Quincy M.E. (TV Series) An Act of Violence (1983) User Reviews

Wow...a GOOD episode from season eight!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 2 July 2013]

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.

Starts out strong but then takes the psychology dive

[rayoflite24 · 6/10 · 16 July 2015]

An Act of Violence begins with two thugs following an elderly woman to her apartment where they force themselves inside to rob her. She is beaten so severely during the robbery that she dies from her injuries and an investigation is initiated. After the crime scene is processed and Quincy (Jack Klugman) examines the body, he decides to return to the victim's apartment and investigate further in hopes of obtaining additional evidence. Later while leaving the building, he is confronted by the same criminals who also rob and beat him severely. This incident causes Quincy a great deal of mental and emotional anguish and begins to affect his ability to sleep, interactions with others and willingness to assist the police in identifying the culprits.

I personally found the opening scenes of this episode very difficult to watch because my own grandmother was once followed in a supermarket parking lot and mugged when she arrived at the car. Fortunately, she wasn't harmed but was pretty shaken up over the whole thing. Seeing that elderly woman walking with the grocery bag and those two low lifes following her knowing what was about to happen just hit way too close to home for me and brought back some unpleasant memories.

Putting that aside, I can say that this episode does start out pretty strong in that there is a murder investigation and the scenes where Quincy is assaulted are very powerful, although very sad to watch. I think Jack Klugman's acting is superb throughout this episode where we get to see the full range of emotions he puts on display as his normally strong character is suddenly intimidated and struggling to cope following the attack.

My main complaint and criticism of this episode is that the latter part of it goes deep into the psychological effects of the beating on Quincy and we have to endure more of his wife and her psychiatry. Upon her insistence, Quincy does seek out professional help which means more therapy sessions, something that I've already had enough of from previous episodes in Season 8. While I think there is an important point made here about crime victims in that even the strongest of individuals can experience great difficulty in their mental and emotional recovery following a traumatic attack long after the physical wounds heal, I can't help but feel this was all written in to give Hanover more to do in this episode.

It's also important to note that while there is a murder investigation featured, it is not a mystery as the audience sees the killers in the opening scenes. This also causes it to lose a point or two in my book.

"This time Quincy is the other guy!" An OK moral episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 10 January 2008]

Quincy M.E.: An Act of Violence starts as seventy-two year old Vivian Chalmers (Leoda Richards) is attacked, robbed & beaten to death by two teenage thugs. Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is called in, Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) says they have a 'crib job' on their hands. Shocked by the level of violence Quincy goes into detective mode to catch her killers, after visiting her apartment looking for forensic clues Quincy becomes the victim of a crib job himself. Quincy is robbed & badly beaten which leaves him with several cracked ribs & plenty of bruising, but while the physical scars may heal in time the emotional ones Quincy has suffered from the attack may take a lot longer as being the victim of a violent crime changes his personality...

Episode 22 from season 8 this is probably the last half way decent Quincy episode before it finished since the last two Whatever Happened to Morris Perlmutter? (1983) & The Cutting Edge (1983) are both awful. Written & directed by Michael Braverman An Act of Violence follows the recent trend of Quincy episodes & tackles a serious moral issue, what makes An Act of Violence better than the majority of season eight is that it's a message that is still relevant today as it points out that although a victim of crime's physical scars may heal their mental & emotional ones may not. Luckily for Quincy he has a psychiatrist for a wife & a homicide detective for a mate so he's got it made really but not everyone is so fortunate! Then there's the fact that the story actually revolves around Quincy himself rather than have him set a storyline up for someone else & then disappear from the episode, the fact that he has to use his medical & forensic skills & expertise on himself to catch his own muggers is a neat idea as well. There's also an unintentionally hilarious moment at the end when Quincy faces up to the guy who mugged him (who never changes his clothes) & Quincy who is a 60 plus year old man roughs up a mid 20's killer!

Most of the time these Quincy episodes haven't dated too badly but in the case of An Act of Violence there is a part early on as Lt. Monahan attends a crime scene wearing what looks like a bright yellow cardigan! Is that how all homicide detectives dressed back then? There is also a sequence in An Act of Violence in which Quincy is beaten up, I must admit I've always liked the guy & felt a little sorry for him at this point even if the scene was quite funny in a dated early 80's sort of way. An Act of Violence was the last appearance for Danny the bar owner in Quincy since the character doesn't feature in either of the two remaining episodes. One also has to say that I was surprised when Monahan mentioned the term 'crib job' to Quincy & he seemed puzzled like he had never heard of it before & Monahan has to explain what it means, I say I'm surprised because back in season three there was an episode actually called Crib Job (1978) which obviously dealt with the issue.

An Act of Violence is at least watchable & better than a lot of the generally awful season eight, at least it has a strong relevant storyline where Quincy is in the thick of the action. Worth a watch for fans of the series.