"Law & Order" has often ripped stories from the headlines. Tonight, the series rips a story from its own past.
Way back in the series' eighth episode, titled "Indifference," David Groh guest starred as Dr. Jacob Lowenstein. In the episode, which originally aired Nov. 27, 1990, the detectives on the show at that time, Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Christopher Noth), investigated the murder of a child. They discovered the victim's mother was a crack addict who was being abused by her husband (Lowenstein), a psychiatrist who, it turned out, was also the killer.
Then-prosecutor Stone (Michael Moriarty) convicted Lowenstein, who was sent to prison at the end of the episode. And, as tonight's "Law & Order" (titled "Fixed") begins, he has been out of jail for a brief time when he is run down by a motorist and left for dead.
The current "Law & Order" detectives — Fontana (Dennis Farina) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) — aren't particularly interested in investigating the crime. But they do their duty and find evidence that leads the current prosecutor, McCoy (Sam Waterston), to a "startling discovery."
"To come back as Lowenstein after playing him 14 years ago is a real treat, even though he is rather an unsavory character," Groh said in a statement. "I love to play complex characters like Lowenstein, who is extremely bright and charming, but yet he has that chink in the armor. He's a man who won't admit his deep guilt and sickness."
The only other character from that 1990 episode to show up in "Fixed" is Capt. Donald Cragen (Dann Florek, who played the character from 1990-93 on "Law & Order" and has played the same character on "Law & Order: SVU" since 1999).
From a TV trivia point of view alone, this is pretty cool. There aren't many actors who play the same character on the same TV show in two episodes 14 years apart.
Of course, there aren't many shows that last 14 years.
SUBSTITUTION: Jesse L. Martin is taking a leave of absence from "Law & Order." He'll be missing from several episodes while he is working on the film version of the musical "Rent."
Subbing for Martin will be Michael Imperioli, who goes from playing a mobster in "The Sopranos" to a cop — the nephew and temporary partner of Joe Fontana — on "L&O."
And good for executive producer Dick Wolf for allowing Martin to take time off from the series to do the movie. That sort of thing doesn't happen often.
NOTH REDUX? Christopher Noth will reprise his role as Logan in an upcoming episode of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." And there are unconfirmed reports that he will replace series lead Vincent D'Onofrio, whose behavior on the set has been erratic.
Stay tuned. . . .
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com