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The Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 4

Every episode of Law & Order Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Law & Order Season 4!

Binge this in 17h 3m•Peaking at 8.6/10

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 4 Episode 1 - Sweeps
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #1 - Sweeps

    S4:E1

    A guest is murdered on-air on a controversial talk show. Meanwhile Logan and Briscoe have a new boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren, and Stone gets a new collague; the police and district attorney attempt to prosecute the show's abrasive host.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writers:Robert Nathan, Craig McNeer

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  2. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 2 - Volunteers
    7.6/10(9 votes)

    #2 - Volunteers

    S4:E2

    A disruptive, unbalanced homeless man is found severely beaten in an alley of the middle class neighborhood he calls home, leading Stone to try and prosecute one of the residents for premeditated murder.

    Director:James Quinn
    Writer:René Balcer

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  3. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 3 - Discord
    7.8/10(8 votes)

    #3 - Discord

    S4:E3

    A college student charges an admittedly promiscuous rock star with rape, but he claims the act was consensual.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Michael S. Chernuchin

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  4. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 4 - Profile
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #4 - Profile

    S4:E4

    Stone finds himself up against an ambitious black lawyer defending a white, racist serial killer.

    Director:E.W. Swackhamer
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 5 - Black Tie
    7.7/10(9 votes)

    #5 - Black Tie

    S4:E5

    The police suspect a cover up when they receive an anonymous tip that a wealthy man was murdered by his wife, who refuses to allow an autopsy after a physician declares that the death occurred from natural causes.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:Walon Green, Michael S. Chernuchin

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  6. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 6 - Pride and Joy
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #6 - Pride and Joy

    S4:E6

    A 17-year-old boy becomes the chief suspect in the murder of his father, raising questions of self-defense and abuse that the family does not want to face.

    Director:Gilbert M. Shilton
    Writers:Robert Nathan, Edward Pomerantz

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  7. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 7 - Apocrypha
    6.1/10(11 votes)

    #7 - Apocrypha

    S4:E7

    Stone and Kincaid try to prove that the young woman believed to have planted a bomb in a parking garage had been brainwashed and was acting under the direct orders of a charismatic cult leader.

    Director:Gabrielle Beaumont
    Writer:Michael S. Chernuchin

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  8. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 8 - American Dream
    8.6/10(9 votes)

    #8 - American Dream

    S4:E8

    A skeleton unearthed at a building site resurrects one of Stone's old cases, and brings him face to face with the tenacious, brilliant culprit, who is seeking a new trial.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writer:Sibyl Gardner

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  9. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 9 - Born Bad
    7.3/10(9 votes)

    #9 - Born Bad

    S4:E9

    A lawyer decides to defend her teenage client charged with murder as an adult with the claim that he's violent because of a genetic predisposition due to an extra Y chromosome.

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writers:Michael S. Chernuchin, Sally Nemeth

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  10. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 10 - The Pursuit of Happiness
    7.1/10(10 votes)

    #10 - The Pursuit of Happiness

    S4:E10

    A "green-card" bride from Russia is suspected of murdering her rich, but cold husband, who was threatening to divorce her just weeks before she would qualify to remain in this country.

    Director:Dann Florek
    Writers:Morgan Gendel, Robert Nathan

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  11. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 11 - Golden Years
    7.6/10(9 votes)

    #11 - Golden Years

    S4:E11

    An emaciated elderly woman is found dead of an apparent heart attack and her granddaughter is charged with neglect and grave indifference to human life.

    Director:Helaine Head
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 12 - Snatched
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #12 - Snatched

    S4:E12

    A millionaire friend of Schiff's won't cooperate with the police following his son's kidnapping.

    Director:Constantine Makris
    Writers:Walon Green, René Balcer

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  13. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 13 - Breeder
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #13 - Breeder

    S4:E13

    While investigating a woman's claim that she passed out in a taxi and awoke to find her newborn missing, Briscoe and Logan uncover a scam involving private adoptions.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:René Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin

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  14. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 14 - Censure
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #14 - Censure

    S4:E14

    A phone call threatening a woman's young daughter leads to a case that causes Kincaid to resign from Schiff's office because of an affair in her past.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:William N. Fordes

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  15. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 15 - Kids
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #15 - Kids

    S4:E15

    A 14-year-old's shooting death involves the son of a former police detective, who's also an old friend of Briscoe's.

    Director:Don Scardino
    Writers:Robert Nathan, Michael Harbert

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  16. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 16 - Big Bang
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #16 - Big Bang

    S4:E16

    A scientist becomes the chief suspect when his estranged wife, who's been delaying divorce proceedings, is the victim of a letter bomb.

    Director:Dann Florek
    Writer:Ed Zuckerman

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  17. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 17 - Mayhem
    8.0/10(10 votes)

    #17 - Mayhem

    S4:E17

    During a 24-hour period, Briscoe and Logan have a heavy caseload that includes 5 unrelated murders and a domestic quarrel, which results in the maiming of the husband.

    Director:James Quinn
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 18 - Wager
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #18 - Wager

    S4:E18

    Briscoe and Logan bet that the killing of a star athlete's father is linked to gambling debts and threats to the baseball player's family.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 19 - Sanctuary
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #19 - Sanctuary

    S4:E19

    A black minister fans the flames of racial intolerance after a hit-and-run in Harlem claims the life of a 12-year-old and the Jewish driver isn't indicted.

    Director:Arthur W. Forney
    Writers:Michael S. Chernuchin, William N. Fordes

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  20. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 20 - Nurture
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #20 - Nurture

    S4:E20

    Briscoe and Logan investigate the disappearance of a child from her abusive foster home and find her being held by a loving but disturbed woman who insists she has acted only for the child's own good.

    Director:Jace Alexander
    Writers:Ed Zuckerman, Paris Qualles

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  21. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 21 - Doubles
    6.9/10(8 votes)

    #21 - Doubles

    S4:E21

    An assailant breaks the wrist of a tennis player prior to a tournament, and a competitor is among the suspects.

    Director:Edwin Sherin
    Writers:René Balcer, Michael S. Chernuchin

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  22. Law & Order Season 4 Episode 22 - Old Friends
    8.2/10(9 votes)

    #22 - Old Friends

    S4:E22

    A truck hits a pedestrian and the investigation reveals the victim's link to a baby-food company in which a new partner has connections to the Russian mob.

    Director:James Quinn
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"Sweeps" is the best rated episode of "Law & Order" season 4. It scored 8.1/10 based on 9 votes. Directed by James Frawley and written by Robert Nathan, Craig McNeer, it aired on 9/15/1993. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Volunteers".