Law & Order (season 4)

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Law & Order
Season 4
LawAndOrder–S4.jpg
Season 4 U.S. DVD cover
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 15, 1993 (1993-09-15) –
May 25, 1994 (1994-05-25)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 15, 1993, and May 25, 1994. This is the final season to feature Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone. It is also the first season to include a shorter opening sequence and theme (at 46 seconds), which would be used for the remainder of the series' run. Season four was released on DVD December 6, 2005.

Cast[]

There were two cast changes from season 3:

This was the first time women played any of the Law and Order 's six major characters: both roles would continue to be occupied by women, with Merkerson remaining in the role of Van Buren, throughout the remainder of the series. It was also the first time in Law and Order's history that two major cast changes were made simultaneously; the next such double change would not happen until the beginning of season 17.

During this season, J. K. Simmons who would later have a recurring role as Dr. Emil Skoda, appeared in the episode "Sanctuary" as a TV cameraman, Jerry Luppin.

Episodes[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
671"Sweeps"James FrawleyCraig McNeer & Robert NathanSeptember 15, 1993 (1993-09-15)6900913.60[1]
Briscoe and Logan investigate after a convicted child molester, Dr. Joseph Vinton, is murdered on a controversial talk show hosted by Rick Mason (Robert Klein). The shooter is easily identified — he's Sid Fisher (Steve Ryan), the father of the dead man's victim from three years earlier. During the course of the investigation, however, the detectives find evidence that leads them to believe that Mason may have set up Vinton's murder so as to assure high ratings during sweeps period. Stone's case is made more difficult because Sid Fisher isn't willing to say anything that could put his son, Scotty (David Krumholtz), on the stand.
682"Volunteers"James QuinnRené BalcerSeptember 29, 1993 (1993-09-29)6901713.70[2]

A drug addicted and violent homeless man, who had been terrorizing a neighborhood and whom the residents and police had been unable to do anything about, is severely beaten.

This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Community Service"
693"Discord"Ed SherinMichael S. ChernuchinOctober 6, 1993 (1993-10-06)6901215.30[3]
A 19-year-old co-ed Julia Wood accuses a crude heavy metal artist C Square (Sebastian Roché) of rape. However, Kincaid fails to reveal an important detail about the accuser to Stone before the trial, which puts the case and their working relationship in jeopardy.
704"Profile"E.W. SwackhamerT : Ed Zuckerman;
S/T : Gordon Rayfield		October 13, 1993 (1993-10-13)6901016.00[4]
The hunt for a racist serial killer is aided by personality profiling that the defense uses to their advantage in court.
715"Black Tie"Arthur W. ForneyWalon Green & Michael S. ChernuchinOctober 20, 1993 (1993-10-20)6900416.30[5]
After a wealthy man Jonathan Keyes is found dead in his home, the police receive an anonymous tip that he was murdered. Logan and Briscoe encounter difficulties at the scene when the widow Danielle Keyes and her attorney Norman Rothenburg refuse to allow an autopsy, and by the time Rodgers is able to examine the body, it has already been embalmed. The medical examiner claims the death was natural causes, and even though the state finally gets the necessary proof that the death was murder, the methods used to obtain the needed evidence come under question when Stone tries the case in court.
726"Pride and Joy"Gilbert ShiltonEdward Pomerantz & Robert NathanOctober 27, 1993 (1993-10-27)6900616.20[6]
When building superintendent Frank McKinnon is found murdered in the basement of the building he works and lives in, Logan and Briscoe initially investigate the crime as a potential break-in until forensics discovers that the "break-in" was staged. The state's attention soon turns to Sean, Frank's 17-year-old son. Dr. Olivet determines the son is an abusive sociopath after interviewing him. But when the victim's wife claims that Frank beat his family on a regular basis, Stone and Kincaid try to determine who is telling the truth.
737"Apocrypha"Gabrielle BeaumontMichael S. ChernuchinNovember 3, 1993 (1993-11-03)6901314.90[7]
A woman Wendy Berman detonates a bomb in a parking garage, and prosecutors suspect she was acting under orders of a charismatic cult leader.
748"American Dream"Constantine MakrisSibyl GardnerNovember 9, 1993 (1993-11-09)6901814.40[8]

The discovery of skeletal remains on Roosevelt Island leads to a new trial for a former Wall Street junk bond broker Phillip Swann now serving time in the victim's murder. The defendant chooses to act as his own counsel.

This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Unsafe"
759"Born Bad"Fred GerberMichael S. Chernuchin & Sally NemethNovember 16, 1993 (1993-11-16)6902115.60[9]

The lawyer Helen Brolin of a 14-year-old boy Chris Pollit (Wil Horneff) claims he is not responsible for the beating death of his friend Johnny Lasky because he has an extra Y chromosome and is genetically predisposed to criminal behavior.

This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Unloved"
7610"The Pursuit of Happiness"Dann FlorekMorgan Gendel & Robert NathanDecember 1, 1993 (1993-12-01)6900517.00[10]
After a business owner Billy Cooper is shot and killed, suspicion falls on his Russian mail order bride and the man she is having an affair with.
7711"Golden Years"Helaine HeadT : Ed Zuckerman;
S/T : Doug Palau		January 5, 1994 (1994-01-05)6900815.20[11]

After 82-year-old Mildred Bauer is found dead in her apartment, suspicion immediately turns to her at-home caregiver and her boyfriend until the medical examiner reveals that the elderly woman had been starved to death. Feeding instructions given to Maria by Laura, the deceased woman's granddaughter, turn Stone's eye on the young woman, and she is charged with neglect and grave indifference to human life.

This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Mortal".
7812"Snatched"Constantine MakrisWalon Green & René BalcerJanuary 12, 1994 (1994-01-12)6902415.30[12]
After Sol Bregman (Theodore Bikel) is arrested while trying to exchange a ransom payoff for his kidnapped son, Logan and Briscoe find themselves trying to find Jason Bregman while trying to stop the father, a millionaire and a close friend of Adam Schiff, from interfering in the investigation. Once Jason Bregman is found, suspicion turns to the victim himself.
7913"Breeder"Arthur W. ForneyMichael S. Chernuchin & René BalcerJanuary 19, 1994 (1994-01-19)6902319.30[13]
Debra Elkins claims to have passed out in a cab after giving birth only to wake up and discover her baby is missing, but it isn't long before Briscoe and Logan follow the trail of evidence to her boyfriend, Steven Shaw, who is keeping the baby in a hotel at Debra's request. As the investigation continues, Stone and Kincaid find three separate couples who had been led to believe that they would be the baby's adoptive parents, but it appears that Debra has no intention of giving her baby to any of them.
8014"Censure"Ed SherinWilliam N. FordesFebruary 2, 1994 (1994-02-02)6902619.00[14]
When the investigation into threats on a 5-year-old girl leads to a judge that Kincaid had been romantically involved with when she clerked under him, she asks Ben to take her off the case. When Thayer is brought to trial, he insinuates that Kincaid deliberately pointed the witness in his direction, claiming that she had approached him in an inappropriate manner while she worked with him.
8115"Kids"Don ScardinoMichael Harbert & Robert NathanFebruary 9, 1994 (1994-02-09)6902816.30[15]
When 14-year-old Angel Ramirez is shot dead while out with two friends, the investigation leads to a local gun dealer, Juan Domingo. While investigating Domingo, Briscoe and Logan learn that he was a recent suspect in a shooting that paralyzed a teenage boy, and Briscoe finds himself in an awkward position when Kevin Parker, the son of Ted Parker an old friend of Briscoe's, ends up being the prime suspect in young Angel's homicide.
8216"Big Bang"Dann FlorekEd ZuckermanMarch 2, 1994 (1994-03-02)6902715.70[16]
A nuclear physicist Edward Manning (Harris Yulin) becomes the chief suspect when his estranged wife Florence, who has been delaying divorce proceedings, is the victim of a mail bomb.
8317"Mayhem"James QuinnS : Walon Green;
T : René Balcer;
S/T : Michael S. Chernuchin		March 9, 1994 (1994-03-09)6902916.60[17]

During a 24-hour period, Briscoe and Logan have to deal with three unrelated homicides: an aspiring actor shot in the head, a woman maiming her cheating husband, and a store owner killed in a robbery.

This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Dawn till Dusk".

One of the cases in this episode is revisited in "Entitled", which begins on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
8418"Wager"Ed SherinS : Michael S. Chernuchin;
T : Kevin Arkadie;
S/T : Harvey Solomon		March 30, 1994 (1994-03-30)6900216.30[18]

Briscoe and Logan bet that the killing of Ben Williams a star athlete's father is linked to gambling debts and threats to the baseball player's family, but it turns out the son pat's alibi does not hold up and he ends up under suspicion himself.

Note: Keith Hernandez makes an appearance.
8519"Sanctuary"Arthur W. ForneyMichael S. Chernuchin & William N. FordesApril 13, 1994 (1994-04-13)6903017.10[20]

A black minister fans the flames of racial intolerance after a Jewish man Joshua Berger is not indicted for a hit-and-run which resulted in the death of a 12-year-old.

In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #79 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[19]
8620"Nurture"Jace AlexanderParis Qualles & Ed ZuckermanMay 4, 1994 (1994-05-04)6901115.30[21]
Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of a child Wendy Sylvester from her abusive foster home and find her being held by Arnette Fenady a loving but disturbed woman who insists she has acted only for the child's own good.
8721"Doubles"Ed SherinMichael S. Chernuchin & René BalcerMay 18, 1994 (1994-05-18)6900115.70[22]
An assailant breaks the wrist of a tennis player Korey Burke prior to a tournament, and a competitor is among the suspects.
8822"Old Friends"James QuinnS : Robert Nathan;
S/T : Joshua Stern		May 25, 1994 (1994-05-25)6903115.30[23]
A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals Steven Green the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.

References[]

  1. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 22 September 1993. p. 3D.
  2. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 6 October 1993. p. 3D.
  3. ^ Gable, Donna (13 October 1993). "New shows pick up steam in ABC win". USA TODAY.
  4. ^ Gable, Donna; Graham, Jefferson (20 October 1993). "'Home Improvement' powers to No. 1". USA TODAY.
  5. ^ DeRosa, Robin (27 October 1993). "World Series earns CBS a win". USA TODAY.
  6. ^ DeRosa, Robin (3 November 1993). "ABC usurps CBS as No. 1". USA TODAY.
  7. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 10 November 1993. p. 3D.
  8. ^ DeRosa, Robin (17 November 1993). "Walters gives ABC a special boost". USA TODAY.
  9. ^ DeRosa, Robin (24 November 1993). "CBS sweeps back to the top". USA TODAY. p. 3D.
  10. ^ DeRosa, Robin (8 December 1993). "'White Dog' has its day; CBS, its week". USA TODAY.
  11. ^ DeRosa, Robin (12 January 1994). "'Improvement' leads ABC charge". USA TODAY.
  12. ^ DeRosa, Robin (19 January 1994). "'Columbo' on the case for ABC". USA TODAY.
  13. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 26 January 1994. p. 3D.
  14. ^ DeRosa, Robin (9 February 1994). "Lilith brings ratings to 'Frasier'". USA TODAY.
  15. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 16 February 1994. p. 3D.
  16. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 9 March 1994. p. 3D.
  17. ^ DeRosa, Robin (16 March 1994). "Premieres give ABC pull". USA TODAY.
  18. ^ DeRosa, Robin (6 April 1994). "ABC gets help from 'These Friends'". USA TODAY.
  19. ^ "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28–July 4). 1997.
  20. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA TODAY. 20 April 1994. p. 3D.
  21. ^ DeRosa, Robin (11 May 1994). "ABC keeps hammering away". USA TODAY.
  22. ^ "Nielsen Ratings". USA TODAY. 25 May 1994. p. 3D.
  23. ^ DeRosa, Robin (1 June 1994). "ABC's clean sweeps". USA TODAY.

External links[]

Preceded by
Season Three
(1992–1993) 		List of Law & Order seasons
(1990–2010) 		Succeeded by
Season Five
(1994–1995)
Retrieved from ""