Law & Order's M.E. Rodgers: The 'M' Stands For 'Marvelous'

It's hard to recall in a post-C.S.I. world, but there was a time when TV audiences were not as well-versed in the forensic sciences as we are today. This is probably why Law & Order -- which premiered in 1990, a time when the mysterious initials "DNA" were not thrown around TV crime scenes and a murder case might actually turn on, tee hee, a thumbprint -- mostly kept its various forensic scientists in their labs, stopping by for a report that could advance the plot, only rarely even putting any of them on the stand in the "Order" half of an episode. For a forensic scientist in the Law & Order universe not just to stand out but to take her place in the pantheon of a die-hard fan's pantheon of faves takes a very special character, who can imbue even two-minute scenes with her indelible personality. M.E. Rodgers is just that sort of character.

Rodgers is unmoved by detectives' attempts to make her rush her findings. She's meticulous, but she'll eat her lunch in the morgue. She's blonde, except when she's a redhead. She's into guys in their twenties, until she (...maybe???) got involved with CI Captain Danny Ross.

Rodgers brought her dry wit and gloved hands to all the scripted Law & Orderses, in well over a hundred episodes. She low-key made sex eyes at Logan (who wouldn't), and lit up at victims associated with the world of classical music. One of her arcane interests was pulp crime novels -- and true Rodgers fans will cringe when I mention that in memory of "The Family Hour." One of the biggest Rodgers episodes finds her confidently testifying about a smarmy murderer's having been inspired by a particular book only to have to reverse herself later when she looked it up. (In a meta-pretzel -- a metzel, if you will -- the headline this plot twist is based on was one where an expert witness blamed Law & Order for giving Andrea Yates the idea to drown her children, when no such episode actually existed.) Everything turns out okay -- thanks, in no small part, to an instant classic closing by Rubirosa after McCoy is removed from the case -- but still, no one likes to see a pal embarrassed on the job.

Rodgers gave us lots of reasons to love her, and lots of small glimpses at her life over her years in the franchise, but none was ever as meaningful as when we found out her M.E. origin story.