Smile (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
Encyclopedia
"Smile" is a seventh season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent
.
and Eames
investigate the murder of a dentist which turns out to be connected to the death of one of his young patients. As Goren and Eames look into both murders, they follow a trail of counterfeit
mouthwash from the streets of Harlem
to the FDA
and Wall Street
ambit. Though initial suspicions by dentist's wife are levied against the local population, the victim was loved and embraced by the Harlem community. The detectives turn their attention to a man, whose close proximity to the clinic makes him an obvious choice for a good eye witness. The man tells them that he saw a woman, then two teen boys leaving the clinic the night of the murder. But when suspicious activity turns up on dentist's credit card, Goren and Eames zero in on the two teen boys. Then, the detectives bust the kids for stealing the credit card, but one of the boy's mother gives them an unexpected motive for the dentist's murder: the good doctor was a suspected pedophile. Goren suspects that the children are suffering from alcohol poisoning, and he thinks that mouthwash in the dentist's goody bag for his patients may be the culprit. Unfortunately for one of the boys, his toxicology
report reveals that he did not die of alcohol poisoning, but in fact was killed by a lethal amount of Diethylene glycol
in his system. The detectives realize that the FDA and a big Wall Street corporation may have had a hand in these deaths.
Ultimately the detectives figure out that their FDA employee insider, Leslie LeZard, has been scheming all along to use the tainted mouthwash crisis to her advantage and destroy her FDA boss and take his position.
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...
.
Plot summary
In this episode, Detectives GorenRobert 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....
and 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...
investigate the murder of a dentist which turns out to be connected to the death of one of his young patients. As Goren and Eames look into both murders, they follow a trail of counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
mouthwash from the streets of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
to the FDA
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
ambit. Though initial suspicions by dentist's wife are levied against the local population, the victim was loved and embraced by the Harlem community. The detectives turn their attention to a man, whose close proximity to the clinic makes him an obvious choice for a good eye witness. The man tells them that he saw a woman, then two teen boys leaving the clinic the night of the murder. But when suspicious activity turns up on dentist's credit card, Goren and Eames zero in on the two teen boys. Then, the detectives bust the kids for stealing the credit card, but one of the boy's mother gives them an unexpected motive for the dentist's murder: the good doctor was a suspected pedophile. Goren suspects that the children are suffering from alcohol poisoning, and he thinks that mouthwash in the dentist's goody bag for his patients may be the culprit. Unfortunately for one of the boys, his toxicology
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
report reveals that he did not die of alcohol poisoning, but in fact was killed by a lethal amount of Diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol
Diethylene glycol is an organic compound with the formula 2O. It is a colorless, practically odorless, poisonous, and hygroscopic liquid with a sweetish taste. It is miscible in water, alcohol, ether, acetone, and ethylene glycol. DEG is a widely used solvent...
in his system. The detectives realize that the FDA and a big Wall Street corporation may have had a hand in these deaths.
Ultimately the detectives figure out that their FDA employee insider, Leslie LeZard, has been scheming all along to use the tainted mouthwash crisis to her advantage and destroy her FDA boss and take his position.
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... |
| Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,... |
Capt. Danny Ross |