Mike Logan (Law & Order)
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| Law & Order character | |
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| Det. Mike Logan | |
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| Time on show | 1990—1995 (Law & Order) 2005—present (Criminal Intent) |
| Succeeded by | Rey Curtis (L&O) |
| First appearance | "Prescription for Death" (First Aired) "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" (L&O) "Stress Position" (CI) |
| Portrayed by | Chris Noth |
Michael "Mike" Logan, played by Chris Noth, is a fictional character in the Law & Order franchise.
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[edit] History in the franchise
Logan initially appeared on Law & Order from the show's pilot episode and first season in 1990 to Noth's dismissal from the series in 1995. The character then guest-starred in the Season 4 episode, (CI: "Stress Position") and then became a regular on that series starting with the first episode of season five, (CI: "Grow") which originally aired on September 25, 2005.
[edit] Character development
Mike Logan was born in New York City and spent ten years attending Our Lady of Mercy (L&O: Apocrypha). He is originally portrayed as a cocky chauvinist with a short temper. Later episodes, however, reveal a darker, more complex side to the character; it is 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 confronts and brings to justice in the 1995 episode "Bad Faith"). The abuse he suffered from his priest and his mother leads to his rather cynical view of the church; he quips in one episode that "My mother beat me with one hand while she held a Rosary with the other. The next time I enter a church, it'll be in a pine box carried by six of my friends." When he was a young man, his pregnant girlfriend had an abortion against his wishes (L&O: "Breeder"). As these traumas are revealed, his "short fuse" evolves into a deep-seated pathological anger.
His anger explodes; when his first partner, Max Greevey (George Dzundza), is murdered by a suspect and comes close to killing the perpetrator, relenting only at the last minute and nearly losing his job over it.(L&O: "Confession").
Logan's second partner, Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino), is also shot in the line of duty (episode: "Prince of Darkness"), but he survives and takes on a desk job (episode: "Point of View"). In the following episodes, his partner is Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), and professes his respect for the latter's skill at the pool table (CI episode: "Diamond Dogs") while threatening an uncooperative man with a broken cue stick. 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 Arabic and Japanese descent, he is also adamantly pro-choice, supports gay rights, and compares the Patriot Act to George Orwell's 1984.
[edit] Appearances post-Law & Order
When Noth was fired from the show over a salary dispute, the Logan character was written out; in the Law & Order universe, Logan is transferred from Manhattan Homicide to the Staten Island Harbor Patrol in 1995 (L&O: "Pride") for publicly punching a homophobic politician who had been tried for the murder of a gay man. He is 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 tries 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), is involved in the crime. During the course of the film, he becomes a homicide detective again, but is kept on Staten Island, where he has little opportunity to pursue significant cases.
In 2005, he returns and helps the Major Case Squad's investigation of a case of prisoner abuse involving corrupt Corrections Officers who torture Muslim prisoners (CI: "Stress Position"). His girlfriend, the prison nurse, is questioned about her knowledge of the internal workings of the prison and her interactions with a murdered guard. Eventually, Logan helps detectives Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) arrest the guards responsible, resisting the urge to assault the ringleader, even after he and his cohorts held Logan, Goren and Logan's then-girlfriend at bay and almost killed them, until Goren talked them out of it.
Once the squad's captain, James Deakins (Jamey Sheridan), returns him to active duty as a detective, Logan is partnered with Det. Carolyn Barek (Annabella Sciorra) (CI: "Grow").
In the sixth season, the Major Case Squad is handed over to a new captain, Danny Ross (Eric Bogosian) and Logan is assigned a new partner, Det. Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson). Initially, Logan has trouble adjusting to his new partner, but he begins to accept her. In the seventh season, he works with Det. Nola Falacci (Alicia Witt), a temporary partner assigned to him while Wheeler is teaching American police procedures to officers in Europe.
Although Logan's attitude remains intact from his early days, his behavior has improved considerably: he is more willing to avoid confrontations that would undermine his authority or otherwise bring unwanted attention to himself. In the episode "Offense," when Falacci asks why his calm demeanor does not support his reputation as a hothead, he shows her an old newspaper clipping that he keeps in his wallet about his earlier assault and demotion. "After ten years on Staten Island you learn to pick your battles," he says.
[edit] Select work history
| # | City | Division | Partner | Direct Superior |
| 27th | Manhattan | Homicide | Sgt. Max Greevey | Capt. Don Cragen |
| 27th | Manhattan | Homicide | Sgt. Phil Cerreta | Capt. Don Cragen |
| 27th | Manhattan | Homicide | Det. Lennie Briscoe | Capt. Don Cragen |
| 27th | Manhattan | Homicide | Det. Lennie Briscoe | Lt. Anita Van Buren |
| Staten Island | Domestic Dispute | Det. Tony Boyer | Lt. Kevin Stolper | |
| Staten Island | Homicide Dept | Det. Frankie Silvera | Lt. Kevin Stolper | |
| Manhattan | Major Case Squad | Det. Carolyn Barek | Capt. James Deakins | |
| Manhattan | Major Case Squad | Det. Megan Wheeler | Capt. Danny Ross | |
| Manhattan | Major Case Squad | Det. Nola Falacci | Capt. Danny Ross |
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