| "Agony" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 9.05 | → |
| Production number: E0216 First aired: 4 November 1998 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Kathy McCormick Directed By Constantine Makris | ||
Plot[]
After the detectives find a murdered postman and a woman who was left for dead in her apartment, the investigation leads to a serial killer and a surprise.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Jerry Orbach as Detective Lennie Briscoe
- Benjamin Bratt as Detective Rey Curtis
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
- Angie Harmon as A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
Recurring cast[]
- Mark Blum as Defense Attorney Frank Lazar
- J.K. Simmons as Dr. Emil Skoda
- Leslie Hendrix as M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Larry Clarke as Detective Morris LaMotte
- Lee Shepherd as Defense Attorney Barry Kaufer
Guest cast[]
- Christina Haag as Catherine Lansing
- Barbara Andres as Anne O'Brien
- Alex Wipf as Mr. O'Brien
- Christopher Patrick Mullen as Matt Bergstrom
- Clark Middleton as Ellis
- Tracy Sallows as Erica Davies
- Alexander Robert Scott as Michael Ashford
- Elizabeth Connors as Michelle Ashford
- Stevie Ray Dallimore as Roger Lansing
- Jordan Bayne as Melody Kane
- Alison Sheehy as Morgan Bryant
- David Alan Basche as Jack McKinney
- Christopher Innvar as Gavin Lapeer
- John Leonard Thompson as Sam Franklin
- Jenifer Krater as Diane Bauer
- Valerie Leonard as Eileen Wimberly
- Issac Bright as Eddy Acosta
- Sal Petraccione as Ray Cardenas
- Jay Raphael as Jerry Warner
- Saidah Arrika Ekulona as Dr. Claire Metoyer
- Ayo Haynes as Natalie Antos
- Nadine Mozon as Assistant M.E. Janet Glynn
- Donna Villella as CSU Technician Donna Richter
- Lin Tucci as Amy Cardenas
- Lee D'Angelo as Helen Kurtzman
References[]
- Connecticut
- Denver, Colorado
- London, England
- Chicago, Illinois
- Minnesota
- Texas
- Seattle, Washington
- Hart Island
- Fort Tryon Park
Quotes[]
- McCoy: You okay?
- Carmichael: With that butcher looking at me like I'm a carcass on a meat hook? Sure, I'm fine.
- [Carmichael wants to break the law to convict a serial killer]
- McCoy: The New York County District Attorney's Office can't - no, won't - knowingly convict a man of the wrong crime. What are you thinking?
- Carmichael: I'm just taking a page from the Jack McCoy playbook! Nobody gets to bend the rules but you?
- McCoy: I've bent the rules to convict the right person of the right crime. This isn't bending, it's turning the law against itself.
- Carmichael: You once hid a witness to get the result you wanted!
- McCoy: And I was wrong then. You're wrong now. Don't wait until you're facing a disciplinary committee to realize it!
- Carmichael: A week from tomorrow, you'll be on a plane, sandwiched between 2 of Houston's finest.
- Bergstrom: [panicked] You can't do this!
- Carmichael: You'll have a speedy trial. Your lawyer will file a couple of appeals. He'll lose. And before you know it, bang, there's that pesky needle.
- Bergstrom: [to McCoy] What are you doing? You're just sitting there. Make her shut up!
- McCoy: Miss Carmichael...
- Carmichael: I'm not done. I'm going to be there, and if they'd let me do it, I'd push one of the plungers, and pray it's the one that delivers the fatal dose.
- Bergstrom: Get her out of here! Get her out!
- Carmichael: How does it feel, Mr. Bergstrom? You killed all those women, and now a woman is going to return the favor.
- Bergstrom: You won't...
- Carmichael: Pretty damn ironic, isn't it?
- Bergstrom: You won't kill me, I won't let you.
- Carmichael: Try and stop me.
- Bergstrom: I'll plead to one of the other ones. The one by the train tracks.
- Lazar: Hang on...
- McCoy: Murder-1, life without parole.
- Lazar: Mr. Bergstrom...
- Bergstrom: Yeah, okay! She doesn't say what happens to me!
- Carmichael: [pause] Fine. If you change your mind, I'll be waiting...
- Bergstrom: No, you sit! You listen to what I did to her. [with relish] I cut her, and she screamed. I burned her, and she screamed louder. I pushed my fist into her, and she passed out. I made her say she admired me. I had total control. Total.
Background information and notes[]
- When Abbie Carmichael says that Jack McCoy "once hid a witness to get the result [he] wanted", she is referring to the events of the episode "Under the Influence". In that episode, McCoy subtly tells an airline executive to not reassign a flight attendant to fly to the United States, thereby preventing her from testifying for the defense.
- McCoy also refers back to when he was called before the disciplinary committee in the episode "Monster".
- Clips from this episode were used on the TV sitcom Friends in the episode "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt". In that episode, the character of Joey Tribbiani is supposed to have a small part on Law & Order, and he invites his grandmother to watch it with his friends, but apparently, his scene is cut out.
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Pedrotti & Kerr |
Sandstone, Inc. |
Les Bois Jolis |
| 4 |
|---|
|
Ashford Woodworking |
| Previous episode: "Flight" |
"Agony" Law & Order Season 9 |
Next episode: "Scrambled" |