A false kidnapping claim leads to the prosecution of a married couple after detectives discover that three of their infants have died under mysterious circumstances.A false kidnapping claim leads to the prosecution of a married couple after detectives discover that three of their infants have died under mysterious circumstances.A false kidnapping claim leads to the prosecution of a married couple after detectives discover that three of their infants have died under mysterious circumstances.
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- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on several cases/incidents:-
- The 1994 Joseph Bales/Helene Lemay case. In which Bales and Lemay, a Canadian couple claimed their baby disappeared and was stolen in central park in New York city.
- The 1985 Marybeth Tinning case. Marybeth is thought to have killed at least 8 (and probably 9) of her children over a 14-year span. Most of the children had not yet reached the age of one year when they were killed. The deaths were originally thought to have been due to a genetic disease (Reye Syndrome) or SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), but suspicion increased after their adopted son Michael died too. Noted pathologist Michael Baden was involved in the initial investigation and subsequent trial. Tinning is still incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women (Bedford Hills, New York) and has been denied parole four times since 2007.
- The 1965-1971 Waneta Hoyt case. Waneta Ethel Hoyt was an American serial killer who was convicted of killing all five of her biological children.
- The debate over compulsory sterilization in the U.S.
- GoofsDA Adam Schiff refers to Jack McCoy's hypothetical next wife as "Mrs. McCovey."
- Quotes
Eileen Willick: I'm not a good mother.
Lennie Briscoe: Why do you say that?
Eileen Willick: My babies cry all the time. Other people's babies don't cry.
Lennie Briscoe: What did you do when your babies cried?
Eileen Willick: I want to go to the bathroom.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Vulture's the 100 Best Episodes of the 1994-95 TV Season (2014)
Featured review
Two Irritating, Loopy Guest Characters Make For a Clunker of an Episode
This is one of those L&O episodes where, rather than taking the viewer on a one-hour journey of surprising twists and turns, the viewer is instead guided through a cyclical, narrative back-and-forth; I watched in frustration as the two main guest characters, a couple played by Kevin O'Rourke and Julie Boyd, simply gave the detectives and the DA's office a runaround for an hour.
Part of the problem is the way the characters are played, though I'm sure the actors were only doing what they were told: Kevin O'Rourke as the husband/father has such a defiant "woe is me" victim complex that I found his character insufferable; his wife, Julie Boyd, is so spacey and loopy that I thought I was watching "Ghost Whisperer" or some other supernatural show. While the annals of L&O are filled with characters who try to stonewall the cops, the jurors, and even themselves, there's something about these two that, even if you chock their issues up to mental illness, makes them super irritating to watch.
As with many L&O episodes that end up being duds, this one's got at least a few redeeming elements: There's some fine one-liners, and there's a scene where Sam Waterston as EADA Jack McCoy makes a case for the sterilization of one of the guest characters, to the shock and disgust of Jill Hennessy as ADA Claire Kincaid and Steven Hill as DA Adam Schiff.
While I love those radical, unorthodox legal arguments that walk or cross the line of proper ethics which the Jack McCoy character would later become known for, it's not enough to save this one, in my opinion.
Fine actors, weak script.
Part of the problem is the way the characters are played, though I'm sure the actors were only doing what they were told: Kevin O'Rourke as the husband/father has such a defiant "woe is me" victim complex that I found his character insufferable; his wife, Julie Boyd, is so spacey and loopy that I thought I was watching "Ghost Whisperer" or some other supernatural show. While the annals of L&O are filled with characters who try to stonewall the cops, the jurors, and even themselves, there's something about these two that, even if you chock their issues up to mental illness, makes them super irritating to watch.
As with many L&O episodes that end up being duds, this one's got at least a few redeeming elements: There's some fine one-liners, and there's a scene where Sam Waterston as EADA Jack McCoy makes a case for the sterilization of one of the guest characters, to the shock and disgust of Jill Hennessy as ADA Claire Kincaid and Steven Hill as DA Adam Schiff.
While I love those radical, unorthodox legal arguments that walk or cross the line of proper ethics which the Jack McCoy character would later become known for, it's not enough to save this one, in my opinion.
Fine actors, weak script.
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- Better_TV
- May 8, 2018
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