| "The Family Hour" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 17.22 | → |
| Production number: 17022 First aired: 18 May 2007 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Richard Sweren & David Slack Directed By Matthew Penn | ||
Plot
Season finale. When Nicole Bailey, the ex-wife of a respected former senator, is found murdered and brutalized in her home, Green and Cassady look first at the senator, but follow the trail of clues to a dysfunctional family with a number of potentially embarrassing secrets. McCoy finds himself in the hot seat when he is forced to argue the case in front of a judge more interested in public relations than justice.
Cast
Main cast
- Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green
- Milena Govich as Detective Nina Cassady
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
- Alana De La Garza as A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa
- Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch
Guest cast
- Jeremy Sisto as Clint Glover
- Annika Boras as Trina Bailey Kirkpatrick
- Erik Heger as Jim Kirkpatrick
- Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Harry Hamlin as Senator Randall Bailey
- Jeffrey Tambor as Judge Barry Dilwynn
- Daryl Wein as Chaz Bailey
- Robin Galloway as Cynthia Emerson
- Mark Setlock as Bill Collins
- Kia Goodwin as Assistant M.E. Kendra Washington
- Travis York as CSU Technician Cates
- Allison Mackie as Nicole Bailey
- Jamison Stern as Phil
- Postell Pringle as Uniform #1
- Peter O'Connor as Court Clerk
- Michael J. Reilly as Jury Foreperson
- Vincent Caiola as Court Officer (uncredited)
- Carol Commissiong as Arresting Officer (uncredited)
Quotes
- Nina Cassady: Your alibi for the murder is you were at home beating your wife?!
- Jack McCoy: You know, one day, this chair is going to be empty.
- Arthur Branch: Yeah, everybody says that.
- Ed Green: It wasn't an intruder; he knew her. She probably invited him in. Then he comes at her with a poker & rapes her with a wooden spoon. Can't wait to catch this guy.
- Connie Rubirosa: (her closing argument) There is nothing imagined about the wrongs of Trina's childhood. Whatever she was in her adult life, she learned from a master. Randall Bailey had a pathological need to abuse his daughter. A need that he finally took to its logical, deadly conclusion. And thanks to a tricked-up claim of self-defense that has been a staple of crime fiction for decades, he thinks he can get away with it. But consider this. 6-foot, 180 pounds vs. 5' 5", 110 pounds. Consider 13 deep, devastating stab wounds vs. 8 pin pricks. Consider what it took to drive this knife through meat and bone into the body of his own daughter. (stabs a book with Randall's knife repeatedly) Not once. Not twice. But 13 times! This was not paternal love, or instinct! No! It was murderous rage! (stabs once more)
Background information and notes
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Carrington Hotel |
Hudson General Hospital |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
- Fred Thompson's last appearance as Arthur Branch, as Thompson announced in March 2007 that he would leave at the conclusion of the Season 17 to pursue the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
- Milena Govich's last appearance as Nina Cassady.
- Though Jeremy Sisto appeared as defense attorney Clint Glover in this episode, he would join the main cast as Detective Cyrus Lupo in the very next episode, "Called Home."