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Law & Order

Subterranean Homeboy Blues

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired Sep 20, 1990

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The shooting of two black men by a white woman in a crowded subway initially appears to be a case of self-defense, but further investigation reveals revenge as a possible motive. Logan and Greevey argue over di Biasi's guilt or innocence, especially after learning that the dead man has a substantial record, and the living one cannot control himself in court. Laura di Biasi tries to make her case to Robinette, but he tries to distance himself from the issue. Stone has a hard time with the case, both in dealing with di Biasi's public aid attorney, Shambala Green, and dealing with the fact that not everyone in the district attorney's office can decide where they stand on the issue.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Dwayne McClary

Jones
GUEST STAR
Cynthia Nixon

Laura di Biasi
GUEST STAR
Sam Gray

Judge Manuel Leon

George Dzundza

Sgt. Max Greevey
Dann Florek

Capt. Don Cragen
Chris Noth

Det. Mike Logan
Steven Hill

D.A. Adam Schiff
Richard Brooks

A.D.A. Paul Robinette
Michael Moriarty

Exec. A.D.A. Ben Stone

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Woman shoots two men in which she says was self-defense; maybe not.

8.5

"Great"

By MangiaCupcake, Jan 17, 2008

i didn't get to see the 'disclaimer' at the beginning of the show, so i'm not sure if there was something that said this episode was based on a true story. to me, it's exactly like the case of bernard goetz, the subway vigilante who shot four men when he was accosted and asked for five dollars on a manhattan subway train back in december 1984. the only difference in this episode is that the shooter is a woman, and there were two men, one of whom died, the other paralyzed. in the goezt case, there were four men, none of them died, but one was paralyzed.

in both cases, if each was self-defense, why was the perp carrying a gun?moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- The opening scene contains an erroneous subway route connection. As the episode opens the train conductor message is heard saying, "Next stop, 14th Street." Then the dancer, Laura di Biasi who would shoot two b-boys in the next scene, departs from a number 6 Lexington Avenue subway to transfer to an 8th Avenue A train, where the shooting takes place. This is impossible as the Lexington Avenue and 8th Avenue subways do not share a common 14th Street station.
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- Greevey's daughter Eileen plays basketball on her high-school team and was roughed up by three of the boys on the team.
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QUOTES (3)
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- Max Greevey: You are thinking like a civilian. Mike Logan: Oh yeah, right -- I should have known better, huh? Hey! Don't worry Max, next time I will be a good little jerk.
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- Ben Stone: (to Laura Di Biasi, about her right to defend herself) You said 'Here's your taste'. Sounds rather cool!
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- Ben Stone: (to Greevey) Do you have any other personal views on this subject you'd like to air before we walk into court and Ms. Shambala Green hands us our asses on a platter?
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NOTES (2)
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- This is the first appearance of legal aid attorney Shambala Green, played by Lorraine Toussaint.
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- International Episode Titles: Germany: Notwehr oder Vergeltung (Self-Defense Or Vengeance) Czech Republic: Právo na sebeobranu (Right of Self-Defence)
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ALLUSIONS (4)
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- Don Cragen: Oh yeah, I forgot you guys in the DA's office are a regular bunch of Carnacs. This is an allusion to Johnny Carson's popular recurring character on The Tonight Show, Carnac The Magnificent, a comical diviner.
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- Mike Logan: We're not talking about 'Squeaky' Fromme here. Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme was a member of Charles Manson's 'family'. After Manson went to prison, Fromme continued living a life of crime, and was eventually convicted of attempted murder for pointing a loaded weapon at then-present Gerald Ford in 1975. She escaped once in an attempt to meet up with Charles Manson, but was soon recaptured. To this day, Fromme remains devoted to Manson.
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- This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the Bernard Goetz case. In 1984, Goetz (who also became known as the 'subway vigilante') shot four young black men in a Manhattan subway that he stated had threatened and tried to rob him. Goetz was eventually found not guilty in criminal court, but a 1996 civil suit filed by Darrell Cabey, who was left paralyzed and brain damaged by the event, awarded Cabey $43 million in damages.
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- The title of this episode, Subterranean Homeboy Blues, is a play on words from a well-known Bob Dylan song, Subterranean Homesick Blues.
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