In general, I much prefer the episodes of "Quincy" that involve crimes and crime investigations--pretty much the plots of most of the earlier episodes. Then, after a couple seasons, the show began exploring a variety of social issues and crime investigations became secondary--and the quality of the shows diminished. However, with "Dying for a Drink", the show manages to attack a social issue and still make a very good show.
Ina Balin (a frequent guest star on the show) plays a pathologist who works in the same office as Quincy. During recent time, a pattern indicative of alcoholism has become apparent--though, oddly, Quincy is in denial about this. Think about it--he is always the first to jump at any issue yet here he is the last. But, when he does, he pushes to get this lady treatment.
What I liked about this one were two things--it also addressed the notion of co-dependency and it also didn't have some pat happy ending. As far as the co-dependency goes, it's the best aspect of the show. Too often, shows talk about substance abuse as if it occurs in a vacuum. Here, however, you can clearly see that the lady's husband does a lot to keep her sick and dependent on booze--like many of the folks I worked with when I was a psychotherapist. I also loved that it didn't have some sweet and happy ending, as often the path to sobriety is bumpy or tragic. Overall, one of the better episodes of season eight--and one well worth seeing--particularly if you are looking for some intelligent insights into substance abuse.