In the Wee Small Hours (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
Encyclopedia
"In the Wee Small Hours" is a fifth season double episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent
. It was originally presented as a two-hour telemovie, but was subsequently divided to air as two one-hour episodes, being listed as "In the Wee Small Hours, Part I" and "In the Wee Small Hours, Part II."
judge becomes a suspect in the disappearance of a female high school student during a field trip. After her body is found and an earlier disappearance is connected to this one, both the son and the judge are targeted in the police's rape
and murder
investigation.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
. It was originally presented as a two-hour telemovie, but was subsequently divided to air as two one-hour episodes, being listed as "In the Wee Small Hours, Part I" and "In the Wee Small Hours, Part II."
Plot summary
The son of a New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
judge becomes a suspect in the disappearance of a female high school student during a field trip. After her body is found and an earlier disappearance is connected to this one, both the son and the judge are targeted in the police's rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
investigation.
Cast
| Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"... |
Det. Robert Goren Robert Goren Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio.... |
| Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Erbe Kathryn Elsbeth Erbe is an American actress known for her role as Det. Alexandra Eames in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a spin-off of Law & Order, and death row inmate Shirley Bellinger in the HBO series Oz.-Personal life:... |
Det. Alexandra Eames Alexandra Eames Det. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe... |
| Chris Noth Chris Noth Christopher 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... |
Det. 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:... |
| Annabella Sciorra Annabella Sciorra Annabella Sciorra is an American film, television, and stage actress. Sciorra received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for the 1989 film True Love, and came to widespread attention in her co-lead role in Spike Lee's 1991 film Jungle Fever... |
Det. Carolyn Barek Carolyn Barek Det. Carolyn Barek is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Annabella Sciorra.Barek is partnered with Det. Mike Logan , on the Major Case Squad of the New York City Police Department . Her badge number is 6141.A criminal profiler from... |
| Jamey Sheridan Jamey Sheridan James Patrick "Jamey" Sheridan is an American actor. He was born in Pasadena, California.He has had a prolific acting career in theater, television, and feature film productions. Born to a family of actors, he made it to Broadway and earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for his performance in the... |
Capt. James Deakins James Deakins Captain James Deakins is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network U.S. television series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Jamey Sheridan.On the show, Deakins supervises New York City's Major Case Squad... |
| Courtney B. Vance Courtney B. Vance Courtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief... |
A.D.A. Ron Carver Ron Carver Ron Carver is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Courtney B. Vance.Carver often works in conjunction with detectives Robert Goren, Alexandra Eames, Mike Logan and Carolyn Barek of the Major Case Squad. He graduated from John Jay College of... |
Facts
- "In the Wee Small Hours" is the only episode until the second episode of the ninth season in which all four detective characters (GorenRobert GorenDet. Robert "Bobby" Goren is a fictional character featured in the NBC-USA Network police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio....
, EamesAlexandra EamesDet. Alexandra "Alex" Eames is a fictional police detective with the NYPD Major Case Squad featured in the NBC-USA Network Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe...
, LoganMike 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:...
, BarekCarolyn BarekDet. Carolyn Barek is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Annabella Sciorra.Barek is partnered with Det. Mike Logan , on the Major Case Squad of the New York City Police Department . Her badge number is 6141.A criminal profiler from...
) appear and work together.
- This episode was most likely inspired by the disappearance of Natalee HollowayNatalee HollowayNatalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. An American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Holloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip...
in ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
.
- The mother of an African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
girl, whose disappearance is also tied to the same suspect, observes what has become known as Missing White Woman SyndromeMissing white woman syndromeMissing white woman syndrome or missing pretty girl syndrome is a term used by some media and social critics to describe the seemingly disproportionate degree of coverage in television, radio, newspaper and magazine reporting of a misfortune, most often a missing person case, involving a young,...
: "I know how it is with you people [TV news]. If she's white, put her in the spotlight. If she's black, put her in the back."
Name
- The episode title is a reference to both the time the murder (and other crimes) were committed, as well as to Frank Sinatra'sFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
album In the Wee Small HoursIn the Wee Small HoursIn 2003, the album was ranked number 100 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also the first album reviewed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery. In 2007, Time Magazine selected it as one of The All-TIME 100 Albums...
. Goren, Logan, and two of the suspects are Sinatra buffs. In one scene, Logan interprets a piece of evidence in the context of Sinatra's work, while in the squadroom, Goren interprets a similar piece of evidence exactly the same way. Logan walks in just as Goren is giving an explanation to Eames and finishes his sentence.
See also
- "Gone", a Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
episode similarly based on the Natalee HollowayNatalee HollowayNatalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. An American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Holloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip...
disappearance.