Stone goes after a sensational tabloid talk show host after a child molester is murdered on live television by the father of his victim.Stone goes after a sensational tabloid talk show host after a child molester is murdered on live television by the father of his victim.Stone goes after a sensational tabloid talk show host after a child molester is murdered on live television by the father of his victim.
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Meg Gibson
- Debby Corrio
- (as Margaret Gibson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode appears to be based on several cases of revenge killings caught on camera there include:
- The November 3, 1988, episode of The Geraldo Rivera Show (1987). The episode involved white supremacists, anti-racist skinheads, black activists, and Jewish activists. A confrontation occurred between John Metzger (the son of white supremacist Tom Metzger) and Roy Innis. Metzger goaded Innis by referring to him as "Uncle Tom." Innis then walked over to Metzger and forcefully grabbed him by the neck. Subsequently, a full-scale brawl broke out with chairs hurled and punches thrown. Audience members, several stage hands, and Rivera himself got involved, throwing a few punches at a white supremacist. In the process, Rivera was struck in the face by a chair and wound up with a broken nose. He did not press charges, saying he did not wish to be "tied up [in court] with the roaches" and also claiming that "if there ever was a case of deserved violence, this was it." The ratings for this pre-taped show went through the roof, as news of the fight attracted attention to the episode even before it aired.
- The 1984 Gary Plauché case. Plauché murdered Jeff Doucet, who had kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and molested Plauché's son, Jody. The killing occurred on Friday, March 16, 1984, and was captured on camera by a local news crew. Plauché shot and killed Doucet, and he was given a seven-year suspended sentence with five years' probation and 300 hours of community service for the shooting and received no prison time. The case received wide publicity because some people questioned whether Plauché should have been charged with murder or let off. Plauché stated that he was in the right, and that those in a similar position would have done the same thing.
- This Law & Order episode also seems like a tragic foreshadowing of future violent events involving talk show guests shortly after they had appeared on talk shows. These included the deaths of Scott Amedure (Jenny Jones (1991)); of Charlene Burkey (Forgive or Forget (1998), hosted by Robin Givens); and of Nancy Campbell-Panitz The Jerry Springer Show (1991).
- GoofsA title card says Fisher is in Memorial Hospital, but when Briscoe and Logan get a newspaper in front of the building, the sign says Amsterdam Hospital.
- Quotes
[after he kills the man who molested his son]
Sid Fisher: Somebody shot an animal. Call a vet.
Featured review
Dick Wolf -heal thyself!
This old episode of "Law and Order", starring Jerry Orbach and Mr. Big Chris Noth, really rubs me the wrong way. It's a completely cliched critique of tv sensationalism, picking on a Maury Povich type of unscrupulous tv host who exploits people involved in crimes torn from the headlines to get big ratings and big bucks.
Sounds familiar? Dick Wolf's entire tv empire centered on the "Law & Order" group of series is exactly that: concocting gimmicky scenarios based on recent crime cases without any credit, not quite what he's condemning here but close enough.
Casting Robert Klein as the tv scumbag is the show's only saving grace, along with endless name dropping in the dialog. Just like the famous "ding-ding" sound effect used every time the scene location changes, Wolf is the master of Pavlovian television: no originality, just training the loyal audience to react to the same familiar stuff they've read about in the tabloids first.
Sounds familiar? Dick Wolf's entire tv empire centered on the "Law & Order" group of series is exactly that: concocting gimmicky scenarios based on recent crime cases without any credit, not quite what he's condemning here but close enough.
Casting Robert Klein as the tv scumbag is the show's only saving grace, along with endless name dropping in the dialog. Just like the famous "ding-ding" sound effect used every time the scene location changes, Wolf is the master of Pavlovian television: no originality, just training the loyal audience to react to the same familiar stuff they've read about in the tabloids first.
helpful•11
- lor_
- Jul 3, 2023
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