McCoy charges a city councilman with "larceny by extortion," after a female colleague claims that she had to sleep with him or lose her chance at partnership at their law firm.McCoy charges a city councilman with "larceny by extortion," after a female colleague claims that she had to sleep with him or lose her chance at partnership at their law firm.McCoy charges a city councilman with "larceny by extortion," after a female colleague claims that she had to sleep with him or lose her chance at partnership at their law firm.
- Marty Pine
- (as Eric LaRay Harvey)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJoanna Merlin, who plays Councilman Talbert's defense attorney, had a recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) as a trial judge.
- GoofsThe defendant of the case is charged with "Larceny through Extortion," however, in the state of New York, extortion laws refer to the act as "coercion" not "extortion."
- Quotes
Jack McCoy: [to Spencer Talbert about Sarah Maslin] Are you admitting you had sex with her?
Councilman Spencer Talbert: Yes. Not only was it consensual, it wasn't very good.
Jack McCoy: You really are a piece of work, Mr. Talbert.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 47th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1995)
My positive thoughts of "Virtue" on first watch still hold up today, and are even better perhaps now. The best episode of the season since "White Rabbit", though all the episodes in between that and this were well done, and among the better episodes of Season 5. If not quite one of the high points of 'Law and Order'. Nearly everything is great here in "Virtue" and the weak link of the episode will probably be seen by many as something of a nit-pick.
Have always felt that somehow the character writing for Talbert could have been more subtle and not been too much of one dimension, so the truth is not really that surprising at all.
Otherwise, "Virtue" is great. All the regulars are on fine form, especially Sam Waterston (one of her finer moments being the closing argument and his disgusted reaction to the way Talbert talks about Sarah). The supporting actors are equally good, with Regina Taylor giving a courageous performance showing her character's vulnerability and steel.
Anthony Heald does creepiness adeptly and Lily Knight agreed gives a more nuanced performance than most actors on the show playing defense attorneys. Loved the chemistry between her and McCoy, beginning to show signs of what made him a great character on the show once he fully settled. The script is intelligent and remarkably layered, not easy covering such a bold topic and raising the number of difficult issues the topic has without making too much of a judgement. "Virtue" actually manages to be quite smart and insightful in what it explores and there is no bias.
It's a slickly made episode, the editing especially having come on quite a bit from when the show first started. The music is sparingly used and never seemed melodramatic, the theme tune easy to remember as usual. The direction is sympathetic enough without being too low key on the whole.
Summing up, great. 9/10
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 25, 2020