Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 8, Episode 16 - On Dying High - full transcript
- He was baseballing!
- What's that?
Freebasing cocaine.
Tens of thousands of drug deaths, and
we just accept it as part of a day's work?
Isn't that what
life's all about?
You're not describing life.
You're describing death.
♪ Now it's snowin' in Florida
Comin' in by the pound ♪
Every time he plays in town, you should
see the human debris he leaves in his wake.
I am working dead center in the
middle of an epidemic that has killed
more people than the
Black Plague in Europe.
Why?
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
♪ Now it's snowin' in
Florida Comin' in by the pound
♪ People skiin' with coke
spoons Snow white all around
♪ There's a blizzard in Florida
Stuff piling up in long rows
♪ And all those snow blowers
are cleanin' up with their nose
♪ Yeah, it's snowin' in Florida
♪ Comin' in from the sky
They'll have a white Christmas
♪ And a white Fourth of July
♪ Now it's snowin' in
Florida Comin' in by the pound
♪ People skiin' with coke
spoons Snow white all around
♪ There's a blizzard in Florida
Stuff piling up in long rows
♪ And all those snow blowers
are cleanin' up with their nose
♪ Now it's snowin' in Florida
Comin' down from the sky
♪ They'll have a white Christmas
and a white Fourth of July ♪
I'm telling you. Look out.
J.J., this is just for you.
Thank you, Charlie.
Hey, what's a nice joint like
you doing in a place like this?
Split it with the
band, if you will.
Charlie Livermore,
ladies and gentlemen.
His last album just
went double platinum.
Stand up, again,
Charlie, if you still can.
Wow, I gotta tell you folks,
you are one heck of an audience.
Heck on an audience. I
appreciate that very much.
Some performers just get
crowds. I get audiences.
I mean to tell you, the stars are
out tonight. Sitting right over there.
Where is he?
Stacy Mulligan,
ladies and gentlemen.
Look at that. Look at that.
And his beautiful wife
Colleen. Hello, Colleen.
And his beautiful
girlfriend Barbara.
That's funny to some of us.
It's show business, whatever.
Loved your last picture, Stace.
Played a narc
with a heart of gold,
then sold the
gold for two kilos.
I'm not sure if that was it.
And over there, you
can just about see him.
The great running back for the
hometown Warriors, Venus Monroe.
Stand up, Venus, if you will.
I mean, there's a guy
who could kick start a 747.
Is that the size of
him? Wait a minute.
I told you Venus is a great running
back, probably one of the greatest.
Takes nine bennies before each game
and then goes running back for more.
Man, I'm tellin' you
folks, bein' back here,
to see all you stars out
tonight, it just thrills my heart.
Because I started
here and what it does...
It just reinforces my
inferiority complex.
Oh, yeah, don't laugh.
I go to a shrink sometimes.
First time I went to a shrink,
my hat didn't fit the next day.
But...
So I go to a shrink and say,
"Doc, listen, nobody
takes me serious.
"It's like I don't even exist.
"Nobody wants to
take me seriously at all.
"Doc, is it me, or what?"
The shrink looks at the
door and calls out, "Next!"
Doctors...
I really like doctors.
You know why? They
got the best drugs.
And you got to have dope
if you want to have hope.
These guys come around from
all the pharmaceutical companies,
they're called detail men.
They come around
to doctors' offices.
They come in schlepping
these trunks full of samples.
And they go in
and shut the door,
blindfold the doctor and
they go bobbing for downers.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Thank you kindly. We're
going to take a short break.
I don't want any of you to go
away. I want you to be comfortable.
I'd like you to
show all your wonderful
hospitality to a terrific new singer,
ladies and gentlemen, if you
will, a real down home welcome
to Miss Peggy Ann James.
Thank you, and make sure you
save some of those goodies for me.
What do you think?
Okay, maybe I'll give you his
music, but, I don't know, his jokes.
I heard he's a great
performer. He's really good.
I swear, I didn't know
about his material.
Smell that?
- Marijuana.
- Yeah.
Oh. no.
Hey, babe, great set. You
really got 'em. You're killing 'em.
You been smoking your socks, man? I'm
dying out there, laying down like a lox.
They're eating out of your hand.
Hey, Bud, do me a
favor, and don't jive me.
I'm telling you
I'm not up to it,
not with these people
and not with TV people.
I need a boost, man.
Grab a beer and
relax, you'll feel better.
I can get a beer for
you if you want one.
Hey, honey, don't bother
the man now, okay?
It's no bother, really.
Go ahead, sweet stuff, get me a
beer and get one for yourself, too.
Hey, all right.
Do yourself a favor and
stay away from the bait, huh?
Kim is really starting to grind her
gears about your little tag-alongs.
Listen, you my
manager or my mother?
Why don't you just put a cork in
it? Everybody's riding my case.
Man, I said I need a boost.
I don't know half
these crackers.
I'm not saying in the
middle of the damn floor.
My room back there.
I brought my gear.
No way, my man. A toot's one thing,
but a white tornado right now? Forget it.
Okay, but let's make it quick,
you're back out there in ten minutes.
That's my man.
A little snow toke
and I can blow this crowd away
in what we call your grand finale.
Hey, sugar, where you been?
- I've been lookin' for you.
- Oh, Gene. Hi.
Not Gene high, just Gene so far.
High comes after the set.
You're stickin' around, aren't you?
Yeah, sure, man.
All right, then you best set your cap
for some industrial strength partying.
I'm ready. J.J.'s going
to be there, isn't he?
What does he have to do with it?
I brought you in, I
brought you backstage.
You're mine tonight,
kid, so forget J.J.
You want to let me in on it?
- I can't remember
why I came over here.
- Wow, that's a real toughie.
Let's see, this is the bar,
does that give you a clue?
Right, right. J.J. asked
me to get him a beer.
All right. Bring him his beer, then I
want you laying off him, understand?
♪ Things we wouldn't
tell nobody else ♪
A little blow, compliments
of my old lady.
She just loves the
way you move out there.
I can't believe what's
going on around here.
I think we ought to go, this isn't our
kind of place or our kind of people.
Quincy, you're right, but I
really want to hear J.J. sing.
- Could we just stay?
- If you want to.
A small bottle in the
bottom of my bag.
Relax.
Be careful with that stuff. I've
seen it go off like grenades.
Just relax. Give me the blow.
- You're gonna like that.
- Is that all you got?
What do you mean? All those guys
have been hitting on me all night.
What can I do?
Tell them to get their own.
I love this stuff.
I love it.
You be cool, my man.
Watch that cigarette.
Don't worry about it. We're
going to make a nice baseball.
This is dedicated
to the one I love.
J.J.!
Chandler, help is
coming. Just hang on.
Don't stand there! Get
ice and wet blankets! Move!
A few more seconds,
just hang on, please stay.
Is that Chandler?
Yeah, is the burn team down yet?
All set up. Doctor
Rothman's handling the case.
Let's go into number four.
Get the chest X-ray, stat. Have
respiratory start drawing the ABGs.
I'm Doctor Quincy. Chandler?
Number four, around the corner.
Set up for a central venous
line. Doctor Roland will insert it.
Right away.
- We'll need more
silver sulfadiazine gauze.
- I'll get it.
He still needs
the tetanus toxoid.
Get a ring cutter
and get his jewelry off.
Somebody give me vitals!
BP one forty over eighty-six, pulse
one-thirty-six, respirations thirty-one.
Is that central line ready yet?
Almost got it.
Call the lab and see if they have
the results on the blood gases.
- Mind if we're here?
- No, it's okay.
How bad is he?
Second and third degree burns
over thirty percent of his body.
His vocal cords were burned,
so we know his lungs are affected.
If he doesn't develop shock lung
and our gift wrapping prevents
overwhelming infections
he has a good chance.
Vocal cords?
What about his singing?
We're talking about his life.
Right now I can't even
guess about his career.
If he does make it, I understand
he has you to thank for it.
I just happened to
be at the club tonight.
- What about his hands?
- I think he's lost
a couple of fingertips.
- I still don't
know how it happened.
- The guy was baseballing!
What's that?
Freebasing cocaine, Doctor.
Sergeant? What can I do for you?
Just checking up on
one of my favorite users.
Check that IV, the
drip rate's too slow.
Why are you so sure he
was freebasing, Sergeant?
Just came from the club.
All the circumstantial
evidence is there,
the glass fragments,
can of ether, no question.
They were doing a white tornado.
Problem is, I can't
get any witnesses.
Never can when it comes
to celebrities like him.
It's getting a little
crowded in here, would
you people mind
stepping out in the hall?
I'm Sergeant Wendorf.
I don't think I've
had the pleasure.
I'm Doctor Quincy with the Coroner's
Office. This is Doctor Emily Hanover.
How do you do?
I know I come on a
little strong sometimes,
but I don't think you or anybody
else knows Chandler the way I do.
What do you mean?
If you'll pardon me, to you
and a lot of other people,
Chandler is some
big deal celebrity, but
I've been a narc a long time and
to me he's just another drug freak.
I know his act is loaded
with tasteless drug humor.
It's not just his act,
Doc, it's his whole life.
Every time he plays in town, you should
see the human debris he leaves in his wake.
It's guys like me that have
to go cleaning up after him.
If I could just nail him once,
if I could just get one witness,
somebody reliable to testify,
maybe I could send
him up as an example
and save the lives of a
few good kids in the process.
Officer, it's okay,
this one's with me.
Please, I've got to
see him. It's all my fault!
What the hell are
you trying to do to me?
Let me go.
J.J. is in no condition to
see anyone, you got me?
Now just get out of here and
get lost someplace, pronto.
Excuse me.
Let me go!
- Let me go.
- Get a hold of yourself.
J.J. is in no condition
to see anyone.
I want you to get
lost. Go somewhere.
- Hold on.
- This is all my fault.
- I did it.
- You did what?
Is he dead? Did I kill him?
Why do you think you killed him?
Were you with him when he was 'basing?
Were you there when the ether exploded?
Please, let me go.
Can't you see the girl's stoned?
She doesn't know what she's saying.
- You know her name?
- Of course not.
Listen, why don't you
just get off J.J.'s case.
Every time we play
here, you're like a vulture,
circling him, trying
to pick his flesh.
Now enough's enough.
Enough will be enough when I
can stop your boy from peddling
his poison every
time he drops in.
What's your name, young lady?
She doesn't have to tell you.
You know, you're getting
on my nerves, parasite.
Why did you say you
think you killed Chandler?
You can't do that!
That's an illegal search.
What are you, a lawyer, now?
Why don't you leave her
alone, she's an innocent kid.
Right.
And next you're going to tell me she's an
Italian cook and this is a bag of oregano.
Lemme see some ID.
Wendorf, she's carrying
under an ounce of grass.
You can't bust her,
you can only cite her.
You know, it's funny how creeps like you
know all the drug laws, chapter and verse.
Let me tell what
I think, Auerbach.
I think both of you were
with J.J. when he went up.
You live in a fantasy world.
You think I was with J.J.?
Then why don't you bust me, too?
Don't worry, creep, when
I do, you'll go down hard.
Now why don't you just take your
little friend and get out of my sight?
You make me sick.
- C'mon, kid.
- Can we see J.J.?
Quincy, wait a second.
You're quite the hero.
- Yeah, some hero.
- No, I'm serious,
look at this front page.
"Medical Examiner
Saves Chandler."
All the votes aren't in yet.
They don't know if
Chandler's going to make it.
And even if he does, his
career is over, that's for sure.
He's lucky to be alive.
If it weren't for you, he
probably wouldn't be.
I've been getting wonderful
calls about what you did.
Very proud of you. Okay?
Okay.
Hi, Sam.
- Quince, what are you
doing here so early?
- I work here, remember?
No, what I mean is we were
planning a hero's welcome.
I'll settle for a
good cup of coffee.
Well, it's not every day
you save the life of a big star.
Sam, do you know how that so-called star
set himself on fire in the first place?
Well, there were some rumors that he was
freebasing cocaine and the ether exploded.
That's not a rumor
anymore, it's a fact.
And after seeing
his show last night,
he could have done it out
on stage in front of everybody
and they would have loved it.
- That bad, huh?
- Worse.
I'm telling you, Sam, it's
like another world out there.
All these big celebrities smoking
dope and trading drugs like a swap meet.
- We've got five today, Sam?
- Asten added
a last minute Jane Doe.
A seventeen-year-old Jane Doe?
Monahan and Brill are
already working on it.
Let's do her first. Maybe
she can still tell us who she is.
It's pulmonary edema, but it's way
too heavy for the amount of congestion.
Look at this, when you squeeze
the lung tissue it's almost all water.
Yeah, I see. Along with
pink residue in her stomach.
I guess it's a classic
barbiturate overdose.
The pink residue's probably
from secobarbital capsules.
When you run the tox, look for that
specifically. I bet she's loaded with it.
Will do.
Okay, Sam, you can cover
her up and notify embalming.
Seventeen years old.
You're not saying it was
an intentional overdose?
No. She was probably
doing them for quite a while,
the downers just
caught up to her.
Just like it's going to catch up to a lot
of those people at the club last night.
Wow, talk about a
dubious distinction.
- What's that?
- This case.
She's our five hundredth drug
overdose victim so far this year.
Sam, isn't that something?
You mean about her
being our five hundredth?
No, I mean the way you said it,
so casually, so matter-of-factly.
I'm sorry, Quince, I... No,
it's not you alone, it's all of us.
Sam, how many drug related deaths
have we autopsied over the years?
Gee, well, if you count
alcohol as the drug that it is...
I don't know, twenty-five
hundred, three thousand maybe.
And how many have the
other pathologists done here?
I'm sure over the years,
it's in the tens of thousands.
Tens of thousands of drug deaths, and
we just accept it as part of a day's work?
To us a drug death has
become just another case,
no different than a heart attack
or cancer or even a homicide.
Tens of thousands
and we just stopped noticing.
We've got some
good news, Quince.
We were able to locate that
young girl's parents in Omaha.
They're flying out to identify.
That's good news?
Doctor Asten, I have some
sick days coming, don't I?
Yeah, about ninety days' worth.
I'm taking some of them now.
Hello?
Oh, hi, Em, how are you?
Good. Listen, I know we
had dinner plans for tonight,
but would you be terribly upset
if I passed? No, no, I'm fine.
No, really, I'm fine, I just want to catch
up on some reading, some research.
Yeah. Thanks, Em,
I knew you would.
Right. I'll talk to
you tomorrow.
Right. Good-bye, love.
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Quince?
Quincy.
Paging Doctor Quincy.
Doctor Quincy to the
white courtesy phone.
Well, good morning.
Try good afternoon.
- What time is it?
- Almost four o'clock.
- On Thursday.
- Thursday?
What happened to Wednesday?
Holy mackerel.
What are you doing here at
four o'clock in the afternoon?
Quincy, the truth is, after I spoke to
you the night before last, I got worried.
You didn't sound right. You
sounded depressed and distant.
On, no, honey.
I wasn't depressed,
I was confused.
Then it just turned into
pure, unmitigated anger.
At who?
At me! I was angry at myself.
You know how we doctors are
always accused of having tunnel vision?
Well, you're looking at one with
the longest, darkest tunnel of 'em all.
Quincy, what are
you talking about?
I'm talking about my blindness.
For years I've been
going down to the office
and at least once a day I do
a post on an overdose victim.
I've autopsied hundreds
and hundreds of drug victims
and it was like I
was wearing blinders.
I never saw them
for what they were,
young people, ostensibly
healthy young people
who were poisoning their
bodies and dying like lemmings.
For years I have been
working dead center
in the middle of an
epidemic that has killed
more people than the
Black Plague in Europe
and I just shut it out. Why?
Quince, you did it
for your own survival.
It's a built in
defense mechanism.
You have to shut out the
rage and horror you feel
about the death of
all these young people
to preserve your
sanity and objectivity.
It wasn't a conscious
thing on your part.
Stop feeling so guilty about it.
Stop feeling as if you
had some control over it.
You don't. You never did.
You never will.
That's where you're wrong,
Doctor, that's where you're wrong.
You know what I've been
doing the last few days?
- Watching television.
- I thought you
never watch television.
See? That's what I was
talking about, tunnel vision.
I never knew what
was going on out there.
Big name entertainers making
casual, flippant jokes and remarks
about getting stoned,
getting drunk, getting high.
- The worst part
are the commercials.
- The commercials?
Yeah, commercials they're
so subtle, they're so insidious.
We're conditioning a
nation full of pill takers.
I never thought
about it that way.
Nobody does.
You want a real education? Watch
the beer and wine commercials.
Listen to their jingles.
If you want to be beautiful, sexy,
macho, friendly, sociable, whatever,
knock down some of these suds and
you'll be everything you ever wanted.
But how are you going
to fight a thing like this?
Where do you begin?
At the beginning.
You take a drug oriented show
like Chandler's tragic concert
and have the broadcaster
keep it off the air.
And you think just like that the cable
company will pull it from the schedule?
No. But first I'll ask, then
I'll plead, then I'll beg,
and as a last
resort, I'll threaten!
Are you kidding me? You're asking
me to pull the Chandler concert
from our schedule because it happens
to have a couple of drug jokes in it?
Come on, Doctor,
give me a break.
Mr. Mascek, do you have any
idea at all how injurious a show like
the Chandler concert will be to
thousands of impressionable kids?
Not to mention all the
celebrities in the audience.
Where's your sense
of responsibility?
My responsibility, Doctor, is to
my stockholders, my management
and my subscribers.
And you think your subscribers want to
see a living human being consumed by fire?
We're not that
tasteless, Doctor.
We have no plans of
showing that part of the concert.
Well, thank you for that.
I'm sure you wouldn't
want to be responsible
for contributing to the ten thousand
drug deaths we have every year.
Wait a second, don't go accusing
my company of contributing to that.
I don't import the coke, I don't grow the
pot, I don't force feed the kids out there.
But you and the other media
expose them to it and sanction it
by showing drug use in
its most seductive light.
Doctor Quincy, I think you give us credit
for too much influence and too much power.
We just give our audience what they want,
we reflect their taste, we don't create it.
If people don't
like what we show,
they have the perfect censor
right at the end of their arm.
Click, and they don't have
to watch what we present.
And when enough people go
click, we'll change our programing.
It's the people out there who
have the real programing power,
not us.
And besides, we don't own
the Chandler concert. He does.
Even so, you could
still refuse to run it.
Yeah, I could. And if
I did, my competitors
would jump on it like
it was the holy grail.
No, Doctor Quincy, the
show goes on as scheduled.
Do you have any
children, Mr. Mascek?
Two. A boy and a girl.
Then do yourself a favor.
Don't let them watch the show.
You could end
up hating yourself.
Five minutes,
Quince, that's all.
Thanks.
Chandler, how you doing?
I've been known
to have better days.
Hey, you're one heck
of a fireman, Doc.
That was quite a night.
Well, you know, man,
when you're hot, you're hot.
I always wanted to go
out in a blaze of glory.
Not to worry, Mr. Chandler.
Doctor Rubinstein says
your prognosis is pretty good.
Yeah? Good for what?
They told me some of
my fingertips are gone.
The old voice box is burned out
and has sung its last ditty.
And if you thought my mug
wasn't too pretty to start off with...
I don't want to dump
that load on you, huh?
I should just thank
you for what you did
and say God bless you, partner.
Mr. Chandler, if
you really mean it,
if you really want to thank me,
you can do an enormous favor.
Just put a tag on
it, Doc, it's yours.
The cable show you taped
the night of your accident,
I understand you own it.
Yep. Every inch of it.
I want you to cancel it.
Whoa, let's just rewind that for a
sec. What do you mean cancel it?
Keep it off the air?
Don't sell it, don't license
it, don't show it on TV.
- You can do it.
- Yeah, but why would I?
You've got millions of
fans out there, young ones,
kids who love you, who look
up to you, who try to emulate you.
Yet the only message that concert
conveys to them is that drugs are fun.
Doc, I just can't do that.
You're asking a whole lot
of me and I just can't do it.
Is it the money?
That's part of it.
It's my life, my whole life!
Nobody has to kid me, I know
I'm never going on stage again.
It's over for me,
Doc, the party's over.
No fingers, no face, no voice.
That concert was my last,
that show is my legacy.
It's all that's left of
the great J.J. Chandler
and you're asking me
to bury it like an old bone.
Well, let me tell you something,
Doc. I'd let them bury me first
before I let them bury that show.
And that's the God's honest truth.
At this point, Quince, J.J.'s damage is
more psychological than it is physical.
In fact, you're the first
visitor he's allowed all week.
- A lot of good my visit did.
- Who knows?
Maybe you touched something in him.
He needs a lot of spiritual shoring up.
He's looking down the road at a
lot of painful reconstructive surgery
and he's facing
it without drugs.
How much longer will he
have to stay in intensive care?
As far as I'm concerned,
he's out of the woods now.
He should be up
and walking today.
If it's not too much trouble, let me
know if he has a change of heart.
We still have time to
keep that show off the air.
Doctor Rubinstein, is
he okay this morning?
Making terrific
progress, Ginger.
Do you think I could
give him these?
I won't stay more than
a second, I promise.
No, I'm afraid not, Ginger.
J.J.'s not seeing anybody.
But did you tell him it was me?
Did you tell him I just want
to see him for a second and
and tell him I'm sorry?
I've been passing your messages
along to him every day, Ginger.
He just doesn't
want to see anybody.
You're not lying to me, are
you? I mean, he is okay, isn't he?
I just left him, Ginger,
he's doing very well.
Hey, I know you, don't
I? I've seen you before.
You're the guy
who put the fire out.
I'm Doctor Quincy.
Yeah? I'm sorry, I was
a little wrecked that night.
Listen, if you two will excuse
me, I've got some patients.
Oh, Doctor, would you
please give this to J.J.?
- And this letter.
- I'll make sure he gets it.
Quince, I'll see you later.
I know I'm just a nobody to
him, but if J.J. knew how I felt...
How do you feel, Ginger?
I don't know.
Kind of mixed up, I guess.
You were with him when
the freebase exploded.
Not really.
I was just coming into...
No. I wasn't. I
didn't see anything.
Why are you protecting him?
Because I love him.
That young lady, Ginger,
was here again to see you.
She brought more
flowers and this.
I'll be back in about an hour
to change some of those packs.
I just don't understand.
Why would otherwise
intelligent people
destroy their minds
and bodies with drugs?
You want a
psychiatric explanation?
No. I know the litany. I
just don't understand it.
Well, a lot of it has to do
with the hypocrisy of the times.
There's nothing to
believe in anymore.
World leaders are assassinated
like ducks in a shooting gallery.
We have politicians who lie.
What's worse, we're all sitting
on the brink of nuclear annihilation,
and just waiting for some
madman to push the button.
I can't tell you how much
you're cheering me up.
I'm sorry.
But the point is, what we desperately
need in our society is a new religion.
Not a cult or guru
or anything like that,
but something to really believe in
again, something to give us hope
and comfort and explain in very simple
terms all this complexity around us,
the reasons for our existence.
I know one of my
most important reasons.
You.
Boy, do I love you.
Every minute I'm
with you goes like that.
Every minute I'm away
from you is an eternity.
That's so sweet.
Where did all that come from?
Right about here. And...
Here.
- Quince...
- That's to take care of
all those long minutes.
It's the most beautiful
thing I've ever seen.
Nice, isn't it?
Nice? It's gorgeous.
But...
W. Emily Hanover,
I love you.
I want us to spend the
rest of our lives together.
I want you to be my wife.
Doctor Quincy.
I accept.
Don't answer it.
- What if it's for you?
- Answer it.
Hello. Yes.
Yes, Sergeant.
I'll tell him.
And thank you, Sergeant.
That was Sergeant Wendorf.
That young girl, Ginger
Reeves, do you remember her?
Of course. I just saw her
this morning at the hospital.
Now she's a patient there.
An OD.
What happened?
Still alive. What happened?
Same old thing, this
time downers and alcohol.
She passed out at a bar
not two blocks from here.
Quincy, welcome back.
Looks like you're
making this place a habit.
Some habit.
- How is she?
- Too soon to tell.
I don't have the
lab results yet,
but she was doing either
diazepam or chlordiazepoxide
and washing them
down with tequila.
She passed out and aspirated
some of her stomach contents.
Chemical pneumanitis?
Hit it right on the head.
What is this chemical
pneumanitis?
Deadly, Sergeant.
She vomited and inhaled some of the
acid from her stomach after she passed out.
Some of the lining in her
lungs is digested, inflamed.
So we have her on a respirator.
- How bad off is she?
- We should know by tomorrow.
She's in a coma now
from the drugs and alcohol.
She should pull out
of that by morning,
but it's the pneumanitis
we don't know about.
If it's minor, she'll be fine,
but if it's severe, she'll die.
Nothing more we can do here. I'm
going to have her transferred to ICU.
Where are you going?
I'm going to have a little chat
with the man responsible for this.
I'm going to lean
on his conscience.
Hey, Doctor Q, my
old volunteer fireman,
- what brings
you back so quick?
- Ginger Reeves.
Cute little blonde chick
with the nice frame?
She's not so cute anymore, She
OD'd and is downstairs right now,
hooked up to a respirator,
trying to live through the night.
Hey, man, that's too bad. But
what are you laying this on me for?
You put her there.
And if she dies, I want you to
know that you put the nail in her coffin
just as if you put the pills in her
mouth or the needle in her arm.
No way, man, you can't
pin that tail on this donkey.
I remember she was so
wrecked she could hardly stand up.
Doc, she was just a groupie.
I'm not responsible for her.
That's where you're wrong,
Chandler. Dead wrong.
Ginger Reeves and her friends
and the hundreds of thousands of fans and
admirers you worked so hard to cultivate,
they're all your responsibility.
They love you and
for the life of me,
I don't know why, because you
hold them in such low regard.
You despise them.
You're always concerned about
what you're going to leave behind.
And if Ginger Reeves dies,
Chandler, believe me, I'll make
sure you're the first to know.
"My dearest.
"I know it was all my fault and
I've been praying for you every day.
"All of my friends and family back home
can't understand why I love you so much.
"I tried to explain that when you sing,
you're singing my thoughts and my dreams
"and my feelings as if you
knew me for a long, long time
"and understood
me, like they don't.
"I've always felt from your music, that
you and me were cut from the same cloth.
"And when I'm high, I close my
eyes and know, deep in my heart,
"that we're sharing the
same feelings and emotions.
"And for that I will
always love you.
"Please, get better soon and
please forgive me for what I did to you.
"Love always. Ginger."
How do you feel?
Tired. I want water.
- You've got a visitor.
- I don't want to see anybody.
Maybe you'll change your mind.
How you doing, sweet stuff?
J.J.
Hey, babe, I know
I've lost some of my
boyish good looks,
but, hey, is it that bad?
J.J., I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to, it
was an accident...
Whoa, hold on
there, sweet stuff.
It's all my fault.
No, babe, it was my fault. You
had nothing to do with it. Nothing.
But I opened the door and...
And saw a very stupid
man slowly killing himself.
Sweet stuff, maybe you don't
know it, but you saved my life.
What do you mean? I
made it explode in your face.
And knocked some sense into
me for the first time in many a moon.
That's why I'm here, Ginger,
hoping I can return the favor.
I don't understand.
You know, getting high.
Ginger, what's it like for you?
You mean getting high?
J.J., you know. It's like no
other feeling in the world.
When I'm high, I
mean, when I'm really
flying, there's not a
thing that bothers me.
It's like total freedom
from everything.
You see what I'm saying?
Yeah, do I ever.
You know, sugar,
what you wrote to me,
maybe you're right, maybe
we are two peas in a pod.
But I've been doing a lot of
thinking, lying in my bed up there.
I've been thinking that that peace
and and satisfaction I want is there,
inside me, always has been
but I've been running too
fast and too hard to notice.
That's why I tried to find it
with dope and pills and coke.
Me too.
That stuff takes away
the pain, the pressure.
With it, I've got nothing to worry
about, nothing to be afraid of.
Isn't that what
life's all about?
No pain, no
pressure, no nothing?
No, Ginger, you're
not describing life.
You're describing death.
It's beautiful.
Getting married, I never thought
you'd do it. I'm happy for both of you.
Couldn't be happier than we are.
When's the big day?
Well, we haven't
even talked about that.
Could be any time. This
weekend, next weekend.
This weekend?
Sure, how long does it take
to find a justice of the peace,
have him do the ceremony?
- A justice of the peace?
- Yes.
Excuse me. I feel a
discussion coming on.
What's the matter? Don't you
want to get married right away?
- Sure...
- I thought we'd go to
Vegas and get it done.
Quince, I don't
know how to say this,
but that's not my
idea of getting married.
It's not?
I've never been married.
There was school and then
my residency and my career.
It just was never in the cards.
So now that we've
finally made this decision,
I just don't want to skimp.
I wasn't exactly
talking about skimping.
Running away to Las
Vegas is skimping.
Sweetheart, don't
you understand?
I'm not talking about
just getting married.
I'm talking about a wedding.
A wedding?
Yes, honey. The kind of wedding
that every little girl dreams about.
A big, elaborate, formal wedding
where I'll have a long
white gown and a veil.
And there'll be little flower
girls, a little ring bearer.
Maybe it'll be out in a
garden. Or it could be at night.
But it's going to be
a big, huge wedding.
- What's that?
Freebasing cocaine.
Tens of thousands of drug deaths, and
we just accept it as part of a day's work?
Isn't that what
life's all about?
You're not describing life.
You're describing death.
♪ Now it's snowin' in Florida
Comin' in by the pound ♪
Every time he plays in town, you should
see the human debris he leaves in his wake.
I am working dead center in the
middle of an epidemic that has killed
more people than the
Black Plague in Europe.
Why?
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
♪ Now it's snowin' in
Florida Comin' in by the pound
♪ People skiin' with coke
spoons Snow white all around
♪ There's a blizzard in Florida
Stuff piling up in long rows
♪ And all those snow blowers
are cleanin' up with their nose
♪ Yeah, it's snowin' in Florida
♪ Comin' in from the sky
They'll have a white Christmas
♪ And a white Fourth of July
♪ Now it's snowin' in
Florida Comin' in by the pound
♪ People skiin' with coke
spoons Snow white all around
♪ There's a blizzard in Florida
Stuff piling up in long rows
♪ And all those snow blowers
are cleanin' up with their nose
♪ Now it's snowin' in Florida
Comin' down from the sky
♪ They'll have a white Christmas
and a white Fourth of July ♪
I'm telling you. Look out.
J.J., this is just for you.
Thank you, Charlie.
Hey, what's a nice joint like
you doing in a place like this?
Split it with the
band, if you will.
Charlie Livermore,
ladies and gentlemen.
His last album just
went double platinum.
Stand up, again,
Charlie, if you still can.
Wow, I gotta tell you folks,
you are one heck of an audience.
Heck on an audience. I
appreciate that very much.
Some performers just get
crowds. I get audiences.
I mean to tell you, the stars are
out tonight. Sitting right over there.
Where is he?
Stacy Mulligan,
ladies and gentlemen.
Look at that. Look at that.
And his beautiful wife
Colleen. Hello, Colleen.
And his beautiful
girlfriend Barbara.
That's funny to some of us.
It's show business, whatever.
Loved your last picture, Stace.
Played a narc
with a heart of gold,
then sold the
gold for two kilos.
I'm not sure if that was it.
And over there, you
can just about see him.
The great running back for the
hometown Warriors, Venus Monroe.
Stand up, Venus, if you will.
I mean, there's a guy
who could kick start a 747.
Is that the size of
him? Wait a minute.
I told you Venus is a great running
back, probably one of the greatest.
Takes nine bennies before each game
and then goes running back for more.
Man, I'm tellin' you
folks, bein' back here,
to see all you stars out
tonight, it just thrills my heart.
Because I started
here and what it does...
It just reinforces my
inferiority complex.
Oh, yeah, don't laugh.
I go to a shrink sometimes.
First time I went to a shrink,
my hat didn't fit the next day.
But...
So I go to a shrink and say,
"Doc, listen, nobody
takes me serious.
"It's like I don't even exist.
"Nobody wants to
take me seriously at all.
"Doc, is it me, or what?"
The shrink looks at the
door and calls out, "Next!"
Doctors...
I really like doctors.
You know why? They
got the best drugs.
And you got to have dope
if you want to have hope.
These guys come around from
all the pharmaceutical companies,
they're called detail men.
They come around
to doctors' offices.
They come in schlepping
these trunks full of samples.
And they go in
and shut the door,
blindfold the doctor and
they go bobbing for downers.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Thank you kindly. We're
going to take a short break.
I don't want any of you to go
away. I want you to be comfortable.
I'd like you to
show all your wonderful
hospitality to a terrific new singer,
ladies and gentlemen, if you
will, a real down home welcome
to Miss Peggy Ann James.
Thank you, and make sure you
save some of those goodies for me.
What do you think?
Okay, maybe I'll give you his
music, but, I don't know, his jokes.
I heard he's a great
performer. He's really good.
I swear, I didn't know
about his material.
Smell that?
- Marijuana.
- Yeah.
Oh. no.
Hey, babe, great set. You
really got 'em. You're killing 'em.
You been smoking your socks, man? I'm
dying out there, laying down like a lox.
They're eating out of your hand.
Hey, Bud, do me a
favor, and don't jive me.
I'm telling you
I'm not up to it,
not with these people
and not with TV people.
I need a boost, man.
Grab a beer and
relax, you'll feel better.
I can get a beer for
you if you want one.
Hey, honey, don't bother
the man now, okay?
It's no bother, really.
Go ahead, sweet stuff, get me a
beer and get one for yourself, too.
Hey, all right.
Do yourself a favor and
stay away from the bait, huh?
Kim is really starting to grind her
gears about your little tag-alongs.
Listen, you my
manager or my mother?
Why don't you just put a cork in
it? Everybody's riding my case.
Man, I said I need a boost.
I don't know half
these crackers.
I'm not saying in the
middle of the damn floor.
My room back there.
I brought my gear.
No way, my man. A toot's one thing,
but a white tornado right now? Forget it.
Okay, but let's make it quick,
you're back out there in ten minutes.
That's my man.
A little snow toke
and I can blow this crowd away
in what we call your grand finale.
Hey, sugar, where you been?
- I've been lookin' for you.
- Oh, Gene. Hi.
Not Gene high, just Gene so far.
High comes after the set.
You're stickin' around, aren't you?
Yeah, sure, man.
All right, then you best set your cap
for some industrial strength partying.
I'm ready. J.J.'s going
to be there, isn't he?
What does he have to do with it?
I brought you in, I
brought you backstage.
You're mine tonight,
kid, so forget J.J.
You want to let me in on it?
- I can't remember
why I came over here.
- Wow, that's a real toughie.
Let's see, this is the bar,
does that give you a clue?
Right, right. J.J. asked
me to get him a beer.
All right. Bring him his beer, then I
want you laying off him, understand?
♪ Things we wouldn't
tell nobody else ♪
A little blow, compliments
of my old lady.
She just loves the
way you move out there.
I can't believe what's
going on around here.
I think we ought to go, this isn't our
kind of place or our kind of people.
Quincy, you're right, but I
really want to hear J.J. sing.
- Could we just stay?
- If you want to.
A small bottle in the
bottom of my bag.
Relax.
Be careful with that stuff. I've
seen it go off like grenades.
Just relax. Give me the blow.
- You're gonna like that.
- Is that all you got?
What do you mean? All those guys
have been hitting on me all night.
What can I do?
Tell them to get their own.
I love this stuff.
I love it.
You be cool, my man.
Watch that cigarette.
Don't worry about it. We're
going to make a nice baseball.
This is dedicated
to the one I love.
J.J.!
Chandler, help is
coming. Just hang on.
Don't stand there! Get
ice and wet blankets! Move!
A few more seconds,
just hang on, please stay.
Is that Chandler?
Yeah, is the burn team down yet?
All set up. Doctor
Rothman's handling the case.
Let's go into number four.
Get the chest X-ray, stat. Have
respiratory start drawing the ABGs.
I'm Doctor Quincy. Chandler?
Number four, around the corner.
Set up for a central venous
line. Doctor Roland will insert it.
Right away.
- We'll need more
silver sulfadiazine gauze.
- I'll get it.
He still needs
the tetanus toxoid.
Get a ring cutter
and get his jewelry off.
Somebody give me vitals!
BP one forty over eighty-six, pulse
one-thirty-six, respirations thirty-one.
Is that central line ready yet?
Almost got it.
Call the lab and see if they have
the results on the blood gases.
- Mind if we're here?
- No, it's okay.
How bad is he?
Second and third degree burns
over thirty percent of his body.
His vocal cords were burned,
so we know his lungs are affected.
If he doesn't develop shock lung
and our gift wrapping prevents
overwhelming infections
he has a good chance.
Vocal cords?
What about his singing?
We're talking about his life.
Right now I can't even
guess about his career.
If he does make it, I understand
he has you to thank for it.
I just happened to
be at the club tonight.
- What about his hands?
- I think he's lost
a couple of fingertips.
- I still don't
know how it happened.
- The guy was baseballing!
What's that?
Freebasing cocaine, Doctor.
Sergeant? What can I do for you?
Just checking up on
one of my favorite users.
Check that IV, the
drip rate's too slow.
Why are you so sure he
was freebasing, Sergeant?
Just came from the club.
All the circumstantial
evidence is there,
the glass fragments,
can of ether, no question.
They were doing a white tornado.
Problem is, I can't
get any witnesses.
Never can when it comes
to celebrities like him.
It's getting a little
crowded in here, would
you people mind
stepping out in the hall?
I'm Sergeant Wendorf.
I don't think I've
had the pleasure.
I'm Doctor Quincy with the Coroner's
Office. This is Doctor Emily Hanover.
How do you do?
I know I come on a
little strong sometimes,
but I don't think you or anybody
else knows Chandler the way I do.
What do you mean?
If you'll pardon me, to you
and a lot of other people,
Chandler is some
big deal celebrity, but
I've been a narc a long time and
to me he's just another drug freak.
I know his act is loaded
with tasteless drug humor.
It's not just his act,
Doc, it's his whole life.
Every time he plays in town, you should
see the human debris he leaves in his wake.
It's guys like me that have
to go cleaning up after him.
If I could just nail him once,
if I could just get one witness,
somebody reliable to testify,
maybe I could send
him up as an example
and save the lives of a
few good kids in the process.
Officer, it's okay,
this one's with me.
Please, I've got to
see him. It's all my fault!
What the hell are
you trying to do to me?
Let me go.
J.J. is in no condition to
see anyone, you got me?
Now just get out of here and
get lost someplace, pronto.
Excuse me.
Let me go!
- Let me go.
- Get a hold of yourself.
J.J. is in no condition
to see anyone.
I want you to get
lost. Go somewhere.
- Hold on.
- This is all my fault.
- I did it.
- You did what?
Is he dead? Did I kill him?
Why do you think you killed him?
Were you with him when he was 'basing?
Were you there when the ether exploded?
Please, let me go.
Can't you see the girl's stoned?
She doesn't know what she's saying.
- You know her name?
- Of course not.
Listen, why don't you
just get off J.J.'s case.
Every time we play
here, you're like a vulture,
circling him, trying
to pick his flesh.
Now enough's enough.
Enough will be enough when I
can stop your boy from peddling
his poison every
time he drops in.
What's your name, young lady?
She doesn't have to tell you.
You know, you're getting
on my nerves, parasite.
Why did you say you
think you killed Chandler?
You can't do that!
That's an illegal search.
What are you, a lawyer, now?
Why don't you leave her
alone, she's an innocent kid.
Right.
And next you're going to tell me she's an
Italian cook and this is a bag of oregano.
Lemme see some ID.
Wendorf, she's carrying
under an ounce of grass.
You can't bust her,
you can only cite her.
You know, it's funny how creeps like you
know all the drug laws, chapter and verse.
Let me tell what
I think, Auerbach.
I think both of you were
with J.J. when he went up.
You live in a fantasy world.
You think I was with J.J.?
Then why don't you bust me, too?
Don't worry, creep, when
I do, you'll go down hard.
Now why don't you just take your
little friend and get out of my sight?
You make me sick.
- C'mon, kid.
- Can we see J.J.?
Quincy, wait a second.
You're quite the hero.
- Yeah, some hero.
- No, I'm serious,
look at this front page.
"Medical Examiner
Saves Chandler."
All the votes aren't in yet.
They don't know if
Chandler's going to make it.
And even if he does, his
career is over, that's for sure.
He's lucky to be alive.
If it weren't for you, he
probably wouldn't be.
I've been getting wonderful
calls about what you did.
Very proud of you. Okay?
Okay.
Hi, Sam.
- Quince, what are you
doing here so early?
- I work here, remember?
No, what I mean is we were
planning a hero's welcome.
I'll settle for a
good cup of coffee.
Well, it's not every day
you save the life of a big star.
Sam, do you know how that so-called star
set himself on fire in the first place?
Well, there were some rumors that he was
freebasing cocaine and the ether exploded.
That's not a rumor
anymore, it's a fact.
And after seeing
his show last night,
he could have done it out
on stage in front of everybody
and they would have loved it.
- That bad, huh?
- Worse.
I'm telling you, Sam, it's
like another world out there.
All these big celebrities smoking
dope and trading drugs like a swap meet.
- We've got five today, Sam?
- Asten added
a last minute Jane Doe.
A seventeen-year-old Jane Doe?
Monahan and Brill are
already working on it.
Let's do her first. Maybe
she can still tell us who she is.
It's pulmonary edema, but it's way
too heavy for the amount of congestion.
Look at this, when you squeeze
the lung tissue it's almost all water.
Yeah, I see. Along with
pink residue in her stomach.
I guess it's a classic
barbiturate overdose.
The pink residue's probably
from secobarbital capsules.
When you run the tox, look for that
specifically. I bet she's loaded with it.
Will do.
Okay, Sam, you can cover
her up and notify embalming.
Seventeen years old.
You're not saying it was
an intentional overdose?
No. She was probably
doing them for quite a while,
the downers just
caught up to her.
Just like it's going to catch up to a lot
of those people at the club last night.
Wow, talk about a
dubious distinction.
- What's that?
- This case.
She's our five hundredth drug
overdose victim so far this year.
Sam, isn't that something?
You mean about her
being our five hundredth?
No, I mean the way you said it,
so casually, so matter-of-factly.
I'm sorry, Quince, I... No,
it's not you alone, it's all of us.
Sam, how many drug related deaths
have we autopsied over the years?
Gee, well, if you count
alcohol as the drug that it is...
I don't know, twenty-five
hundred, three thousand maybe.
And how many have the
other pathologists done here?
I'm sure over the years,
it's in the tens of thousands.
Tens of thousands of drug deaths, and
we just accept it as part of a day's work?
To us a drug death has
become just another case,
no different than a heart attack
or cancer or even a homicide.
Tens of thousands
and we just stopped noticing.
We've got some
good news, Quince.
We were able to locate that
young girl's parents in Omaha.
They're flying out to identify.
That's good news?
Doctor Asten, I have some
sick days coming, don't I?
Yeah, about ninety days' worth.
I'm taking some of them now.
Hello?
Oh, hi, Em, how are you?
Good. Listen, I know we
had dinner plans for tonight,
but would you be terribly upset
if I passed? No, no, I'm fine.
No, really, I'm fine, I just want to catch
up on some reading, some research.
Yeah. Thanks, Em,
I knew you would.
Right. I'll talk to
you tomorrow.
Right. Good-bye, love.
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Quince?
Quincy.
Paging Doctor Quincy.
Doctor Quincy to the
white courtesy phone.
Well, good morning.
Try good afternoon.
- What time is it?
- Almost four o'clock.
- On Thursday.
- Thursday?
What happened to Wednesday?
Holy mackerel.
What are you doing here at
four o'clock in the afternoon?
Quincy, the truth is, after I spoke to
you the night before last, I got worried.
You didn't sound right. You
sounded depressed and distant.
On, no, honey.
I wasn't depressed,
I was confused.
Then it just turned into
pure, unmitigated anger.
At who?
At me! I was angry at myself.
You know how we doctors are
always accused of having tunnel vision?
Well, you're looking at one with
the longest, darkest tunnel of 'em all.
Quincy, what are
you talking about?
I'm talking about my blindness.
For years I've been
going down to the office
and at least once a day I do
a post on an overdose victim.
I've autopsied hundreds
and hundreds of drug victims
and it was like I
was wearing blinders.
I never saw them
for what they were,
young people, ostensibly
healthy young people
who were poisoning their
bodies and dying like lemmings.
For years I have been
working dead center
in the middle of an
epidemic that has killed
more people than the
Black Plague in Europe
and I just shut it out. Why?
Quince, you did it
for your own survival.
It's a built in
defense mechanism.
You have to shut out the
rage and horror you feel
about the death of
all these young people
to preserve your
sanity and objectivity.
It wasn't a conscious
thing on your part.
Stop feeling so guilty about it.
Stop feeling as if you
had some control over it.
You don't. You never did.
You never will.
That's where you're wrong,
Doctor, that's where you're wrong.
You know what I've been
doing the last few days?
- Watching television.
- I thought you
never watch television.
See? That's what I was
talking about, tunnel vision.
I never knew what
was going on out there.
Big name entertainers making
casual, flippant jokes and remarks
about getting stoned,
getting drunk, getting high.
- The worst part
are the commercials.
- The commercials?
Yeah, commercials they're
so subtle, they're so insidious.
We're conditioning a
nation full of pill takers.
I never thought
about it that way.
Nobody does.
You want a real education? Watch
the beer and wine commercials.
Listen to their jingles.
If you want to be beautiful, sexy,
macho, friendly, sociable, whatever,
knock down some of these suds and
you'll be everything you ever wanted.
But how are you going
to fight a thing like this?
Where do you begin?
At the beginning.
You take a drug oriented show
like Chandler's tragic concert
and have the broadcaster
keep it off the air.
And you think just like that the cable
company will pull it from the schedule?
No. But first I'll ask, then
I'll plead, then I'll beg,
and as a last
resort, I'll threaten!
Are you kidding me? You're asking
me to pull the Chandler concert
from our schedule because it happens
to have a couple of drug jokes in it?
Come on, Doctor,
give me a break.
Mr. Mascek, do you have any
idea at all how injurious a show like
the Chandler concert will be to
thousands of impressionable kids?
Not to mention all the
celebrities in the audience.
Where's your sense
of responsibility?
My responsibility, Doctor, is to
my stockholders, my management
and my subscribers.
And you think your subscribers want to
see a living human being consumed by fire?
We're not that
tasteless, Doctor.
We have no plans of
showing that part of the concert.
Well, thank you for that.
I'm sure you wouldn't
want to be responsible
for contributing to the ten thousand
drug deaths we have every year.
Wait a second, don't go accusing
my company of contributing to that.
I don't import the coke, I don't grow the
pot, I don't force feed the kids out there.
But you and the other media
expose them to it and sanction it
by showing drug use in
its most seductive light.
Doctor Quincy, I think you give us credit
for too much influence and too much power.
We just give our audience what they want,
we reflect their taste, we don't create it.
If people don't
like what we show,
they have the perfect censor
right at the end of their arm.
Click, and they don't have
to watch what we present.
And when enough people go
click, we'll change our programing.
It's the people out there who
have the real programing power,
not us.
And besides, we don't own
the Chandler concert. He does.
Even so, you could
still refuse to run it.
Yeah, I could. And if
I did, my competitors
would jump on it like
it was the holy grail.
No, Doctor Quincy, the
show goes on as scheduled.
Do you have any
children, Mr. Mascek?
Two. A boy and a girl.
Then do yourself a favor.
Don't let them watch the show.
You could end
up hating yourself.
Five minutes,
Quince, that's all.
Thanks.
Chandler, how you doing?
I've been known
to have better days.
Hey, you're one heck
of a fireman, Doc.
That was quite a night.
Well, you know, man,
when you're hot, you're hot.
I always wanted to go
out in a blaze of glory.
Not to worry, Mr. Chandler.
Doctor Rubinstein says
your prognosis is pretty good.
Yeah? Good for what?
They told me some of
my fingertips are gone.
The old voice box is burned out
and has sung its last ditty.
And if you thought my mug
wasn't too pretty to start off with...
I don't want to dump
that load on you, huh?
I should just thank
you for what you did
and say God bless you, partner.
Mr. Chandler, if
you really mean it,
if you really want to thank me,
you can do an enormous favor.
Just put a tag on
it, Doc, it's yours.
The cable show you taped
the night of your accident,
I understand you own it.
Yep. Every inch of it.
I want you to cancel it.
Whoa, let's just rewind that for a
sec. What do you mean cancel it?
Keep it off the air?
Don't sell it, don't license
it, don't show it on TV.
- You can do it.
- Yeah, but why would I?
You've got millions of
fans out there, young ones,
kids who love you, who look
up to you, who try to emulate you.
Yet the only message that concert
conveys to them is that drugs are fun.
Doc, I just can't do that.
You're asking a whole lot
of me and I just can't do it.
Is it the money?
That's part of it.
It's my life, my whole life!
Nobody has to kid me, I know
I'm never going on stage again.
It's over for me,
Doc, the party's over.
No fingers, no face, no voice.
That concert was my last,
that show is my legacy.
It's all that's left of
the great J.J. Chandler
and you're asking me
to bury it like an old bone.
Well, let me tell you something,
Doc. I'd let them bury me first
before I let them bury that show.
And that's the God's honest truth.
At this point, Quince, J.J.'s damage is
more psychological than it is physical.
In fact, you're the first
visitor he's allowed all week.
- A lot of good my visit did.
- Who knows?
Maybe you touched something in him.
He needs a lot of spiritual shoring up.
He's looking down the road at a
lot of painful reconstructive surgery
and he's facing
it without drugs.
How much longer will he
have to stay in intensive care?
As far as I'm concerned,
he's out of the woods now.
He should be up
and walking today.
If it's not too much trouble, let me
know if he has a change of heart.
We still have time to
keep that show off the air.
Doctor Rubinstein, is
he okay this morning?
Making terrific
progress, Ginger.
Do you think I could
give him these?
I won't stay more than
a second, I promise.
No, I'm afraid not, Ginger.
J.J.'s not seeing anybody.
But did you tell him it was me?
Did you tell him I just want
to see him for a second and
and tell him I'm sorry?
I've been passing your messages
along to him every day, Ginger.
He just doesn't
want to see anybody.
You're not lying to me, are
you? I mean, he is okay, isn't he?
I just left him, Ginger,
he's doing very well.
Hey, I know you, don't
I? I've seen you before.
You're the guy
who put the fire out.
I'm Doctor Quincy.
Yeah? I'm sorry, I was
a little wrecked that night.
Listen, if you two will excuse
me, I've got some patients.
Oh, Doctor, would you
please give this to J.J.?
- And this letter.
- I'll make sure he gets it.
Quince, I'll see you later.
I know I'm just a nobody to
him, but if J.J. knew how I felt...
How do you feel, Ginger?
I don't know.
Kind of mixed up, I guess.
You were with him when
the freebase exploded.
Not really.
I was just coming into...
No. I wasn't. I
didn't see anything.
Why are you protecting him?
Because I love him.
That young lady, Ginger,
was here again to see you.
She brought more
flowers and this.
I'll be back in about an hour
to change some of those packs.
I just don't understand.
Why would otherwise
intelligent people
destroy their minds
and bodies with drugs?
You want a
psychiatric explanation?
No. I know the litany. I
just don't understand it.
Well, a lot of it has to do
with the hypocrisy of the times.
There's nothing to
believe in anymore.
World leaders are assassinated
like ducks in a shooting gallery.
We have politicians who lie.
What's worse, we're all sitting
on the brink of nuclear annihilation,
and just waiting for some
madman to push the button.
I can't tell you how much
you're cheering me up.
I'm sorry.
But the point is, what we desperately
need in our society is a new religion.
Not a cult or guru
or anything like that,
but something to really believe in
again, something to give us hope
and comfort and explain in very simple
terms all this complexity around us,
the reasons for our existence.
I know one of my
most important reasons.
You.
Boy, do I love you.
Every minute I'm
with you goes like that.
Every minute I'm away
from you is an eternity.
That's so sweet.
Where did all that come from?
Right about here. And...
Here.
- Quince...
- That's to take care of
all those long minutes.
It's the most beautiful
thing I've ever seen.
Nice, isn't it?
Nice? It's gorgeous.
But...
W. Emily Hanover,
I love you.
I want us to spend the
rest of our lives together.
I want you to be my wife.
Doctor Quincy.
I accept.
Don't answer it.
- What if it's for you?
- Answer it.
Hello. Yes.
Yes, Sergeant.
I'll tell him.
And thank you, Sergeant.
That was Sergeant Wendorf.
That young girl, Ginger
Reeves, do you remember her?
Of course. I just saw her
this morning at the hospital.
Now she's a patient there.
An OD.
What happened?
Still alive. What happened?
Same old thing, this
time downers and alcohol.
She passed out at a bar
not two blocks from here.
Quincy, welcome back.
Looks like you're
making this place a habit.
Some habit.
- How is she?
- Too soon to tell.
I don't have the
lab results yet,
but she was doing either
diazepam or chlordiazepoxide
and washing them
down with tequila.
She passed out and aspirated
some of her stomach contents.
Chemical pneumanitis?
Hit it right on the head.
What is this chemical
pneumanitis?
Deadly, Sergeant.
She vomited and inhaled some of the
acid from her stomach after she passed out.
Some of the lining in her
lungs is digested, inflamed.
So we have her on a respirator.
- How bad off is she?
- We should know by tomorrow.
She's in a coma now
from the drugs and alcohol.
She should pull out
of that by morning,
but it's the pneumanitis
we don't know about.
If it's minor, she'll be fine,
but if it's severe, she'll die.
Nothing more we can do here. I'm
going to have her transferred to ICU.
Where are you going?
I'm going to have a little chat
with the man responsible for this.
I'm going to lean
on his conscience.
Hey, Doctor Q, my
old volunteer fireman,
- what brings
you back so quick?
- Ginger Reeves.
Cute little blonde chick
with the nice frame?
She's not so cute anymore, She
OD'd and is downstairs right now,
hooked up to a respirator,
trying to live through the night.
Hey, man, that's too bad. But
what are you laying this on me for?
You put her there.
And if she dies, I want you to
know that you put the nail in her coffin
just as if you put the pills in her
mouth or the needle in her arm.
No way, man, you can't
pin that tail on this donkey.
I remember she was so
wrecked she could hardly stand up.
Doc, she was just a groupie.
I'm not responsible for her.
That's where you're wrong,
Chandler. Dead wrong.
Ginger Reeves and her friends
and the hundreds of thousands of fans and
admirers you worked so hard to cultivate,
they're all your responsibility.
They love you and
for the life of me,
I don't know why, because you
hold them in such low regard.
You despise them.
You're always concerned about
what you're going to leave behind.
And if Ginger Reeves dies,
Chandler, believe me, I'll make
sure you're the first to know.
"My dearest.
"I know it was all my fault and
I've been praying for you every day.
"All of my friends and family back home
can't understand why I love you so much.
"I tried to explain that when you sing,
you're singing my thoughts and my dreams
"and my feelings as if you
knew me for a long, long time
"and understood
me, like they don't.
"I've always felt from your music, that
you and me were cut from the same cloth.
"And when I'm high, I close my
eyes and know, deep in my heart,
"that we're sharing the
same feelings and emotions.
"And for that I will
always love you.
"Please, get better soon and
please forgive me for what I did to you.
"Love always. Ginger."
How do you feel?
Tired. I want water.
- You've got a visitor.
- I don't want to see anybody.
Maybe you'll change your mind.
How you doing, sweet stuff?
J.J.
Hey, babe, I know
I've lost some of my
boyish good looks,
but, hey, is it that bad?
J.J., I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to, it
was an accident...
Whoa, hold on
there, sweet stuff.
It's all my fault.
No, babe, it was my fault. You
had nothing to do with it. Nothing.
But I opened the door and...
And saw a very stupid
man slowly killing himself.
Sweet stuff, maybe you don't
know it, but you saved my life.
What do you mean? I
made it explode in your face.
And knocked some sense into
me for the first time in many a moon.
That's why I'm here, Ginger,
hoping I can return the favor.
I don't understand.
You know, getting high.
Ginger, what's it like for you?
You mean getting high?
J.J., you know. It's like no
other feeling in the world.
When I'm high, I
mean, when I'm really
flying, there's not a
thing that bothers me.
It's like total freedom
from everything.
You see what I'm saying?
Yeah, do I ever.
You know, sugar,
what you wrote to me,
maybe you're right, maybe
we are two peas in a pod.
But I've been doing a lot of
thinking, lying in my bed up there.
I've been thinking that that peace
and and satisfaction I want is there,
inside me, always has been
but I've been running too
fast and too hard to notice.
That's why I tried to find it
with dope and pills and coke.
Me too.
That stuff takes away
the pain, the pressure.
With it, I've got nothing to worry
about, nothing to be afraid of.
Isn't that what
life's all about?
No pain, no
pressure, no nothing?
No, Ginger, you're
not describing life.
You're describing death.
It's beautiful.
Getting married, I never thought
you'd do it. I'm happy for both of you.
Couldn't be happier than we are.
When's the big day?
Well, we haven't
even talked about that.
Could be any time. This
weekend, next weekend.
This weekend?
Sure, how long does it take
to find a justice of the peace,
have him do the ceremony?
- A justice of the peace?
- Yes.
Excuse me. I feel a
discussion coming on.
What's the matter? Don't you
want to get married right away?
- Sure...
- I thought we'd go to
Vegas and get it done.
Quince, I don't
know how to say this,
but that's not my
idea of getting married.
It's not?
I've never been married.
There was school and then
my residency and my career.
It just was never in the cards.
So now that we've
finally made this decision,
I just don't want to skimp.
I wasn't exactly
talking about skimping.
Running away to Las
Vegas is skimping.
Sweetheart, don't
you understand?
I'm not talking about
just getting married.
I'm talking about a wedding.
A wedding?
Yes, honey. The kind of wedding
that every little girl dreams about.
A big, elaborate, formal wedding
where I'll have a long
white gown and a veil.
And there'll be little flower
girls, a little ring bearer.
Maybe it'll be out in a
garden. Or it could be at night.
But it's going to be
a big, huge wedding.