Saving Sammy (22 Oct. 2006)

A married couple were gunned down in their car during their weekly run for a take-out but their young autistic son riding in the back seat is spared. The parents also left behind a teenage ... See full summary »

Director:

Paris Barclay

Writers:

Meredith Stiehm (creator), Tyler Bensinger

Stars:

Kathryn Morris, Danny Pino, John Finn

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kathryn Morris	...	Lilly Rush
Danny Pino	...	Scotty Valens
John Finn	...	John Stillman
Jeremy Ratchford	...	Nick Vera
Thom Barry	...	Will Jeffries
Tracie Thoms	...	Kat Miller
Brennan Elliott	...	Ray Williams
Jake Abel	...	Doug Sommer
Andrew Borba	...	Steve Harris
Greg Cipes	...	Greg Wells
Cole Petersen	...	Brent Harris
Saige Thompson	...	Ruby Harris
Peter Mackenzie	...	Harvey James
Elyse Mirto	...	Lisa Harris (as Elyse Marie Mirto)
Kenny Johnson	...	Joseph Shaw (as Kenneth Johnson)

Storyline

A married couple were gunned down in their car during their weekly run for a take-out but their young autistic son riding in the back seat is spared. The parents also left behind a teenage daughter. The couple were owners of a local tropical fish store, there didn't seem to be any motive. As the only witness, their autistic son's ability to remember events with numerical sequence was always the same regarding his parents. Detective Valens showed a compassion and patience to learn to communicate with the autistic son's abilities that brought forth the clues to unravel this baffling case.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 22, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Bruckheimer Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the beginning of "Saving Sammy", the murdered couple and their two children are named "Harding". By the end of the episode, however, their name has inexplicably changed to "Harris". At one point the detectives even seem to flip-flop back and forth between the two names a few times. I discovered this while watching with the captions turned on; I noticed that each time an actor said "Harding" the captions read "Harris".

---

Soundtracks

"In My Place"
Performed by Coldplay

User Reviews

Saving Sammy episode

A couple is shot to death in their car on their weekly 'take out' night. The only witness is their autistic son, whose ability to remember times, days, and places associated with them is impaired. The child's ability to remember things like numbers in a sequence is his only ability that proves helpful once the case runs cold.

The title refers to the child's pet Siamese fighting fish from his parents' tropical fish store. If placed in a tank with other fish, it will not survive very long. One of the key players, when the fish in his bag was dropped on the floor, picked him up, thus 'Saving Sammy'.

Detective Valens' compassion for and willingness to learn about the young witness' condition is part of what made this episode appealing. The young witness' gift showed that the autistic have their own abilities in spite of their difficulties communicating and comprehending what most of us take for granted.