Law & Order (TV Series) Prescription for Death (1990) User Reviews

The birth of a TV institution

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 7 March 2010]

Twenty years and two successful spin-offs later, it's almost easy to forget that when it first aired, Law & Order was a gamble on the part of both series creator Dick Wolf and the network NBC. Since one-hour (well, 40-minute) dramas weren't very popular in the late '80s and sitcoms were more likely to get syndication deals, Wolf came up with a brilliant idea: to structure every episode as if it were made of two separate segments. As the opening voice-over (an uncredited Steven Zirnkilton) says: "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime, and the District Attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.".

Though not actually the show's pilot episode (the real one was broadcast a few weeks later), Prescription for Death works very well as an introduction to the series: loosely based on a real case, it begins with a young girl being rushed to the hospital, only to die while receiving medical care. Although everyone says it's the kind of stuff that sometimes happens in a hospital, Sergeant Max Greevey (George Dzundza) and Detective Mike Logan (Chris Noth) soon begin to suspect something else is in the works, especially after discovering that the on-call surgeon, the well-known and respected Dr. Edward Auster (Paul Sparer), has a habit of showing up at work drunk. The second half of the story focuses on Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and his assistant Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks) as they try to build a case against Auster, under the guidance of D.A. Adam Schiff (Steven Hill).

With no underlying story arc, the show lives simply on the strength of the storytelling and the characters, and it succeeds in both areas: early episodes of the series were very concerned with social issues, and this investigation of the dark side of medical treatment is rather poignant, albeit with a few touches of typically dry humor (most notably coming from Stone). As for the characters, they are immediately convincing thanks to the obvious chemistry between the two duos - Dzundza-Noth and Moriarty-Brooks - and the contributions from Hill and Dann Florek, who plays Captain Donald Cragen (later seen in the Special Victims Unit spin-off) and is at the center of the one piece of character development we get in the episode: Cragen's own issues with booze help Greevey and Logan decide to arrest Auster.

Also notable is another L&O staple, namely its penchant for talented guest stars who later became household names in film or television: this series opener boasts excellent turns from John Spencer (The West Wing) as the victim's father and Ron Rifkin (Alias) as the defense attorney. With an ensemble like that, what's not to love? And it has stayed this way ever since (well, most of the time). Unmissable.

Medical darkness

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 12 July 2019]

For a while now, 'Law and Order' has been one of my most watched and re-watched shows and it is a personal favourite. While there is much to recommend about the spin-offs (do consider the early seasons of 'Special Victims Unit' quite a lot better than the later ones though), the original 'Law and Order' will to me always be the best. Especially in the Briscoe years, after him the show didn't feel the same.

"Prescription for Death" is a very good, great even, introduction to 'Law and Order' and establishes its tone and concept very well indeed. Better than quite a lot of shows in their very early stages, few settled straight away and some took at least half a season to do so. Even better though was to follow when the show properly hit its stride when the pacing became tighter and the characterisation meatier.

There is not an awful lot wrong with "Prescription for Death", though being based upon a real case maybe more could have been done with the facts of that case which would have brought even more dimension to a subject that's even more complex than shown here.

On the other hand, the episode is slickly photographed throughout, a perfect match for the gritty tone, and New York looks both striking and atmosphere-filled. The music is only used when necessary and when it is used it does stick in the mind and not done so ham-handedly. Both the main theme and opening voice over are memorable. It is directed with a confident and sympathetic edge.

Writing is thought-provoking and Stone's dry humour balances out the heavy subject matter very effectively. This heavy subject matter is handled with intelligence and dark poignancy, even if it could have done with more depth. The characters do intrigue, with the most interesting and juiciest being Stone. That of Auster doesn't come over as too biased or one-dimensional, neither is he cartoonish or implausible. George Dzundza carries the episode with the right amount of hard-boiled grit and Michael Moriaty embodies authority as Stone. Ron Rifkin is a solid contrast.

Concluding, great introduction. 9/10

The Look of Death

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 11 August 2017]

The inaugural episode of Law And Order has George Dzundza and Chris Noth catching a case where John Spencer comes into the squad demanding an investigation into the death of his daughter. She went to the clinic for a prescription refill and she winds up going into convulsions and dying. The program begins with that horrific situation enacted.

Spencer who was an army medic knows the look of death when he sees it and Dann Florek tells Dzundza and Noth to run with it. The trail ends with a real hoity toity blue ribbon Harvard Medical School played by Paul Sparer who is also an alcoholic.

This inaugural episode brings up the fact that Dann Florek was one himself. That and his participation in AA was brought up more than a few times on this show and on SVU.

The trial has Sparer and his lawyer parading his pedigree. But Michael Moriarty comes up with some truly winning trial strategy. Foolproof in fact.

This was a quality beginning for a TV institution.

The start

[safenoe · 8/10 · 9 October 2023]

I'm enjoying catching up on the early seasons of Law and Order, and Prescription for Death kicks things off in a hospital of all places, rather than the mean streets of New York City in 1990. One reason I enjoy watching the early seasons of Law and Order is because of the Serpico and French Connection feel to the atmosphere of the streets of New York City, with the filming on the streets with all the hustle and bustle of New York City in the early 1990s, a decade before nine eleven.

Anyway, I'm enjoying also catching up on the early seasons of Magnum, P. I. (the original one of course) so that's enjoyable.

Liver Rounds

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 5 September 2022]

In New York, when the teenager Suzanne Morton dies in the ER of a hospital, her father Howard Morton goes to the police and tells that she was murdered there. He explains that they have gone to the hospital to get a prescription of antibiotic only and her daughter died. NYPD Detectives Max Greevey and Mike Logan are assigned to investigate the case and soon they suspect that the hospital staff and doctors are hiding something. Their further investigation discloses that the eminent Dr. Edward Auster had drank a lot in a party before coming to the hospital for his round. E. A. D. A. Ben Stone and A. D. A. Paul Robinette has to prove that Dr. Auster was under influence when he treated Suzanne and other patients and is alcoholic. But his reputation and background is above any suspect.

"Prescription for Death" is the first episode of "Law & Order", with an excellent story of a famous doctor that might have killed patients along his career due to his drinking problem. The investigation of the detectives first is very well conducted and the DA office building the case is interesting. It is easy to understand the fear of doctors and staff in testifying against the eminent doctor and professor. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Prescrevendo a Morte" ("Prescription for Death")

Law & Order: Prescription for Death

[aflanders-1 · 6/10 · 22 October 2006]

Excellent episode, the original fault (from the true Headline case) was the overworked residents and interns. For the show's usual social commentary it would have been so nice if they had used that material. This would have been better, if they expanded on the case's true facts. The state of New Yorks hospitals was deplorable enough to cause legislation limiting the number of hours per day and days per week that physicians in training can be expected to work. Ironically that was considered to be not believable enough to write about. Disappointingly though they took a cheap shot and blamed it on an alcoholic doctor. Guess that was more believable.

Prescription for Death

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 26 July 2022]

There was a Law and Order series broadcast by the BBC in the late 1970s. It examined related stories in the criminal justice system.

Dick Wolf launched Law & Order in 1990 and the show or its spinoffs has been on ever since. Wolf is aware of GF Newman the writer of the BBC show.

Law & Order is a show of two halves. The first is the police investigation. Then it is the prosecution case.

The first episode starts off with a young woman dying in the hospital emergency room. Her distraught father tries to convince the police that it was criminal negligence.

The detectives are reluctant to investigate but once they ask questions, they get drawn in. Maybe an immigrant doctor was not good enough as the medical records were tampered with.

It turns out that a senior Harvard educated surgeon was drunk on duty.

The prosecution case has its work cut out to prove that such an eminent medical man is an alcoholic.

This is an efficient first episode. There very little fat on the bone. One of the cops talk about his alcoholic past. The Indian doctor is mocked by the police.

You would not think that this show would spawn such a franchise with the original returning to television in 2022.