regarding Paul Andrews' comment (above): Mr. Andrews presents a well-written case for his qualitative judgment of "Guilty till Proved Innoncent," and his points are well taken. However, there is one point not made that I believe must be made in order to fully review this episode and that is about the quality of actor Eugene Roche's work as St. Johns, the hyper-aggressive federal prosecutor who convenes the grand jury. Roche will be more than familiar to anyone who's logged more than 8 hours watching film and TV offerings from the 2nd half of the 20th century. Most famously, Roche played the ill-fated voice of hope, reason and protection in the film version of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five," in 1972. He's an actor well worth familiarizing yourself with and in this episode, his work is first-rate. One other point? Though it's true this episode has little to do with "Quincy," the thesis posited (that the Grand Jury system can be perverted into an Anti-American persecution chamber)is valid and terrifying.
7 Reviews
Decent Quincy episode.
poolandrews5 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Quincy M.E.: Guilty Until Proved (annoyingly the IMDb spell-check changes the 'en to 'ed' at the end of 'Prov' automatically & there's nothing I can do about it) Innocent starts as Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is called out to a burnt to the ground warehouse where a badly burned body has been found, the body belongs to Marco the warehouse foreman & Quincy finds out that he was knocked out before the fire started. That points to arson & possibly murder, Philip St. Johns (Eugene Roche) from the U.S. Attorney Office feels that it was an insurance scam by the warehouse owner Ted Locke (Rudy Solari) who had connections to the mob & uses all the privileges of a Federal Grand Jury to convict him, however Ted is a close friend of Quincy's & the coroner sets out to prove his innocence...
Episode 12 from season 8 this Quincy story was directed by Ray Danton & is a fair episode, it's not amongst the show's best but it's better than a lot of season eight. Like a lot of season eight it spends too much time on some moral issue the case being here about the inadequacies of the Federal Grand Jury system & not assuming someone is guilty purely by association. Now that's fine but I like the Quincy episodes where he has to solve or prove a murder & since the opening sequence reveals exactly what happened, that Ted wasn't guilty & that it was an accident there's no surprises & you always feel it's just a matter of time before Quincy proves his friend's Ted's innocence. There's a large 20 odd minute chunk at the start that doesn't feature Quincy at all & focuses on Ted's family & personal problems, call me strange but I just found it rather average. What does save Guilty Until Proved Innocent to some extent are the court room scenes where Quincy comes up against Federal prosecutor St. Johns & the heated exchanges as Quincy becomes angrier & angrier are entertaining & fun but other than these scenes this is pretty average stuff.
The start of Guilty Until Proved Innocent features a fire & a huge explosion, I'm not convinced that Quincy had the budget to stage such an impressive explosion & I suspect that it's stock footage or a scene taken from another show. The acting here is alright & Klugman is on top form as usual.
Guilty Until Proved Innocent is an fairly average Quincy episode, there is a reasonable plot where Quincy has to use his medical skills & his court room scenes are fun but otherwise there's too much dull drama for my liking.
Episode 12 from season 8 this Quincy story was directed by Ray Danton & is a fair episode, it's not amongst the show's best but it's better than a lot of season eight. Like a lot of season eight it spends too much time on some moral issue the case being here about the inadequacies of the Federal Grand Jury system & not assuming someone is guilty purely by association. Now that's fine but I like the Quincy episodes where he has to solve or prove a murder & since the opening sequence reveals exactly what happened, that Ted wasn't guilty & that it was an accident there's no surprises & you always feel it's just a matter of time before Quincy proves his friend's Ted's innocence. There's a large 20 odd minute chunk at the start that doesn't feature Quincy at all & focuses on Ted's family & personal problems, call me strange but I just found it rather average. What does save Guilty Until Proved Innocent to some extent are the court room scenes where Quincy comes up against Federal prosecutor St. Johns & the heated exchanges as Quincy becomes angrier & angrier are entertaining & fun but other than these scenes this is pretty average stuff.
The start of Guilty Until Proved Innocent features a fire & a huge explosion, I'm not convinced that Quincy had the budget to stage such an impressive explosion & I suspect that it's stock footage or a scene taken from another show. The acting here is alright & Klugman is on top form as usual.
Guilty Until Proved Innocent is an fairly average Quincy episode, there is a reasonable plot where Quincy has to use his medical skills & his court room scenes are fun but otherwise there's too much dull drama for my liking.
Arson and murder investigation story lacking in mystery
rayoflite2426 January 2016
Guilty Until Proved Innocent opens with an elderly man working in a warehouse and carelessly placing a gasoline can near a flame which causes an inferno killing him. Quincy (Jack Klugman) conducts the autopsy and determines that the victim was knocked unconscious prior to burning to death which places suspicion of murder and insurance fraud on the owner, Ted Locke (Rudy Solari), who has family connections to organized crime and is a friend of Quincy. Quincy cannot believe that Ted would commit murder for profit and investigates further trying to clear his friend, but they come up against a determined federal prosecutor (Eugene Roche) who is convinced of Ted's guilt and convenes a grand jury in a relentless pursuit of an indictment.
Although we see what happens in the opening scenes of the episode and this takes away from the mystery aspect of the story, there are still some interesting elements as far as how the coroner lab eventually pieces together the events leading up to the fire and death as well as the actions of an overly zealous prosecutor who has already convicted the accused in his mind because of his family before all of the facts are in. Rudy Solari and Eugene Roche give good guest star performances playing opposite each other here with Klugman in the middle of it all playing referee which worked pretty well.
Overall this is an OK Season 8 episode which is a little lacking in the crime and mystery department but makes up for it in some other ways to remain somewhat interesting. I just think that it could have been a stronger story had they handled the opening scenes differently and made it a mystery rather than just trying to prove a point about prosecution and the grand jury system.
Although we see what happens in the opening scenes of the episode and this takes away from the mystery aspect of the story, there are still some interesting elements as far as how the coroner lab eventually pieces together the events leading up to the fire and death as well as the actions of an overly zealous prosecutor who has already convicted the accused in his mind because of his family before all of the facts are in. Rudy Solari and Eugene Roche give good guest star performances playing opposite each other here with Klugman in the middle of it all playing referee which worked pretty well.
Overall this is an OK Season 8 episode which is a little lacking in the crime and mystery department but makes up for it in some other ways to remain somewhat interesting. I just think that it could have been a stronger story had they handled the opening scenes differently and made it a mystery rather than just trying to prove a point about prosecution and the grand jury system.
The irony is...
AlsExGal14 January 2024
... that Quincy started out as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie in 1976, and here we are in the final season with an episode that has no mystery to it. The audience sees what happened, and Quincy spends the episode trying to figure it out.
The shop foreman in a furniture business, working alone in the building on a weekend, has an accident with a container of gasoline and lights himself and the business on fire, with him dying and the business burning to the ground in the process. A crusading federal attorney appears, pushing local prosecutors aside, and is just positive that it was arson done by the owner of the store, Ted Locke, with his motive being to collect the insurance and get out from under his lease. With the death of the foreman this becomes murder.
Why does he think this? Because Ted Locke is actually the son of an east coast godfather who has changed his name and fled the east to get away from the family business. But the prosecutor thinks that this move was just to bring mafia business to the west coast. Ted being a friend of Quincy's makes this personal for the medical examiner.
Quincy was trying to make several valid points about the federal grand jury system in this episode, but it just devolves into shrill production. By the end the prosecutor is doing his best George W. Bush imitation - "If you're not with me, you're against me". And the actor portraying the mobster's son is getting over the top melodramatic to the point that I expect him to blurt out - "I'm just a simple fisherman with many friends". See the second Dr. Dolittle film that starred Eddie Murphy for reference.
The shop foreman in a furniture business, working alone in the building on a weekend, has an accident with a container of gasoline and lights himself and the business on fire, with him dying and the business burning to the ground in the process. A crusading federal attorney appears, pushing local prosecutors aside, and is just positive that it was arson done by the owner of the store, Ted Locke, with his motive being to collect the insurance and get out from under his lease. With the death of the foreman this becomes murder.
Why does he think this? Because Ted Locke is actually the son of an east coast godfather who has changed his name and fled the east to get away from the family business. But the prosecutor thinks that this move was just to bring mafia business to the west coast. Ted being a friend of Quincy's makes this personal for the medical examiner.
Quincy was trying to make several valid points about the federal grand jury system in this episode, but it just devolves into shrill production. By the end the prosecutor is doing his best George W. Bush imitation - "If you're not with me, you're against me". And the actor portraying the mobster's son is getting over the top melodramatic to the point that I expect him to blurt out - "I'm just a simple fisherman with many friends". See the second Dr. Dolittle film that starred Eddie Murphy for reference.
Eugene Roche!
elvimark019 October 2022
One of the highlights of the last season of Quincy, "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" benefits heavily from the performance of the man whom I titled this review after, Eugene Roche, an actor of immense versatility who was great at playing 'heavies' as well as playing comedic roles in shows like All In the Family and Night Court.
In this episode, Roche shines as Philip St. Johns, a McCarthy-esque Federal Prosecutor who's out to nail Quincy's good friend, Ted Locke (Rudy Solari) on a variety of charges after his warehouse burns down, killing a janitor. It seems that Ted's last name is not Locke, but LoCasele, and that other members of his family on the East Coast are mobsters, and he claims that he changed his name and moved west to disassociate himself with his family (for the record, this is not the first time that Solari had played such a character...he was in the FBI episode "The Cober List", where he played a doctor who suffered because other family members were in the Syndicate).
Anyhow, St. Johns is out to get Ted for any possible charge he can...the money that you sent to your sister to help with her sick kid? Yeah, right...MONEY LAUNDERING! You filed an insurance claim for this so-called accident? MAIL FRAUD! You have family members involved with the Syndicate? Hey, we can make something of that as well! And how about arson and murder, too? We got you nailed ten ways to Sunday! But Roche doesn't count on Ted having Quincy in his corner, our hero being far more sensible than Mr. Prosecutor, and he's even willing to go to jail (briefly) for refusing to participate in this farce.
As stated before, Quincy tries to come up with sensible ways for the Grand Jury to operate, but gets shot down...how could going up against the Grand Jury with legal counsel result in criminals going free, as St. Johns argues? Eventually, Quincy convinces the Grand Jury members to witness his recreation of the accident, which satisfies all but one person...can you guess who that is? At the end of the episode, the Assistant D. A. tells St. Johns that his office is convinced that the whole thing was indeed a tragic accident and that the Federal dude is a fool, but St. Johns remains resolute in his duties...he's gonna nail Locke no matter what, and you better not stand in his way. The freeze-frame on his face to close the episode shows that he means business.
The only problem I have with this episode is that it's not exactly original...Jim Rockford was the target of Grand Jury abuse (in the person of William Daniels) in the Rockford Files episode "So Help Me God". Quincy's writers were coming up with a lot of innovative storylines in the later years, for both legal and medical issues. It's sad to see them not covering new ground here, but seeing two brilliant actors like Eugene Roche and Jack Klugman butting heads is a thing of beauty. Rudy Solari, a TV veteran and a pioneer in the L. A. theater scene, also does a nice job as an innocent guy caught up in a big mess.
In this episode, Roche shines as Philip St. Johns, a McCarthy-esque Federal Prosecutor who's out to nail Quincy's good friend, Ted Locke (Rudy Solari) on a variety of charges after his warehouse burns down, killing a janitor. It seems that Ted's last name is not Locke, but LoCasele, and that other members of his family on the East Coast are mobsters, and he claims that he changed his name and moved west to disassociate himself with his family (for the record, this is not the first time that Solari had played such a character...he was in the FBI episode "The Cober List", where he played a doctor who suffered because other family members were in the Syndicate).
Anyhow, St. Johns is out to get Ted for any possible charge he can...the money that you sent to your sister to help with her sick kid? Yeah, right...MONEY LAUNDERING! You filed an insurance claim for this so-called accident? MAIL FRAUD! You have family members involved with the Syndicate? Hey, we can make something of that as well! And how about arson and murder, too? We got you nailed ten ways to Sunday! But Roche doesn't count on Ted having Quincy in his corner, our hero being far more sensible than Mr. Prosecutor, and he's even willing to go to jail (briefly) for refusing to participate in this farce.
As stated before, Quincy tries to come up with sensible ways for the Grand Jury to operate, but gets shot down...how could going up against the Grand Jury with legal counsel result in criminals going free, as St. Johns argues? Eventually, Quincy convinces the Grand Jury members to witness his recreation of the accident, which satisfies all but one person...can you guess who that is? At the end of the episode, the Assistant D. A. tells St. Johns that his office is convinced that the whole thing was indeed a tragic accident and that the Federal dude is a fool, but St. Johns remains resolute in his duties...he's gonna nail Locke no matter what, and you better not stand in his way. The freeze-frame on his face to close the episode shows that he means business.
The only problem I have with this episode is that it's not exactly original...Jim Rockford was the target of Grand Jury abuse (in the person of William Daniels) in the Rockford Files episode "So Help Me God". Quincy's writers were coming up with a lot of innovative storylines in the later years, for both legal and medical issues. It's sad to see them not covering new ground here, but seeing two brilliant actors like Eugene Roche and Jack Klugman butting heads is a thing of beauty. Rudy Solari, a TV veteran and a pioneer in the L. A. theater scene, also does a nice job as an innocent guy caught up in a big mess.
Did the writer have a personal axe to grind here?!
planktonrules8 June 2013
"Guilty Until Proved Innocent" is a very strange episode of "Quincy". Although by season eight the show had basically become a sounding board for lots of different social issues, this one seemed different--as if the writer had some personal stake in it.
The show begins with a really stupid old man accidentally lighting himself on fire!! Seriously, that was the case! Then, he spread the fire everywhere and the place burns to the ground. However, instead of extending the owner sympathy, an insane federal prosecutor comes in and tries to destroy him. Why? Because the owner's family is in the Mob--though he himself is totally innocent. And, for the rest of the show, the prosecutor behaves very unprofessionally and is on a nutty crusade. In the end, Quincy manages to help save the day.
I mentioned 'in the end' because Quincy is barely in this one at all. And that is a big problem. Around season seven, in many episodes, the doctor is barely in the shows. Often, he appears in the beginning and end--and he has little to do. And, for the most part, these are very weak shows...very weak. This one is made weaker because in addition, the writing was just awful--with no subtlety whatsoever! Very, very weak and little to recommend this one.
The show begins with a really stupid old man accidentally lighting himself on fire!! Seriously, that was the case! Then, he spread the fire everywhere and the place burns to the ground. However, instead of extending the owner sympathy, an insane federal prosecutor comes in and tries to destroy him. Why? Because the owner's family is in the Mob--though he himself is totally innocent. And, for the rest of the show, the prosecutor behaves very unprofessionally and is on a nutty crusade. In the end, Quincy manages to help save the day.
I mentioned 'in the end' because Quincy is barely in this one at all. And that is a big problem. Around season seven, in many episodes, the doctor is barely in the shows. Often, he appears in the beginning and end--and he has little to do. And, for the most part, these are very weak shows...very weak. This one is made weaker because in addition, the writing was just awful--with no subtlety whatsoever! Very, very weak and little to recommend this one.
Grand Jury System on Trial
Littlelep8 February 2010
The grand jury plays an invaluable part in the federal judicial system. It is also employed in many U.S. states and may be used in connection with or in place of a preliminary hearing. It is open to abuse by unethical prosecutors, just as any aspect of the law is. It is not the evil implement of Big Brother that it is portrayed to be in this Quincy episode.
It is sometimes very uncomfortable to look at the trends from those years, in attire, hairstyles, language, fads, and television writing. Many times the crusading energy of the writers of episodes of Quincy went overboard in their depictions of things and people they had in their sights. This episode in particular -- which tried to introduce the soft side of estranged family members of bigwigs in the Mafia, as did an episode of Matlock and as did other dramatic television series in subsequent years -- was almost laughable in its intensity; but, hopefully, the writers didn't pull off what they obviously intended to do: prove to a lot of viewers that the federal grand jury is the modern-day American equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition.
It is sometimes very uncomfortable to look at the trends from those years, in attire, hairstyles, language, fads, and television writing. Many times the crusading energy of the writers of episodes of Quincy went overboard in their depictions of things and people they had in their sights. This episode in particular -- which tried to introduce the soft side of estranged family members of bigwigs in the Mafia, as did an episode of Matlock and as did other dramatic television series in subsequent years -- was almost laughable in its intensity; but, hopefully, the writers didn't pull off what they obviously intended to do: prove to a lot of viewers that the federal grand jury is the modern-day American equivalent of the Spanish Inquisition.
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