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The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 17

Every episode of Law & Order Season 17 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 17!

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In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Law & Order Season 17 Episode 9 - Deadlock
    8.2/10(372 votes)

    S17:E9

    Green and Cassady hunt a mass murderer Leon Vorgitch, who recently escaped from prison. The finally corner Vorgitch in a school with a room full of hostages, and before surrendering himself to police, Vorgitch shoots a number of innocent children. His unwillingness to accept a deal infuriates McCoy, as it gives him more time to escape prison again. When the father of one of his victims takes justice into his own hands and ends up being used as a campaign slogan for a local politician, McCoy and Rubirosa try to convince Robert Purcell not to let himself be a scapegoat for a political platform.

    Director:Alex Chapple
    Writer:David Slack

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  2. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 12 - Charity Case
    7.9/10(365 votes)

    S17:E12

    Green and Cassady investigate after Sean Archer, a producer who had recently adopted a child from Africa with his wife, well-known actress Sofia, is gunned down outside an ice cream shop while holding baby Christopher. The shooting is soon linked to the recent adoption of Christopher, which had received international scrutiny because it appeared to have been pushed through based on the couple's celebrity status. McCoy and Rubirosa initially investigate the murder of Sean Archer, which soon turns into an investigation of a child's death when the identity of baby Christopher comes under question.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Nicholas Wootton

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  3. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 20 - Captive
    7.9/10(338 votes)

    S17:E20

    Green and Cassady follow the leads when a young boy is found murdered to a suspected serial pedophile/murderer.

    Director:Michael W. Watkins
    Writer:Richard Sweren

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  4. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 22 - The Family Hour
    7.9/10(397 votes)

    S17:E22

    When Nicole Bailey, the ex-wife of a respected former senator, is found murdered and brutalised in her home, Green and Cassady look first at the senator, but follow the trail of clues to a dysfunctional family with a number of potentially embarrassing secrets. McCoy finds himself in the hot seat when he is forced to argue the case in front of a judge more interested in public relations than justice.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writers:David Slack, David Black, Richard Sweren

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  5. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 19 - Fallout
    7.8/10(320 votes)

    S17:E19

    Green and Cassady get mixed up with the Russian consulate after Peter Rostov dies of ricin poisoning. Their investigation leads them first to his work, where they learn he spent a great deal of time traveling back and forth between Russia, and secondly to his brother, Karl. It isn't long before they link the Rostov brothers to an illegal prostitution ring trafficking in young Russian woman, but McCoy is faced with trying to get the remaining Rostov brother to testify so he can prosecute Brezin, the father of one of the trafficked girls.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Sonny Postiglione

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  6. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 2 - Avatar
    7.7/10(371 votes)

    S17:E2

    Green and Cassady investigate after the photograph of a dead woman is found on a popular website, B-Frendz.com. Their investigation leads them to a mentally disturbed young man whom the teenage daughter of the victim claims kidnapped and raped her, but his lawyer offers up an even greater incentive -- the supposed kidnapping victim, Molly Preston.

    Director:Vincent Misiano
    Writer:David Slack

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  7. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 3 - Home Sweet
    7.7/10(358 votes)

    S17:E3

    When eight-year-old Jenna Wechsler dies as a result of a building explosion, Green and Cassady follow the trail of evidence to Rosalie Schaffner, the owner's ex-wife. McCoy and Rubirosa pursue Rosalie Schaffner despite a lack of concrete evidence, but the case takes a turn when Rubirosa finds a piece of evidence that points them in a new direction.

    Director:Richard Dobbs
    Writer:Michael S. Chernuchin

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  8. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 7 - In Vino Veritas
    7.7/10(404 votes)

    S17:E7

    A has-been actor wearing blood-stained clothing arrested for drunken driving reveals religious prejudices during his rantings.

    Director:Tim Hunter
    Writer:David Wilcox

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  9. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 16 - Murder Book
    7.7/10(330 votes)

    S17:E16

    After publisher Serena Darby is found murdered in her apartment, suspicion turns to J.P. Lange, a former professional baseball player acquitted of his wife's murder who had written a book hypothesising how he would have committed the murder. Green and Cassady follow the trail of evidence from Lange to Gerald Stockwell, a former ghostwriter on the book, but Stockwell tries to clear himself by offering McCoy and Rubirosa proof that one of the jurors in Lange's trial was paid off to force an acquittal.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:David Wilcox

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  10. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 11 - Remains of the Day
    7.6/10(329 votes)

    S17:E11

    After Michael Jones dies in his mother's hospital room with no immediate explanation, his mother Ashley accuses her former husband's adult children, Miles and Hillary Foster, who are fighting her for control of their father's substantial fortune. The autopsy rules out the Fosters, and points Green and Cassady in the direction of illegally harvested donor bones, which Jones had received in a transplant eighteen months prior. McCoy and Rubirosa struggle to prosecute the case after it becomes clear the only way they will get the evidence they need is to test another young man who received bone grafts from the same woman who had given Michael Jones his legs.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 21 - Over Here
    7.6/10(312 votes)

    S17:E21

    The detectives link the deaths of two homeless men to the war in Iraq.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:William N. Fordes

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  12. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 6 - Profiteer
    7.5/10(327 votes)

    S17:E6

    The shooting of a local businessman is linked to a killing in Iraq, and McCoy and Rubirosa refuse to allow the killer to plead out.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writer:David Wilcox

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  13. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 10 - Corner Office
    7.5/10(336 votes)

    S17:E10

    After corporate attorney Charles Dillon is discovered dead in a hotel room, Green and Cassady investigate and learn that the company he was working for is in the process of being indicted. Their investigation leads them to a high-priced callgirl, Julia Veloso, who turns out to have been romantically involved with the company's C.E.O., Samantha Weaver. McCoy and Rubirosa find themselves at odds as Rubirosa wonders if McCoy's prosecution of Weaver has more to do with her gender than her guilt.

    Director:Joan Stein Schimke
    Writers:Richard Sweren, Rick Eid

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  14. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 5 - Public Service Homicide
    7.4/10(334 votes)

    S17:E5

    When Carl Mullaly is discovered murdered in his apartment, Green and Cassady learn that he had recently been profiled on HardFocus, a tabloid talk show that exposes sex offenders who are caught via the ScumWatch website. With an eight-year-old girl as the only eye witness, detectives arrest the murderer, but McCoy and Rubirosa soon learn that HardFocus is a lot more involved than they claim.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Chris Levinson

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  15. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 8 - Release
    7.4/10(357 votes)

    S17:E8

    After Hudson Moore is found bludgeoned in the back of the Babes Being Bad bus, suspicion initially truns to the company's creator, Chris Drake, until video footage leads detectives to a young woman who was with Moore the night that he died. After concentrating their investigation on the young woman, the reasons behind Moore's murder soon become apparent, and McCoy and Rubirosa struggle to prosecute a man who, while not directly responsible for the murder, may have been responsible for the incidents that led up to it.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writers:Nicholas Wootton, Rick Eid

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  16. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 17 - Good Faith
    7.4/10(328 votes)

    S17:E17

    Green and Cassady investigate an arson turned homicide when a body found in a burned church turns out to have been murdered before the fire started.

    Director:Sam Weisman
    Writer:David Slack

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  17. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 13 - Talking Points
    7.3/10(360 votes)

    S17:E13

    The shooting of university student Jason Miles at a political rally hosted by controversial speaker Judith Barlow leaves any number of suspects, but after Green and Cassady prove that two of the people they've questioned are lying about their alibis, they turn their attention to Malcom Yates, a grad student who claimed to be with Jason's girlfriend at the time of his death. McCoy and Rubirosa realise that Yates went after Barlow because of her open criticism of stem-cell research, something that Yates had high hopes could help find a cure for his own Parkinsons.

    Director:Matthew Penn
    Writer:Michael S. Chernuchin

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  18. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 14 - Church
    7.3/10(359 votes)

    S17:E14

    A reverend confesses to the murder of a young gay actor, but McCoy and Rubirosa soon learn that he may not be the guilty party.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Rick Eid

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  19. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 18 - Bling
    7.3/10(321 votes)

    S17:E18

    Green and Cassady investigate the murder of a female rapper.

    Director:Karen Gaviola
    Writer:Matthew McGough

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  20. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 1 - Fame
    7.2/10(406 votes)

    S17:E1

    Green and Cassady investigate the death of a cop accidentally killed during a botched robbery which leads them to stolen photographs of a celebrity mother married to a player.

    Director:Jean de Segonzac
    Writer:Nicholas Wootton

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  21. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 4 - Fear America
    7.2/10(332 votes)

    S17:E4

    After Eric Khabaly is seen being murdered on tape in what appears to be an American movement against Islam, Green and Cassady investigate the case which leads them to Khabaly's cousin, Ben Faoud, who appears to be connected to a terrorist cell functioning inside New York. Unfortunately, the best link to Faoud appears to surround a recent shipment of uranium, which McCoy and Rubirosa are forbidden to mention by the federal government. When news of the uranium leaks out, McCoy and Rubirosa find themselves the victims of intense federal scrutiny, and Paul Robinette's vigorous defense of young Faoud doesn't help matters.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:Robert Nathan, Sonny Postiglione

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  22. Law & Order Season 17 Episode 15 - Melting Pot
    7.1/10(333 votes)

    S17:E15

    After an actress is found dead in her apartment, Green and Cassady attempt to prove that her death was not a suicide.

    Director:Jean de Segonzac
    Writer:Richard Sweren

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Season 17 Ratings Summary

"Deadlock" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order" season 17. It scored 8.2/10 based on 372 votes. Directed by Alex Chapple and written by David Slack, it aired on 11/17/2006. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Charity Case".