Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.Kincaid's new partner in the DA's office, Jack McCoy, pursues murder charges for a woman who provided questionable alternative treatments for women suffering from breast cancer.
- Father Reynolds
- (as MichaelJohn McGann)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen A.D.A. Claire Kincaid first meets E.A.D.A. Jack McCoy, he tells her he had relationships with three former assistants in 24 years in the DA's office. This means the character began with the DA's office about 1970, so by the time the series ended in 2010 he would have been with the office about 40 years.
- GoofsDr. Haas's lawyer states that one of the side effects of chemotherapy is weight gain, which is not true. Patients on chemotherapy often undergo drastic weight loss, mostly due to the frequent nausea and vomiting that chemo drugs cause.
- Quotes
Detective Mike Logan: If it was me, I'd just have the operation.
Lt. Anita Van Buren: Oh really? You got anything you'd think twice about having cut off? 7th grade, what was the first thing that made you notice little Susie sitting across the aisle?
Detective Mike Logan: Come on, I was 13 years old.
Detective Lennie Briscoe: Oh, and everything's changed since then?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: That was the first thing that made little Susie feel like a woman, and trust me, it never goes away.
Detective Mike Logan: So what're you saying, Lieutenant? If you got the big C you'd just curl up with a bowl of chicken soup and a rabbit's foot under your pillow?
Lt. Anita Van Buren: What I wouldn't do, Mike, is be sitting around here eating cold pizza with you guys. No offense but in my last days I'm going to spend it with my husband and my kids.
- ConnectionsReferences E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
What would remain the same, however, would be McCoy's dogged pursuit of those he found to be guilty, and his willingness to use the law more as a toolbox than a textbook. In this episode, he starts out by immediately having Dr. Haas (Jan Maxwell) arrested, much to DA Adam Schiff's (Steven Hill) chagrin. And he's combative through the rest of the episode, coming to verbal blows with Claire over the nature of the defendant's guilt.
And that's where this one breaks down - the plot, in 2018, is just kind of dumb. Most women in America nowadays don't hesitate to get a mastectomy if they have breast cancer and they know it can prolong their lives; the stigma is greatly diminished. This episode tries to manufacture drama by presenting it as a tough choice for women: retain your love life and uphold the images being presented in beauty magazines, or have a horrible mastectomy (one character even describes the procedure in detail as if it were some form of medieval torture) and live miserably. Perhaps some women do go through that mental back-and-forth, but it rang hollow to me and my viewing companion - who is an ER nurse, no less.
Outside of the dated plot, the supporting players are solid (including a memorable turn by "Evening Shade"'s Elizabeth Ashley as the defense attorney), and it's fun to see Sam Waterston interact with the cast for the first time.
- Better_TV
- May 3, 2018