Law & Order (season 3)

Law & Order
Season 3
Season 3 U.S. DVD cover
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 23, 1992 (1992-09-23) – May 19, 1993 (1993-05-19)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 2 Next → Season 4
List of episodes

The third season of Law & Order aired on NBC between September 23, 1992, and May 19, 1993 which remained unchanged. This season marked the introduction of Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe, who replaced Paul Sorvino after "Prince of Darkness." A year prior, Orbach had guest starred as a defense attorney in at least one season two episode: “Wages of Love”. At the end of the season, both Dann Florek and Richard Brooks departed the main cast.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Law & Order characters

Season 3 began with an unchanged cast. However, during the third and sixth episode, Carolyn McCormick was credited in the opening theme and starting with the ninth episode, she is credited for the rest of the season. This made her the first woman to be part of the cast in the series. A third of the way through, Lennie Briscoe (played by Jerry Orbach) replaced Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino) in the role of senior detective. This was the first mid-season replacement of a major character in Law & Order's history; the next would not occur until season 15. This was also the final season to feature Dann Florek as Capt. Don Cragen, and Richard Brooks as Paul Robinette. Both men would later return in guest roles, with Florek eventually joining the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .

Main Cast

• Paul Sorvino as Senior Detective Sergeant Phil Cerreta (Episodes 1-8)
• Jerry Orbach as Senior Detective Lennie Briscoe (Episodes 9-22)
• Chris Noth as Junior Detective Mike Logan
• Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
• Michael Moriarty as Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone
• Richard Brooks as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette
• Steven Hill as District Attorney Adam Schiff
• Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet

Recurring Cast

• John Fiore as Detective Tony Profaci
• Leslie Hendrix as Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
• Donald Corren as Forensic Technician Medill
• Christine Farrell as Forensic Technician Arlene Shrier
• Tovah Feldshuh as Defense Attorney Danielle Melnick
• Philip Bosco as Defense Attorney Gordon Schell
• Bill Moor as Defense Attorney Bill Patton
• George Grizzard as Defense Attorney Arthur Gold
• Elaine Stritch as Defense Attorney Lanie Stieglitz
• Edie Falco as Defense Attorney Sally Bell
• Joanna Merlin Defense Attorney Carla Bowman
• Barbara Spiegel as Arraignment Judge Harriet Doremus
• Merwin Goldsmith as Arraignment Judge Ian Feist
• David Lipman as Arraignment Judge Morris Torledsky
• Bernie McInerney as Trial Judge Michael Callahan
• John Ramsey as Trial Judge Walter Schreiber
• Joan Copeland as Trial Judge Rebecca Stein
• Ben Hammer as Trial Judge Herman Mooney
• William Sever as Trial Judge Henry Fillmore
• George Murdock as Trial Judge Eric Bertram
• Fred J. Scollay as Trial Judge Andrew Barsky
• Roger Serbagi as Trial Judge Robert Quinn
• David Rosenbaum as Trial Judge Alan Berman
• Charlotte Colavin as Trial Judge Lisa Pongracic
• Rochelle Oliver as Trial Judge Grace Larkin

Notable Guest Stars

• Eric Bogosian, who guest starred as a defense attorney in the episodes "Conspiracy" and "Night and Fog", would later have a starring role in Law & Order: Criminal Intent .

In addition to above, Law & Order season 3's notable guest stars included: Lauren Ambrose, Lawrence Pressman, Bill Raymond, Laurence Luckinbill, Len Cariou, Joe Morton, Shawn Elliott, George Coe, Dan Hedaya, José Zúñiga, Mark Blum, Claire Danes, Jenny O'Hara, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lisa Eichhorn, Patti D'Arbanville, Leon Russom, Alan King, Allan Arbus, Elizabeth Hubbard, Boyd Gaines, Joyce Van Patten, Seth Gilliam, Keith Szarabajka, Lindsay Crouse, Gail Strickland, John Pankow, Gary Basaraba, Mark Margolis, Frances Fisher, Elaine Stritch, Andrew Robinson, Michael Lombard, Felicity Huffman, Vincent Pastore, Adam Arkin, Michael Badalucco, Charles Hallahan, Diane Venora, Camryn Manheim, Robert Milli, Sam Rockwell and Julianna Margulies.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
45	1	"Skin Deep"	Daniel Sackheim	Robert Nathan & Gordon Rayfield	September 23, 1992 (1992-09-23)	68009	14.9 [1]
After photographer Julian Decker is found murdered in his studio, Logan and Cerreta discover that Decker's real business was prostitution and acting as a pimp for models who aren't getting the work they needed. Their investigation leads to Angela Brandt, one of Decker's models who found more money working for Decker in other ways, but they also discover that Decker was romantically involved with Angela's teenage daughter. Stone realizes that something strange is going on when the case gets weaker against Angela, but all of a sudden she wants to cut a deal. Gina Torres guest-stars as Laura Elkin, who finds Decker's body.
46	2	"Conspiracy"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	September 30, 1992 (1992-09-30)	68006	12.8 [2]
After Marcus Tate, the respected leader of a controversial African-American rights movement, is assassinated at a rally, Logan and Cerreta attempt to get information on the crime but are stonewalled by many of Tate's followers, who aren't interested in talking to white police officers. Photographs lead them to Mitchell Kolbin, a white man who had followed Tate religiously but who seemed to lose some of his wonderment when Tate began an affair with his wife. Eric Bogosian, who guest-stars as defense attorney Gary Lowenthal, would later star in Law & Order: Criminal Intent as NYPD Major Case Squad Captain Danny Ross. Bogosian reprised his role as Lowenthal in "Night and Fog".
47	3	"Forgiveness"	Bill D'Elia	S : Robert Nathan; S/T : Ed Zuckerman	October 7, 1992 (1992-10-07)	68005	17.2 [3]
After Beth Milgram is found beaten to death in an alleyway after her going away party, Logan and Cerreta initially turn their suspicion to the girl's father after her fiancé, Tommy Beltran, claims that he had hit her after Beth told him they were engaged, but it isn't long before their primary suspect becomes Beltran himself. Stone has the unpleasant task of facing the renowned Cyrus Weaver, who is determined to prove that Tommy Beltran is not guilty of murdering Beth Milgram because he was a poor young man from a Mexican family who could not restrain his rage when his upper-class girlfriend broke up with him. (Plot derived from Bonnie Garland murder case.)
48	4	"The Corporate Veil"	Don Scardino	Michael S. Chernuchin & Joe Morgenstern	October 14, 1992 (1992-10-14)	68007	14.8 [4]
A teenager's fatal heart attack is traced to fraud and greed on the part of the manufacturer of his pacemaker and their supplier.
49	5	"Wedded Bliss"	Vern Gillum	Robert Nathan & Edward Pomerantz	October 21, 1992 (1992-10-21)	68004	14.8 [5]
The discovery of a young woman's body in the river leads to an investigation of illegal sweatshops and the enslavement of young immigrants.
50	6	"Helpless"	James Frawley	Michael S. Chernuchin & Christine Roum	November 4, 1992 (1992-11-04)	68011	17.5 [6]
Dr. Olivet accuses Alex Merritt her gynecologist of rape, but Stone finds his case in trouble when he discovers that Olivet tape-recorded the crime.
51	7	"Self-Defense"	Ed Sherin	René Balcer & Hall Powell	November 11, 1992 (1992-11-11)	68008	14.9 [7]
Cerreta and Stone find themselves on opposite sides of the fence when George Costas a storeowner kills two robbers and then claims self-defense as a justification.
52	8	"Prince of Darkness"	Gilbert Shilton	Robert Nathan & William N. Fordes	November 18, 1992 (1992-11-18)	68003	14.6 [8]
Cerreta poses as a weapons dealer to help Stone build a case against a Colombian hit man, but the deal takes an unexpected turn, resulting in bloodshed.
53	9	"Point of View"	Gilbert Moses	Walon Green & René Balcer	November 25, 1992 (1992-11-25)	68012	16.4 [9]
Logan has trouble dealing with Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), who has been brought in while Cerreta recovers from surgery during their investigation of the murder of Tommy Duff, a small-time hood. Their investigation leads them to a woman who claims Duff raped her, and when her attorney, an old friend of Stone's from law school, calls Olivet to the stand to testify in Mary Kostrinski's defense, Schiff forces Stone to use Olivet's recent rape (from the episode Helpless) to discredit her testimony. Logan is upset to learn that Cerreta has accepted another position within the department and will not be returning, in the end of the episode, Logan has no choice but to accept Briscoe as his new partner. The first appearance of Jerry Orbach as Senior Detective Lennie Briscoe and the last appearance of Paul Sorvino as Senior Detective Sergeant Phil Cerreta.
54	10	"Consultation"	James Hayman	Matt Kiene & Joseph Reinkemeyer	December 9, 1992 (1992-12-09)	68014	13.4 [10]
An engineer Phillip Marietta and a tribal chief Gimju Nwaka become the chief suspects in the death of Kelani Amoda a Nigerian woman who died while smuggling heroin internally. This episode was later remade as Law & Order: UK season 2 episode titled "Love and Loss".
55	11	"Extended Family"	Charles Correll	T : Robert Nathan; S/T : Wendell Rawls	January 6, 1993 (1993-01-06)	68015	16.1 [11]
When Janet Silver kidnaps her daughter from the mall, Logan and Briscoe are sent in to investigate and learn that she committed the crime with the assistance of a children's help organization after going to them with fears that the little girl's father was sexually abusing her.
56	12	"Right to Counsel"	James Frawley	Michael S. Chernuchin & Barry M. Schkolnick	January 13, 1993 (1993-01-13)	68019	15.1 [12]
After Stone accepts a plea bargain from Steven Gregg the much younger and poorer lover of Barbara Spiegleman a wealthy older woman found murdered in her apartment, he begins to have doubts that he has sent the right man to prison, especially as he learns more about Kevin Doyle the attorney who handled the woman's estate.
57	13	"Night and Fog"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	February 3, 1993 (1993-02-03)	68018	14.6 [13]
The confession of an elderly man that he assisted his shoah survivor wife in committing suicide doesn't fully satisfy Stone when evidence surfaces that the man was once a Nazi collaborator. Nehemiah Persoff guests stars as David Steinmetz.
58	14	"Promises to Keep"	Ed Sherin	S : William N. Fordes & Douglas Stark; T : Robert Nathan & Joshua Stern	February 10, 1993 (1993-02-10)	68022	11.4 [14]
The investigation into the murder of Jennifer Gorham a young physician leads to the discovery of an unorthodox and illegal relationship between her fiancé and his psychiatrist. This episode was later remade as Law & Order: UK season 4 episode titled "ID".
59	15	"Mother Love"	Daniel Sackheim	S : Walon Green; S/T : Robert Nathan	February 24, 1993 (1993-02-24)	68024	14.6 [15]
The absence of a murder weapon complicates the investigation into the murder of Dawn Bryan a drug addict who stole from her family to support her habit.
60	16	"Jurisdiction"	Bruce Seth Green	Walon Green & René Balcer	March 3, 1993 (1993-03-03)	68017	N/A
Stone battles the Brooklyn D.A.'s office over prosecutorial jurisdiction in the case of David Zifrin a mentally handicapped man who confesses to the stabbing deaths of two women.
61	17	"Conduct Unbecoming"	Arthur W. Forney	S : Walon Green & Peter S. Greenberg; T : Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	March 10, 1993 (1993-03-10)	68023	13.5 [16]
Stone and the police battle the closed ranks of the Navy to investigate the death of Tracy Hagen a female Naval officer during a party in a Manhattan hotel. Based on the 1991 Tailhook scandal [17]
62	18	"Animal Instinct"	Ed Sherin	Michael S. Chernuchin & Sibyl Gardner	March 17, 1993 (1993-03-17)	68021	12.7 [18]
The initial investigation into the death of Faye Walsh a research scientist leads to an animal-rights group until evidence surfaces that her husband's affair with Susan Boyd a coworker may point to a possible motive for the murder. When the husband is acquitted, the investigation turns to the individual who provided evidence of the affair.
63	19	"Virus"	Steven Robman	Michael S. Chernuchin & René Balcer	April 21, 1993 (1993-04-21)	68010	11.9 [19]
While investigating several deaths at a diabetes clinic, Briscoe and Logan discover that teenage computer hackers may have tampered with the clinic's medical database.
64	20	"Securitate"	James Hayman	Matt Kiene & Joe Reinkemeyer	May 5, 1993 (1993-05-05)	68026	10.8 [20]
When a Romanian immigrant kills, his lawyer announces he will plead his client "not guilty due to cultural insanity" claiming the man had been conditioned to violence in his homeland.
65	21	"Manhood"	Ed Sherin	S : Walon Green; S/T : Robert Nathan	May 12, 1993 (1993-05-12)	68025	13.7 [21]
The statement of a drug dealer who survived a shoot-out that killed a cop leads Logan and Briscoe to suspect that the cop died because he was gay and his fellow officers were reluctant to back him up. This episode was later remade as the Law & Order: UK season 2 episode titled "Samaritan".
66	22	"Benevolence"	Ed Sherin	T : René Balcer; S/T : Douglas Palau	May 19, 1993 (1993-05-19)	68028	15.4 [22]
Logan and Briscoe begin their investigation into the death of Kathleen McKenna a hearing-impaired young woman by questioning her two most recent boyfriends. Last appearances of Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen and Richard Brooks as Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette as series regulars.

References

1. Gable, Donna (September 30, 1992). "'Murphy' wave carries CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
2. Gable, Donna (October 7, 1992). "Monday lineup bolsters No. 1 CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
3. Donlon, Brian (October 14, 1992). "Rankings omit Perot' paid ad". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
4. Gable, Donna (October 21, 1992). "Baseball hits big for CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
5. Gable, Donna (October 28, 1992). "Baseball cleans up for CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
6. Gable, Donna (November 11, 1992). "Election news, football kick up ABC's ratings". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
7. Gable, Donna (November 18, 1992). "'Jacksons,' solid gold for ABC". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
8. Gable, Donna (November 25, 1992). "Jacksons help as-easy-as-ABC win". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
9. Gable, Donna (December 2, 1992). "'Weapon 2' serves CBS well". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
10. Donlon, Brian (December 16, 1992). "No royal ratings for ABC's 'Charles and Diana'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
11. "Women help push CBS to victory". Life. USA Today . January 13, 1993. p. 3D.
12. Donlon, Brian (January 20, 1993). "ABC gets a Thursday night boost". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
13. Gable, Donna (February 10, 1993). "CBS rides to top on wings of 'Skylark'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
14. Gable, Donna (February 17, 1993). "King of Pop and 'Queen' rule the ratings". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
15. Gable, Donna (March 3, 1993). "Grammy show a winner for CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
16. Gable, Donna (March 17, 1993). "ABC improves with bench strength". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
17. "Stars on 'Law & Order' Before Their Big Break | Photo Gallery - Yahoo! TV". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
18. Gable, Donna (March 24, 1993). "Waco standoff lifts CBS' '48 Hours'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
19. Donlon, Brian (April 28, 1993). "'Walker' kicks in for CBS". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
20. Donlon, Brian (May 12, 1993). "Sturdy 'Home' helps lift ABC". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
21. Gable, Donna (May 19, 1993). "'Cheers' nudges NBC to No. 1". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
22. Gable, Donna (May 26, 1993). "'Cheers' brings happy times to NBC". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.

External links

• Episode guide from NBC.com

Preceded by Season Two (1991–1992)

List of Law & Order seasons (1990–2010)

Succeeded by Season Four (1993–1994)