EPISODE OF THE WEEK: MONSTER

[Patcat]

Airs August 22, 2007, at 6 pm (EST) on the USA Cable Network
15th Show of the Second Season. First aired March 2, 2003.

Written by Marlane Gomard Meyer and Rene Balcer
Directed by Joyce Chopra

Guest actor: Adam Storke (Mark Dietrich) (Storke appeared in the film MYSTIC PIZZA with Mr. D'Onofrio.)

Synopsis: The murder of the mother of a recently released killer lead Goren and Eames on the trail of a police coverup in a highly publicized rape case.

Note: This episode is based on two infamous New York City crime stories--the Robert Chambers "preppie" murder case and the Central Park Jogger Assault case.

Quotes:

Eames (to Mark Dietrich's girlfriend): "Gee, you two sound like my
parents."

Deakins (about Dietrich): "Just get the evidence and bury him."

Goren (responding to how detectives got a confession): "I'd like to see how they did that."

Goren: "These confessions are nothing but vapor."

Eames: "Marston is sitting pretty high in the saddle."
Goren: "Let's put a burr under that saddle."

Carver (at the scene of the attack): "This must have been a very lonely place fifteen years ago."

As mentioned above, this episode blends two "ripped from the headlines" stories. How well does it bring the two stories together?

LOCI has shown "murder groupies" in several stories. How are they portrayed? And what person in their right mind...excuse me...personal feelings there.

Deakins' attitude undergoes considerable change in this episode. Any comments on his role in this story?

Carver also seems unusually willing to accept the detectives' accounts of events. Any comments on his role?

Who is the Monster--Mark Dietrich or Detective Marston?

Would Marston gotten away with the coverup if he hadn't tried to support Dietrich's story regarding the Reservoir Rape?

How do Marston and Goren's techniques compare?

How do Goren and Eames react to investigating other cops? Will they face any repercussions for this?

Note: Another solid entry from the Second Season. There's a great deal of subtle and wonderful teamwork from Goren and Eames (and Mr. D'Onofrio and Ms. Erbe). Goren's interrogations of Mark Dietrich and his catching Detective Marston in his own web are splendid. We also get to see Goren do his "big dumb detective" act. I especially like the scene where Goren and Eames interview the victim of the park attack and the way Eames takes the lead in the interview with Goren maintaining a discrete role in the background.


Submitted for your consideration, thoughts, and comments.

Patcat

[diablodeblanco]

Every time I see the actor who played the detective, I think of him as that hit man in Dumb and Dumber. That and Jim Carrey's huge furry boots.

[musicwench]

I'm going to have to watch this one again before I give a more complete response. It's one of those episodes I've only seen once or twice and haven't seen it recently.

Just off the top of my head I'd have to say I thought Detective Marston was more of a monster but Dietrich certainly fit that description quite well also.

Will try and watch this soon and comment more after.

[DonnaJo]

"Monster" was a great example of using a famous "ripped from the headline" story as a jumping off point. The tragic story of the Central Park jogger combined with a little of the New York City "preppie murder." It all rang familiar, yet there was no specific detail by detail news story that was copied verbatim by the writers.

I remember thinking it was surprisingly crass and insensitive of Goren to play around with that poor dead woman's nightgown - exposing her in her underwear etc. I understand that he was trying to confuse her son into confessing, but he is usually so respectful of the victim's body.

Great outside aria, the freezing cold weather in Central Park. A wonderful use of the uniqueness of New York City. I also enjoyed how Goren & company cleared the names of those kids who were framed for the jogger's rape. Although they had already served their sentence, correct? That's good for a couple of million dollars worth of laws suits against the City.

I, too, need to rewatch this ep for more info. On a shallow note, I DO remember how good VDO looked in this episode.

[Techguy]

I'll have to watch this episode again before I comment in depth. One thing I will say is, it's intriguing that Patcat's two most recent Episode of the Week selections were written by Marlane Gomard Meyer. It's especially interesting because one of the main characters in last week's EoftheW "Phantom" (from Season 1) is named Charlotte Fielding, and in this week's EoftheW "Monster" (from Season 2) one of the principal characters is named Chantal Fielding. I wonder if Charlotte and Chantal are related?

[Patcat]

I realized both episodes were written by Ms. Meyer after I made my selections. It occurs to me that many of my favorite episodes were written by her.

I think I've mentioned it before, but I find it interesting that LOCI seems to have a large number of women writers and directors. And that the show doesn't make a big deal about it.

Patcat