Trivia: Before his transfer to the NYPD, Joe Fontana (played by Dennis Farina) worked as a detective in Chicago. Before becoming an actor, Farina served in the Chicago police department, both as a police officer and a detective. Farina also played a Chicago police officer on the short-lived 1980s TV series Crime Story.
Trivia: Both Jerry Orbach (Det. Lennie Briscoe) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Van Buren) played guest roles before joining the cast. Orbach played a lawyer in the episode "The Wages of Love" in season two, and Merkerson played the mother of a victim in "Mushrooms" in the first season.
Trivia: Episode 19, "Sects." This is based on the true story of Ricky Rodriguez and the start of the episode is almost identical to his final hours. Rodriguez was the son of "Children of God" cult leader Karen Zerby. He decided to exact revenge on his mother for the years of abuse he suffered in the cult as a child. Rodriquez tried to locate his mother through a member of the group and subsequently stabbed her to death. Shortly after murdering the woman, Rodriguez shot himself.
Girlfriends - S6-E20
Trivia: There is a scene in which the detectives are questioning the owner of a pizzeria. Through the window, the restaurant that served as the fictional Monk's in Seinfeld is visible.
Trivia: Guest star Louis Cancelmi is Sam Waterston's son-in-law.
Trivia: The scene change cards show the date and the day of the week, but the day of the week is always one off from what it should be. For example, if October 5 of a particular year was a Thursday, the scene change card will say it was a Friday. This is true throughout Law & Order, but in Law & Order SVU, the date and day of the week are in sync.
Scoundrels - S5-E9
Trivia: In one scene, Briscoe sarcastically comments "I never realized the law was such an exciting profession." Before joining the main cast as Briscoe, Jerry Orbach played a lawyer in an early episode of season two. (00:09:25)
