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| “ | One single human life on the time scale of the universe... you and I have different priorities. | „ |
| ~ Manning displaying his arrogance |
Dr. Edward Manning is the secondary antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Big Bang". He is a nuclear physicist who steals colleague Max Weiss' revolutionary theory about proton decay in order to enhance his own fading reputation, provoking Weiss into mailing him a homemade bomb that kills his ex-wife, Florence.
He was portrayed by Harris Yulin, who also portrayed Mel Bernstein in Scarface, Dr. Berrisford in Bad Dreams, and Trekal Darhe'el in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Early life[]
Manning was a nuclear physicist who distinguished himself early in his career, being hailed as a "boy wonder" for discovering a new particle at the age of 26. He taught physics at Wisconsin State University, where he was the thesis advisor for doctoral candidate Max Weiss. He offered Weiss a job as a research assistant, but Weiss turned him down to pursue a teaching job at Oberlin College, which so wounded his inflated ego that he pulled strings to make sure Weiss did not get the job.
Manning was later hired as a professor by Hudson Polytech in New York City and specialized in studying proton decay, but his career eventually stalled, his experiments always falling short of the promise of his early work. By the time he was middle-aged, the only real power he had left at Hudson was as the head of the grant proposal review board.
Despite his fading reputation and clout in the scientific community, he was extremely arrogant, looking down on non-scientists - including his wife, Florence - as his intellectual inferiors. When Florence caught him cheating on her with Cynthia Thomas, a much younger chemist, she filed for divorce and drew out the proceedings as much as she could to punish him for his infidelity and the years of emotional abuse he put her through.
Weiss applied for a research grant detailing a theory that solved the problems Manning had been facing in his proton decay research, so he rejected Weiss' proposal and claimed the theory as his own. When Weiss threatened to reveal his plagiarism, Manning gave him $3,500 and promised to share credit with him on a paper he was writing, which would make Weiss' career. He went back on his word at the last minute, however, telling Weiss he had not "earned" collaboration with him and dismissing his theory as a "lucky guess". He then blackballed Weiss with Hudson's scientific department, making sure he did not get teaching jobs so no one would take him seriously enough to listen to his claims of plagiarism.
"Big Bang"[]
Weiss, who was struggling to support his wife and children thanks to Manning's professional sabotage, decided to get back at him by mailing a homemade explosive device to his house, intending only to scare him. He was unaware that Manning had moved out of the house after he and Florence separated, however. Florence triggered the bomb by opening the package with a letter opener, which was propelled by the explosion into Florence's neck, killing her.
While investigating Florence's murder, NYPD Homicide Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Mike Logan question Manning, who says that their divorce was "as amicable as can be expected", conveniently leaving out his affair with Thomas. For her part, Thomas says that her engagement to Manning is "on hold", and tells Briscoe and Logan that she saw a man - whom they later discover to be Weiss - peering in Florence's window and arguing with Manning one day while he was serving her with divorce papers. Another Hudson staff member identifies Weiss as having access to the tools needed to make the bomb. Briscoe and Logan find bomb-making materials in Weiss' work locker and arrest him for murder.
While looking into Weiss' financial records, Briscoe and Logan find out that Manning gave him $3,500. Determined to take Manning down with him, Weiss lies that he hired him to kill Florence. Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone and Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid question Manning, who says he gave Weiss some minor research work out of pity. Kincaid questions Weiss' wife and one of Manning's colleagues, and they discover Manning's plagiarism, which disproves Weiss' story and gives him a motive for killing Florence.
After Weiss' lawyer persuades the trial judge to exclude Thomas' identification of Weiss, Stone and Kincaid ask Manning to testify about his plagiarism to establish Weiss' motive. Manning refuses to help the prosecution, however, as admitting what he did would ruin his career. Stone and Kincaid threaten to indict him for larceny, which would expose him as a scientific fraud even if he was acquitted, unless he testifies against Weiss. Manning claims that Weiss' theory is worthless, but Stone and Kincaid reply that they will call Manning's colleagues to testify about its validity, humiliating him in front of his peers. Manning, having finally been outsmarted, agrees to testify.
During the trial, Manning grudgingly admits to stealing Weiss' theory, while insisting that he would have figured it out on his own eventually. Weiss is found guilty of second-degree murder, while Manning is presumably fired from his teaching job.
External links[]
- Edward Manning on the Law & Order Wiki
