Law & Order (season 4)

Law & Order (season 4)
Season 4 U.S. DVD Cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 15, 1993 – May 25, 1994

The fourth season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 15, 1993, and May 25, 1994. This is the final season to feature Michael Moriarty as Ben Stone. It is also the first season to include a shorter opening sequence and theme (at 46 seconds), which would be used for the remainder of the series' run. Season four was released on DVD December 6, 2005.

Cast

There were two cast changes from season 3:

• Anita Van Buren (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) replaced Don Cragen (Dann Florek) in the role of the detectives' supervisor (although Van Buren was a Lieutenant while Cragen had held the more senior rank of Captain)
• Claire Kincaid (played by Jill Hennessy) replaced Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) as Assistant District Attorney.

This was the first time women played any of the Law and Order 's six major characters: both roles would continue to be occupied by women, with Merkerson remaining in the role of Van Buren, throughout the remainder of the series. It was also the first time in Law and Order's history that two major cast changes were made simultaneously; the next such double change would not happen until the beginning of season 17.

• Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe
• Chris Noth as Det. Mike Logan
• S. Epatha Merkerson as Anita Van Buren
• Michael Moriarty as E.A.D.A. Ben Stone
• Jill Hennessy as A.D.A. Claire Kincaid
• Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
• Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
67	1	"Sweeps"	James Frawley	Craig McNeer & Robert Nathan	September 15, 1993	69009
Logan and Briscoe investigate after a convicted child molester, Dr. Joseph Vinton, is murdered on Rick Mason's controversial talk show. The shooter is easily identified — he's Sid Fisher, the father of the dead man's victim from three years earlier. During the course of the investigation, however, the detectives find evidence that leads them to believe that Mason may have set up Vinton's murder so as to assure high ratings during sweeps period. Stone's case is made more difficult because Sid Fisher isn't willing to say anything that could put his son, Scotty, on the stand.
68	2	"Volunteers"	James Quinn	René Balcer	September 29, 1993	69017
A disruptive, unbalanced homeless man is found severely beaten in an alley of the middle-class neighborhood he calls home, leading Stone to try to prosecute one of the residents for premeditated murder. This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Community Service"
69	3	"Discord"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin	October 6, 1993	69012
When college student Julia Wood charges an admittedly promiscuous rock star, C Square, with rape, he claims the act was consensual. Logan and Briscoe investigate the crime and soon learn that C Square isn't the nice guy he would have everyone believe. Kincaid makes a mistake during trial that puts her position as Stone's new ADA in jeopardy.
70	4	"Profile"	E.W. Swackhamer	Teleplay by: Gordon Rayfield & Ed Zuckerman Story by: Gordon Rayfield	October 13, 1993	69010
After a number of neighborhood residents are murdered, the police follow the investigation to a local racist who is murdering people he doesn't feel belong in his neighborhood. Stone finds himself facing a prominent black attorney representing the murderer.
71	5	"Black Tie"	Arthur W. Forney	Walon Green & Michael S. Chernuchin	October 20, 1993	69004
After wealthy Jonathan Keyes is found dead in his home, the police receive an anonymous tip that he was murdered. Logan and Briscoe encounter difficulties at the scene when the widow and her attorney refuse to allow an autopsy, and by the time Rodgers is able to examine the body, it has already been embalmed. The medical examiner claims the death was natural causes, and even though the state finally gets the necessary proof that the death was murder, the methods used to obtain the needed evidence come under question when Stone tries the case in court.
72	6	"Pride and Joy"	Gilbert Shilton	Edward Pomerantz & Robert Nathan	October 27, 1993	69006
When building superintendent Frank McKinnon is found murdered in the basement of the building he works and lives in, Logan and Briscoe initially investigate the crime as a potential break-in until forensics discovers that the "break-in" was staged. The state's attention soon turns to Sean, Frank's 17-year-old son. Dr. Olivet determines the son is an abusive sociopath after interviewing him. But when the victim's wife claims that Frank beat his family on a regular basis, Stone and Kincaid try to determine who is telling the truth.
73	7	"Apocrypha"	Gabrielle Beaumont	Michael S. Chernuchin	November 3, 1993	69013
Stone and Kincaid try to prove that the young woman believed to have planted a bomb in a parking garage had been brainwashed and was acting under the direct orders of Daniel Hendricks, the charismatic leader of a local cult known as the Acherusian Temple.
74	8	"American Dream"	Constantine Makris	Sibyl Gardner	November 9, 1993	69018
A dig at a building site uncovers the body of Sid Cohen, who had gone missing and been presumed murdered years earlier. The identification of the body proves troublesome for Stone, who had initially prosecuted Phillip Swann eight years earlier and had obtained a conviction. Swann uses inconsistencies between the original trial and the location of the body to seek an appeal. This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Unsafe"
75	9	"Born Bad"	Fred Gerber	Michael S. Chernuchin & Sally Nemeth	November 16, 1993	69021
When teenager Chris Pollit beats a fellow foster home resident to death, his lawyer seeks a not guilty verdict by reason of genetic defect, claiming that Pollit is genetically predisposed to violence because he has an extra Y chromosome. This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Unloved"
76	10	"The Pursuit of Happiness"	Dann Florek	Morgan Gendel & Robert Nathan	December 1, 1993	69005
When Billy Cooper is found murdered at the meat-packing plant where he works, Logan and Briscoe turn their eye to his wife Irina, a green card bride from Russia who had married Cooper in the hopes of a better life but had fallen in love with a co-worker and lost favor with her husband, who repeatedly threatened to send her back.
77	11	"Golden Years"	Helaine Head	Teleplay by: Doug Palau & Ed Zuckerman Story by: Doug Palau	January 5, 1994	69008
After 82-year-old Mildred Bauer is found dead in her apartment, suspicion immediately turns to her at-home caregiver and her boyfriend until the medical examiner reveals that the elderly woman had been starved to death. Feeding instructions given to Maria by Laura, the deceased woman's granddaughter, turn Stone's eye on the young woman, and she is charged with neglect and grave indifference to human life. This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Mortal".
78	12	"Snatched"	Constantine Makris	Walon Green & René Balcer	January 12, 1994	69024
After Sol Bregman is arrested while trying to exchange a ransom payoff for his kidnapped son, Logan and Briscoe find themselves trying to find Jason Bregman while trying to stop the father, a millionaire and a close friend of Adam Schiff, from interfering in the investigation. Once Jason Bregman is found, suspicion turns to the victim himself.
79	13	"Breeder"	Arthur W. Forney	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	January 19, 1994	69023
Debra Elkins claims to have passed out in a cab after giving birth only to wake up and discover her baby is missing, but it isn't long before Briscoe and Logan follow the trail of evidence to her boyfriend, Steven Shaw, who is keeping the baby in a hotel at Debra's request. As the investigation continues, Stone and Kincaid find three separate couples who had been led to believe that they would be the family who would adopt the baby, but it seems as though Debra has no intention of giving her baby to any of the couples.
80	14	"Censure"	Ed Sherin	William N. Fordes	February 2, 1994	69026
When the investigation into threats on a 5-year-old girl leads to a judge that Kincaid had been romantically involved with when she clerked under him, she asks Ben to take her off the case. When Thayer is brought to trial, he insinuates that Kincaid deliberately pointed the witness in his direction, claiming that she had approached him in an inappropriate manner while she worked with him.
81	15	"Kids"	Don Scardino	Michael Harbert & Robert Nathan	February 9, 1994	69028
When 14-year-old Angel Ramirez is shot dead while out with two friends, the investigation leads to a local gun dealer, Juan Domingo. While investigating Domingo, Briscoe and Logan learn that he was a recent suspect in a shooting that paralyzed a teenage boy, and Briscoe finds himself in an awkward position when Kevin Parker, the son of an old friend of Briscoe's, ends up being the prime suspect in young Angel's murder.
82	16	"Big Bang"	Dann Florek	Ed Zuckerman	March 2, 1994	69027
A nuclear physicist becomes the chief suspect when his estranged wife, who has been delaying divorce proceedings, is the victim of a mail bomb.
83	17	"Mayhem"	James Quinn	Teleplay by: Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer Story by: Michael S. Chernuchin & Walon Green	March 9, 1994	69029
During a 24-hour period, Briscoe and Logan have to deal with three unrelated homicides: an aspiring actor shot in the head, a woman maiming her cheating husband and a store owner killed in a robbery. This episode was the basis for the Law & Order: UK episode "Dawn till Dusk". One of the cases in this episode is revisited in "Entitled", which begins on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
84	18	"Wager"	Ed Sherin	Teleplay by: Kevin Arkadie & Harvey Solomon Story by: Michael S. Chernuchin & Harvey Solomon	March 30, 1994	69002
Briscoe and Logan bet that the killing of a star athlete's father is linked to gambling debts and threats to the baseball player's family, but it turns out the son's alibi does not hold up and he ends up under suspicion himself.
85	19	"Sanctuary"	Arthur W. Forney	Michael S. Chernuchin & William N. Fordes	April 13, 1994	69030
A black minister fans the flames of racial intolerance after a Jewish man is not indicted for a hit-and-run which resulted in the death of a 12-year-old. In 1997, TV Guide ranked this episode #79 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.[1]
86	20	"Nurture"	Jace Alexander	Paris Qualles & Ed Zuckerman	May 4, 1994	69011
Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of a child from her abusive foster home and find her being held by a loving but disturbed woman who insists she has acted only for the child's own good.
87	21	"Doubles"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	May 18, 1994	69001
An assailant breaks the wrist of a tennis player prior to a tournament, and a competitor is among the suspects.
88	22	"Old Friends"	James Quinn	Teleplay by: Joshua Stern Story by: Robert Nathan & Joshua Stern	May 25, 1994	69031
A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.

References

1. "Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". TV Guide (June 28-July 4). 1997.

External links

• Law & Order at TV.com
• Episode guide from NBC.com