Post by Patcat on Dec 22, 2010 11:48:15 GMT -5
Will air December 25 at 2pm (EST) on WGN. 8th episode of the 6th season. First aired November 14, 2006.
Written by Julie Martin, Diana Son, and Warren Leight. Directed by Darnell Martin.
Guest Actors:
Michael Biehn as Leland Dockerty
Fran Drescher as Elaine Dockerty
Shane McRae as Wesley Burkhartz
Betty Gilpin as Amanda Dockety
Rita Moreno as Frances Goren
Synopsis: Eames and Goren investigate the disappearance of a Deputy Commissioner’s daughter while Goren tries to deal with his mother’s increasingly more difficult health issues.
Note—We learn several things in this episode, including that Eames tended bar at one point, that her husband’s name was Joe, and that he was murdered in 1998.
Quotes:
Ross: “Thank you for joining us, detective.”
Frances Goren: “Oh, it’s amateur hour here today. The doctors, the nurses, they talk to me like I’m an idiot. I’m telling you, I’ve had it with these people. And you—if you don’t come soon, I…I’m walking out.” Bobby: “Mom?”
Goren: “She could have staged this and gone AWOL.” Eames: “AWOL, or a runaway bride.”
Goren: “Maybe you should console him, Commissioner, he was almost your son-in-law.” Dockerty: “My daughter’s dead, detective. I don’t owe anyone any sympathy right now.” Goren: “Well maybe you never do. Maybe that’s why Amanda never told you the whole story.” Ross: “Detective!” Dockerty: “What do you know about my daughter? Or about what kind of father I am?” Goren: “Uh, well, as little as you know about who I am.” Ross: “Detective, you’re out of line!”
Goren: “You wanna fire me? Fire me, I don’t care.”
Eames: “He took off after we talked to him? That doesn’t make him look guilty.”
Eames: “My husband Joe was a cop. He gave me a Taser gun for our anniversary. Sometimes you want to be more than your job.”
Eames: “When I tended bar, we cut people off if we thought they were losing control.” Bartender: “We get a lot of soldiers here, straight from Iraq. They deserve to forget themselves a little.”
Queries:
Some nineteen pages of discussion following the first airing of this episode, much of it eloquent, intelligent and respectful. I particularly recommend Techguy’s criticisms of this episode. It’s quite possible we’ve said all we can say about this story, but I’d like to return to it and revisit some of its issues. And I don’t particularly mean anything by the fact this story of wars within families is airing on Christmas Day. The schedule just fell that way.
How many wars are going on in this story?
Was Frances Goren always like this, or has her physical illness caused her mental health to worsen?
Is Bobby’s tantrum understandable or even justified?
Why does Bobby react so badly to Leland Dockerty?
Did Alex treat Bobby badly? Did Bobby treat Alex badly?
Should Ross have called Bobby in on this case? Should he have kept Bobby on the case after Ross knew what was going on? Did Ross know what was going on? Why did he insist on having Eames and Goren on this case?
Was Ross too close to the Dockertys? Should he have passed this case on to another squad?
Would things have worked better under Deakins’ command?
Should Bobby have taken leave?
Where is Frank?
Do Amanda’s parents know her at all? Does her fiancée?
Was Amanda a hero? Does this story treat her like one?
Does Westley believe he’s done anything wrong?
Did Westley murder Amanda to protect the other squad members or himself?
What happened to the other members of Amanda’s unit? Were they ever brought to justice?
Did Goren have combat experience in the Army? Why doesn’t he use his military experience to connect with some of the suspects?
And what is it about LAW AND ORDER shows and the name Westley? I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone by that name, and yet it pops up frequently on the L&O shows.
Comments:
One of the more controversial episodes of LOCI, at least judging by the amount of, the emotions expressed, and the eloquence of its defenders and detractors. It does not offer a flattering portrait of American soldiers, and may dip to sensationalism in its depiction of their lives on and off the battlefield. Poor Amanda Dockerty is a victim of her father’s expectations, her own military squadron, and the machinations of the writers. She’s discarded as coldly as her body is. I’m still not certain why Westley killed her or their connections.
And I’m still not sure why Ross insisted on calling both Eames and Goren in, especially when it was so obvious Goren shouldn’t have been there. Ross got better over time, but he could be extremely clueless and even callous in his treatment of his detectives.
What saves this episode for me is the acting, which I argue is of a very high quality. Fran Drescher is heartbreaking as Amanda’s mother, who I suspect is the only person who really seems to be concerned about the young woman’s welfare. And while the script doesn’t always seem logical in its treatment of our two leads, Ms. Erbe and Mr. D’Onofrio are excellent. I don’t think Mr. D’Onofrio ever phone it in, and in this episode he’s heartbreaking as Goren tries to deal with all the pushes and pulls on him.
Submitted, as always, for your comments and considerations.
Patcat
Written by Julie Martin, Diana Son, and Warren Leight. Directed by Darnell Martin.
Guest Actors:
Michael Biehn as Leland Dockerty
Fran Drescher as Elaine Dockerty
Shane McRae as Wesley Burkhartz
Betty Gilpin as Amanda Dockety
Rita Moreno as Frances Goren
Synopsis: Eames and Goren investigate the disappearance of a Deputy Commissioner’s daughter while Goren tries to deal with his mother’s increasingly more difficult health issues.
Note—We learn several things in this episode, including that Eames tended bar at one point, that her husband’s name was Joe, and that he was murdered in 1998.
Quotes:
Ross: “Thank you for joining us, detective.”
Frances Goren: “Oh, it’s amateur hour here today. The doctors, the nurses, they talk to me like I’m an idiot. I’m telling you, I’ve had it with these people. And you—if you don’t come soon, I…I’m walking out.” Bobby: “Mom?”
Goren: “She could have staged this and gone AWOL.” Eames: “AWOL, or a runaway bride.”
Goren: “Maybe you should console him, Commissioner, he was almost your son-in-law.” Dockerty: “My daughter’s dead, detective. I don’t owe anyone any sympathy right now.” Goren: “Well maybe you never do. Maybe that’s why Amanda never told you the whole story.” Ross: “Detective!” Dockerty: “What do you know about my daughter? Or about what kind of father I am?” Goren: “Uh, well, as little as you know about who I am.” Ross: “Detective, you’re out of line!”
Goren: “You wanna fire me? Fire me, I don’t care.”
Eames: “He took off after we talked to him? That doesn’t make him look guilty.”
Eames: “My husband Joe was a cop. He gave me a Taser gun for our anniversary. Sometimes you want to be more than your job.”
Eames: “When I tended bar, we cut people off if we thought they were losing control.” Bartender: “We get a lot of soldiers here, straight from Iraq. They deserve to forget themselves a little.”
Queries:
Some nineteen pages of discussion following the first airing of this episode, much of it eloquent, intelligent and respectful. I particularly recommend Techguy’s criticisms of this episode. It’s quite possible we’ve said all we can say about this story, but I’d like to return to it and revisit some of its issues. And I don’t particularly mean anything by the fact this story of wars within families is airing on Christmas Day. The schedule just fell that way.
How many wars are going on in this story?
Was Frances Goren always like this, or has her physical illness caused her mental health to worsen?
Is Bobby’s tantrum understandable or even justified?
Why does Bobby react so badly to Leland Dockerty?
Did Alex treat Bobby badly? Did Bobby treat Alex badly?
Should Ross have called Bobby in on this case? Should he have kept Bobby on the case after Ross knew what was going on? Did Ross know what was going on? Why did he insist on having Eames and Goren on this case?
Was Ross too close to the Dockertys? Should he have passed this case on to another squad?
Would things have worked better under Deakins’ command?
Should Bobby have taken leave?
Where is Frank?
Do Amanda’s parents know her at all? Does her fiancée?
Was Amanda a hero? Does this story treat her like one?
Does Westley believe he’s done anything wrong?
Did Westley murder Amanda to protect the other squad members or himself?
What happened to the other members of Amanda’s unit? Were they ever brought to justice?
Did Goren have combat experience in the Army? Why doesn’t he use his military experience to connect with some of the suspects?
And what is it about LAW AND ORDER shows and the name Westley? I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone by that name, and yet it pops up frequently on the L&O shows.
Comments:
One of the more controversial episodes of LOCI, at least judging by the amount of, the emotions expressed, and the eloquence of its defenders and detractors. It does not offer a flattering portrait of American soldiers, and may dip to sensationalism in its depiction of their lives on and off the battlefield. Poor Amanda Dockerty is a victim of her father’s expectations, her own military squadron, and the machinations of the writers. She’s discarded as coldly as her body is. I’m still not certain why Westley killed her or their connections.
And I’m still not sure why Ross insisted on calling both Eames and Goren in, especially when it was so obvious Goren shouldn’t have been there. Ross got better over time, but he could be extremely clueless and even callous in his treatment of his detectives.
What saves this episode for me is the acting, which I argue is of a very high quality. Fran Drescher is heartbreaking as Amanda’s mother, who I suspect is the only person who really seems to be concerned about the young woman’s welfare. And while the script doesn’t always seem logical in its treatment of our two leads, Ms. Erbe and Mr. D’Onofrio are excellent. I don’t think Mr. D’Onofrio ever phone it in, and in this episode he’s heartbreaking as Goren tries to deal with all the pushes and pulls on him.
Submitted, as always, for your comments and considerations.
Patcat
!