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Law & Order: Murder Book

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Murder Book (Episode Clip)

After publisher Serena Darby is found murdered in her apartment, suspicion turns to J.P. Lange, a former professional baseball player acquitted of his wife's murder who had written a book hypothesising how he would have committed the murder. Green and Cassady follow the trail of evidence from Lange to Gerald Stockwell, a former ghostwriter on the book, but Stockwell tries to clear himself by offering McCoy and Rubirosa proof that one of the jurors in Lange's trial was paid off to force an acquittal. Add a recap »

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Writers:: David Wilcox

Director:: Constantine Makris

Stars:: Jesse L. Martin (Det. Ed Green); Alana De La Garza (A.D.A. Connie Rubirosa); Fred Dalton Thompson (D.A. Arthur Branch); S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren); Milena Govich (Det. Nina Cassady); Sam Waterston (Exec. A.D.A. Jack McCoy)

Recurring Role:: Brian Hyman (Computer Tech Stubbs)

Guest Star:: January LaVoy (Asst. M.E. Bell); Sonya Tsuchigane (Reporter #2); Jeff Skowron (Reporter #1); David Matranga (Peter Giggs); Joel Marsh Garland (Mickey Scertza); Paul Jason Green (Maitre D'); Charles Everett Broach (Court Clerk); Patrena Murray (Jury Foreperson); Dennis Cockrum (Don Lampard); Craig Mathers (Dean Savitsky); Kelly Hutchinson (Lydia Neville); Bobby Cannavale (J.P. Lange); Marya Grandy (Judge Brenda Scalisi); Diana Ruppe (Sarah Dooley); Marlyne Afflack (Attorney Bocanegra); Damian Young (Judge Stephen Emerton); Mario Van Peebles (Attorney Carsley); Christopher Denham (Gerald Stockwell); Celia Keenan-Bolger (Elaine Fowler); Louis Vanaria (Todd Dawson)

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International Air Dates:
Australia: Monday, November 8, 2007 on Network 10 edit »
Special billing was given to Bobby Cannavale (and Special Guest Star) in this episode. edit »

(Last lines.)
Arthur Branch: It seems like you're taking this victory a tad personally.
Jack McCoy: Damn right I am!
Connie Rubirosa: So what do you think? Did the jury convict Lange for the right murder?
Jack McCoy: That we'll probably never know.
Arthur Branch: Until one of them writes a book about it. edit »
Arthur Branch: Bribery, blackmail and a patsy. This guy Lange is a tabloid's dream. edit »
Arthur Branch: It doesn't take tampering to get the wrong verdict out of a jury. edit »
J.P. Lange: I didn't kill her.
Ed Green: You've been using that line for four years, since you murdered your wife. edit »
(J.P. Lange is rumored to have bribed a juror in his murder trial.)
Arthur Branch: Could there be anything to this bribery claim?
Jack McCoy: I'd like to think I didn't lose the trial completely on my own. edit »

This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the O.J. Simpson trial. Simpson was arrested and charged with the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a friend of hers, Ronald Goldman. Although the criminal court found him not guilty in 1995, a civil trial found him liable for the wrongful deaths of both Goldman and Brown in 1998. Simpson attempted to release the book If I Did It, a fictionalized first-person account of the murders had he actually done them, in 2006, but it was recalled before ever being published. Even the full name of the primary antagonist (James Paul Lange) hearkens back to O.J. Simpson (O.J. stands for Orenthal James). In 2007, Goldman's family purchased the rights to rename and publish the book after a bankruptcy court ruled that Simpson's daughter perpetrated a fraud when she created her shell corporation. edit »

8
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Grawolph
member since: Mar 16, 2007
Murder Book
The Bottom Line: "Unoriginal"
Too much of an O.J. knockoff, and the results were predictable. Not sure if the "rule of law" was followed throughout this episode. ...Continue »
03/15/07 07:50pm | report abuse