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Law & Order

Red Ball

Season 16, Episode 1, Aired Sep 21, 2005

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Trivia
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- At the end of the episode, Arthur remarks that while Jack is a good prosecutor, he'll never be a District Attorney. Ironically, when actor Fred Thompson leaves the show to run for the U.S. Presidency in season 18, Jack McCoy becomes the new District Attorney.
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- The term 'red ball' comes from the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street. It was used to indicate a top-priority case, typically connected to the kind of media coverage it generated.
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Quotes
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- Jack McCoy: If you want to fire me, Arthur, go ahead. I'm not going to apologize for what I did. Arthur Branch: Well then, you just don't get it, Jack. You know, you're a great prosecutor, but you'll never be a district attorney.
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- Jimmy: I didn't do nothing! Ed Green: You run pretty fast for someone who didn't do nothing!
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- Officer: Thought you were riding a desk. Ed Green: I'm done with that.
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Notes
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- This is the first episode with Jesse L. Martin after his hiatus to film Rent.
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- This episode marks the beginning of S. Epatha Merkerson's thirteenth season as Lt. Anita Van Buren, making her the longest running character in the show's history. Jerry Orbach's Lennie Briscoe appeared for twelve years. The longest-running original castmember was Chris Noth as Mike Logan, from 1990 through 1995.
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Allusions
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- Detective Joseph Fontana (Dennis Farina) says at one point, "I wish we could do this the old-fashioned way". This is a reference to pre-Miranda police practices where intimidation and physical abuse could be freely used in interrogations.
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