Law & Order: Season 8

1997 · 24 episodes · ★ 7.5

What Season 8 of Law & Order

The season opens with the murder of a pizza delivery driver in a New York park. Briscoe, Curtis, McCoy, and Ross take on different cases each week, and the series rarely pauses to explore its main characters' personal lives. In court, McCoy and Ross must secure a conviction against defendants who point fingers at each other, and a confession recorded by a priest becomes the key piece of evidence. Other episodes take the team to a Navy pilot accused of killing her lover, to a drive-by shooting involving donated organs, and to a group of militia members who push for a jury acquittal. Each case follows the same pattern: first the street, then the courtroom.

24episodes

Sep 24, 1997premiered

May 20, 1998latest episode

18.6 hrtotal runtime

Season 8 Episodes

8x01
8x01 Thrill
Sep 24, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 7.4
The cops break the seemingly random murder of a pizza delivery guy with a little ""undercover"" work in the park, but McCoy and Ross face a harder battle to get a conviction when the two defendants resolutely point the finger at each other, and the one item identifying the actual killer is the recording of a confession-made to a priest.
Directed by: Martha Mitchell · Written by: René Balcer · Starring: Susan Blommaert, Sig Libowitz, Deirdre Lovejoy, James Handy
8x02 Denial
Oct 8, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 6.1
Bloody sheets and an apparently stolen credit card lead Briscoe and Curtis to a pair of college age lovers who present McCoy and Ross with a united front of denial that one of them killed their newborn son and disposed of the body.
Directed by: Christopher Misiano, David Shore · Written by: David Shore · Starring: Doris Belack, Tom Carroll, Zach Chapman, Mags Chernock
8x03 Navy Blues
Oct 15, 1997 · 46 min · ★ 6.7
McCoy finds himself battling the Navy and the office of the Judge Advocate General as he tries to prosecute a female pilot accused of murdering her married lover after he tried to break off with her.
Directing: Jace Alexander · Writing: Kathy McCormick · Cast: Patti LuPone, John Speredakos, John DiResta, Paul Geier
8x04 Harvest
Oct 29, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 7.9
A discrepancy concerning the time of death of a drive-by shooting victim leads McCoy and Ross to initiate prosecutions against both the shooter and the doctor who harvested her organs as transplant donations.
Directing: Matthew Penn · Writing: I.C. Rapoport · Starring: Michael Nouri, Michael Durrell, Robert Stanton, Armand Schultz
8x05 Nullification
Nov 5, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 7.9
After the cops trace an eagle tattoo on a man shot and killed while holding up an armored truck to a group of militia members, McCoy finds himself facing one of their number as the pro se counsel for his friends, arguing for the concept of "jury nullification", the right of a jury to protect a defendant from an unjust law by finding him not guilty despite the evidence.
Directing: Constantine Makris · Writing: David Black · Cast: Christine Farrell, Victor Truro, Denis O'Hare, Gerry Becker
8x06 Baby, It's You (I)
Nov 12, 1997 · 46 min · ★ 7.8
It's old home week for Briscoe when an apparent murder of a teenage model in New York develops ties to Baltimore and Detectives Munch and Falsone pay a visit to the Big Apple to observe the case. Meanwhile, McCoy finds himself battling the attorney of the victim's parents for access to his clients and the Baltimore DA for jurisdiction.This crossover continues on Homicide: Life on the Street S06E05 Baby, It's You (II).
Directed by: Edwin Sherin · Written by: Jorge Zamacona · Starring: Richard Belzer, Gia Gracielle Galeano, Dan Frazer, Maureen Anderman
8x07 Blood
Nov 19, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 7.9
The paternity of a black baby given up for adoption by a white mother might provide a clue to her murderer but it also unearths some long buried family secrets.
Directing: Jace Alexander · Writing: Craig Tepper · Cast: Joan Copeland, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Kent Broadhurst, William Christian
8x08 Shadow
Nov 26, 1997 · 47 min · ★ 7.8
The murder of a bail bondsman looks fairly routine until the chance words of the chief suspect uncovers possible case-fixing between a shady lawyer and an unknown contact within the judicial system.
Directing: Matthew Penn · Writing: Richard Sweren · Cast: David Marshall Grant, Rosemary De Angelis, Dominic Chianese, Bruce MacVittie
8x09 Burned
Dec 10, 1997 · 45 min · ★ 7.4
A message overheard on an answering machine leads Briscoe and Curtis to a confessed murderer and the home of wealthy Carl Anderton, whose stubborn non-cooperation with the district attorney threatens to create a serious miscarriage of justice.
Directing: Constantine Makris · Writing: Siobhan Byrne O'Connor · Cast: Mia Dillon, Sam Huntington, Joseph Siravo, Michael O'Hare
8x10 Ritual
Dec 17, 1997 · 45 min · ★ 7.8
The investigation into the death of a man who initially appears to be the victim of a mugging victim reveals him to be a Middle Eastern physician who performs genital mutilations on young girls.
Directing: Brian Mertes · Writing: Kathy McCormick, Richard Sweren · Starring: Jacqueline Antaramian, Mark Casella, Todd Cerveris, Aharon Ipalé
8x11 Under the Influence
Jan 7, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 8.0
After Briscoe and Curtis finally determine who was driving the car that killed three people, the legal prosecution stands in danger of becoming a kangaroo court when McCoy's feelings over Kincaid mesh with the political agenda of an ambitious judge anxious to make an example of the defendant.
Directed by: Adam Davidson · Written by: René Balcer · Starring: David Garrison, Arielle Kaplan, Kathryn Meisle, Gene Canfield
8x12 Expert
Jan 21, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.3
The shooting of two people in a restaurant restroom takes some abrupt turns as they try to discover who exactly the intended victim was, and the prosecutors have to deal with a defendant claiming to have been in a dissociative state while committing the crime-- the same defense used years before by the defendant's father.
Directing: Lewis Gould · Writing: David Shore, I.C. Rapoport · Starring: Vera Farmiga, Adam Busch, Christine Farrell, Joanna Merlin
8x13 Castoff
Jan 28, 1998 · 46 min · ★ 5.8
The street murder of a woman who worked with underprivileged kids takes a turn towards the bizarre when the detectives uncover she had a predilection for kinky sex, and that one of her current partners appears to be a serial killer, who offers an overexposure to television violence as his defense during his trial.
Directing: Gloria Muzio · Writing: David Black, Harold Schechter · Starring: Dennis Boutsikaris, Jon DeVries, Jane Elliot, Kelly Eviston-Quinnett
8x14 Grief
Feb 4, 1998 · 46 min · ★ 7.4
The cops, as they try to pin down the specifics of an assault on a man reluctant to talk about it, uncover the alleged rape of two women in custodial care. But as the prosecutors attempt to prepare their case, a reluctant witness changes their view of the cases.
Directing: Christopher Misiano · Writing: Suzanne Oshry · Starring: Edie Falco, Ron Frazier, Cecilia Hart, Marin Hinkle
8x15 Faccia a Faccia
Feb 25, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.4
Taking on an apparent mafia murder, Detectives Briscoe and Curtis are stymied by a dead witness and a seemingly incoherent mob boss.
Directing: Martha Mitchell · Writing: René Balcer, Eddie Feldmann · Starring: Rochelle Oliver, Philip Bosco, Michael Rispoli, Kathrine Narducci
8x16 Divorce
Mar 4, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.6
The stabbing death of a psychologist draws Detectives Briscoe and Curtis into a heated divorce case and pits McCoy and Ross against a manipulative attorney.
Directing: Constantine Makris · Writing: Barry M. Schkolnick · Cast: Adam LeFevre, Jill Clayburgh, Jack Ryland, Leslie Nipkow
8x17 Carrier
Apr 1, 1998 · 46 min · ★ 7.5
The death of a college student leads to a case involving an HIV-positive male who's seeking to infect as many young women as possible. McCoy, testing right-to-privacy ethics, wants to charge him with murder.
Directing: J. Ranelli · Writing: David Black, J. Ranelli · Starring: Leslie Denniston, Susan May Pratt, Fran Brill, Heather Burns
8x18 Stalker
Apr 15, 1998 · 46 min · ★ 7.9
When a woman is found unconscious at the bottom of her apartment stairs, Briscoe and Curtis must figure out what happened -- before it's too late. In order to make his case, McCoy pits the two detectives against each other in the courtroom.
Directing: Richard Dobbs · Writing: Kathy McCormick · Cast: Joe Lisi, Robert Joy, Susan Floyd, Stephen Gevedon
8x19 Disappeared
Apr 22, 1998 · 46 min · ★ 7.4
A defendant refuses to allow his lawyer to raise the issue of insanity, this complicating matters for the brother who turned him in with hopes of securing medical treatment for him.
Directed by: David Platt · Written by: Richard Sweren, William N. Fordes · Starring: Tovah Feldshuh, Kenneth Welsh, Michael Medeiros, Maggie Burke
8x20 Burden
Apr 24, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.3
After a 12-year-old quadriplegic dies at home in his bed, paramedics claim that he was suffocated and the suspects include the boy's parents and sister.
Directing: Constantine Makris · Writing: David Shore, I.C. Rapoport · Cast: Gerry Bamman, Gordon Connell, Jane Connell, William Severs
8x21 Bad Girl
Apr 29, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.7
Schiff's re-election may hinge on the stabbing death of a police officer; Briscoe's daughter is arrested for dealing drugs.
Directing: Jace Alexander · Writing: René Balcer, Richard Sweren · Cast: Jason Kolotouros, Isabel Gillies, Julian Gamble, Geoffrey Nauffts
8x22 Damaged
May 6, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 8.2
The case of a teacher's shooting uncovers a vendetta involving the rape of a mentally challenged coed by three students, whose attorney claims they weren't aware of her condition.
Directed by: Constantine Makris · Written by: Janis Diamond · Starring: Christine Farrell, Lauren Ambrose, Jennifer Estlin, Claire Beckman
8x23 Tabloid
May 13, 1998 · 45 min · ★ 7.4
Tabloid journalism comes under scrutiny during the investigations into the deaths of a gossip columnist and a celebrity target he pursued.
Directing: Brian Mertes · Writing: David Black · Cast: Timothy Carhart, John Slattery, Joe Mantello, Robin Groves
8x24 Monster Season Finale
May 20, 1998 · 47 min · ★ 7.9
During the search for a pedophile who raped a 10-year-old, a snitch offers Briscoe a chance to avenge his daughter's death. Meanwhile, Van Buren learns that her job is in jeopardy; McCoy is ordered to appear before a disciplinary committee because of his conduct in a DUI case; and the increasingly political Schiff worries that the rape case may adversely impact his reelection bid.
Directing: Edwin Sherin · Writing: René Balcer, Richard Sweren · Cast: O.L. Duke, John Newton, Robert Vaughn, Cliff Gorman