| "Fluency" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 15.14 | → |
| Production number: E5318 First aired: 19 January 2005 | ||
 | ||
| Written By Nick Santora Directed By Matthew Penn | ||
Plot[]
Fontana and Green are baffled by a series of flu-related deaths until they discover that the victims were given fake vaccines. McCoy charges the con artist, Elliot Peters, who distributed the vaccine for 16 counts of manslaughter. Using The Third Man as an example of how callous Peters really is, McCoy successfully gets a conviction on all 16 counts. While Peters is facing the maximum term of 15 years for his crimes, McCoy recommends consecutive sentences, giving the man 240 years in prison. McCoy successfully argues for this and the judge sentences Peters to the requested term.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dennis Farina as Detective Joe Fontana
- Jesse L. Martin as Detective Ed Green
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- Sam Waterston as Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy
- Annie Parisse as A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia
- Fred Dalton Thompson as D.A. Arthur Branch
Recurring cast[]
- Jordan Charney as Judge Donald Karan
- Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Karen Shallo as Arraignment Judge Anna Shiro
Guest cast[]
- Xander Berkeley as Clay Pollack
- Kelly Coffield as Joanne Citron
- Scott Decker as Mike Bass
- Tim Donoghue as Ron Wickham
- Mitchell Greenberg as Dr. Lerner
- Patrick McNulty as Dr. Wasserman
- Howard W. Overshown as Kyle Rowen
- Robert Sedgwick as Elliot Peters
- Kate Strohbehn as Julie Marcheck
- Nicholas Wyman as Dr. Adams
- Jason Kaufman as Uniform
- Alan Hasnas as Jury Foreperson
- Madison Arnold as Reimer
- Stefanie Bari as Elena
- Alex Manette as EMT Worker #1
- Ken Triwush as EMT Worker #2
- Michael Marisi Ornstein as Sklar
- Sal Mistretta as Cal Brunswick (archive footage)
References[]
Quotes[]
Borgia: 'The Third Man'?
McCoy: Spur of the moment. That ferris wheel scene just popped into my head.
Borgia: Pretty effective cross. You really painted the picture for the jury. He's a cold blooded, callous creep. 15 years is not nearly enough for what he did.
McCoy: 15 years times sixteen. I'm going for consecutive sentences.
Borgia: 15 times sixteen, that's... what?
McCoy: Two Hundred and Forty.
Borgia: Do you think the judge will buy it?
McCoy: If I'm persuasive enough at the hearing next week.
Background information and notes[]
- This episode marks S. Epatha Merkerson's 273rd appearance on the series. This surpasses the previous record (272 episodes) set by Jerry Orbach.
- Annie Parisse's first contract appearance as A.D.A. Alexandra Borgia.
- This episode was originally intended to be titled Parasite.
- The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "The Third Guy" also references the film The Third Man.
- In the scene with the drug representative, a sign with several doctors' names appears. Three of those names are used in previous episodes, though they are obviously not the same characters:
- "Glenda Allen" (Denial)
- "Christian Varick" (Double Blind)
- "Seth Bernstein" (Ramparts)
| Previous episode: "Ain't No Love" |
"Fluency" Law & Order Season 15 |
Next episode: "Obsession" |