Law & Order (TV Series) Bodies (2003) User Reviews

Scary

[wild_willy_m_d · 10/10 · 17 October 2006]

Ritchie Coaster as the murderer Mark Bruner is one of the scariest people in the history of L & O. His first attorney, Jessica Sheets quits because he scares her, and we see Serena Southerlyn's obvious distaste and fear also. When he tells McCoy and Southerlyn that he is the anti them, and the reason that they exist, you feel their discomfort. Finally he gets an attorney from legal aid, and he tells the new attorney where his serial victims are, and the attorney goes to see them, but he stands ready to go to jail rather than violate attorney client privilege. McCoy and Southerlyn tell him that no jurisdiction would disbar him, and he says "Shame on them!" He is sincere, despite the personal cost.

Criminals like "Mark Bruner" exist. This episode reminds me of the old saw, "Half the people in jail don't belong, and half should never be let out."

disturbing but impressive

[kiri-laing · 8/10 · 8 November 2007]

Unfortunately I didn't get to see this episode from the beginning, but I too found it disturbing in many ways. I can't say I blame Bruner's first lawyer- I could have hardly stayed in the same room with him, let alone tried to defend him. Besides his clear murderous psychopathy, Bruner, and indeed the rest of the episode, raised difficult questions about the nature of law, punishment, and what is right.

As for Schwimmer, I was really impressed with how his character was used. At first I wanted to slap him, but by the end I think I would have been unhappy no matter how the verdict had gone. I still blame him a little for actually checking about whether Bruner told the truth. He should have known the conflict this would put him in. Nevetheless, this kind of depth in a one-off character is rare and appreciable. Other than 'Fallout'(2006) 'Bodies' is probably my favourite episode.

PS Notice when they asked the first lawyer if he'd threatened her, she was silent? I wonder if he told her what he told Schwimmer..

Coster is worse than Hannibal Lecter!

[cflann1525 · 10/10 · 24 July 2020]

Ritchie Coster is a very underrated actor. He seems to have found his niche in being a serious criminal. In this case, he is so scary it is hard to watch at times. O very sinister and pure evil. Even Hannibal Lecter wasn't this bad. It's in Ritchie's eyes and his facial expressions. He doesn't have to say much, his face says it all. His first attorney in this episode is terrified of him, and as you watch the character develop, you understand exactly why. Coster should have received an Emmy for this performance. He was outstanding and makes everyone else look like amateurs. L & O was a good series with some great episodes. This one is probably one of the best ever because of Coster's portrayal. WOW!

Maybe the best of the best

[jacksflicks · 10/10 · 7 March 2021]

L&O was the best drama series ever. And "Bodies" is arguably the best episode. There are two part of this story beyond the L&O format: Ritchie Coster and the rest.

Coster needs no costume, no props, just himself with a grubby two-day beard. In his shuttered, sordid abode, Coster's Bruner is truly the Prince of Darkness. The rapes, tortures and murders, as sensational as they are, seem almost incidental to the pure evil radiating from Bruner. When we first see him, he sits in his chair enthroned, the devil in his domain. Hospitably he ask of Biscoe and Greene, "Anyone want some cheese?" He brings out a clump of cheese in one hand and a long pairing knife with the other, the cops draw their pieces: "Drop the knife!" and Bruner replies, "Gouda?"

He's no less frightful at the station. He scares off his first attorney by pure creepiness, then, on Rikers, he startles with his mocking laughter and outbursts. Finally, as McCoy and Serena turn to leave, Bruner says, like a cobra to a rabbit, "You can't take your eyes off me." His head turns to face them square-on: "I'm everything your aren't; I'm the un-you."

The camera lets Brunner's face fill the screen. This is not just the face of a murderer but of murder itself. He's could be talking to his victims! Ritchie Coster does this with his face (he even has the devil's hairline!), his voice, his indifference for his victims, their loved ones, the police, prosecutors and the system. He achieves all this with only about ten minutes screen time, yet we'll never forget. I agree with another reviewer: this certainly deserves an Emmy!

Then, there's the rest, one of those moral conundrums that make L&O worth watching. We all know attorney-client privilege. We all understand why its needed. But that's not satisfying in Bruner's case, where there are compelling reasons to dispense with this particular privilege. One reviewer here, appropriately calling himself Garbage, goes off on an inane tangent, wrongly making the lawyer's trial about making the trial about privilege, when the trial was actually about the lawyer's unlocking the space to see the bodies, then locking it back up, thus, "facilitating," making the lawyer an accessory after the fact. That's a fault with the story, because as we all know, that issue was hardly touched on at trial, but rather the "privilege" question. The crime he was actually being tried for could and should have bee thrown out. But, as they cynically say, all it took was "one crying mother" on the stand.

But back to Coster. He's in an unenviable situation. He's a fine actor in other roles, but for those who know this one, any heavy he plays will always be measured against this one, the benchmark, the best ever by anyone.

Richie Coster was unreal

[anthonyneil-12021 · 9/10 · 19 April 2022]

What an utterly creepy and scary performance.

He was so convincing and evil in his part it was impossible to turn away, but also impossible to be creeped out. Bravo.

Epic Episode.

[rnbbork · 10/10 · 19 April 2022]

Oh my God. This has to be one of the BEST Law and Order episodes ever. If I were an actor, I would kill to play Bruner. No pun intended. My only critique is there should have been more about Bruner than his lawyer. But otherwise it was outstanding.

We put the system on trial. We lost.

[Mrpalli77 · 10/10 · 30 November 2017]

Two friends were taking a leak on a dark alley. One of them noticed a dead body on the ground, strangled and probably raped. The victim was a seventeen years old girl who spent the night together with a car mechanic at a local club; actually he dumped her after a while to hang out with another girl and she left the bar with a man much older than her. The way the murder was committed lead the detectives to another murder happened five years before: the perp had not been caught yet, but thanks to a drawing the detectives narrowed down the suspect list to an unpleasant cabbie. He was identified by the club waitress in a lineup and then arrested. His first defense attorney resigned from the assignment because she was frightened by him and she did the right thing: the next attorney appointed (in his first murder case) witnessed something terrible while under attorney- client privilege...

A very nice episode, in which the defendant (Ritchie Coaster in one of his best performance) is a villain you can't deal with. He doesn't know neither mercy nor regrets, I feel pity for the poor counselor.

Scary ethics

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 4 July 2022]

"Bodies" is the season premiere of Season 14, which happened to be the final season for the iconic character of Lennie Briscoe (one of the longest serving characters of the franchise for good reason). A character that was much missed after his departure and 'Law and Order' didn't feel the same without him. On first watch, "Bodies" struck me as a very memorable episode for its suspense, the scariness of the ethical issues tackled and primarily the performance of Ritchie Coster.

The premise was a great one that had real potential to be good. "Bodies" turned out to be more than good. It was absolutely fantastic, one of the best episodes of Season 14 and one of the best in a while for the original 'Law and Order'. What a way to start the season. What stood out on first viewing stand out still now and even more so, but there is certainly more than just them to appreciate. Everything comes together wonderfully with no exceptions.

Production values are fine, have always liked the photography's intimacy and grit and the look of the show has come on a good deal over-time (and it was good to begin with). The music doesn't intrude and has a haunting quality, have not always remembered to say that the theme tune is easy to remember and holds up.

Script is full of tension, intelligence and tautness. Many of the lines given to Coster are truly chilling and the character interactions between the characters are some of the best and most riveting in a while. The story is neither too easy or hard to follow and especially shines in the truly scary legal ethics, that are intriguing and hard hitting. While the first half is very intriguing and absorbs, the second half is even better.

While all the regulars are excellent, especially Sam Waterston (and even Elisabeth Rohm is not a problem here, she conveys Southerlyn's distaste and fear effectively), "Bodies" belongs to spine chilling Coster. Who plays a strong contender for the most amoral supporting character of the original 'Law and Order' since Zeljko Ivanek's Swann in Season 4's "American Dream". When even the not usually easily flinched characters are intimidated by him you know that's the sign of an amoral character.

In short, fantastic. 10/10.

The Justice System

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 10 November 2021]

When the body of a seventeen-year-old teenager is found in an alley, Detective Lennie Briscoe and his partner Jesse Detective Ed Green are assigned to investigate the case and soon they capture the psychopath Mark Bruner. Jack McCoy and Serena Southerlyn are assigned to prosecute the killer and soon they learn that his public defender is feeling uncomfortable with Mark and refuses the case. Defense attorney Tim Schwimmer accepts the case that will be his first one. Soon McCoy and Serena learn that Schwimmer knows where the corpses of fifteen of his victims are and they ask Schwimmer to disclose the information to give peace to the relatives and friends of the victims. But he refuses claiming attorney-client privilege and the D. A. Arthur Branch decides to prosecute Schwimmer.

"Bodies" is an excellent episode of "Law & Order", where the justice system is questioned and prevails. The plot is amazing and thought provoking in a world where ethics are frequently forgotten. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Bodies"

Honestly one of the best, but most infuriating episoxes

[mbednar10 · 10/10 · 21 July 2021]

Forget Mark Bruner. That's not what this episode is about. This is about attorney client privilege. The problem is that the defense lawyer sacrifices his morals (if they existed) to stand by his court assigned client. In the world of the lawyer this may be looked on as righteous, but in the rest of the world this guy not telling where the multiple bodies are when it could give so many families peace, and they could finally know what happened to their relatives...he is just as bad as Bruner. He knows that the could bring clarity to all these victims' families but chooses not to. If you choose your career over basic human decency you're a joke. You take an oath, but when your oath precludes you from providing the whereabouts of multiple mother and father's children...you are a terrible person. I love this episode but hate Bruner's attorney. He should be imprisoned.

The failure of the justice system

[alessandrocs · 25 March 2019]

The young lawyer seems to give mccoy an ethics lesson he is similar to Ken kratz misconduct only a few he is ethical but always dishonest

A strong, dark, and compelling episode - most likely the creepiest, original L&O episode ever

[llorello · 9/10 · 18 August 2023]

The creepiest, original L&O episode ever. Coster/Bruner would probably "scare the socks of all of us".

I'm not a lawyer, just a huge fan of legal procedural tv shows, and muddled my way thru two years of HS Latin. All of that to say that while I will always watch this episode (~12 times in the past 20 years), the biggest flaw with it to me is that the property was under "lock and key".

This means that Greene and Briscoe should have ran informal and formal property searches not only on Bruner, but also all of his close friends and family. He lived in a dump, so there can't be that many. But more importantly, they should run bank and CC searches on rental units, too (even after his conviction).

If a standalone property that has property taxes, or a rental unit that has monthly or annual fees, nonpayment is going to cause someone to cut a lock and/or smell the decomp.

Is it possible that the bodies are in some abandoned property? Of course. But, those would be found eventually: it's 15 bodies in a locked building, not a single body buried along the Appalachian Trail.

Ethics May Be Hazardous To Your Health.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 24 January 2013]

By it's fourteenth season, "Law and Order" was beginning to creak at the joints. The stories didn't decline but the casting was off and some of the performers seemed older and less animated.

This episode, though, is enough above the average to trump the increase in the series' weaknesses.

Briefly, a man (Coster) is arrested and convicted of two rapes and murders. He freely admits to killing some fifteen other women but won't reveal the whereabouts of the bodies. His defense attorney is a young woman from Legal Aid who is sufficiently creeped out by the slimy killer that she resigns from the case and is replaced by a fast-talking Macher (Chaplin) with little experience in serious crimes. He's a young guy out to make a name for himself and leave his underpaid position for the Arcadian paradise of Wall Street.

But he's not the huxter he seems to be. The killer tells McCoy that he has already shown Chaplin the stacked-up bodies of the missing victims. Chaplin claims that the canon of ethics doesn't allow him to reveal the location, not even when McCoy charges him as an accomplice to murder. McCoy wants the victims' location to bring closure to their families. He points out, reasonably enough, that the killer has already been sentenced to death and a violation of confidentiality would help the families and hurt no one, including Chaplin himself, whom no bar would penalize. All Chaplin has to do is open up, and the jury will almost certainly find him not guilty.

Chaplin refuses to violate the canon of ethics, is found guilty, and goes to jail.

It's an interesting episode because of the question it raises. Is the law, as it stands, absolute? Or should certain of its rules, under exceptional circumstances, be broken if the breaking results only in good and not harm? The more general question, of course, has to do with social norms in general. How much tolerance should we extend to those who choose to live a life style different from our own -- should they be allowed to "break the rules" or be forced to conform. How about legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, or allowing gay marriages? Would we rather be McCoy, who is willing to bend, or Chaplin, who is not?

This episode demonstrates why you should never watch L&O if you actually want to learn about the law.

[garbagewebsite · 1/10 · 13 January 2016]

I won't review the earlier parts of the episode, that has already been done thoroughly.

This will only speak to the prosecution of Tim Schwimmer, the attorney who visited the location of the other bodies and refused to disclose the location of those bodies to the prosecution.

JURIES do NOT decide whether or not attorney-client privilege exists - that is a matter for a judge only. And, no real judge in the US would find that this was not covered by privilege. And if they did, they would be overturned on appeal shortly thereafter. In real life if privilege exists, then the attorney has no choice.

McCoy himself *admits* that he knows he is asking Schwimmer to violate privilege, but that he should do so because the bar association would overlook it.

Um. NO THEY WOULD NOT. He'd likely be disbarred due to the extreme harm the disclosure would cause to the client. This red herring about him being sentenced to death is ridiculous, there is no theory of "no harm, no foul" in ethics cases. Furthermore, his convictions could be overturned, his death sentence commuted, or any other future possibilities so even McCoy's assertion that this will not possibly harm the client is patently false.

Law & Order: Making people ignorant about the law, one episode at a time.

Stupid with the right stuff

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 January 2016]

This episode points out a weakness inherent in Law And Order because it is based in New York City. Although the death penalty was reinstated under George Pataki for various reasons no one to this day has gotten the lethal injection in New York State. It doesn't help with the veracity with an episode like this. Not like a few of the defendants on Law And Order wouldn't deserve it. Including serial killer Ritchie Coaster.

This is one scary dude. In fact his original attorney Susan Floyd begs off the case this guy scares her so much. She's a seasoned criminal attorney and that should say something. I wonder what Hannibal Lecter's lawyers must have thought?

In walks Alexander Chaplin, young idealistic Legal Aid attorney who does one colossally stupid thing in dealing with Coaster and it puts him in a jackpot similar to the one Al Pacino was in in And Justice For All. It has to do with attorney client privilege.

Actually Sam Waterston is the one who should be censored by the Bar Association but he covers his tracks well.

For his mistake Chaplin becomes the most hated man in New York and liable to blow his whole career. In the end though you have to respect him for his courage if not his smarts.

I liked it but it wasn't realistic.

[alanjunior · 6/10 · 26 July 2019]

The serial killer was great, the idealistic young defender was great, but McCoy never asked the right questions. I suppose if he had the episode would have turned out very differently. So the reason I take 4 points off this one is because of the writing.

A conundrum

[lor_ · 18 August 2023]

An interesting example of investigating a serial killer's history of victimizing is still relevant today (re: the Gilgo Beach, Long Island murders of prostitutes a decade ago in which the many bodies found still are not legally linked to the recently arrested architect who almost got away with murder).

What really drives this show is the wealth of talented character actors as the incidental people questioned on the fly by Jerry & Jesse, giving dramatic and utterly believable brief performances as the investigation unfolds (in addition of course to the principal guest stars who have much juicier parts). For example, Stephanie Berry gets a minute of screen time but puts her heart into it -impressing me no end. The wealth of talent based in New York City is on display week after week in these Dick Wolf shows.

Of course Schwimmer as the obnoxious legal aid thrilled to be representing a serial killer steals the show alongside Ritchie Coster as the maniac. The limitations of the legal system in meting out actual justice are dramatized in bold relief.

My favorite line, uttered by the late Fred Dalton Thompson to Sam regarding the pigheaded doggedness of Schwimmer's character about the lawyer/client privilege: "I thought all the true believers went the way of vinyl records". Wow! -CDs were a huge deal back in 2003 when this was made, but are now throwaways while vinyl is BACK in a big way, and many, many rare first pressings from the 1960s in genres ranging from jazz to rock are worth thousands of dollars today.

Good Premise, Bad Execution

[ShabbyDoll23 · 6/10 · 23 March 2023]

There are good aspects to this episode. The performances are great (except for the always wooden Röhm). It brings up the issue of how the basic principles of client-attorney privilege may not always serve the public or how it goes against what we would see as moral. But by presenting in a way so unrealistically is infuriating.

Nothing McCoy does is ethical or could be done. Like someone stated earlier, a jury wouldn't be deciding attorney-client privilege. It's very rare that could be broken and it's an issue only someone who studied law could and should decide on that. From leaking information on the young attorney to the press and trying to push the lawyer's hand to break the law, everything McCoy is doing is wrong.

Also, McCoy and Southerlyn are full of it when they say a law firm would "understand." No. Schwimmer would be disbarred. End of story.

There could be a great episode and discussion about the how attorney-client privilege has fundamental flaws. Instead we are presented with another episode of McCoy doing "the wrong thing for the right reasons."

If the writing staff had a modicum of respect for their audience they could've brought up a compelling argument. Instead they play to emotion and ignore basic facts. Law & Order chose not to portray the circumstances with any connection to reality.

Sorry, Mr. Wolf. Dismissed with prejudice.