LAW & ORDER {LAW AND ORDER}: DEADBEAT (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas that deals with the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of criminals. The first half of each episode concerns the police procedure that leads to the arrest of a suspect, while the second half covers the efforts of the district attorney to prosecute the case. In this episode, the murder of a deadbeat dad illustrates how the actions of a contemptible man can lead basically decent people to commit otherwise unthinkable acts. Shortly after the discovery of the corpse of Michael Malone in a Manhattan hotel room, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis locate his girlfriend, who informs them that Malone worked undercover for the FBI. They soon discover, however, that Malone's real name was Michael Webber, and that he used an alias in order to avoid paying alimony to his wife and child support to his son who is dying of leukemia. Webber was universally disliked because of his disregard for his family's well-being, and the prime suspect in the case is Webber's father-in-law, Max Schaeffer. His intense hatred of the victim, a hidden gun, a cache of discovered money, and his lack of an alibi for the time of the murder, all point to Max as the murderer. As Max's story develops, Assistant District Attorneys McCoy and Ross learn that he lured Webber to New York on a business deal through a middleman in order to kill him and recover the money needed to help save his ailing grandson's life. The real surprise, however, comes when Webber's paternity is questioned, and his ex-wife, Arlene, seems in danger of being implicated in the murder as well. Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundations, 1999.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 13, 1996 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:46:59
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:49448
- GENRE: Drama, legal; Drama, police/detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, legal; Drama, police/detective
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1990-2010
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rene Balcer … Executive Producer
- Ed Sherin … Executive Producer
- Dick Wolf … Executive Producer, Created by
- Ed Zuckerman … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
- Gardner Stern … Supervising Producer
- Billy Fox … Producer
- Lewis H. Gould … Producer
- Jeffrey Hayes … Producer
- Jeremy R. Littman … Co-Producer
- Constantine Makris … Director
- I.C. Rapoport … Writer
- Mike Post … Music by
- Jerry Orbach … Cast, Detective Lennie Briscoe
- Benjamin Bratt … Cast, Detective Reynaldo Curtis
- S. Epatha Merkerson … Cast, Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
- Sam Waterston … Cast, Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy
- Carey Lowell … Cast, Assistant D.A. Jamie Ross
- Steven Hill … Cast, District Attorney Adam Schiff
- Val Avery … Cast, Max Schaeffer
- Deborah Hedwall … Cast, Arlene Schaeffer Webber
- Tamara Tunie … Cast, Caroline Bennett
- Renee Props … Cast, Victoria Lewis
- Vincent Pastore … Cast, Jimmy Pogosian
- Nick Sandow … Cast, Pete Pogosian
- Scott Sowers … Cast, Joe Kirby
- Jerry Stiller … Cast, Sam Pokras
- Barbara Eda-Young … Cast, Betsy Graves
- Zachary Kady … Cast, Billy Webber
- Jerry Mayer … Cast, Leon Storch
- Jordan Lage … Cast, Charles
- O.L. Duke … Cast, Jackson
- Anthony J. Coleman … Cast, Steve
- David A. Carlson … Cast, Backus
- Larry Sherman … Cast, Judge Colin Fraiser
- Ed Hyland … Cast, Gorian
- Paul Urcioli … Cast, the Bellman
- Jim Frangione … Cast, Detective Scapelli
- Mark Cassella … Cast, Detective Doyle
- Abby Lewis … Cast, Mrs. Mills
- David Healy … Cast, Mr. Reynolds
- Joyce Lynn O'Connor … Cast, Mrs. Reynolds
- Madeline Lee … Cast, Judge Susan Amberger
- J. Evan Bonifant … Cast, Joey Reynolds
- Emily Colt … Cast, Cheryl Reynolds
- Sharon Angela … Cast, Delia
- Michael Dowling … Cast, the Bailiff
- Elaine Tse … Cast, Dr. Chan