After a scream, a woman is found at the bottom of her stairs, unconscious, and the investigation leads to her possibly being stalked beforehand. However, when some parts of her story don't add up, Briscoe and Curtis drop the case, thinking she's made the story up -- with tragic results. When the best evidence to catch the killer is excluded (based on the police's prior conclusion that the prior attack was faked), Briscoe has a change of heart, and offers to testify that he made a mistake, while Curtis and Van Buren believe that he's committing perjury.
This story is well-drawn, and very well-acted, playing off Briscoe's tendency to skirt the the rules, and Orbach's portrayal of Briscoe's understated anguish over the case is superb. Bratt is very good as well, but the weakness of this episode lies in the Curtis character as a whole (and as written) -- specifically, Curtis' insufferable self-righteousness and unwillingness to even entertain the possibility that he might have been wrong (worse still, Van Buren takes the same view). While a more shaded point of view from Curtis' character might have made this more compelling (Briscoe's testimony makes it clear there was evidence that the cops plainly overlooked), the way he's portrayed in this case plainly shows he's never entertained the possibility of being wrong.
While it could have been much better, the show is still often compelling, with additional fine performances from Susan Floyd as the terrified victim, and Steven Gevedom as the sleazy suspect.
This story is well-drawn, and very well-acted, playing off Briscoe's tendency to skirt the the rules, and Orbach's portrayal of Briscoe's understated anguish over the case is superb. Bratt is very good as well, but the weakness of this episode lies in the Curtis character as a whole (and as written) -- specifically, Curtis' insufferable self-righteousness and unwillingness to even entertain the possibility that he might have been wrong (worse still, Van Buren takes the same view). While a more shaded point of view from Curtis' character might have made this more compelling (Briscoe's testimony makes it clear there was evidence that the cops plainly overlooked), the way he's portrayed in this case plainly shows he's never entertained the possibility of being wrong.
While it could have been much better, the show is still often compelling, with additional fine performances from Susan Floyd as the terrified victim, and Steven Gevedom as the sleazy suspect.