Misconception (29 Oct. 1991)

A young pregnant woman is found beaten and has a miscarriage, Cerreta and Logan are soon led to the lawyer she was working for, who may or may not have been involved in the attack.

Director:

Daniel Sackheim

Writers:

Dick Wolf (creator), Michael S. Chernuchin (teleplay),

Stars:

Paul Sorvino, Chris Noth, Dann Florek

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Sorvino	...	Sergeant Phil Cerreta
Chris Noth	...	Detective Mike Logan
Dann Florek	...	Captain Donald Cragen
Michael Moriarty	...	Executive A.D.A. Ben Stone
Richard Brooks	...	A.D.A. Paul Robinette
Steven Hill	...	D.A. Adam Schiff
Molly Price	...	Amy Newhouse
Reed Diamond	...	Christopher Baylor
Stanley Anderson	...	Jerry Manley
Gordana Rashovich	...	Miss Bayliss
Nicolas Surovy	...	David Alcott
William Jay Marshall	...	Judge Hollis Burton
Rosemary De Angelis	...	Dr. Mishon (as Rosemary DeAngelis)
Shirley Stoler	...	Charlie Maylen
Yancy Butler	...	Beverly Kern

Storyline

Detectives Cerreta and Logan investigate what appears to be the mugging of a pregnant woman, Amy Newhouse. She was working late at a law office and didn't leave until after one in the morning. She loses the baby and the initial suspect is her boyfriend Chris Baylor but when they learn that the baby's father is her boss David Alcott, who was also working late that night, they shift their investigation to him. He denies fathering the child but Amy has the evidence to get him to admit they had an affair. She was also blackmailing Alcott and he is arrested. ADA Robinette finds a major hole in the victim's story and they soon realize there's a major scam going on.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 1991 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolf Films, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Motherly Love.

Back in the early 50s, I think, some wag added up all the elements in the human body, gave each their market value, and it came out to about two dollars. A human body, even a baby's, is worth considerably more than that to some people.

A young woman is found beaten and kicked in an alley outside the law office where she works. She miscarries. Serreta and Logan look into the case and it appears that she had been seduced by her boss and, when he found she was pregnant, decided to abort the child himself.

The woman and her husband are stricken with grief, but not so much that they are prevented from bringing a suit for a couple of million bucks against the lawyer who presumably impregnated her during their three-month affair.

But it's not so simple. Real life is usually more complicated than that, and these additional complications are what add zest to what might otherwise be just another cops and criminals TV series.

It develops that the young couple have turned the wife into a baby factory. The child had already been promised to a couple wanting to adopt it, and it had been already paid for, with non-refundable funds in case of accidental miscarriage.

Moreover, medical forensics casts doubt on the lawyer's being responsible for the pregnancy. The child is probably that of the husband, not the wife's boss. So the lawyer was deliberately set up for the million-dollar lawsuit.

The plot sort of lifts up a rock and reveals a horde of disgusting things scurrying around under it. The lawyer has been banging his secretary. (It costs him his family.) The wife has been using her uterus as an ATM. Her husband has been in cahoots and bilked a childless couple out of considerable expense money.

Amy Price is the duplicitous mother and she's perfect for the role. Her performance is good -- she goes from mourning the lost child to a grim determination to keep as many shekels as possible. But, equally important, she LOOKS right. She's not overly attractive by Hollywood standards but she's by no means ugly either. What she does have is a formidable jaw that suggests fortitude and a pair of keen and piercing blue eyes that see right to the heart of the matter, which is where the big bucks lie.

It's not even touched upon, but a viewer may be excused for asking what would have happened to the child if, after these revelations, it had been born. This is the very definition of an "unwanted child." What a pro-choice argument it makes.