| "The Family Hour" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | L&O, Episode 17.22 | → |
| Production number: 17022 First aired: 18 May 2007 | ||
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| 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. When M.E. Rodgers comes to McCoy noting a minor error in her testimony, and intending on notifying the judge, Arthur Branch rebukes McCoy's revised closing arguments and puts ADA Connie Rubirosa in charge.
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
Recurring Cast[]
- Leslie Hendrix as Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
- Kate Miller as Defense Attorney Madeline Meyers
Guest cast[]
- Jeremy Sisto as Defense Attorney Clint Glover
- Annika Boras as Trina Bailey-Kirkpatrick
- Erik Heger as Jim Kirkpatrick
- 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?!
- Arthur Branch: You know, one day, this chair is going to be empty.
- Jack McCoy: I'm no politician, Arthur.
- 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... six-foot, one hundred and eighty pounds versus five-foot-five, one hundred and ten pounds. Consider thirteen, deep, devastating stab wounds versus eight pin pricks. Consider what it took to drive this knife through meat and bone into the body of his own daughter. (she repeatedly stabs a book with Randall's knife, accentuating nearly every syllable with a stab) Not once! Not twice! But thirteen times! This was not paternal love or instinct! No! It was murderous rage! (she stabs the book one last time, really hard, leaving the knife standing in the book.)
Background information and notes[]
- This was Fred Thompson's last appearance as Arthur Branch, as Thompson announced in March 2007 that he would be leaving at the conclusion of the Season 17 to pursue the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
- Branch states to McCoy in this episode how "one day this chair's gonna be empty" meaning he wouldn't always be district attorney and someone would have to fill it, foreshadowing McCoy taking over for him. Previously, Branch had stated McCoy could never be District Attorney in the season 16 episode "Red Ball".
- This was Sam Waterston’s final appearance as Executive ADA Jack McCoy . He was promoted to District Attorney replacing Thompson’s Branch. McCoy's vacated position was filled by Linus Roache who joined the cast the next season as Executive ADA Michael Cutter.
- This would also be the last case McCoy would argue in court until his final episode, the season 23 episode "Last Dance".
- This was also Milena Govich's final 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".
Episode scene cards[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Carrington Hotel |
Hudson General Hospital |
Supreme Court |
Supreme Court |
| Previous episode: "Over Here" |
"The Family Hour" Law & Order Season 17 |
Next episode: "Called Home" |