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Murder One (TV series)

television series

Murder One (1995–1997) was an American legal drama television show, airing on ABC, about a prominent defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm.

Season 1

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Chapter One [1.01]

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Teddy Hoffman: Do you think anyone in this bar believes you've got a full head of hair? We all know that's a comb-over. But till you get so obnoxious you forfeit your right to civil treatment, no one here points it out. Think of the trial system like that. We know accused people aren't always innocent. Maybe not even usually innocent.
Bar Patron: Yeah, now start to twist things around.
Teddy Hoffman: And even though we know that, we treat people like they're innocent till they've had their shot in court. It makes us better people, it civilizes us to treat them that way. Civility is important. That's why no one in here called you a self-deceiving fool till you opened your drunken mouth.

Chapter Two [1.02]

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Arnold Spivak: They won't be forgetting the name Arnold Spivak up there any time soon. I was awesome, and a lot more spontaneous than I had planned.
Annie Hoffman: I'm not naive, Teddy. But a case like this one, with all the theatrics and media hoopla, it's not about getting the truth. It's show business. Crime as entertainment. Everybody's a celebrity: lawyer, witness, jurors.

Chapter Three [1.03]

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Teddy Hoffman: [looking around Dr. Lester's office] My God, the continent tilts. Every quack with a diploma rolls out here and gets an ocean view.
Dr. Graham Lester: On the off chance that you are myopic, Mr. Hoffman, let me acquaint you with my wall hangings. I'm board certified by both the American Colleges of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. I am a teaching clinical professor at the University of ...
Teddy Hoffman: And I can name five popes who killed people.
Sam Carter: [to Teddy] When you look back, do you think you're going to be proud of what you did in that court? Making yourself a little richer by helping this kind of man get away with what he did and calling it justice? There was a time when you were judged by the way you lived and not by the words you could string together.

Chapter Four [1.04]

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Teddy Hoffman: Make Richard pay, but don't destroy yourself in the process. Siegalstein, he'll turn you into a circus act.
Francesca Cross: Turn me into one? That's what I am.
Teddy Hoffman: [asking Francesca to change lawyers] I can give you a list with twenty names of honorable people.
Francesca Cross: Without limits?
Teddy Hoffman: Honorable without limits? That's a shorter list.

Chapter Five [1.05]

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Teddy Hoffman: This town is like a bucket of crabs. You make it to the top of the pile, there's somebody underneath trying to pull you down.
Richard Cross: You know, Teddy, in a life not short on mistakes, one I promised myself I would never make was getting involved in the picture business.

Chapter Six [1.06]

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Arnold Spivak: He acted in self-defense.
Cheryl Dreyfuss: Why did he run?
Arnold Spivak: He panicked. He was a kid alone in a strange city.
Cheryl Dreyfuss: He remained in a state of panic for 17 years?
Teddy Hoffman: Doctor, a note for you. Under 'symptoms' for Julie Costello, put the name Graham Lester.
Dr. Graham Lester: Ignore him.
Teddy Hoffman: No, pay very close attention. You allow him access and you threaten not only her emotional well-being, but very likely her life.
Doctor: But he's her primary physician.
Teddy Hoffman: He's her enemy.

Chapter Seven [1.07]

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Teddy Hoffman: I'll make this real simple, Neil. I am your only friend. Anything you say to anyone else can be used against you in court. For your own sake you trust me, and me alone. Until we're past this, you consider everyone else an enemy.
Teddy Hoffman: Who told you the results of our jury survey?
Connie Dahlgren: You know I can't answer that.
Teddy Hoffman: If I've got a traitor working for me, I'd like to know.
Connie Dahlgren: And speaking hypothetically, what do I get in return?
Teddy Hoffman: I'd say the pleasure of knowing you did the right thing, but I know better.
Teddy Hoffman: This case needs your honesty, Miriam.
Miriam Grasso: Blow any more smoke up my bustle and you'll set the sprinklers off.

Chapter Eight [1.08]

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Teddy Hoffman: Listen to me, Neil. There's a perception in your business that any ink is good ink. That's not the case in a murder trial. We're at war for the hearts and minds of the jury.
Teddy Hoffman: You're laboring under a misapprehension if you think that I had anything to do with that video.
Connie Dahlgren: You have the most remarkable ability to be sincere whether you mean it or not.

Chapter Nine [1.09]

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Richard Cross: Justine, every lawyer that I know wants to be something else. Right now, being Ted Hoffman's partner might seem pretty big, but trust me, the day will come when you'll want more.
Justine Appleton: I'd forgotten how much I liked Holbein.
Richard Cross: Simply magnificent. The use of color, the balance of the composition. But I think the thing that draws you in the most is the darkness. Nobody handled darkness like Holbein.
Teddy Hoffman: After hearing about Fletcher I let up on a witness who might have given Neil a reasonable doubt.
Annie Hoffman: How reasonable?
Teddy Hoffman: Honestly? It was a fishing expedition, but it would have wrecked the guy, so I dropped it.
Annie Hoffman: Then you did the right thing.
Teddy Hoffman: My job description reads 'defense attorney', not 'all-around good guy'.

Chapter Ten [1.10]

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Francesca Cross: Richard's not the same man I married. Six years ago, we started living separate lives. His was a parade of users, mistresses, whores. Mine was charitable work and the rumors of infidelity behind my back.
Teddy Hoffman: Because you work in a psychiatrist's office, do you believe you have more insight into human behavior?
Ms. Milligan: Only that people don't always pay their bills and that they're sometimes late for their appointments.
Chris Docknovich: [about a possible juror] If you're bothered by the crucifix she had on, my 16-year old sister has one just like it and a navel ring.
Lorraine Vitale: Wear it one day, it's a fashion statement. Wear it three days in a row, as this woman has, and it's who you are.

Chapter Eleven [1.11]

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Adler: You're good at what you do. And I'm good at what I do.
Teddy: You are indeed.
Adler: I would rather be where I am, and who I am, than strutting around a courtroom in your $2,000 suit, twisting and obfuscating and distorting logic and common sense, all to protect a client who, more likely than not, is also filthy rich and guilty as sin.

Chapter Twelve [1.12]

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Justine Appleton: The dollar is rebounding against all the European currencies. So, if you were to close on the Holbein painting today, the price would only be ridiculous instead of obscene.
Richard Cross: Good. If the dollar takes a wrong turn, I can live with obscene.
Miriam Grasso: Morning, ladies and gentlemen. I work for the District Attorney's Office of the County of Los Angeles. And I represent the people of the state of California. I represent you. One thing I want to advise you from the start: I am not anywhere near as entertaining as Ted Hoffman is.
Neil Avedon: Why was Grasso taking so many notes?
Teddy Hoffman: To get the jury to ask the same question you just did. So they're not giving 100 percent attention to what I'm saying.
Neil Avedon: Can she do that? Isn't that dirty pool?
Teddy Hoffman: When she does it to us, yes. When we do it to her, no.

Chapter Thirteen [1.13]

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Louis Hines: If you're detecting a little eau de brimstone, it's Richard Cross.
Teddy Hoffman: When Richard Cross tells me there's no smoke, I look for fire.

Chapter Fourteen [1.14]

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Neil Avedon: This is my shrink we're talking about?
Teddy Hoffman: We're talking about a thoroughly corrupt bastard who's selling you down the river.

Chapter Fifteen [1.15]

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Teddy Hoffman: There's no indication the relationship between these two people will have any effect on the jury's deliberation.
Miriam Grasso: You don't think their independence has been compromised?
Teddy Hoffman: No, I don't. I think it's entirely possible for two people to sleep together and disagree about everything.
Julie Costello: When you're with Richard, it's like being lost in a fog. All very calm and cool, and scary as hell because you can't quite see what's right in front of your eyes.
Richard Cross: Abundance and prosperity belong to each and everyone of us. The trouble is, most people cannot accept that. So they live lives of denial and self-depreciation.

Chapter Sixteen [1.16]

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Miriam Grasso: Congratulations, Teddy. I suppose now we'll see a parade of reluctant witnesses all squirming to deny they ever knew Jessica Costello.
Teddy Hoffman: Could be, Miriam. But personally, I love a parade.
Teddy Hoffman: If there's ever a nuclear holocaust, find Gary Blondo and stand next to him. The man's a survivor.
Teddy Hoffman: How were you able to divorce Francesca and remarry so quickly?
Richard Cross: Oh, Teddy, that's what countries like the Dominican Republic are for. So that people like me can get on with their lives.

Chapter Seventeen [1.17]

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Miriam Grasso: Calling Mr. Garfield as a witness for the defense is patently absurd and a cheap trick by the defense to embarrass the D.A.'s office.
Teddy Hoffman: I've never known the prosecutor's office to need outside help in that regard.
Roger Garfield: However shortsighted you may be, rest assured I am not. I see a long way, all the way to Sacramento. In spite of what you're trying to do to me here. And I don't forget. Ever!
Teddy Hoffman: Good. I like that in a witness.

Chapter Eighteen [1.18]

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Teddy Hoffman: What can you tell me about Eduardo Portalegre?
Richard Cross: Besides the fact that he's handsome, arrogant and cheats at doubles tennis? Very little.
Miriam Grasso: This is Los Angeles, Teddy. We both know how difficult it is to convict a celebrity in this town.
Justine Appleton: I took a calculated risk and it turned out a poor one. I guess playing Mata Hari isn't my strong point.

Chapter Nineteen [1.19]

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Neil Avedon: I think that if I present myself truthfully, the audience will believe me.
Teddy Hoffman: Neil, it's not an audience. It' a jury.
Neil Avedon: How did you think I did?
Chris Docknovich: I think you did very well.
Neil Avedon: Good. Thanks. I'm going to go to the men's room. I'll be right back. [leaves]
Lisa Gillespie: You didn't really think he did that well, did you?
Chris Docknovich: He's an actor. He wants applause.

Chapter Twenty [1.20]

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Annie Hoffman: I'm tired of being on the front page of tabloids.
Teddy Hoffman: You think I like it?
Annie Hoffman: I think you love it.
Richard Cross: In my experience a ruthlessly ambitious person like yourself never asks an idle question.
Justine Appleton: You think I'm ruthlessly ambitious?
Richard Cross: Yes. And, coming from me, that's a compliment.

Chapter Twenty-One [1.21]

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Roger Garfield: Do you know why you could never run for public office, Teddy? You haven't learned the fine art of losing gracefully.
Teddy Hoffman: First rule of a lost verdict: don't attend the wake.
Gary Blondo: I'm no Oliver Wendell Holmes, but frankly, if we had been involved, there might have been a different outcome in court today.

Chapter Twenty-Two [1.22]

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Julie Costello: [about Richard Cross] He is my husband and I'm his wife. And whatever else I do, I'm going to honor the commitment I made to him. Don't you dare stand there with your air of moral superiority and tell me what I owe you. I owe you nothing.
Arnold Spivak: Wow. What's he worth? Four hundred million? Whatever else they say about you, they can't say you sold yourself cheap.
Annie Hoffman: I can't remember the last time I had a martini.
Teddy Hoffman: I thought gin gave you a headache.
Annie: It does. But after today, how could I possibly feel any worse?
Teddy Hoffman: If you want to see a study of loneliness, check into a hotel for a couple of months. Everybody's en route. The more ornate the lobby is, the more depressing it is.
Neil Avedon: [about prison] Everybody here knows my name. And everybody knows my face. Coming after me is a shortcut to a reputation in here.

Chapter Twenty-Three [1.23]

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Teddy Hoffman: [to Richard Cross] You said you're Neil's friend. You told me you're not my enemy and one day I would know that. This is the day, Richard. This is the day all the subterfuge, all the lies end.
Miriam Grasso: Judge, if I hadn't parked next to him in the garage, I would have suspected Mr. Hoffman rode over here with the cavalry.
Richard Cross: I was not telling the truth.
Roger Garfield: Then you acknowledge you're someone who lies depending on circumstances?
Richard Cross: I think we all do from time to time. Being a politician you should understand that better than anyone.
Roger Garfield: Isn't it possible you're delusional right now? That the testimony you've given here today has no basis in reality, but is a product of your worsening dementia?
Richard Cross: Roger, I am as clear-headed today as I was three weeks ago when you asked me to give $50,000 to your re-election campaign.
Richard Cross: Mister Garfield, if you're asking if I'm dying for Neil's sins, the answer is no. I can assure you, I'm dying for my own.

Cast

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