Muppet Wiki

Kermiteye Welcome to Muppet Wiki!


Please visit Special:Community to learn how you can collaborate with the editing community.

READ MORE

Muppet Wiki
Register
Advertisement
SLU Logo

Law and Order: Special Letters Unit title card.

Speciallettersunit

The cast of Law & Order: Special Letters Unit

Law & Order is a television police procedural and legal drama set and shot in New York City. The award-winning Law & Order and its several spin-off series ("Special Victims Unit", "Criminal Intent", "Trial by Jury") are broadcast on the NBC network and syndicated on other networks. The franchise totals more than 700 hour-long episodes, with three series still on the air.

Several Law & Order franchise cast members (such as Christopher Meloni and Richard Belzer) have appeared in Henson/Muppet productions. Additionally, the format of the shows and the large number of episodes require a substantial amount of non-recurring and incidental characters per episode (witnesses, judges, attorneys, etc.) The show is filmed and produced in Kaufman Astoria Studios, the same studio Sesame Street is filmed in. As a result many Sesame Street cast members have played guest roles in episodes, often returning as different characters. When Sonia Manzano appeared as a trial witness in a 2004 episode, she remarked that "the sound guy kept calling me Maria and telling me he grew up watching me. It was funny." [1]

Muppet Mentions

  • In the Law & Order episode "American Jihad" (October 2, 2002), Detective Lennie Briscoe retorts with the sarcastic wisecrack "I guess I missed that day on Sesame Street" after a suspect makes an overly technical remark about medical research.
  • In the Law & Order episode "Patient Zero" (October 8, 2003), when a uniformed cop uses euphemisms to avoid even mild curse words, Briscoe says, "What precinct are you from? Sesame Street?"

References

  • Sesame Street Season 37 brought "Law and Order: Special Letters Unit", a parody of the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, to the show's line-up.

In the alphabet system, there are 26 letters. The detectives who investigate these ABCs are members of an elite squad called the Special Letters Unit. These are their stories.

The sketch features Anything Muppet caricatures of Special Victims Unit cast members Meloni, Hargitay, Belzer, and Florek on a case for a missing letter "M". The sketch also parodies the show's format and infamous musical sting. As they investigate, they find things that start with the letter "M", including a cow named Murray that makes mmooo sounds and a mallard. In the end, the detectives recognize the missing letter "M" walking into the police station wearing a phony moustache, and the case is solved.
The sketch appears as a bonus feature on the North American DVD release of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit season six.
In a TV Guide interview, Sesame Street producer Carol-Lynn Parente expressed interest in taping more segments for Season 38, possibly featuring the voices of the original actors. Special Victims Unit is filmed and produced in Kaufman Astoria Studios, the same studio Sesame Street is filmed in. However no other segements have been produced.
  • In Episode 4148 from Season 38, Christopher Meloni from Law & Order: SVU appeared in a "Word on the Street" segment. He was introduced with the Law & Order series' "chung-chung" transitional sound, and appeared behind an SVU police report to discuss "mail."

Connections

Law & Order

Cast Members:


Guest Appearances:

Sesame Street regulars/Muppet performers


Other guests:
  • Stephen Bienskie played Simon ("Deep Vote," 2001)
  • Sônia Braga played Helen ("Genius," 2003)
  • Alan Campbell played Nolan Steel ("Driven," 2008)
  • Chris Cooper played Roy Payne ("Blood Libel," 1996)
  • Taye Diggs played Sky Bell ("Good Girl," 1996)
  • Julie Dretzin played Laura Bauer ("Golden Years," 1994)
  • Frances Foster played Mary Tillar ("Mother Love," 1993)
  • Keith Hernandez played Drew Harding in ("Wager," 1994)
  • Bob Gunton played Gil Hines ("Happily Ever After," 1990)
  • Russell Horton played Markham ("Prescription for Death," 1990)
  • James Earl Jones played Horace McCoy ("Profile," 1993)
  • Kelly Karbacz played Jenny Snyder ("Dazzled," [2002)
  • John Bedford Lloyd played Jonathan Ryder ("Blood is Thicker," 1992), Dr. Christian Varick ("Double Blind," 1996), and Prentiss's Lawyer ("New York Minute," 2005)
  • William H. Macy played Assistant U.S. Attorney John McCormack ("Everybody's Favorite Bagman" (1990), and Jack Powell ("Sisters of Mercy," 1992)
  • Julianna Margulies played Lt. Ruth Mendoza ("Conduct Unbecoming," 1993)
  • Chris Marquette played Ricky ("Double Down," 1997)
  • Michael McKean played Bill Nolan ("Called Home," 2008), and Elias Grace ("Mega", 2000)
  • Pippin Parker played Kleinman ("Star Struck," 1992)
  • Mandy Patinkin played Glenn Fordyce/Levi 'The Griffin' March ("Absentia," 2003)
  • Lonny Price played Dr. Lieber ("Sonata for Solo Organ," 1991) and Frank Hoover ("Prince of Darkness," 1991)
  • Kim Raver played Wendy Karmel ("Homesick," 1996)
  • Rex Robbins played Steinman ("Intolerance," 1992) and Kettering ("L.A.: Turnaround," 1997)
  • Sam Rockwell played Randy Borland ("Intolerance," 1992) and Weddeker ("Manhood," 1993)
  • Bill Walsh played ESU Policeman #2 ("Soldier of Fortune", 2001)
  • Ellis E. Williams played Ray Bell in "A Death in the Family" (1991)
  • Louis Zorich played Judge Milton Erdheim ("Indifference," 1990) and Judge Edgar Hynes ("Jeopardy," 1995)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Cast Members:

Guest Appearances:

Sesame Street regulars/Muppet performers


Other guests:

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Guest Appearances:

Sesame Street regulars/Muppet performers


Other guests:
  • Tom Arnold played Rev. Calvin Riggins ("Brother's Keeper," 2007)
  • Kelly Karbacz played Renata Virgini ("Unchained", 2005)
  • Liza Minnelli played Bethany Harner ("Masquerade," 2006)
  • Doris Roberts played Virginia Harrington ("Privilege", 2007)
  • Paul Shaffer appeared as himself ("Vanishing Act," 2008)
  • Bill Walsh played Detective Parsons ("Stress Position", 2005) and Fireman ("Enemy Within", 2001)

Video Games

Several actors in Muppet/Henson productions have also been heard in the Law & Order video games.

  • Julianne Buescher provided the voices of Nicole Beaumont and Claire Thomas in "Justice Is Served" (2004) and Jenna Kirkwood, Jennifer Lee, Carla Meyers, Stephanie Novitsky, Barbara Rodriguez, Rosa Sanchez and Rachael Warren in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2005).
  • Barry Dennen voiced a crime scene tech, George Bennett, Frederick Grant, Tom Kirkwood, Tony Piovani, and Gerald Stokes in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2005).
  • Sam McMurray voiced Jack Foster and Henry Haskins in "Justice Is Served" (2004)
  • Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Mark Rawlins in "Dead on the Money" (2002) and "Double or Nothing" (2003)
  • Florence Stanley voiced Judge Emily Greenwood in "Dead on the Money" (2002) and "Double or Nothing" (2003), also playing Mrs. Yost in the latter

Sources

  1. Madden, Mekeisha. "Sesame Street Celebrates 35 Years of Teaching Kids." The Detroit News. 2004
Visit the:
Wikipedia has an article related to:
Advertisement