Mike Logan (Law & Order)

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Detective Mike Logan
Law & Order character

Time on show	1990-1995 (L&O) 2005-present (L&O: CI)
Preceded by	None (L&O) None (L&O: CI)
Succeeded by	Rey Curtis (L&O)
First appearance	Everybody's Favorite Bagman (L&O) Grow (L&O: CI)
Last appearance	Pride (L&O) N/A (L&O: CI)
Portrayed by	Chris Noth

Detective Mike Logan, played by Chris Noth, is a fictional character in the Law & Order franchise. Logan initially appeared on Law & Order from the show's first season in 1990 to Noth's dismissal from the series in 1995. The character was added to the spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent during the first episode of season five, "Grow," which originally aired on September 25, 2005.

Over the five years Noth starred in the original series, Logan gradually evolved from a "Dirty Harry"-type loose cannon into a more complex, troubled character that is, to this day, one of the most popular in the franchise's history.

1 Character history
2 Appearances post-Law & Order
3 Scenes with a district attorney
4 Trivia
5 Select work history

[edit] Character history

Logan was originally portrayed as a cocky chauvinist with a short temper. Later episodes, however, revealed a darker, more complex side to the character; it was gradually revealed that he had been abused as a child, both physically (by his unstable, alcoholic mother) and sexually (by his parish priest, whom he confronted and brought to justice in the 1995 episode "Bad Faith"). It was also revealed that, when he was a young man, his pregnant girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes. As these traumas were revealed, his "short fuse" evolved into a deep-seated pathological anger.

In later episodes, that anger exploded; when his first partner, Maxwell Greevey (George Dzundza), was murdered by a suspect in the 1991 episode "Confession," he came close to killing the perpetrator, relenting only at the last minute and nearly losing his job over it.

His second partner, Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino), was also shot in the line of duty (episode: "Prince of Darkness"), but he survived and took on a desk job (episode: "Point of View").

Logan's closest professional relationships were with Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) and Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), who functioned as friends, mentors, and father figures in his life. Logan also had a close relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormick), who helped him cope with Greevey's death.

He has professed a serious dislike for upper-class professions, especially lawyers, accounting for his bumpy, antagonistic relationship with Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). He has diverse political views; while he has at various points held slight prejudices against people of Japanese and Arab descent, he is also adamantly pro-choice, supports gay rights, and compares the Patriot Act to George Orwell's 1984. Most of his prejudices seem to have disappated by the sixth season of Criminal Intent, during which he shows incredible distate for the racism he sees in Queens during the episode "World's Fair." In episode "30", he clashes with the new Captian, Danny Ross, about the Israeli government's desire to cover up mistakes made involving an international news story.

[edit] Appearances post-Law & Order

When Noth was fired from the show, the Logan character was written out; in the Law & Order universe, Logan was transferred from Manhattan Homicide to the Domestic Dispute Department in Staten Island in 1995 (episode: "Pride") for publicly punching a homophobic politician who had murdered a gay man. He was replaced by Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt).

The Logan character was revived in 1998 and given his own TV movie, Exiled: A Law & Order Movie. In the movie, Logan tried to get his old job back by solving the murder of a prostitute, in the process discovering that his old friend, Detective Tony Profaci (John Fiore), was involved in the crime. For his efforts, he was allowed to become a Homicide detective again, but kept in Staten Island, where he had little opportunity to pursue significant cases.

In 2005, the character was introduced into Law & Order: Criminal Intent when he participated with the Major Case Squad's investigation of a case of prisoner abuse involving corrupt Corrections guards who were torturing Muslim prisoners (episode: "Stress Position") Logan got involved when his girlfriend, the prison nurse, was questioned about her knowledge of the internal workings of the prison and her interactions with a murdered Corrections guard. Logan eventually helped detectives Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) arrest the guards responsible, resisting the urge to strike the ringleader despite his personal stake in the case (Logan: "He would have been worth another 10 years on Staten Island.")

Once the squad's captain, James Deakins (Jamey Sheridan), returned him to active duty as a detective, Logan was partnered with Detective Carolyn Barek (Annabella Sciorra). (episode: "Grow.")

In the May 2006 episode "To The Bone", he shot an undercover police officer who was once the foster son of the woman he was investigating (Whoopi Goldberg.) The man did not identify himself as a police officer, and when he brought his weapon up Logan fired in self-defense. It was only after Barek rushed over to help did she discover the officer's white shield. Logan was cleared of all charges by Internal Affairs, since he followed procedures in discharging his weapon at someone whom he believed was simply a man with a gun. He was still troubled by taking a life, however, and sought Olivet's counsel.

In the sixth season, Logan gained a new captain in Danny Ross (Eric Bogosian) when Deakins quit the force, and a new partner in Detective Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson). No explanation was given for Barek's disappearance, but Ross did say he would try to get her back as Logan's partner if things did not work out with Wheeler. Logan had trouble adjusting to his new partner, considering her inexperienced, but he has begun to accept her in subsequent episodes.

[edit] Scenes with a district attorney

Logan has thus far shared a scene with a district attorney only once (in season 1 of the original series):

Adam Schiff (played by Steven Hill) in "The Troubles".

[edit] Trivia

Logan's role on Law and Order: Criminal Intent makes him one of three characters to star on more than one L&O series - his former partner Briscoe appeared in Law and Order: Trial By Jury and his former captain Cragen moved to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Logan has also had the most partners out of any L&O detective (seven) and the most commanding officers (five).

[edit] Select work history

Division	Partner	Direct Superior
27th Precinct (Manhattan): Homicide Detective Squad	Sergeant Max Greevey	Captain Donald Cragen
27th Precinct (Manhattan): Homicide Detective Squad	Sergeant Phil Cerreta	Captain Donald Cragen
27th Precinct (Manhattan): Homicide Detective Squad	Detective Lennie Briscoe	Captain Donald Cragen (until 1993)
27th Precinct (Manhattan): Homicide Detective Squad	Detective Lennie Briscoe	Lieutenant Anita Van Buren
Domestic Dispute Dept. (Staten Island)	Detective Tony Boyer	Lieutenant Kevin Stolper
Homicide Dept. (Staten Island)	Detective Frankie Silvera	Lieutenant Kevin Stolper
Major Case Squad (Manhattan)	Detective Carolyn Barek (until 2006)	Captain James Deakins (until 2006)
Major Case Squad (Manhattan)	Detective Megan Wheeler	Captain Daniel Ross