994-11-23)69412TBA
A car accident leads Detectives Briscoe and Logan to investigate a rape. The dead woman from the accident had been sexually assaulted and was being driven to the hospital by a co-worker who ran off after the car accident. It turns out they both worked for a highly respected and generally popular city councilman, Spencer Talbot (Anthony Heald). He denies rape of course but the police learn that he may have assaulted the office manager at his former law firm as well as an associate, Sarah Maslin (Regina Taylor). When Maslin later admits that Talbot forced her to have sex with him by threatening to withhold a much deserved partnership in the firm, ADA McCoy decides to try something else: Talbot is charged with larceny by extortion.
979"Scoundrels"Marc LaubEd Zuckerman & Charles C. MannNovember 30, 1994 (1994-11-30)6941518.30[7]
After office workers find their boss Arthur Kapinski a lawyer, who is found shot to death in the head while he was seated at his office desk. They find that Kapinski had a number of irate clients who felt he wasn't adequately representing them. Several of them were trying to retrieve money from a failed Savings and Loan run by Willard Tappan (Michael Zaslow) and several clients had paid Kopinski up front to pay for his research. Kopinski was running a scam and the police focus on John Curran (Jonathan Hogan) who apparently snapped after learning his mother had paid him the last of her savings. The case goes full circle and ADA McCoy is convinced that Tappan was somehow behind it. It's not quite straightforward however and ADA McCoy has to get Curran to testify against Tappan.
9810"House Counsel"James QuinnMichael S. Chernuchin & Barry M. SchkolnickJanuary 4, 1995 (1995-01-04)6941316.40[8]
The murder of David Lempert, a city parks employee who was gunned down just as he was leaving his health club. They find little in Lempert's background to suggest he was targeted. He's divorced from his wife but that all seems amicable. He was paying hefty university tuition fees for his daughter and all in all lived a modest lifestyle. They get a break when they learn that he had been a member of a hung jury in the prosecution of mobster Vincent Dosso. The police arrest Dosso and the hit man, John Furini (Vincent Pastore) but ADA McCoy comes up against his old college classmate Mark Kopell (Ron Leibman) who seems to out-lawyer him at every turn. When he learns that his old friend was present when the mobsters discussed hits, he charges him.
9911"Guardian"Christopher MisianoS : Brad Markowitz;
T : William N. Fordes;
S/T : René Balcer		January 11, 1995 (1995-01-11)6940416.60[9]
The discovery of a young female junkie who is found dead behind a dumpster at a day care-center, the victim of an apparent drug overdose. It is quickly obvious to them that the girl died elsewhere and her body was just dumped there. She is identified as Katie Blanchard, the daughter of a wealthy family that has refused to have anything to do with her due to her addiction. They learn that she frequently visited the family's financial advisor, Jerome Kamen (Jon Cypher), who was giving her money. It seems she was blackmailing him over his handling of the family trust and the question then becomes whether he had anything to do with her death.
10012"Progeny"Don ScardinoS : Mark B. Perry;
T : Ed Zuckerman;
S/T : Morgan Gendel		January 25, 1995 (1995-01-25)6941616.40[10]
After the murder of an abortion-clinic doctor, Eleen Reed, Briscoe and Logan are led to a suspect, Drew Seely (Edward Herrmann), who belongs to a radical pro-life movement and their suspicion soon turns to the group's leader, who admits that he's glad the doctor died. McCoy faces the unpleasant task of charging the respected and charismatic former priest with murder, and the public debate over whether the secular community should interfere in spiritual matters.
10113"Rage"Arthur W. ForneyMichael S. ChernuchinFebruary 1, 1995 (1995-02-01)6941417.10[11]
A successful white stockbroker is found dead of rifle wound to the head. Although it initially looks like a suicide, the medical examiner reports that he was murdered. His coworkers immediately point the finger at "golden boy" Bud Greer (Courtney B. Vance) -- a young, black junior trader. Bud tells Logan and Briscoe that success isn't about money, it's about power and with his major competitor dead, Bud now has the power. When Bud pleads insanity due to "black rage" the ADAs don't buy it for a second
10214"Performance"Martha MitchellS : René Balcer;
T : Ed Zuckerman;
S/T : Jeremy R. Littman		February 8, 1995 (1995-02-08)6941916.20[12]

Briscoe and Logan investigate the possibility that a porno film rented by a group of friends for a stag party is a real snuff film. They manage to identify the girl as 16 year-old Corey Russell (Monica Keena) and are more than a bit surprised to find her alive. Corey says she was raped by two men while she was out drinking but has no idea who they were. In fact Corey lied and knew the boy, Shane Sutter (Peter Facinelli), who goes to the same school. The other boy involved was Kyle Winters but Corey insists they forced themselves on her. The investigation reveals that the boys were in a contest to see how many girls they could have sex with. For ADA McCoy, the challenge will be to convince a jury that Shane was out to score more points and was ready to commit rape to do so and whether his approach will withstand an appeal.

  • This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Line Up"
10315"Seed"Don ScardinoMichael S. Chernuchin & Janis DiamondFebruary 15, 1995 (1995-02-15)6942016.80[13]
Briscoe and Logan's investigation of a shooting seems to be an open and shut case. A distraught woman walks into a bank where her husband is a vice president and pulls a gun threatening to shoot him. A security guard shoots her first....end of case. Lt Van Buren however wants them to find out what the woman meant when she screamed that her husband killed her baby. She supposedly had a miscarriage but the fertility doctor she was seeing, Jordan Delbert (David Margulies), raises concerns when he clearly lies to the police. A review of his files reveals something else however: to cut expenses, Delbert began to use his own sperm to inseminate his patients. The challenge for ADA McCoy will be to get one of the victims to testify against him.
10416"Wannabe"Lewis H. GouldRené Balcer & I.C. RapoportMarch 15, 1995 (1995-03-15)6941716.00[14]
The murder of Bill Prescott an accountant with a major New York firm. He was shot just outside of his in-laws home as he was arriving for a birthday party. They're able to rule out a mugging as no one took his wallet. Prescott was in the process of negotiating with a union over downsizing at a failing airline. That goes nowhere but ballistics give them enough information on the gun to lead them to Tom Harrigan, a subway worker whose son Colin Harrigan was recently expelled from a posh private school where Prescott served on the board of governors. Harrigan confesses to the killing but ADA McCoy isn't certain they have the right person behind bars.
10517"Act of God"Constantine MakrisEd Zuckerman & Walter DallenbachMarch 22, 1995 (1995-03-22)6942216.00[15]
During the investigation of an explosion at a construction site police and firemen find a 12 year-old boy but dies in the hospital. They initially focus on the building owner, who is set to collect a hefty insurance settlement but realize that in the construction industry, there are a great many who could profit. The general contractor, Buzz Palley (Robert John Burke), has a bad reputation when it comes to the quality of his work and the blast may have saved him from a major law suit. Palley is arrested but the information is circumstantial at best. Palley claims that his girlfriend's husband, Hank Chapel, set the explosion in an attempt to kill him. Chapel is a demolitions expert and ADAs McCoy and Kincaid get a conviction. They may have convicted the wrong man however.
10618"Privileged"Vincent MisianoJeremy R. Littman & Suzanne O'MalleyApril 5, 1995 (1995-04-05)6941814.60

A double homicide, of David and Eileen Lerner, who were found stabbed to death in their bed. The killer entered the house through a downstairs window and even used a knife from the kitchen to commit the crime. The Lerners had lived there for only a year, and the police can find no one who disliked or had a grudge against them. When the detectives learn that the house previously belonged to a high-profile divorce attorney, Warren Bartlett, they think a revenge-seeker (not knowing he'd moved) may have been trying to kill him.

  • This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Intent"
10719"Cruel and Unusual"Matthew PennRené Balcer & Michael S. ChernuchinApril 19, 1995 (1995-04-19)6942315.50[16]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the death of Kevin Jeffries, an autistic teenager who died while in police custody. The medical examiner determines that he died from a blood clot - and not from anything the police may have done during the arrest - but also reports that he had bruises on his body. Kevin was living at a behavioral modification clinic but constantly ran away. The clinic admits they kept him in restraints, particularly on those bad days when he was deemed injurious to himself. The head of the clinic, Dr. Alan Colter (Lawrence Pressman), generally used aversion therapy to treat his patients. This included electric shocks and a black box that created a complete sensory deprived environment. Colter clearly exceeded New York State guidelines on the use of electric shock and as far as ADA McCoy is concerned, it amounted to torture. The biggest hurdle he will have to overcome are the parents who support Colter and his methods.
10820"Bad Faith"Dann FlorekRené BalcerApril 26, 1995 (1995-04-26)6942613.40[17]

The investigation into a police officer's death Det. Marino, uncovers sex crimes and he and Logan grew up together in the same neighborhood. When Logan hears that their former parish priest is now living again in New York City and had been in contact with Marino, he can't help but wonder if he was somehow involved. Joe Krolinski is no longer a priest and is now married with children. Logan knows that as a priest, Krolinski molested many of the altar boys but when it's determined that Marino committed suicide, ADA McCoy decides to prosecute Krolinski for the molestations.

  • Guest appearance by Dann Florek reprising his role as Donald Cragen.
  • This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Confession"
10921"Purple Heart"Arthur W. ForneyMorgan Gendel & William N. FordesMay 3, 1995 (1995-05-03)6942114.10[18]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the murder of a cabbie, Daniel Johnson, who is found shot to death behind the wheel of his car. Johnson's wife Denise (Lisa Gay Hamilton) is a successful restaurant owner though money is always tight. Daniel would often work extra hours but the police are puzzled why he would have been found where he was. They learn he was deep in debt to a loan shark and was there to meet him and make a payment. They also learn that Danny was a big spender who had dreams of making big business deals but was never very successful. When they find a connection between the gun and Denise Johnson they are certain she hired a killer to eliminate her husband. She likely eliminated the killer as well.
11022"Switch"Christopher MisianoJeremy R. Littman & Sibyl GardnerMay 17, 1995 (1995-05-17)6942514.10[19]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the murder of a psychiatrist, Dr. Lillian Hampton who is found bludgeoned to death in her office. Her last appointment of the day was with a young woman, Megan Nelson (Francie Swift), but the Director of the clinic heard a man's voice in her office some time after that. After eliminating other suspects, they come to believe that the man in the office was Megan's father Frank Nelson (Sam Groom). Megan had been seeing Dr. Hampton for some time and was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder. ADA McCoy decides to prosecute Mr. Nelson when Megan reveals an old memory of him killing her mother. When evidence suggests otherwise, they have to consider if one of Megan's other personalities may be responsible.
11123"Pride"Ed SherinEd Zuckerman & Gene RitchingsMay 24, 1995 (1995-05-24)6942713.40[20]

Richard Durban, a gay city councilman is murdered. The prime suspect is a conservative rival councilman Kevin Crossley (Daniel Hugh Kelly) he may have double-crossed. The investigation also sets off a series of events that could cost Logan his detective position.

Notes and references
  1. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 28 September 1994. p. 3D.
  2. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 5 October 1994. p. 3D.
  3. DeRosa, Robin (19 October 1994). "Regular series put ABC back on top". USA TODAY. p. 3D.
  4. DeRosa, Robin (26 October 1994). "'Grace' leads ABC to tie with CBS". USA TODAY.
  5. DeRosa, Robin (9 November 1994). "'Cagney & Lacey' makes winning return". USA TODAY.
  6. DeRosa, Robin (16 November 1994). "CBS' 'Scarlett' sweeps to No. 1". USA TODAY.
  7. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 7 December 1994. p. 3D.
  8. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 11 January 1995. p. 3D.
  9. DeRosa, Robin (18 January 1995). "'ER' rolls into the No. 1 spot". USA TODAY.
  10. "Super Bowl kicks ABC to the top". USA TODAY. 1 February 1995.
  11. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 8 February 1995.
  12. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 15 February 1995.
  13. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 22 February 1995.
  14. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 22 March 1995.
  15. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 29 March 1995.
  16. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 26 April 1995.
  17. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 3 May 1995.
  18. DeRosa, Robin (10 May 1995). "Ratings go to the movies". USA TODAY.
  19. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 24 May 1995.
  20. "NIELSEN RATINGS". USA TODAY. 31 May 1995.
  21. TV.com (1995-05-24). "Law & Order - Season 5, Episode 23: Pride". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
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gollark: That is very evil.
gollark: And is thus incredibly disreliable.
gollark: Yes, since skynet runs off my internet connection.
gollark: My internet connection is very unstable right now.
Preceded by
Season Four
(1993-1994)		 List of Law & Order seasons
(1990-2010)		 Succeeded by
Season Six
(1995-1996)
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