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The Best Episodes Written By René Balcer

Every TV Episode Written by René Balcer Ranked from Best to Worst by Thousands of Voters

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    undefined Season 5 Episode 20 - Bad Faith
    8.4/10(8 votes)

    #1 - Bad Faith

    S5:E20

    Logan relives unhappy childhood memories when a friend is found dead, a presumed suicide, until the investigation reveals recent contact with a former priest, with a history of pedophilia.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  2. undefined Season 10 Episode 14 - Transitions
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #2 - Transitions

    S10:E14

    The detectives have very little to work with after a man is found badly-beaten in a strip club's parking lot. Their questioning begins with the dancers until the victim's ex-wife and 13-year old transgender son become suspects.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  3. undefined Season 1 Episode 18 - Most Wanted
    8.0/10(4 votes)

    #3 - Most Wanted

    S1:E18

    OA and Maggie team up with members of the FBI’s Fugitives Department to track down a person wanted for murder who is also on America’s top 10 most wanted list.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  4. undefined Season 2 Episode 15 - Trust
    8.0/10(10 votes)

    #4 - Trust

    S2:E15

    Stone is determined to see that a teenage boy doesn't get away with murder twice when the young man is brought to trial for the shooting death of one of his friends.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  5. undefined Season 4 Episode 17 - Mayhem
    8.0/10(10 votes)

    #5 - 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:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  6. undefined Season 7 Episode 17 - Showtime
    8.0/10(6 votes)

    #6 - Showtime

    S7:E17

    The trial of Eddie Newman begins but the prosecution's chances of conviction are hampered by a "dream team" of defense attorneys, Gorton's personal pressures on Ross, the public questioning of the relationship between Curtis and Lisa Lundquist, and a surprise accusation.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  7. undefined Season 2 Episode 17 - Sisters Of Mercy
    7.9/10(9 votes)

    #7 - Sisters Of Mercy

    S2:E17

    Cerreta and Logan investigate the accusation that a nun in charge of a shelter for teens molested a young addict.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  8. undefined Season 7 Episode 5 - Corruption
    7.9/10(7 votes)

    #8 - Corruption

    S7:E5

    Curtis, angered by the attitude of an old colleague of Briscoe's, looks beyond the findings of an IAB investigation and turns up evidence of police corruption that puts the DA's office into competition with an ambitious judge and Briscoe under investigation for stealing evidence from a police lockup.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  9. undefined Season 3 Episode 9 - Point of View
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #9 - Point of View

    S3:E9

    Logan gets a new partner and Stone faces an old friend from law school as they investigate a woman's claim of self-defense in the shooting death of a small time hood.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  10. undefined Season 4 Episode 12 - Snatched
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Snatched

    S4:E12

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

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  11. undefined Season 4 Episode 13 - Breeder
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #11 - 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:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  12. undefined Season 5 Episode 3 - Blue Bamboo
    7.8/10(8 votes)

    #12 - Blue Bamboo

    S5:E3

    The killing of a Japanese nightclub owner who was visiting New York leads to the arrest of a singer who once worked for the deceased, and whose lawyer uses the ""battered-woman syndrome"" as a defense.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  13. undefined Season 2 Episode 21 - Silence
    7.7/10(7 votes)

    #13 - Silence

    S2:E21

    A politician opposes the prosecution of his son's murderer because it might mean revealing that his late son was gay.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  14. undefined Season 10 Episode 7 - Wildlife
    7.6/10(5 votes)

    #14 - Wildlife

    S10:E7

    Stabler goes undercover to infiltrate a rare animal smuggling operation.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  15. undefined Season 3 Episode 7 - Self Defense
    7.6/10(9 votes)

    #15 - Self Defense

    S3:E7

    Cerreta and Stone find themselves on opposite sides of the fence when a storeowner kills two robbers and then claims self-defense as a justification.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  16. undefined Season 3 Episode 16 - Jurisdiction
    7.6/10(8 votes)

    #16 - Jurisdiction

    S3:E16

    Stone battles the Brooklyn DA's office over prosecutorial jurisdiction in the case of a mentally handicapped man who confesses to the stabbing deaths of two women.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  17. undefined Season 3 Episode 19 - Virus
    7.6/10(8 votes)

    #17 - Virus

    S3:E19

    While investigating several deaths at a diabetes clinic, Briscoe and Logan discover that teenage computer hackers may have tampered with the clinic's medical database.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  18. undefined Season 4 Episode 2 - Volunteers
    7.6/10(9 votes)

    #18 - 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:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  19. undefined Season 10 Episode 1 - Trials
    7.5/10(10 votes)

    #19 - Trials

    S10:E1

    After a young boy, Christopher Ryan, is caught driving a runaway van, Detective Elliot Stabler and Detective Benson take the seven year-old into questioning. When Christopher claims his foster parents, Gwen and Noah Sibert, bribe him in exchange for abusive medical testing, the detectives investigate his allegations.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  20. undefined Season 2 Episode 16 - Vengeance
    7.5/10(8 votes)

    #20 - Vengeance

    S2:E16

    The parents of a murdered woman contest Stone's prosecution of her killer so that he can be extradited to their home state, where the death penalty still exists.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  21. undefined Season 3 Episode 13 - Night And Fog
    7.5/10(8 votes)

    #21 - Night And Fog

    S3:E13

    The confession of an elderly man that he assisted his wife in committing suicide doesn't fully satisfy Stone when rumors surface that the man was once a Nazi collaborator.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  22. undefined Season 18 Episode 14 - Burn Card
    7.5/10(6 votes)

    #22 - Burn Card

    S18:E14

    Internal affairs takes a special interest in Detective Green after a gambler is found dead by his bullet, and the investigation turns up a part of his past he's taken pains to conceal.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  23. undefined Season 1 Episode 19 - The Serpent's Tooth
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #23 - The Serpent's Tooth

    S1:E19

    Two brothers appear to be the logical suspects in the murder of their wealthy parents.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  24. undefined Season 2 Episode 19 - The Fertile Fields
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #24 - The Fertile Fields

    S2:E19

    The brutal murder of a Jewish jeweler appears to be a hate crime, but the investigation soon leads back to the man's brother and his shady business deals.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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  25. undefined Season 3 Episode 22 - Benevolence
    7.4/10(8 votes)

    #25 - Benevolence

    S3:E22

    Logan and Briscoe begin their investigation into the death of a hearing-impaired young woman by questioning her two most recent boyfriends.

    Director:N/A
    Writer:René Balcer

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René Balcer Ratings Summary

"Bad Faith" is the best rated episode written by René Balcer. It scored 8.4/10 based on 8 votes. It was directed by N/A. It aired on 4/26/1995 and is rated 0.4 points higher than their second-best episode, "Transitions".