In honor of the late great Mr. Hill, what are some of your favorite quotes from the Kvetching DA of the first nine seasons?
(On a reversal in court) Don't complain, half the time he makes stupid decisions IN our favor.
If she gets over turned one more time, she'll be walking on the ceiling.
I'm not up on my Catholic theology, is hubris a mortal or a venial sin.
My favorite Adam line is perhaps his longest line in the series. It's ironic because, according to the book, "Law & Order: The Unofficial Companion," by Susan Greene and Kevin Courrier, Hill always wanted to be given fewer and shorter lines.
The line is from Season 4's, "The Golden Years," an episode about a young woman who is accused of killing her grandmother by starving her to death. Near the end of the episode, EADA Ben Stone considers offering her a plea bargain. Here is what Adam had to say to Ben about this possibility:
"You and the girl's lawyer want to pressure her into pleading to a lesser charge that she might *not* be guilty of so she won't be convicted of a more serious charge that she *might* be guilty of? Does that make sense?"
What a long, twisted line Adam said! Gotta read it a few times to understand it all. Ben's reply was pretty good, too. "With our system and imperfect knowledge? Yes."
Another great line of his was part of a funny scene near the end of Season 9's "Flight." Abbie and Jack are in Adam's office when they learn that the suspect (Downing) has left NYC but was spotted in nearby New Jersey. The scene plays out like this:
Abbie: Downing sniffed out the arrest and took off. He's been spotted in New Jersey.
Jack: The airport? [I assume Newark Airport.]
Abbie: At the Eden Motel in Secaucus. Curtis wants us to meet him there.
[Adam tries to be helpful by describing where the motel is and how to get there.]
Adam: Route 3, west of the [New Jersey] Turnpike.
Jack and Abbie look surprised that he knows where the likely fleabag motel is, and have some really funny looks on their faces. Adam realizes this and makes a funny face of his own when he replies....
Adam: You can see it from the highway.
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My favorite line is one I often make up when describing Steven Hill's excellent portrayal of this gruff, no-nonsense, character to friends who are unfamiliar with the show. I don't really know if he ever said any of these words, but I guess if I wrote for the show, I would have come up with something like this for him to deliver, in his familiar position of playing devil's advocate when summing up the prosecution's position. Perhaps when saying it to Jack McCoy and Jamie Ross:
"That's great. You've got a witness who didn't see anything and blood that "might" belong to the victim...Make the deal!"
Possibly one of his last lines on the series- Vaya con Dios. Delivered gruffly and kind of dismissively at the same time. Honestly almost anything he said were pure gems. I expected Mr. Hill to live forever but sadly that's just fantasy.
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