Quincy M.E.: Stolen Tears starts as Jew & Holocaust survivor Issac Koviac (Tha Wyenn) is run down & killed in what seems like an open & shut case of hit-and-run, however before he was killed Issac managed to get a written note to his friend & fellow Holocaust survivor Hyam Sigerski (Martin Baslam) saying that he saw one of the sadistic German prison guards from the Auschwitz concentration camp where they were held during World War II somewhere in Los Angeles. Hyam believes Issac was killed deliberately by this German guard to silence him & prevent his exposure, Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) & the LAPD aren't interested so in desperation Hyam talks to Quincy (Jack Klugman) who performed Issac's autopsy to try & convince him it was murder. Meanwhile an organisation lead by Cornelius Sumner (Norman Lloyd) is on a campaign to discredit people like Hyam & spread the filthy propaganda that the Holocaust never happen & it was all lies, doctored video footage & photo's plus false confessions...
Episode 18 from season 7 this Quincy story was directed by Georg Fenady & is one of those Quincy episodes where he has to use his medical expertise & detective skills to solve a crime as well as use his stiff moral backbone to confront & tackle a serious issue & I guess they don't come much more political, serious or sombre then the systematic extermination of over 6 million Jews in German concentration camps during the second World War but this is Quincy & he doesn't shy away from anything even an issue as heartfelt & emotional as this. To be honest this is quite a heavy issue & a surprising subject matter for the show to deal with but the one thing I really like about Quincy is the diversity of subjects & issues it can & does tackle, of course I think the show is at it's best when it mixes a solid social issue around an intriguing & entertaining murder mystery which Stolen Tears does quite effectively. I couldn't help thinking that maybe the issue of German concentration camps might be a little heavy for Quincy & at only 50 odd minutes in length it doesn't quite have the time to address some of the issue it raises but as a big fan of the show I still liked this episode all the same & it's as simple & straight forward as that.
As usual the show is competently made if a little cheap looking, I doubt the makers had much of a budget or a lot of time. This particular episode also gives the viewer a rare chance to see the inside of Danny's restaurants public toilets which I think has never happened before or since! The acting here is OK, Klugman as Quincy is just class & I could watch him all day while the guest stars do OK but aren't anything special.
Stolen Tears is a pretty sombre Quincy which deals with a difficult & still quite sensitive subject, I can't say it does it complete justice but it tries & there's time for a neat little murder mystery in between all the politics as well.
Episode 18 from season 7 this Quincy story was directed by Georg Fenady & is one of those Quincy episodes where he has to use his medical expertise & detective skills to solve a crime as well as use his stiff moral backbone to confront & tackle a serious issue & I guess they don't come much more political, serious or sombre then the systematic extermination of over 6 million Jews in German concentration camps during the second World War but this is Quincy & he doesn't shy away from anything even an issue as heartfelt & emotional as this. To be honest this is quite a heavy issue & a surprising subject matter for the show to deal with but the one thing I really like about Quincy is the diversity of subjects & issues it can & does tackle, of course I think the show is at it's best when it mixes a solid social issue around an intriguing & entertaining murder mystery which Stolen Tears does quite effectively. I couldn't help thinking that maybe the issue of German concentration camps might be a little heavy for Quincy & at only 50 odd minutes in length it doesn't quite have the time to address some of the issue it raises but as a big fan of the show I still liked this episode all the same & it's as simple & straight forward as that.
As usual the show is competently made if a little cheap looking, I doubt the makers had much of a budget or a lot of time. This particular episode also gives the viewer a rare chance to see the inside of Danny's restaurants public toilets which I think has never happened before or since! The acting here is OK, Klugman as Quincy is just class & I could watch him all day while the guest stars do OK but aren't anything special.
Stolen Tears is a pretty sombre Quincy which deals with a difficult & still quite sensitive subject, I can't say it does it complete justice but it tries & there's time for a neat little murder mystery in between all the politics as well.
