| "The Wages of Love" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 2.02 | → |
| Production number: 67405 First aired: 24 September 1991 | ||
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| Teleplay By Ed Zuckerman Story By Ed Zuckerman & Robert Stuart Nathan Directed By Ed Sherin | ||
Plot
A double homicide of an older man and his younger lover casts suspicion on both the ex-wife and the former boyfriend of the murdered duo, with the dead man's murdered son holding the key to the mystery.
Cast
Main cast
- Paul Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast
- Christine Farrell as Forensics Technician Arlene Shrier
- Ben Hammer as Arraignment Judge Herman Mooney
- Joan Copeland as Trial Judge Rebecca Stein
Guest cast
- Shirley Knight as Melanie Cullen
- Geoffrey Nauffts as Jamie Cullen
- David Lansbury as Douglas Phillips
- Benjamin Hendrickson as Defense Attorney for Douglas Phillips
- Jerry Orbach as Defense Attorney Frank Lehrman
- Howard Witt as Mr. Gruen
- William Bogert as Jules Simon
- Christina Haag as Cecily Mills
- Barry Snider as Mr. O'Malley
- David Langston Smyrl as George Warner
- Vince Viverito as Gus
- Stanja Lowe as Preston
- Ray DeMattis as Mr. Kolvino
- Catherine Lloyd Burns as Sheila Herlihy
- Timothy Britten Parker as Meade
- Richard Litt as Officer Rossi
- Keith Diamond as Officer Jackson
- Ben Lin as Chinese Manager
- Stan Egi as Chang
- Judith Roberts as Harriet Dutton
- Robert Stanton as Jed Knox
- Colleen Cowan as Sally Knox
- Lawrence Green as Juror Gillette
- Helen Mitchell as Juror Bogan
- Gennaro 'Jerry' Giorgio as Court Clerk
References
Christie's; New York Ledger.
Quotes
"I wish we had a gun..."
"I wish I had a girlfriend named Lola."
- - Phil Cerreta and Donald Cragen
"Pride goeth before a fall. I’ll send you flowers in the intensive care unit."
- - Adam Schiff
"Never seen you like this before."
"I have never done anything this potentially stupid before."
- - Paul Robinette and Benjamin Stone
"Phil, I know it looks obvious, but before we sentence the wife, remember we do have two victims here, and one of them is still wearing a tag on her toe: Jane Doe."
"Maybe she had an enemy."
"Maybe she had a name."
- - Donald Cragen and Mike Logan
"Criminally negligent homicide. She does no time."
"No time ... why don't we throw her a tickertape parade? Manslaughter one, eight and a third each count."
"It's called plea bargaining, not plea scalping. Pass."
- - Frank Lehrman and Benjamin Stone
"The State of New York says in 14 years you had three registered guns, two of them stolen."
"You're a hell of a security guard, George. You ought to hire a guard to watch your guns. "
- - Phil Cerreta and Mike Logan
"I didn't kill her, I wanted to marry her."
"Did she want to marry you? What was she doing at Cullen's, shopping for her trousseau?"
- - Douglas Phillips and Phil Cerreta
"If he accepts this, Ben, I'm going to make it absolutely clear they must believe beyond a scintilla of doubt, that she committed premeditated murder, or they acquit."
"Beyond a scintilla?"
"A mini-scintilla."
- - Judge Rebecca Stein and Frank Lehrman
"I don't know what happened, I don't remember. I went there to talk to Eddie, I thought everything would be all right. That we could work everything out. We were married for 25 years. I thought everything would be all right. I've always loved Eddie... I've always loved Eddie."
- - Melanie Cullen
"Murder two? Why even have it on the menu? This isn’t murder, it’s manslaughter."
"So you’re admitting she killed them?"
"No. But if she killed them, it was extreme emotional disturbance, and that’s manslaughter."
"I get it, she wasn’t there. And if she was there, she didn’t kill them, and if she did kill them, she didn’t mean to, and if she did mean to, it’s because she was upset."
- - Frank Lehrman and Benjamin Stone
Background information and notes
- Actor Jerry Orbach makes his first appearance in Law & Order as a Defense Attorney named Frank Lehrman. He would return to the franchise so that he could replace actor Paul Sorvino (Sergeant Phil Cerreta) as the new Detective, Lennie Briscoe.
- Two recurring characters make their first appearance in this episode. Christine Farrell appears as Forensics Technician Arlene Shrier, and Joan Copeland appears as Judge Rebecca Stein.
- This episode seems to be based on the Betty Broderick case. Five years after a very acrimonious divorce in the late 1980s, Broderick, a mother of four, purchased a revolver and broke into her ex-husband, Dan's home with a key that she had stolen from her elder daughter, Kim Broderick. She shot him and his second wife, Linda Kolkena, in their bed whilst they slept. In the years leading up to their deaths, Dan and Linda had felt so threatened by Betty they had even hired guards to protect themselves. Betty was convicted on 11 December 1991 of two counts of second-degree murder, and later sentenced to 32-years-to-life in prison, with her first possible parole date in March of 2010. (Source: Betty Broderick at Wikipedia)
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Melanie Cullen's |
Preston Law Boards |
Arraignment Court |
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|
|
Newton & Co. Jewelry |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Confession" |
"The Wages of Love" Law & Order Season 2 |
Next episode: "Aria" |