Prescription for Death
From The Law & Order Wiki
| "Prescription for Death" | ||
|---|---|---|
| L&O, Episode 1.01 | → | |
| Production number: 66209 First aired: 13 September 1990 | ||
| ← | 9th of 438 produced in L&O | → |
| 1st of 438 released in L&O | → | |
| 1st of 836 released in all | → | |
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| Teleplay By Ed Zuckerman Story By Ed Zuckerman & David Black Directed By John Whitesell | ||
After a young woman dies suddenly in an Emergency Room, detectives Max Greevey and Mike Logan discover that the chief resident, Dr. Edward Auster, may have been drunk at the time.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
After Suzanne Morton dies during a visit to the emergency room to pick up some antibiotics on a hectic night shift, her father, a former medic in Vietnam, demands the police charge the hospital with murder, stating they were negligent. Logan and Greevey investigate the doctor who had made some adjustments to her chart, but are soon led to Dr. Edward Auster, a respected doctor who they feel may have been drunk on duty. The other residents are reluctant to say anything for fear their jobs may be in jeopardy, and Stone is faced with the awkward job of having to prosecute a man who appears to be a living saint.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main cast
- George Dzundza as Sergeant Max Greevey
- Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
- Michael Moriarty as Executive A.D.A. Benjamin Stone
- Richard Brooks as A.D.A. Paul Robinette
- Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff
[edit] Guest cast
- Erick Avari as Dr. Raza
- Rocky Carroll as Dr. Davids
- Alvin Epstein as Dr. Chester
- Tom Kubiak as Dr. Rasmussen
- W.T. Martin as Dr. Lignell
- Bruce McCarty as Dr. Stephen Simonson
- Maeve McGuire as Dr. Walters
- Frederica Meister as Mrs. Melanie Stivic
- Ron Rifkin as Phillip Nevins
- William Roerick as Dr. Robert Abraham
- Paul Sparer as Dr. Edward Auster
- John Spencer as Howard Morton
- Maryann Urbano as Dr. Jean Mills
- Leslie Goldman as Judge Benjamin Harcourt
- Nick Damici as Officer Dubuque
- Sean Whitesell as Intern
- Lee Tergesen as Clemens
- Ed Setrakian as Hoffman
- Derrick Simmons as Stabber
- Harry S. Murphy as Don
- Stephanie J. Gordon as Nurse
- Russell Horton as Markham
- Joan Kaye as Nurse
- Annie Corley as Stewart
- Daniel Benzali as Medical Examiner
- Kate Wilkinson as Gray-Haired Lady
- Avis McCarther as Secretary (uncredited)
[edit] References
36th Precinct; Emergency Room; Morton, Suzanne; Urban Medical Center
[edit] Quotes
"Look! Someone's lying! Whether it's Gunja Din or Doctor God, we don't know."
- - Max Greevey
"You solve every case you work on?"
"We can tell a felony from a traffic ticket."
"Look, a patient walks in with a headache. She could have a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a berry aneurysm, a retro-orbital tumor... or does she just have a headache? Do you give her an aspirin? Or do you saw open her skull?"
"You make this speech at funerals?"
- - Dr. Edward Auster, Mike Logan, and Max Greevey
"My children want to stay in this country, my wife wants to stay, and to stay, all I have to do is to be perfect all the time!"
"Well you, uh, fell a little short of perfection on Suzanne Morton's chart."
- - Dr. Raza and Mike Logan
"Isn't it possible that pneumonia killed Suzanne Morton?"
"It's possible that death rays from Mars killed her. But I don't think so."
- - Phillip Nevins and Medical Examiner
"Well, people like to believe that medicine is pure science. Medicine is a science. But doctors know it's also a lottery."
- - Dr. Edward Auster
"We got what we needed from Dr. Simonson."
"An intern, Mr. Stone. Are you planning on asking the cleaning lady to testify, too? About the time I threw the tissue into the wastepaper basket and missed?"
- - Benjamin Stone and Dr. Edward Auster
"When you practice medicine, Mr. Stone, sometimes the patient dies."
"And when you're a lawyer, Dr. Auster, some of the people you prosecute are convicted."
- - Dr. Edward Auster and Benjamin Stone
"You know the difference between Auster and a serial killer?"
"The weapon."
- - Benjamin Stone and Paul Robinette
[edit] Background information and notes
- This was the first aired episode of Law & Order. The episode, "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" (1.06), was the pilot episode for the series. Although originally produced for CBS in 1988, it never aired on that network. In syndication and on the first season DVD, the episodes are shown with "Prescription for Death" as the first episode.
- This episode is based on the Libby Zion case. Zion was an 18-year-old woman who died six hours after being admitted to New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center with a high fever. A grand jury determined that the long hours of often unsupervised interns and residents contributed to her death. Although her father, an attorney and writer for the New York Times, claimed inadequate care resulted in his daughter's death but the hospital was cleared of criminal charges. An appeals court exonerated the doctors, the subsequent investigation led New York State to form the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Emergency Services, more commonly known as the Bell Commission. This committee developed a series of regulations that addressed several patient care issues, including restraint usage, medication systems, and resident work hours. One aspect of these regulations is commonly referred to in the medical community as "the Libby Zion Law" and "the Libby Law," setting limits to working hours for medical "post graduates" (commonly referred to as interns and residents). (Source: Libby Zion law at Wikipedia)
- Actor Chris Noth supplied his own brown leather coat for this episode, after buying it from a second-hand clothing store.
- In this episode we learn that Executive Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Stone's father was an alcoholic, and drank every day at lunch. We also learn that Captain Donald Cragen has a drinking problem, and that he was partnered to Detective Max Greevey.
- Detectives Max Greevey and Mike Logan have very different opinions about health care. Logan is glad that his father is still alive because of a heart transplant, but Greevey despises doctors because a simple subdural hematoma was once misdiagnosed as a brain tumor.
- Actors Bruce McCarty and Daniel Benzali will later star together in the CBS drama The Agency.
- According to one of the scene cards the Detectives are stationed at the 36th Precinct. In later episodes the Homicide Department will be working from the 27th Precinct.
[edit] Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
36th Precinct |
Urban Medical Center |
The Office of |
Dr. Robert Abraham's |
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
|---|---|---|
|
Office of |
Manhattan Superior Court |
Manhattan District Attorney |
| Previous episode: "None" | "Prescription for Death" Law & Order Season 1 | Next episode: "Subterranean Homeboy Blues" |
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