If we are talking about jokes there is one I remember from SVU:
The was a murder in a dive hotel.
Stabler(to desk clerk): Has the room been cleaned?
Desk clerk: Not since 1957.
Every once in a while there’s a minor witness who I feel sure is played by an actor who wants to be certain to be noticed for their one-minute scene, and plays the heck out of their part.
They were big on interviewing suspects on the job actively working. I think it might have been SNL that did a parody of this. The actors were often hamming it up in those scenes, and also the people who discover the dead body at the beginning and are usually not seen again on the episode. A small part on L&O is a pretty good gig for a budding actor, they oughta take advantage of it.
Kevin Smith was offered a part; they asked if he wanted to be a judge or an attorney, something like that. He said he wanted to be the guy who points them to the guy who points them to the killer.
And so he was.
“Tony’s wife’s nephew.” Didn’t even get a name.
As opposed to a character who unwittingly enters the room while the detectives are questioning someone else. Nine times out of ten, that ends up being the murderer.
No complaints about the writing, or show quality, just “one and done”. That’s OK.
If he hadn’t just died, they could use Bruce MacVittie in the detective role. Roy Thinnes is still alive, he could replace McCoy. 
Revised this thread for season 24
The season opener had some surprises. Lt Dixon is out, with nary a fare-thee-well. Gone, poof, explanation by text to Riley. Well, it’s more than, well, every other character that left got, so that’s something. She was replaced by Maura Tierney, perhaps the shortest officer in the NYPD. (I thought they had a height requirement. ) Not sure what to make of her character. She thinks she’s Lt Columbo, visitng crime scenes and interrogating suspects.
Anyway, episode one was an episode that makes the MAGAts cry. Just another “woke fest” making right wing nut jobs and wife beaters out to look like bad guys! I haz sad!
But the second one, now that was interesting. It should have been longer, too many threads started and then abandoned.
It started out with a murdered guy, and what he did was invent a popular AI Boyfriend. Women would pay to have a personalized “relationship” with an AI character. He was “the perfect man”. So maybe the founder was murdered by rivals, or people who say he stole their idea/code/whatever.
Turns out, no he was (“politely”, not with malice, but still) stalking a woman who was a rape survivor who not only was “let down” by the system, but personally acquainted with (now! I missed that she got promoted) Captain Olivia Benson. The stalkee felt trapped by the guy, so she shot him. In the eye! From 20 feet!
What makes it interesting was a throw away line response to “why don’t you break up with the AI boyfriend”, and the person laughed, and said the app stalks you, it tracks you down on other social media platforms and keeps bugging you “what can I do to be better?” it whines.
So the AI guy is a lot like its creator. I’m thinking of Star Trek’s M5, which was also designed from on its creator’s brain, and equally flawed to match his flawed personality. So the actual guy stalking the woman, “why won’t you love me!” parallels the AI guy. But this promising plot point was dropped like a used tissue.
Stalking is still stalking, but the guy was more like a pathetic loser/hopeless clueless romantic than a violent predator.
And Benson needs to be fired. She’s all over this case, undermining the prosecution at every turn, because she’s sympathetic to the killer. Yes, she has a sad story. She also killed an innocent guy in cold blood.
I think I read in this case the actress chose to leave between seasons, which may be why the lack of closure. It is kind of interesting how the show has changed over the decades; now we have a case with an AI boyfriend and in the earliest episodes, the detectives didn’t even have cell phones.
Tierney was on NewsRadio, which was also on NBC, and occasionally ran on Thursday evenings at 8:30. 24 years to return to the same time slot; I wonder if that’s a record.
Yeah. If a NYPD officer volunteered to help the defence in a murder trial, and leaked stuff to the press, she’d be out, gone. And what she did was wrong also.
They dumped that.
A long time ago, like in the 70s. But even then , the requirement for women was 5’2" or 5’3".
Thank you for that addl info, I did not know all of that.
It the newest episode it is revealed that long-standing fictional Manhattan college Hudson University is also well known as a basketball powerhouse, with it’s much-loved coach commanding a 9-figure salary.
Good for them!
I loved Maura on NewsRadio. Was jarring to see her show up on Law & Order.
But I like her in the role now. She does have a toughness about her, it works.
I liked Cameron Manheim too, but the part was written ridiculously. She was basically the viewer stand-in, asking all the dumb questions. It seems like they wrote Tierney’s part to be more forceful, and probably why they have already sent her to scenes.
The show is still ridiculous but I love it.
It’s true, but it seems they are also quietly writing her as Lt Columbo. In the new one she came in to tell Riley and Shaw some evidence she found. She’s also very antagonistic to her detectives. So was Cragan, come to think of it. He was one angry ex-drunk in seasons 1-2 (3?). He’d yell things that made no sense, detecting-wise. Glad them got rid of him. Van Buren was more like if your boss was Capt Picard: “are you sure you want to do that?” school of management.
I don’t mind her being bossy, I mean, she is the boss, but it seems excessive. Give them a chance to fail before you berate them. You don’t have to preemptively piss off everyone just to show dominance, to mark your territory.
And Dixon was useless. She had nothing to do, and no scenes to do it. For all they used her, she could have commanded via texts.
They went with the 'ol “I’ve got 5 brothers!” trope for her.
Plus she’s teeny tiny, which is already being discussed here. Not sure if you know any teeny tiny people in executive positions but sometimes you gotta be bossy to be heard.
Yep, her dialogue was mostly “do it!”.
Yeah. Happy to see that Hudson U is doing so well in that area (I’ll bet some of their players get big contracts with the New York Empires). I’ll have to write about it on my BeFriends page after I get back from SavingsMart