Greetings,
Welcome back to the Top 100 Episodes of Law & Order list. We are slowly, but surely inching our way to the top today with Numbers 20 through 11.
#20. "Fame" (Season 17) - Okay, let's get this over with. "Hi, Britney and Kevin". Yeah, not even attempting to be vague this time, something fierce. But, look on the bright side, former Mr. and Mrs. Ferderline. At least you two were never accused of murder. As far as I know. Anyway, this plot revolves around a pretty, blonde starlet and her on-again-off-again wannabe rapper husband, being called into question for a lot of things. Their parenting, for one, which is nothing new for them, but also their possible involvement in a shooting. So, I guess things in real life could have been much worse.
#19. "Rumble" (Season 19) - Rumble? Look, I know we're in New York here, but we're not in West Side Story. Trouble starts when a man drops dead after having been involved in a group fight thing. A Fight Club, I guess. Not that you heard it from me. Of course, the police get some evidence because no one can't record things and put them on the internet. Well, the one fight leads to a bigger one with even worse consequences, not to mention some creative prosecution. Also, we get an appearance from one of my favorite, underrated actors, Pablo Schreiber. As per usual, he does not disappoint.
#18. "Charity Case" (Season 17) - In this episode, the husband of a famous actress is murdered on the street, and it all leads back to her shady adoption of a kid from another country. Who could that "actress" be? Anyway, we find out that the adoption got even shadier, to say the least, once they returned back to the States. This is also another cautionary tale - or is it? - concerning who we leave our children with and do we leave our children with others so often that we don't even recognize them when we see them again. That's not a joke. That's a plot point.
#17. "Swept Away-A Very Special Episode" (Season 11) - I remember watching The Real World, a show I had to stop watching once I was too old to be on it. Because...you know. If you ever did watch it, you'll know that there was always that one roommate. THAT ONE! Well, as a "Real World-like but not called that" reality show is being taped in an apartment, one of the roommates - that one - goes flying off the roof of the building. There are many suspects, because everyone hated him, but even when they find the guilty party, he might not be the only one to blame. Oh, and if you really hate Hollywood types who only care about money and ratings and whatnot, you might want to stay away from walls when you watch this. You will feel the need to punch one.
#16. "Panic" (Season 10) - This episode terrifies me. Why? Because a writer gets shot. NO! Okay, she gets shot, but her agent gets shot and killed. Everyone believes she was the intended target, and they are right. All of this leads to some revealing secrets about her personal life. I tell you, though, the thing that really makes this episode special is the stellar guest cast. We get the great Tom Berenger, Linda Emond, who has brilliantly played countless characters in the Law & Order universe, and the wonderful Ruthie Henshall, best known for her theater work and - wait a minute. In this Top 100 list, I have talked about guest appearances by Judy Kuhn, Patti Lupone and now Ruthie Henshall. Apparently, a criteria for getting on this show is being able to sing "I Dreamed a Dream" better than Anne Hathaway. Darn! I knew I should have auditioned.
#15. "Sixth Man" (Season 15) - I really don't know what went through the minds of the people behind in this episode. I mean, an arrogant, pro-athlete with some serious temper problems getting charged with a crime? Wow, writers, why don't you just go work for The X-Files with that nonsense? Kidding aside, I don't know exactly how much of this is based on an actual story, but I think it's safe to say that, if nothing else, it teaches us what can happen if people are constantly allowed to get away with things.
#14. "Bogeyman" (Season 18) - In this episode, a man is convinced that a cult he and his wife were once a part of is coming after them, trying to ruin their lives. Is that what the cult is doing? Maybe. Probably. I don't know. All I do know is that this episode features an actor by the name of Daniel London. I love this guy and when I hear the word "underrated", he is one of the things that comes to my mind. Seriously, a lot of what makes this episode great is his performance.
#13. "Killerz" (Season 10) - What is up with the spelling in some of these titles? Well, this is about kids, and kids can't spell apparently. You know what they can do, though? Kill other kids. Sadly, we do have kids killing kids in this one, and it's awful. I did learn one thing, though. It would seem that it is frowned upon to diagnose children with sociopathy. Um...why? I understand that we all tend to grow and change as we get older, both physically and mentally. But there's being immature, and then there's killing people. Yes, maybe spotting this early is a good idea. I mean, I am not a fan of undisciplined children, and this is rather beyond that.
#12. "Couples" (Season 13) - Four homicides and a kidnapping in one episode! Now that's what I call a day at the office. It's amazing. We get the cops driving around a drunk guy, a woman running over her ex with her car and Lennie delivering a baby. And that was just scratching the surface. Just...thank you. I say "thank you" both for the episode and for cops who probably have to go through this for real.
#11. "Reality Bites" (Season 20) - I think the writers of this episode had a fight, because one of them wanted to do a Jon and Kate Plus Eight story and the other wanted an Octomom story. And it was draw because we got both. So, Jim Gaffigan (Yes, we get some awesome Jim Gaffigan) is the father of several adopted children with special needs. His wife is murdered, and he becomes a suspect, of course. Another suspect is a women with ten kids that she had "naturally". And she is played hilariously by Nina Lisandrello. Why is she a suspect? Well, the two families were competing for a reality show. Yes, we are talking about reality television again. Why not? That's where the crazy people are. Apparently.
Join me next time for the final installment.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
