# Which LAW & ORDER characterswould you be willing to hire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211 "2016-07-18T14:06:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/61 "2016-07-19T20:12:19Z")
> [@Nuveena](#): > > Fun fact: the patient that put her on the trail of the rapist doctor was Felicity Huffman. Who appeared at least one ohter time on L&O, as a wife-cum-call girl accused of murder. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/62 "2016-07-19T20:19:37Z")
Anyone think Ben Stone should have hooked up with Shambala Green? They certainly were passionate arguing their cases. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/63 "2016-07-19T20:19:46Z")
The only DA worth mentioning - and he is well worth mentioning - is Adam Schiff. Smart, caustic, dry, but with a heart of gold. Anyone who can watch the scene where they pull the plug on his wife and not shed a tear is a cold, heartless bastard. Here’s what the DA chart looks like: ## Schiff - - - - - - ## McCoy (as DA) All the rest except… - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Arthur Branch ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/64 "2016-07-19T20:56:43Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Anyone think Ben Stone should have hooked up with Shambala Green? They certainly were passionate arguing their cases. He may well have. McCoy & Kincaid’s affair was only ever hinted at until after her death; Lenny’s date with Rogers was only revealed after his; Olivet & Logan was onlymentioned after he had left the franchise. That Stone & Shambala wanted one another was more than obvious. I think they were just being discreet because they were on opposite sides of the aisle. (For certain values of discreet.) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/65 "2016-07-19T21:03:50Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Who appeared at least one ohter time on L&O, as a wife-cum-call girl accused of murder. We also had James Earl Jones defending a racist sniper and Claire Danes as a wannabe model who kills a photographer. Robin Williams was on SVU…IIRC, he got away with his crimes. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/66 "2016-07-19T21:19:11Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > We also had James Earl Jones defending a racist sniper and Claire Danes as a wannabe model who kills a photographer. > > Robin Williams was on SVU…IIRC, he got away with his crimes. Lots of big names appeared on L&O. Tracy Pollan appeared twice on SVU as a victim and once on CI as a murder suspect. At the hieght of her career, Julia Roberts was a witness and villain. And anybody who was anybody in the NY theatre crowd proabbly played multiple roles in every series but UK and LA. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/67 "2016-07-19T21:40:02Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > He may well have. McCoy & Kincaid’s affair was only ever hinted at until after her death; Lenny’s date with Rogers was only revealed after his; Olivet & Logan was onlymentioned after he had left the franchise. You sure about Logan? Don’t know when the affair with Olivet was mentioned, but Logan was in the franchise until 2008 (according to IMDb) on _L&O:CI_. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Lots of big names appeared on L&O. Tracy Pollan appeared twice on SVU as a victim and once on CI as a murder suspect. At the hieght of her career, Julia Roberts was a witness and villain. And anybody who was anybody in the NY theatre crowd proabbly played multiple roles in every series but UK and LA. I’ve been trying to watch for those sorts of significant episodes; first or last appearance of a major character, famous guest star, or odd personal details mentioned. Saw one the other day (second season, I think) with Jerry Orbach as a defense attorney before he played Lennie Briscoe. Saw one with Samuel L. Jackson as an attorney, too. There’s one with S. Epatha Merkerson before she was Lt. Van Buren, but I haven’t seen that one. I’m also on the lookout for the one where it’s revealed that Lennie is dead, and that Dr. Rogers went out with him at least once. I like that those sorts of personal things weren’t the main focus of the show, but it’s interesting to see little details sprinkled in such a long-running series of shows. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/68 "2016-07-19T21:49:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You sure about Logan? Don’t know when the affair with Olivet was mentioned, but Logan was in the franchise until 2008 (according to IMDb) on _L&O:CI_. > > I’ve been trying to watch for those sorts of significant episodes; first or last appearance of a major character, famous guest star, or odd personal details mentioned. Saw one the other day (second season, I think) with Jerry Orbach as a defense attorney before he played Lennie Briscoe. Saw one with Samuel L. Jackson as an attorney, too. There’s one with S. Epatha Merkerson before she was Lt. Van Buren, but I haven’t seen that one. I’m also on the lookout for the one where it’s revealed that Lennie is dead, and that Dr. Rogers went out with him at least once. > > I like that those sorts of personal things weren’t the main focus of the show, but it’s interesting to see little details sprinkled in such a long-running series of shows. S Epatha Merkerson, Annie Parisse, and Diane Neal also appeared in guest roles before becoming regulars (in different roles in each case; Neal was a killer, in fact). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/69 "2016-07-19T22:01:25Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Lots of big names appeared on L&O. Tracy Pollan appeared twice on SVU as a victim and once on CI as a murder suspect. At the hieght of her career, Julia Roberts was a witness and villain. And anybody who was anybody in the NY theatre crowd proabbly played multiple roles in every series but UK and LA. Yeah. I spotted a young Philip Seymour Hoffman as a killer in an episode, and HIMYM’s Ted Mosby was a witness in a cyberstalking case. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/70 "2016-07-19T22:07:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Briscoe and Munch? Put them in an interrogation room with a suspect and they’ll get a confession out of him through snark alone. Did you ever see them interact on the Homicide/L&O crossovers? They had good chemistry. They also share an ex wife ( for the list of odd personal details) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/71 "2016-07-19T22:31:41Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Did you ever see them interact on the Homicide/L&O crossovers? They had good chemistry. They also share an ex wife ( for the list of odd personal details) Recently I saw the SVU episode with Munch’s other ex-wife - Carol Kane as a conspiracy theorist (this is the same episode that features a Stabler/Benson improvised plan). PS a link to the bit at the recent Tonys about how many Broadway actors appear on L&O [James Corden's 'Law & Order' Tonys Bit Was Hilariously On Point | HuffPost Entertainment](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-cordens-law-order-tonys-bit-was-hilariously-on-point_us_575e0d7be4b0ced23ca86ede) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/72 "2016-07-19T22:46:53Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Yeah. I spotted a young Philip Seymour Hoffman as a killer in an episode, and HIMYM’s Ted Mosby was a witness in a cyberstalking case. Ty Burrell from MODERN FAMILY (or maybe Jesse Tyler Ferguson – whichever plays Phil) was a murder’s father once. Amanda Peete played a Patti Hearst type. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/73 "2016-07-19T22:53:34Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Ty Burrell from MODERN FAMILY (or maybe Jesse Tyler Ferguson – whichever plays Phil) was a murder’s father once. Amanda Peete played a Patti Hearst type. And in an early episode Werner Klemperer played the perp’s father; they missed a great opportunity since never once did he say “Logan!” while clenching a fist. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/74 "2016-07-19T22:56:31Z")
I noticed several people from The Wire. Michael K. Williams, Idris Elba and Jim True-Frost. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/75 "2016-07-19T23:13:53Z")
The episode where Rodgers revealed that she went to see _Rigoletto_ with Briscoe was actually an episode of _CI_. It was called “Dramma Giocoso,” where the violinist daughter of a famous singer is murdered. Julian Sands guest stars as an egotistic conductor. Briscoe’s actual death isn’t mentioned, but it is after he left the force, and we know he already had a pretty grim diagnosis when he retired. This is one of my very favorite _CI_ eps. Briscoe’s actual death is mentioned in a conversation in one of the last-season episodes. The Lt. is still wearing her wig, so it’s somewhere in the middle of the season. It’s a rare episode where there’s lots of personal information about the characters. Van Buren gets a phone call, and we don’t know what it’s about. It turns out to be Rey Curtis: his wife Deborah has died, and he has brought her body back to NYC for the funeral where her parents are buried. Curtis and Van Buren have a conversation, and he says that he’s heard something about her diagnosis, so she gives him the hopeful version. He says something vague that Deborah’s death was difficult, and he mentions that in contrast, he talked to Briscoe on the phone several times before he died, and “He was cracking jokes right up to the end.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/76 "2016-07-19T23:17:35Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I noticed several people from The Wire. Michael K. Williams, Idris Elba and Jim True-Frost. Also, Michael C. Williams, “Mike” from _The Blair Witch Project_, has been on both regular _L&O_, and _SVU_. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/77 "2016-07-19T23:22:44Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > The episode where Rodgers revealed that she went to see _Rigoletto_ with Briscoe was actually an episode of _CI_. It was called “Dramma Giocoso,” where the violinist daughter of a famous singer is murdered. Julian Sands guest stars as an egotistic conductor. Briscoe’s actual death isn’t mentioned, but it is after he left the force, and we know he already had a pretty grim diagnosis when he retired. This is one of my very favorite _CI_ eps. > > Briscoe’s actual death is mentioned in a conversation in one of the last-season episodes. The Lt. is still wearing her wig, so it’s somewhere in the middle of the season. It’s a rare episode where there’s lots of personal information about the characters. Van Buren gets a phone call, and we don’t know what it’s about. It turns out to be Rey Curtis: his wife Deborah has died, and he has brought her body back to NYC for the funeral where her parents are buried. Curtis and Van Buren have a conversation, and he says that he’s heard something about her diagnosis, so she gives him the hopeful version. He says something vague that Deborah’s death was difficult, and he mentions that in contrast, he talked to Briscoe on the phone several times before he died, and “He was cracking jokes right up to the end.” Lenny’s death is also mentioned in Green’s last episode–last scene, in fact. He’s narrowly avoided getting convicted for murder (mostly due to Cutter & Rubirosa going out of their way to save him) and has decided not to try to keep his detective job. He and VAn Buren are disuccing what made him start gambling again (as it was gambling that led to his legal troubles) and he mentions Lenny’s retirement and death, making it clear that Lenny was no ordinary partner. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/78 "2016-07-20T00:22:52Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > S Epatha Merkerson, Annie Parisse, and Diane Neal also appeared in guest roles before becoming regulars (in different roles in each case; Neal was a killer, in fact). I’ve seen the Parisse and Neal episodes. Parisse was an exotic dancer, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/79 "2016-07-20T00:29:49Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’ve seen the Parisse and Neal episodes. Parisse was an exotic dancer, as I recall. Yep. And Merkerson was the mother of a child murder victim. She took Greevey to task for the fact that the police never arrive until it’s too late to save a life, and he respondd (simultaneously logically and stupidly) that the cops have no way of knowing ahead of time when a murder will occur. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211/80 "2016-07-20T00:38:16Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Yep. And Merkerson was the mother of a child murder victim. She took Greevey to task for the fact that the police never arrive until it’s too late to save a life, and he respondd (simultaneously logically and stupidly) that the cops have no way of knowing ahead of time when a murder will occur. It’s called “Mushrooms.” She was so good in that episode. I’m not surprised that the producers saw something special in her, and when Dick Wolf thought the show needed more women, thought of her. BTW, she normally wears her hair in braids, but she herself suggested that Anita Van Buren would be a very ambitious women who would toe the line, and wear her hair conventionally, so she wore a very expensive and convincing wig during the run of the show-- except when Van Buren was undergoing chemo, and she wore an off-the-shelves wig, that was not as convincing, and was supposed to look more like something in Van Buren’s budget. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-law-order-characterswould-you-be-willing-to-hire/760211.md?page=5)