The Reaper's Helper

Watching this show now from the new millenia and the advances in treatment of AIDs gives this Law And Order episode a certain air of unreality.

A closeted gay man is found shot to death in his apartment with the place completely trashed. Bullet to the back of the head so it isn't a suicide at least in the classic sense.

The investigation leads to Peter Frechette who apparently has started a new business, assisting fellow gay men who want to commit suicide. He's traced by George Dzundza and Chris Noth to cases in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

I well remember these years and did see first hand what AIDs did to many friends. Some I suspect did take the out of suicide with methods that could never be proved.

The issues raised are real and genuine yet for me a weakness in the story telling is the fact that a certain point in the story the related cases in California were just dropped. I suspect there would be more than passing interest in Michael Moriarty's prosecution from the related jurisdiction.

At least AIDs is not an automatic death sentence any more.

As someone who lived and managed to avoid infection through the AIDS plague that was the 1980s and 1990's, this was a very real portrayal of what many of us were thinking about. AZT was a lousy treatment and caused it's own set of problems, but it is all there was at the time. I personally vowed that I would kill myself if I got AIDS. I knew many men and young men just out of their teens who died horrible and painful deaths as a result of getting AIDS.

Things might be different now but then there were few options. I had family but they would have disavowed me and they had already disowned me for being gay.

Very honest and real portrayal.

This episode has some of the same veins of a previous episode, mainly dealing with controversial issues that might make homicide justifiable in some circles, but this episode deals with the subject matter, adeptly. It doesn't hide what it's about, and it's not afraid to make you question how it should go.

Stone's difficulty in trying to go forward both exemplifies his acting talent, and showcases the writing skill that went into this. A topic like this in 1990 with a series effort, not turn into a caricature or stereotype is very welcome.

9/10

When a man is found dead with one bullet on the head in his apartment, Detectives Greevy and Logan investigate the case that is apparently a burglary with murder case. Soon they learn that the victim is Bobby Holland, a correct man and former athlete in high-school. But then they also find that Bobby was gay and his case was similar to two other cases. Checking the agendas of the victims, the detectives find a common name, Jack Curry. They arrest Jack that admits shooting Bobby that wanted to commit suicide since he had AIDS and asked Jack to help him. Now Stone has a problem with the gay's movements that are pressing him to let Jack Curry be free.

"The Reaper's Helper" is a polemic episode of "Law & Order". The practice of euthanasia is allowed in many countries, but the right to help someone to commit suicide because has a serious disease and not enough courage to end the own life is more complex. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Última Salvação" ("The Last Salvation")

I met my partner Doyle Good Friday 1989 and we enjoyed 8 months of pure happiness (untainted with the burden of HIV) before we both tested for HIV. I had tested several times and was always negative and Doyle had never tested. I had no suspicion that he was HIV+ but I just thought we should since we were beginning our lives together. He was newly out compared to me. I had volunteered for AIDS Services of Austin (TX) and was very knowledgeable about the subject. In those days, you had to wait a week or so for results. I'll never forget the news of his result and the tears he shed saying that he did not want to die. Almost immediately, I said to him, We can't just give up now! But my reaction was delayed somewhat and I soon went into panic and emotional overload. Unlike some of the guys in this episode, he really wanted to live. Before it was all over though, we saw and experienced what was only touched upon here so that we fully understood the desire to end it all. By June of 1994 Doyle had the appearance of a concentration camp victim, having gone from a robust young man of 28 in his six-foot tall frame at 180 pounds to a mere 90 pounds of remains before he died at age 33. This episode captures some of what that experience was like for so many young men at the time. I am really grateful for people who took on this subject at that time. The writers, actors and director had a strong part in educating the audience. I celebrate their humanity. Oh, and I really loved Chris Noth's character's comment about the department having a test to see if an applicant was gay by how they blinked. I really got a kick out of seeing the actor demonstrate this!