Manhood (Law & Order)
Encyclopedia
"Manhood" is an episode of the American police procedural television series Law & Order
. The episode follows the investigation of the death of a police officer killed in the line of duty. When detectives learn that his fellow officers delayed coming to his aid because he was gay, the district attorney's office prosecutes three of them for his death. "Manhood", the 21st episode of season 3, originally aired on May 12, 1993.
and Mike Logan
quickly arrest a suspect, Lucio Martinez. In his statement, Martinez claims that a police car was parked just around the corner from the scene of the shooting. They discover that Newhouse's service record has gone from spotless to very poor in a matter of months and suspect that he was left to die as payback for failing to overlook corruption in his precinct.
Newhouse's commander, Captain Tom O'Hara, vehemently denies any corruption and tells the detectives and Captain Don Cragen that he personally demanded the suspension of four officers — Rhodes, Harley, Davis and Weddeker — for arriving late to the scene. Briscoe notices a transfer request on O'Hara's desk from Newhouse's partner, Craig McGraw, and finds it strange that he would want to be among strangers immediately after his partner's death. They talk with McGraw but he gives them nothing. They then search Newhouse's apartment and realize that backup was slow to arrive because Newhouse was gay
.
Ben Stone
and Paul Robinette
interview O'Hara and Sergeants Harley and Rhodes, all of whom deny that they knew Newhouse was gay. They interview McGraw, who gives them an anti-gay
flier that had circulated at his precinct. After interviewing Officer Weddeker and learning that Harley and Rhodes deliberately delayed their cars' arrivals at the shooting, they indict Rhodes, Harley and Davis for second-degree murder.
At trial, McGraw testifies that the officers in his precinct knew that he and Newhouse were gay, and that they both faced harassment because of it. Defense attorney Gordon Schell changes his strategy, offering psychiatric testimony to support a form of the gay panic defense
: The officers, Schell argues, were "upholding the very values of the society that they've sworn to protect". Stone counters that hatred of homosexuals is no more acceptable than hatred based on race, nationality, religion or politics and that police officers who allow their own prejudices to interfere with their duties should be held accountable. Nevertheless, the jury acquits
the defendants.
famous First they came...
statement, relating the defendants' hatred for gay people to hatred for other groups that might include the jurors. Nathan agreed and rewrote the summation.
Gay media scholar Ron Becker analyzed "Manhood" in terms of how it played to the heterosexual majority. By placing the series' protagonists on the pro-gay side, the episode positions the viewers with the pro-gay minority. Stone and Adam Schiff's shock at the verdict is meant to inspire similar incredulity in the viewer and a comparison of the police who left the gay officer to die and the jury that acquitted them to the Ku Klux Klan
further encourages the viewer to consider him- or herself enlightened on gay issues.
"Manhood" won a 1993 GLAAD Media Award
for Outstanding Dramatic Television Episode. Green and Nathan were nominated for an Emmy Award for their script.
In 2009, "Manhood" was remade as the series 2 Law & Order: UK episode "Samaritan".
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
. The episode follows the investigation of the death of a police officer killed in the line of duty. When detectives learn that his fellow officers delayed coming to his aid because he was gay, the district attorney's office prosecutes three of them for his death. "Manhood", the 21st episode of season 3, originally aired on May 12, 1993.
Plot
Officer Rick Newhouse is killed when he is caught alone in a crossfire trying to break up a drug deal and two units fail to arrive in time to back him up despite his repeated calls. Detectives Lennie BriscoeLennie Briscoe
Leonard W. "Lennie" Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long running police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order. He was featured on the show for 12 seasons, from 1992 to 2004. He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer, and was portrayed by Jerry Orbach...
and Mike Logan
Mike Logan (Law & Order)
Michael "Mike" Logan is a fictional character in the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order franchise, played by Chris Noth.-History in the franchise:...
quickly arrest a suspect, Lucio Martinez. In his statement, Martinez claims that a police car was parked just around the corner from the scene of the shooting. They discover that Newhouse's service record has gone from spotless to very poor in a matter of months and suspect that he was left to die as payback for failing to overlook corruption in his precinct.
Newhouse's commander, Captain Tom O'Hara, vehemently denies any corruption and tells the detectives and Captain Don Cragen that he personally demanded the suspension of four officers — Rhodes, Harley, Davis and Weddeker — for arriving late to the scene. Briscoe notices a transfer request on O'Hara's desk from Newhouse's partner, Craig McGraw, and finds it strange that he would want to be among strangers immediately after his partner's death. They talk with McGraw but he gives them nothing. They then search Newhouse's apartment and realize that backup was slow to arrive because Newhouse was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
Ben Stone
Benjamin Stone
Benjamin "Ben" Stone is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Moriarty in the TV drama Law & Order.-Character overview:Stone works in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under Alfred Wentworth and Adam Schiff. It was Schiff with whom he is closest, treating him as a kind of surrogate...
and Paul Robinette
Paul Robinette
Paul Robinette, played by Richard Brooks, is a fictional character who appeared in the TV drama series Law & Order from the pilot episode in 1990 until the final episode of the third season, "Benevolence," in 1993...
interview O'Hara and Sergeants Harley and Rhodes, all of whom deny that they knew Newhouse was gay. They interview McGraw, who gives them an anti-gay
LGBT rights opposition
LGBT rights opposition refers to active opposition to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights. Organizations influential in LGBT rights opposition frequently challenge judicial rulings, and legislative initiatives, and dispute findings that sexual orientation is an immutable...
flier that had circulated at his precinct. After interviewing Officer Weddeker and learning that Harley and Rhodes deliberately delayed their cars' arrivals at the shooting, they indict Rhodes, Harley and Davis for second-degree murder.
At trial, McGraw testifies that the officers in his precinct knew that he and Newhouse were gay, and that they both faced harassment because of it. Defense attorney Gordon Schell changes his strategy, offering psychiatric testimony to support a form of the gay panic defense
Gay panic defense
The gay panic defense is a legal defense against charges of assault or murder. A defendant using the gay panic defense claims that he or she acted in a state of violent temporary insanity because of a little-known psychiatric condition called homosexual panic. Trans panic is a similar defense...
: The officers, Schell argues, were "upholding the very values of the society that they've sworn to protect". Stone counters that hatred of homosexuals is no more acceptable than hatred based on race, nationality, religion or politics and that police officers who allow their own prejudices to interfere with their duties should be held accountable. Nevertheless, the jury acquits
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
the defendants.
Cast
- Jerry OrbachJerry OrbachJerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
as Detective Lennie Briscoe - Chris NothChris NothChristopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
as Detective Mike Logan - Dann FlorekDann FlorekEzekial Dann Florek , professional name Dann Florek, is an American actor and director.-Early life:Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated...
as Captain Donald Cragen - Michael MoriartyMichael MoriartyMichael Moriarty is an American-Canadian actor of stage and screen, and a jazz musician. He played Benjamin Stone for four seasons on the TV series Law & Order.-Early life:...
as Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone - Richard BrooksRichard BrooksRichard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer.-Early life and career:...
as A.D.A. Paul Robinette - Steven HillSteven HillSteven Hill is an American film and television actor. His two better-known roles are District Attorney Adam Schiff on the NBC TV drama series Law & Order, whom he portrayed for ten seasons , and Dan Briggs, the original team leader of the Impossible Missions Force on CBS's television series...
as D.A. Adam Schiff - Charles HallahanCharles HallahanCharles John Hallahan was an American film, television and stage actor best known for his performances in Going in Style, The Thing, and Dante's Peak.-Life and career:...
as Captain Tom O'Hara - Adam Trese as Craig McGraw
- Philip BoscoPhilip Bosco-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
as Attorney Gordon Schell - Robert MorescoRobert MorescoRobert "Bobby" Moresco is a Hollywood screenwriter. His credits include 10th & Wolf and Crash, the latter of which he won an Academy Award for. He also was a producer of Crash and has acted in three films. He wrote scripts for the television series EZ Streets, Millennium and The Black...
as Sergeant Henry Rhodes - Ron Ryan as Sergeant Jack Harley
- Spartan McClure as James Davis
- Sam RockwellSam RockwellSam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
as Officer Weddeker - Rene Rivera as Lucio Martinez
Production and reception
Co-writer Robert Nathan credits Michael Moriarty with inspiring the strength of his character Ben Stone's closing argument. Moriarty felt that the original summation was weak and suggested that Stone should deliver a variation on Martin Niemöller'sMartin Niemöller
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller was a German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem "First they came…"....
famous First they came...
First they came...
"First they came…" is a famous statement attributed to pastor Martin Niemöller about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group...
statement, relating the defendants' hatred for gay people to hatred for other groups that might include the jurors. Nathan agreed and rewrote the summation.
Gay media scholar Ron Becker analyzed "Manhood" in terms of how it played to the heterosexual majority. By placing the series' protagonists on the pro-gay side, the episode positions the viewers with the pro-gay minority. Stone and Adam Schiff's shock at the verdict is meant to inspire similar incredulity in the viewer and a comparison of the police who left the gay officer to die and the jury that acquitted them to the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
further encourages the viewer to consider him- or herself enlightened on gay issues.
"Manhood" won a 1993 GLAAD Media Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Outstanding Dramatic Television Episode. Green and Nathan were nominated for an Emmy Award for their script.
In 2009, "Manhood" was remade as the series 2 Law & Order: UK episode "Samaritan".
External links
- "Manhood" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- "Samaritan" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...