Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 6, Episode 14 - Seldom Silent, Never Heard - full transcript

He's not dead,
right? He's not dead!

Doctor Asten wants
to see you in his office.

A Doctor Ciotti is there.

What does he want?

He wants Jeffrey
Rosenthal's brain.

He's telling me he was
some kind of medical freak!

Tourette syndrome
is one of my problems.

(GRUNTING)

What's gonna happen
of these poor people,

if nobody does anything
about this problem.

I have to live with it.



Or I die with it,
the way Jeff did.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

Gentlemen, you
are about to enter

the most fascinating
sphere of police work,

the world of forensic medicine.

Will ya' shut up!

(YELLING)

Forget it, Randy. He's
just lookin' for trouble.

He's found it.

Randy!

Where're you going?

I'm just gonna give that creep
my short course in manners.

You comin'?

(YELLS)



What's goin' on?

You don't wanna come, stay.

Hey, Randy,
come on, let's split!

Leave the dude be!
You've scared him enough.

(PANTING)

Where is he? Where'd he go?

He's in there.

I sure wouldn't want
to be that guy right now.

Randy, come on, let's go!

(SCREAMING)

(GASPS)

The body is that of a male
Caucasian, age about 19,

height, six feet,

weight, 170 pounds,
average musculature.

Victim has sustained
a number of abrasions

and contusions,
notably on the right hip,

thigh and lower leg.

There's a simple
fracture of the clavicle.

Help me turn him
over, will ya', Sam?

Well, there's the real
damage, broken neck.

Yeah. There's a deep laceration,

lemme have the ruler, will ya'?

Seven centimeters in
length at the back of his neck.

The spinal column
is fracture-dislocated

at the fifth and sixth
cervical vertebrae.

An apparent result of
severe blunt force trauma.

What about the lines, here?

There's a patterned injury

with six evenly spaced
linear abraded lines

on the posterior surface
of the affected vertebrae.

Wow, what a wallop he took.

He broke like a china doll.

What do the police say?

Let's see...

Well, there was an
incident at a movie theater.

The victim was rowdy
and shouting obscenities.

Provoked an argument
with another teenager,

a couple of boys chased
him from the theater.

That's all they know.

Well, not quite all.

Glad to see you're already
on the Rosenthal's murder.

Would you mind
not calling it a murder

until we complete our autopsy?

The injuries we see could've
been sustained in a fall.

We're not sure if it was
an accident or suicide.

Well, we just got a
statement from one of the guys

who chased the victim down.

Come here, take a look
at this injury, right here on...

Uh, Quincy, if you
don't mind, huh?

You come over
here and talk, huh?

Now, one of his buddies
says he picked up a pipe

and went after him.

Someone actually witnessed it?

Not the murder itself,

but he saw his friend go
in there, heard the scream,

saw him up in the
scaffolding holding this.

Um.

Picked up this
little party favor

in the sewer next to
where it happened.

Now, this is the pipe he used.

Well, do you have
any idea where he is?

Oh, I'd say so, yeah.

Third floor, West
Wing, County Jail.

We just came back
from booking him.

But you didn't get a confession?

Well, no. Not yet.

He said he didn't
even touch the kid.

He said he was just tryin' to scare
him, must have fell or somethin'.

Oh, listen, we'll be
wantin', uh, the tox results,

once you get 'em.

By the way, we heard he
was really flying, the victim.

I mean, but not in a plane.

Well, if he was on
somethin', we'll find it out.

Would you do me a favor?

Keep the crime scene
roped off a little longer.

See, you even called it
a crime scene, Quincy.

Lieutenant, any
time somebody dies

this young, before his
life has had a chance...

That's a crime.

Stick around. Sam'll give
you a receipt for the pipe.

Nope. No blood
or skin on the pipe.

Course, you'd expect that.

The water from the sewer would
have washed it clean in minutes.

But it looks like
the kid is guilty.

The threads on the
pipe match the striations

we saw on the body.

- Ed, do me a favor, will ya'?
- Yeah, Quince.

- See if the electron
microscope is free.
- Sure, Doc.

Sam, I want the tissue
around the primary wound

trimmed and prepared
for scanning EM.

I want to see what
the pipe left behind.

Okay. Uh, take a look at this.

We got traces of
a drug, after all.

Hmm... Haloperidol,

point zero-zero-one
micrograms per MA.

Haloperidol...

I don't think I've ever
come across that before.

Not very common.

It's an anti-psychotic agent
used in treating schizophrenia.

Then, if the boy
was schizophrenic,

that might explain
the bizarre behavior.

Yeah. But it still wouldn't
explain why he died.

This is the X-ray map for iron.

This is the particle we mapped.

You were right, Quince.

Micro particles of iron

in the deepest
part of the wound.

Yeah, which means we just poured

the foundation for the
case the DA is building.

You want me to call Monahan?

No, not yet, not yet.

We just mapped
out for iron, right?

Right. I was just
gettin' ready to run

a full elemental spectrum.

Go ahead.

There's the iron peak,
but are you ready for this?

Zinc.

Yeah, and not just a trace.

Let's scan the wound again.

Only this time,
map out the zinc.

- All right.
- Buy you a cup of coffee.

Doctor Quincy,
take a look at this.

Hmm.

Particles of zinc
throughout the wound.

Four or five times as
much as there was iron.

But we tested that pipe
that Monahan brought in.

There was no zinc plating on it.

No. The DA's foundation
just slid down the hill.

If the pipe didn't kill
the boy, what did?

Let's take another look
at that construction site.

We'll have lunch on the way.

Uh, Quince... Um, you know,

it's not working my
lunch hour that I mind.

It's just that I don't think

my stomach can
take that drive-in

you're always driving into.

Hartburn Haven? I
thought you loved it.

But that was 80 burgers ago.

It's an acquired taste.

They get better
after 100. Let's go!

Oh, feh.

This was sticking out
over the spot where he fell.

The skin and the
blood match the victim's.

The pipe you found
has the same diameter

and the same threading,
but it's a gas pipe.

This one carries water.
It's galvanized zinc plated.

Which matches the zinc we found.

That's the whole
ballgame, Lieutenant.

Nobody struck Jeff Rosenthal

with the instrument
that killed him.

He struck it.

Then the kid we're
holding is telling the truth.

He never did hit Rosenthal, huh?

(PHONE RINGING)

Then why'd he
throw the pipe away?

I don't know.

Maybe he panicked
when he saw the dead boy.

For all we know,

he meant to hurt him,
but fate beat him to it.

Well, I guess that's it.

I'll let the DA worry
about the charges.

At least we know
it wasn't murder.

Thanks, Quincy.
See you later, Quincy.

Sam, here's a present for you.

Well, Sam, that wraps
up the Rosenthal case.

I'm not so sure, Quince.

Doctor Asten wants
to see you in his office.

- A Doctor Ciotti's there.
- What does he want?

He wants Jeffrey
Rosenthal's brain.

ASTEN: Were you
the boy's doctor?

No, I know Jeff
through my son, Tony.

They were only friends
for a couple of months,

but they were very close.

Oh, come on in.

Doctor Quincy,
Doctor Arthur Ciotti.

- How do you do, sir.
- How do you do.

Gentlemen...

Yeah, well, if you
weren't the boy's doctor,

I'm not sure why you're here.

I have to know
about the boy's brain.

What condition is it in?

Well, it wasn't directly
damaged in the fall. Why?

- You examined it?
- Sure... Uh, just a...

Doctor Ciotti, I'm
afraid I'll have to ask you

to explain in more detail
exactly what this is all about.

Yes, of course, I'm sorry.

11 years ago,

when my son was seven years old,

he started getting tics.

Uh... facial grimaces,

head shaking,
that sort of thing.

Well, I was a GP at the time,

and I'd seen enough
transient tics in children,

so Maria and I, uh...

My wife was alive then.

We weren't particularly worried.

But then the tics
became more intense,

and vocalizations started.

That's when we started
seeing specialists.

I don't know if you
gentlemen have any children,

but it's a terrible
thing for a doctor

not to know what's
wrong with his own son.

But no one knew.

Not for five years did we know.

It turned out to be
Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette's, of course!

I have to confess, I don't
know much about, uh...

Tourette Syndrome, is it?

You're in good company.

Plenty of doctors,
even neurologists,

are totally unfamiliar
with Tourette's.

Mis-diagnoses are much
more common than correct ones.

What kind of symptoms
are we talking about?

Chronic, multiple tics.

They wax and wane,
they change location,

and they're always accompanied

by involuntary vocalizations.

Uh... sounds,

uh, throat-clearing,
puckering...

- Foul language.
- That's right.

That's present in about
half of Tourette victims.

With my son,
Tony, it's just noises.

Anyway, a special Ed teacher

introduced Jeff to my son,

and I watched him closely
for a couple of months.

It was definitely
Tourette syndrome.

And you want to
examine his brain.

It's a rare opportunity.

Ever since I found out
about my son's problem,

I've devoted my
professional life

to trying to find a cure.

Right now, I'm doing
research for, uh...

Lesher Pharmaceuticals.

But you see,

there are no animal
models for Tourette research.

That's why having
tissue from a victim

would be in invaluable.

Where organ donations
are concerned,

there's not much we can do

without the parents' consent.

I know that.

But first, I had to find out

if the tissues were viable
for biochemical analysis.

QUINCY: Yes, they were.

We froze representative
tissues and preserved the rest.

Oh, that's good.

Now, I, uh...

Have to invite the
Rosenthal's out to my lab.

I want 'em to see a
film of Tourette patients.

It's important that they
understand the value

that their gift could have.

CIOTTI: Our best evidence
indicates that's it's some, uh,

disorder of the central
nervous system.

Some imbalance that interferes

with the ability to inhibit
movement and sounds.

INTERVIEWER: Uh, can the, uh,

movements be
suppressed at all, Adam?

It's pretty exhausting,
but they can be controlled.

It takes total concentration.

Even then, the symptoms

get put off, and
released at a better time.

Ooh...
- It's all right.
- (SOBS)

The tics... okay, maybe.

But I still can't
believe Jeff's profanity

was something physical.

But you have to understand,

it's a breakdown of
the inhibition system.

Jeff could no more control

what he said that he could
control his movements.

And what he was most
afraid of blurting out,

offensive language,

was just what he
could control the least.

All we wanted was
for Jeffrey to get better.

What more could we do?

(WHIMPERS) We
went to professionals,

teachers and doctors...

I just lost my only child,

and he's telling me

he was some kind
of a medical freak!

Mrs. Rosenthal, please, please.

I have some idea of the hell

that you're talking about.

I know how cruel people can be

to a child who's
not like the rest,

who can't keep still,

who's terrified of quiet places,

because he knows
they won't be quiet

once he's there.

I know about the
looks, the name-calling,

the nights you hear
him cry himself to sleep.

I'm just as angry as you are,

and most of the time
I feel just as helpless.

But you see,

if we're going to
do anything about it,

I need your help.

And so does that
young man you just saw.

Jeffrey would have wanted it.

Okay.

Thank you.

You know, when I
see a film like this,

I thank God that
scientists of your caliber

are working on an answer.

Except...

We're the only drug
company that'll touch it,

and even my budget's
been cut to the bone.

I don't understand it.
Why aren't they interested?

Simple economics.

Say there are, what,

a hundred thousand
Tourette victims in the country.

Well, with the millions
of dollars that it takes

to develop a new drug,

and the limited
patent on it if you do,

the manufacturers
feel that they can't even

recover their investment,
let alone turn a profit.

Well your company's
still funding you.

They're just hoping I'll come
up with a more lucrative cure.

I don't kid myself,
Doctor Quincy,

there are no angels of
mercy in my board room.

So if you've got a disease

that happens to
have a low incidence,

don't count on the pharmaceutical
companies for any help.

Like I said, I'm the exception.

When you think of the
fortunes that some men make.

It's why they call
them "orphan drugs"

miracles, the cures
for rare diseases

that no one wants to adopt.

Well, isn't there a
bill before Congress

that's supposed
to deal with all this?

The Orphan Drug Bill.
It's still being considered.

My, uh, son is going to testify.

I'd love for you to meet him.

I'm looking forward to it.

Is there hope that
it will still pass?

Well, there are only 10
days left in this Congress,

and my friends in Washington

tell me that a lame
duck lays no eggs.

But if they don't act
quickly, that bill will die.

And so will a lot
of people's hopes.

The door was open.

I knocked, but of course
you couldn't hear me.

I'm Doctor Quincy.

Oh, hi. Um, my dad's
not home right now.

He's at the store.

He should be back
in a few minutes.

Actually, I came to see you.

I have never heard Chopin
played more beautifully.

Thanks. Uh... (GRUNTS)

Now, if I can only
learn to walk and talk.

Pardon the strange
sense of humor.

It kind of goes
with the territory.

Uh, you know about
the Tourette's, don't you?

Yes, your father told me.

Yeah, well, you
work with him, or...

No, I'm an
acquaintance. A new one.

Uh, can I get you something?

Uh, a cup of coffee?

If it wouldn't be
too much trouble.

No, not at all.

Uh, could you do me a favor?

Uh, could you tell my dad

that your looking up
a statute on forcing

your kid to play
Chopin 10 hours a day?

Why all the practice?

Well, he hasn't said anything?

No.

Well, you'd think he
brag just a little bit.

Uh... I've been uh,
tentatively accepted

into the Larkin Conservatory.

Wow!

That's one of the top
music schools in the country.

Congratulations.

Well, thanks, but
I, uh, I haven't...

I haven't quite
made it there, yet.

Uh... I still have
to play the Chopin

in front of the
judging committee.

Well, from what I just heard,

you'll sweep 'em
right off their feet.

There's a man with taste.

Tony, uh... I hate
to even bring this up.

It's about Jeff Rosenthal.

- What, Jeff?
- Yeah.

Did you ever give him
any your medication,

specifically, haloperidol.

Oh.

Great.

Now you're gonna tell me that...

One of the few legal
Tourette drugs is now illegal.

He did use it, huh?

Uh... Yeah, for a while.

Uh... But the side
effects were awful.

I mean, I gained...

I gained weight like
you wouldn't believe.

And, uh, it interrupted my music

and got in the way of it.

Jeff had asked
me about it and, uh,

he thought it might
help... help him. Why?

We found traces of
haloperidol in Jeff's body.

Wha... what?

Well, it had nothing to do
with the cause of his death.

It's one of those puzzles
I'm tryin' to figure out.

Are we talking...

Are we talking about the
same Jeff? Jeff Rosenthal?

Yeah.

(STUTTERS) Don't scare me.

Uh.

He's not dead.

Tony, I'm sorry. I
thought you knew.

It's not your fault,
Doctor Quincy, it's mine.

I should have told you.

I'm sorry.

I guess I better go.

I'm sorry, Tony.

Wha... what happened?

It was an accident.

(WHIMPERS) So that's why...

That's why you kept
me chained to the piano,

'cause you were afraid I'd
blow the damned audition?

I don't blame you for
being mad as hell at me.

But, I know how hard you worked

and what a good friend Jeff was.

I got scared for you.

As soon as the audition was over

I was gonna break it to you.

I... I was wrong, I was wrong.

I'm sorry.

What do you want me to do?

I can't bring him back.

I want you to
stop protecting me.

I want you to stop throwing
yourself in front of me

every time I'm about to
step into an open manhole!

I don't want to
see you get hurt.

Is that a crime?

If I get hurt, I get hurt.

That's my problem,
it is not yours.

I've gotta live with it,

or I die with it the way Jeff...

No, no, I can't take that!

I'm your father!

What do you want
me to do, just...

Just sit around here and say,

"Well, it's his life.
If he dies, he dies?"

No!

Oh, this is crazy.

Tony, I know.

I know you have
to work through this.

Why, why don't I call Mister
Anders at the Conservatory

and tell him this
is not a good time.

I'm sure he'll agree

to postpone the
audition a week or two.

Oh, who's asking you?

Who the hell is asking you?

Can I please make a
decision for myself, please?

Tony, do we have to
fight about everything?

Look, I... I don't want
to postpone the audition.

It's set for tomorrow at 3:30.

And I'm gonna be there.

(WHISPERS) Doctor Ciotti.

Doctor Quincy, I'm
so glad you made it.

- Hi, Tony.
- This is my friend, Denise.

- How are you?
- Nice to meet you.

Thank you, Miss Sung.

Mister Ciotti.

You may proceed, Mister Ciotti.

(GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)

(PUCKERING)

(CLATTERING)

QUINCY: The whole
project, just like that?

I can't believe it!

Sam and I were getting ready

to send you those brain tissues.

Well, by all means, send them.

It may be the last
important research I do.

Unless I can find
some other funding.

They give you a reason?

Oh, several.

All of them preceded
by dollar signs.

It's just as well
I quit this job.

There isn't enough
backbone in this company

to keep an
earthworm at attention.

But what's incredible
is that they would do it

on the eve of those
congressional hearings.

Oh, that's not so
incredible, Quincy.

You see, it's easier for
them to back out now

than it would be after

they've been publicly
applauded for commitment.

Yeah. How's Tony taking it?

I'll let you know as
soon as I tell him.

Listen, your
company president...

Isn't his name Prager?

Yes. Have you met him?

Not in person.

But a few years back,

one of their drugs was accused

of causing a coronary
in a young woman.

I seem to remember that.

It went to court, didn't it?

That's right.

My autopsy proved it was a
congenital defect, not the drug.

He told me then he owed me one.

Maybe it's time
to pick up the IOU.

I'll talk to you later.

Thank you.

It's a pleasure, Doctor Quincy.

I still shudder to
think where we'd be

if you hadn't done
your job so expertly.

Thank you.

I know another scientist
who's just as professional.

- Ciotti.
- Yep.

Arthur's a good man.
Crack researcher.

Nobody wanted to lose him.

But, it was his choice.

Maybe you could still
talk some sense into him...

Oh, I'm not here to
arbitrate, sir, just to learn.

Thank you.

Arthur said you were interested
in the Tourette's research.

Well, I'm more
interested in why it ended.

It was a management decision.

Sounds terribly cold,

but it would've been
fiscally irresponsible

to let it go on.

Years ago, pharmaceutical houses

brought out a lot
more, what they called

service or prestige drugs.

Sold them at a loss,

but at a tolerable loss.

We can't afford that anymore.

Have you any
inkling of what it costs

to bring a new drug
into the marketplace?

- Millions?
- Millions.

Tens of millions.

And that doesn't even
tell the whole story.

Years of testing, field studies,

clinical tests, and
then follow-ups.

And then you've got,

maybe, ten years
of life on the patent,

assuming it is patentable.

Because the clock begins ticking

when you start development,

not when the drug
goes on the shelf.

And even if you run the
whole obstacle course,

you still have to have enough
of a market to pay for it all.

So a disease like
Tourette Syndrome

can be blue-penciled
by an accountant?

Unfortunately, yes. It happens.

But where's the
dividing line, sir?

- What?
- The dividing line.

Who gets helped and who doesn't.

How many victims are enough?

How many cries
before they're heard?

A million, two million?

Doctor Quincy, I...

I don't like the situation

anymore than you
or Doctor Ciotti,

but we simply
can't afford these...

Orphan drugs?

I find that term
a little loaded.

But it is accurate, isn't it?

Humane consideration
doesn't come up

when you decide
which areas to pursue.

There are certain things
that are better handled

by other institutions.

Medical schools,
research centers...

But almost every
major breakthrough drug

in the last 20 years

has been developed
through your industry.

Well, what would you have us do,

make the payroll with IOU's?

No, of course not.

But isn't there a way
you can produce the drug

with what you call
a tolerable loss?

Possibly.

If it weren't for two
things standing in the way.

Congress and the FDA.

I think if you look
a little further,

you'll find that our shackles
were forged in Washington.

And we didn't invent
the regulations.

We just have to run fast enough

to keep ahead of 'em.

Well, maybe I am
here to arbitrate.

What if they met you half way?

Cut the red tape,
helped cover your costs?

Well, if that happened, sure.

We'd probably re-evaluate

involvement with
the service drugs.

Thank you for your time, sir.

You're welcome.

Doctor Quincy...
You're dreaming.

You're not the first one
to ever accuse me of that.

Bye-bye.

I don't hear you playing much.

Oh, I... I haven't...

I haven't felt
very much like it.

Look, I know we've
been through this before,

but I can still
call Mister Anders

and explain about the audition,

and ask him to give
you another chance.

Uh, like you said,

uh, we've been
through this before.

(SIGHS)

Okay.

-(CRASHES) -Ahh... I'm sorry!

What, sorry?

I dropped it! I did!

I quit my job today.

What?

Mister Prager called
me in and told me

they are eliminating the entire
Tourette research program.

Oh, they were
willing to keep me on,

in the most over-budgeted,
over-researched division.

- And you said no?
- Of course.

Well, why? I mean, less money?

Money?

More money.

I don't understand.

Tony, you know I can't
abandon the research.

(SIGHS)

Of course.

Because that would
be like abandoning me.

I didn't say that.

But that's what
it comes down to.

Dad, what are you gonna do?

Uh, you gonna open
a lab in the basement?

Uh, "Doctor Ciotti's
Homemade Miracle Cures?"

I'll find another job.

But it can't be
just any other job.

It's gotta be Tourette's. Right?

But, what's the
matter with that?

Oh, that's terrific!
That's just terrific!

Tony, will you listen?

Well, that's great!

Now I'm not only
lousing up my life,

I'm lousing up your life too!

I'm a newcomer
to this whole area,

and the more I find out, the
more disheartened I become.

(CHUCKLES)

In some ways, I agree with you.

- Coffee?
- No, thank you.

Ms. Davis, if you'll forgive me,

your agency seems to be
a big part of this problem.

Doctor Ciotti's
Tourette research

ended because his
pharmaceutical company

felt they couldn't
absorb the cost

of complying with
the FDA's regulations.

Food and Drug does
have the strictest

drug development
standards in the world,

and I'm not about
to apologize for it.

You remember the thalidomide
tragedies of the early 60's.

- Yeah.
- When Congress decided

to make sure it never
happened again?

- Uh-huh.
- Well,
the standards are rough.

But our mandate is
to protect the health

and safety of the public.

Well, nobody could argue
against exhaustive testing

if the drug is gonna
be widely used,

but shouldn't there
be another standard

for a small patient
population like Tourette's?

That's a judgment
Congress'll have to make.

But who's gonna
bother with the orphans?

And it's not just Tourette's.

It's Huntington's disease,

and myasthenia gravis,
and sickle cell anemia,

and literally dozens of
low-incidence diseases.

And millions of
people. I mean millions!

So, what do we tell them?

"Hey, why don't you
trade in what you have

"for a more common affliction?"

Or do we drown them?

Doctor Quincy, the FDA
isn't blind to this problem.

We do everything
we can to encourage

the development of these drugs.

But we can't develop them.

It has to happen
in the private sector.

Well, just last year,

a major drug
company got approval

for a drug that
treats a rare tumor.

One.

Ms. Davis, one.

How many are totally
ignored by the best minds

and the best facilities
in pharmacology?

Obviously, quite a few.

Look, if we wanted to
expedite the approval process,

selectively, I mean.

We'd have to have
Congress behind us,

and the drug companies, too.

We can't approve a
drug that's not submitted.

Okay, tell me this.

Would the FDA
budge if Congress did?

If they passed the
orphan drug bill?

Off the record, Doctor?

I think the Agency would do
their part if everyone else did.

Thank you, Ms. Davis.

Doctor Quincy...
That's a big "if."

I'll give you a bigger "if."

What's gonna happen
to these poor people

if nobody does anything
about this problem?

(SIGHS)

Tony, I'm home.

I got a couple of
surprises for you.

Doctor Quincy's with me, and...

I got your favorite
cannoli from LaMastas's.

What is it?

"Dear Dad,

"I decided I had to be
on my own right now.

"I've messed things up
enough for you already.

"Don't worry or
come looking for me.

"Love, Tony."

A lot of well-meaning
people have approached me

on this bill, Doctor Quincy.

And it's not as if
I'm not sympathetic.

It's just that, well...

I'm not sure but
that the whole thing

is just a lot of
window-dressing.

Believe me, Congressman,

I wouldn't have come
all the way up here

to talk to about
window-dressing, or theories.

I have some concrete proposals

from the best
authorities I could find.

I'd still like to know

how the drug companies
are gonna break even

on a drug with only
100000 customers.

By everybody pitching in,

carrying their
share of the burden.

Including you lawmakers.

You can start
with tax incentives

and loan guarantees.

Help subsidize the enormous
cost of clinical testing.

Cover their liability insurance.

And if they make
a profit on the drug,

they pay the government back.

That way, everybody's a winner.

And if the patent laws
don't run long enough,

extend them!
Congress can do that!

And that'll balance their books?

No... Not by itself, no.

The FDA has to help.

There is no reason
why an orphan drug

has to cost 50 million dollars.

Now, they should do
something about that.

All right, what about the
pharmaceutical industry?

Like I said, everybody
has to carry their load.

I see no reason
they shouldn't have

an assigned risk program,

just as the insurance
companies have.

Should assign one or two
areas to each drug company.

(CHUCKLING) Oh, boy.

Now you're going even
beyond the provisions

in this bill we're considering.

Well, why not?

Why not have them
give something back

to the public that
keeps them in clover.

I just don't think you
can legislate morality.

Well, we could just
try to encourage it.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

Oh, if I could only
be sure we could pay

for this brave
new world of yours.

We pay now,

and we're getting
ourselves a bargain!

Right now, we are paying

for a lifetime of disability
for a Tourette victim.

Now, you multiply that by 100000

and that by a score
of orphan diseases,

and you tell me
what we can afford

and what we can't afford.

You realize, of course,

that this session of
Congress is almost over.

Time is running out.

Well, maybe we
can beat that clock...

If we don't run out.

TONY: Doctor Quincy?

- Yeah, who is it?
- It's Tony Ciotti.

Tony! What a surprise!
Come on down.

Come on down. What
do you think. Come in.

Come on in. Come on in.

Uh, I hope I didn't wake you.

Oh, no. I was tryin' to
balance my checkbook.

Why do we think we always
have more money than we do?

Just once, I'd like to be
$10 richer than I thought.

(GRUNTING)

Well, don't let me
interrupt, okay?

No, I'm through. I'm through.

Would you like
something to drink?

- Soda, or something?
- No.

How about something to eat?

I'll whip something
right up for you.

Uh... No, thank
you, Doctor Quincy.

Well, sit down,
sit down, sit down.

Come on.

Did you talk to your father?

Um... No. That's
partly why I'm here.

Uh... I want you
to... I want you to...

(GRUNTING)

I want you to tell
him I'm okay, all right?

Uh, let him know I'm...
Things are all right.

He'll be relieved.

I'm... But I'm not ready
to come home yet.

You got a place to stay?

Um... Well, I must've looked...

Must've looked at
about 15 different places

before I... (PUCKERING)

Before I found the one I wanted.

Things are not
really right, huh?

No, they're not.

Want to talk about it?

Yeah.

I had a... I had a taste
of freedom and, uh,

it's not at all what I
thought it would be.

People crossing the
street... (GRUNTING)

To avoid me.

I was in a... I was
in a park and...

There was this,
this, this kid, um...

This little boy came
running up to me,

and, uh, his
mother, she hit him.

Uh, spanked him,

and told him, "Stay
away from drunks."

Um.

Well, when I went
looking for an apartment.

They, uh...

They thought I was
either crazy or a junkie.

Then the landlady
who finally rented to me,

she was so blind, she
could only see cash.

Ignorance can be very cruel.

You'd think I'd have
a thick enough skin

to take it after all these
years, wouldn't you?

Is that what you want,
Tony. A thicker skin?

Ever since I started...

Ever since I found
out about Jeff,

I've... I've been like...

I've felt like a walking
time bomb, or something...

(GRUNTING)

Just... Just waiting
to explode, and I...

I don't know, maybe,
I have all ready.

I mean, I ruined
my audition, right?

The music.

I, I, I made my
dad lose his job.

That wasn't your
doing. You know that.

I'm just tired of being
a burden on everybody!

Tony...

Tony, for reasons that make
all the sense in the world,

you can only see the
bleak side of things.

The hurt is overwhelming
everything else.

Not because you're weak.

My, if everyone
had your strength

we wouldn't need armies.

Tony, there are so
many roads to travel,

so many things to accomplish.

Things only you can do.

Such as?

Such as going back

before that judging
panel and playing Chopin

till the hair stands up on
the back of their heads.

Like going to Washington

the day after tomorrow
and showing those politicians

the richness they'll
be squandering

if they continue to ignore

such orphan
diseases as Tourette's.

If they continue to
ignore a Tony Ciotti!

Well, what if I blow it again?

Oh, no, no.

The only way you can blow it

is if you begin
to value yourself

the way those people
you described value you.

You give up and you blow it.

You surrender and
you get a handicap

you may never overcome.

But you get in
there, and you fight,

head to head, toe to toe,

and Tony, the sky is the limit!

(DOOR CLOSES)

Tony!

Sorry if I scared you.

No, I'm... I'm happy your home.

I, uh... No, I just
stopped to visit.

I've got a little place
near Echo Park.

Oh.

Well, I'd like to see it.

I mean, when you... When...

Whenever you want me.

You job hunting?

I'm putting together
a little resume, yeah.

Nothing in the classifieds
for Tourette's researchers?

Hard to believe.

I'll create my own
job if I have to.

Well, I guess
we're both gonna...

Guess we're both
gonna have to get used to

being on our own.

I mean, it's gonna happen
once I'm in school, anyway.

Are you thinking about Larkin?

Well, uh... I...

I would like another
chance to audition, yeah.

Tony!

That's wonderful!

That's wonderful.

What made you change your mind?

Uh, I don't really know. Uh...

You could ask Doctor Quincy.

I'll call Anders right now.

When do you think
you'll be ready?

Just as soon as we get
back from Washington.

Oh, Tony... I'm so proud of you.

(SOBBING)

You're great.

(SIGHS)

You took haloperidol,
didn't you?

I can't hide that from you.

Well, I wouldn't have to be
Sherlock Holmes, would I?

You've got all the
classic side effects.

Dizziness, depression,

you're drinking water
like it's going out of style.

Tony!

Tony, you have to
testify tomorrow. Why?

That's exactly why I took it.

By tomorrow,
it'll have worn off.

Enough so that...

So that I'll be to say
what... What I want to say.

Without the tics
getting in the way.

But look at you. You
can hardly stand up.

Is it worth it?

Yes, it is worth it.

And more.

If I can just get those
congressmen to hear me.

Not just look at
me, really hear me.

That's worth all of it.

That's the
haloperidol, isn't it?

It'll be okay once I get
up there and concentrate.

I better go see
when they want you.

You all right?

I feel like I just swallowed
a butterfly collection.

Oh, you're gonna be fine.

I just... I don't
want to scare them.

Uh... I feel so small.

Well, just think of
David and Goliath.

Yeah, but I don't
have a slingshot.

Doctor Quincy,

I... I don't know if I can
really go through with this.

Oh, you're gonna be fine.

You can do it, Tony.

Honest, you can.

Mister Tony Ciotti, please.

Uh, thanks. Um... I,
uh, made some notes,

but, uh, in the interest
of trying to avoid

reading my own
hand-writing, I'll try to wing it.

I've got my problems,

but lack of spontaneity
has never been one of them.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Tourette's syndrome
is one of my problems,

and, uh, it's a doozie.

The, uh...

The symptoms started
when I was about seven,

and, uh, unless I'm asleep

or concentrating at the
piano, or other passions,

uh, I get tics, and, uh,

my speech comes
complete with sound effects.

Uh, I could get into
the physical symptoms.

They're pretty gruesome.

But the mental anguish,
that's the worst part.

Being the object of laughter,

and sometimes even hate.

Being told by your
teachers to shut up,

when there's nothing you'd
rather do, but you can't.

But even that's
not the worst part.

The worst part is
that nobody believes

that you've even got a disease.

You, you hear things like,

"Oh, Tony, he just
wants attention."

Or, uh, "If I had a kid like him

"I could straighten him
out with a few swift kicks."

You get so that you almost
envy people in wheelchairs,

because at least nobody
questions their handicap.

Uh, maybe I should have
stuck with my notes, uh...

Because I really
didn't come here

to talk about myself.

I'm one of the lucky ones.

I'm not... I'm not sure I
realized it until recently, but...

I've got the world by the tail,

compared to a lot of people.

I have a girlfriend who
appreciates my sense of humor,

and I have a father
who loves me,

and some pretty great friends.

I'm thinking about
the other victims.

Not just of Tourette's,

but anyone who is unlucky enough

to have a disease that
never made it to the top 40.

I'm thinking about a girl
my age with myoclonus.

That's another
movement disorder.

She gets her medication

from a veterinary supply house.

A chemical that isn't even
pharmaceutically pure,

because no drug
company wants an Edsel.

And here we're talking about

an orphan drug that exists.

What chance does a Wilson's
or a Tay-Sachs disease have,

when all the drug companies
are tripping over each other

trying to come up
with a better diet pill,

or a better sleeping pill.

The truth is,

that the only real
chance of research money

going to these diseases
is if you, the Congress,

make the Orphan
Drug Bill a reality.

If you don't act,

please think of all the
people you'll be writing off.

(MURMURING)

I'm thinking of my
friend, Jeff Rosenthal.

He had Tourette's too.

He was a... He was
a real movie nut.

He loved it all.

Laurel and Hardy,
Bogie, Fritz Lang.

But half the time, he'd get
thrown out of the theater,

or chased out.

(WHIMPERS) The
last time it happened,

he, uh... He died running away.

How come he had to run?

Why couldn't someone say,

"Hey, stop, take it easy.

"You have as much
right to be here

"as the rest of us.

"We won't ignore you.

"You're not gonna
be an orphan forever."

(SOBBING)

Thanks. I guess I'm done.