Memo from the Dark Side

"Memo From The Dark Side"
Law & Order episode
Episode no.	Season 20 Episode 1 (#434 overall)
Directed by	Fred Berner
Written by	Dick Wolf (creator) René Balcer (developer) Keith Eisner (story)
Production code
Original air date	September 25, 2009
Guest stars
Ned Eisenberg Lisa Joyce Jordan Gelber Addison Timlin Monique Fowler Michael Berresse Nancy Opel Deborah Offner David Alan Basche
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Drowned and the Saved" Next → "Just a Girl in the World"

Memo From The Dark Side is the twentieth season premiere episode of the television series Law & Order.

Plot

In the Season 20 premiere, Iraq War veteran Greg Tanner is found murdered in a Hudson University parking garage. Detectives Lupo and Bernard connect the murder to law professor Kevin Franklin (David Alan Basche), an attorney who formerly worked for the Department of Justice. When the case is brought to court, it seems Tanner (Creighton James) may have been more affected by the war than his discharge stated. Lupo and Bernard find that the pieces start to fit when Franklin’s memos from the Bush Administration are leaked.

In a subplot, Van Buren tells the squad that she has ovarian cancer, but that it is manageable and she that will be seeking treatment.

Cast

Jeremy Sisto	Det. Cyrus Lupo
Anthony Anderson	Det. Kevin Bernard
S. Epatha Merkerson	Lt. Anita Van Buren
Linus Roache	EADA Michael Cutter
Alana de la Garza	ADA Connie Rubirosa
Sam Waterston	DA Jack McCoy

Trivia

• The torture memos and other evidence of torture during the USA's war on terror were inspired by the Abu Graihb scandal.

• Michael Cutter mentions that during the September 11 attacks, he and the other members of the DA's office were able to see the World Trade Center collapsing from outside Adam Schiff's window; however, at the time of the September 11 attacks, the District Attorney in the series's fictional universe was actually Nora Lewin.

• Former Republican Senator Fred Thompson, who played District Attorney Arthur Branch from 2002-2007, criticized this episode on his radio show, charging that it distorted facts to promote a critical image of former president George W. Bush.

• The title of the episode is a nod to the 2007 documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, which focuses on detainee abuse by the U.S. Military in Afghanistan.

External links

• IMDb.com