Perhaps my reason for liking this episode of "Quincy" is because I have been assaulted and can feel for what the characters went through in this show. All I know is that it felt rather satisfying seeing "An Act of Violence".
The show begins with two dirt-bags assaulting an old lady and robbing her. She was so badly kicked and beaten that she died. Unfortunately, Quincy and the police don't yet have enough evidence to know who committed this horrible crime. So, on the way home from a long day's work, Quincy stops by the dead woman's apartment to look about the place. As he's leaving, the same two scum-bags attack him--beating him half to death in the process. What follows is Quincy dealing with not just the physical but emotional effects of the crime, as he knows now what it's like to be a victim and to feel afraid.
I think what made this episode work well was that the show was rather unflinching--at least for 1983. The attack on Quincy looks pretty brutal and the makeup they did on Jack Klugman was great--and really looked real. Additionally, the show rarely really talks about the emotional toll of crime but here it is explored rather well. Also, while unrealistic, it was very satisfying to watch the confrontation scene between Quincy and one of his attackers late in the show. A final VERY important plus in this one is that unlike most of the later "Quincy" shows, this one was VERY forensically-oriented. Several of the techniques they used in the show were really exciting to see--and it made the show look more like the "Quincy" of old.
