PICKET FENCES: THE DANCING BANDIT (TV)
Summary
One in this series of off-beat dramas that often focuses on social issues as it chronicles the lives of Rome, Wisconsin, residents, including town Sheriff Jimmy Brock; his wife Dr. Jill Brock; their three children, Kimberly, Matthew, and Zachary; and his two deputies, Kenny Lacos and Maxine Stewart. Jill and Zack are waiting in line at the bank when the place is held up by a criminal named Laurie Bey, a.k.a. the “Dancing Bandit,” and her gang. Laurie is deaf and speaks through an interpreter. She shoots out the security cameras, but a silent alarm is tripped and the Rome police are quick to respond. Laurie explains that her nickname comes from a celebratory dance she performs after every heist. She seems to take an interest in Zack, who can communicate with her via a smattering of sign language he picked up in school. Laurie instructs the bank manager that the money she steals be taken from a specific account and that the loss be insured. The police arrive in the midst of Laurie’s dance, blocking her escape. Jimmy, Kenny, and Maxine are on hand to stop Laurie, whom Maxine describes as a “modern-day Robin Hood,” stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Laurie decides she has to take hostages and converses with Jimmy via loudspeaker. Maxine tells Jimmy to stall Laurie as long as possible; the FBI has been hunting down Laurie for some time and wants to capture her. One of the bank patrons threatens Laurie with her handgun, but Laurie responds by shooting her in the shoulder. After a tense negotiation, it is agreed that Laurie will allow the woman to live if her gang gets away, under the condition that she must stay in the bank until the FBI arrives. An ambulance arrives for the wounded woman and the FBI arrives. Laurie orders the bank patrons into the vault. It turns out the woman with the handgun was actually a decoy working for Laurie. She and the gang escape disguised as paramedics onto the ambulance, which it turns out is actually their van disguised as an ambulance. Donald Morrell, an FBI agent, confers with the Rome police about Laurie’s getaway; the real ambulance was intercepted en route to the bank. Carter reveals that Laurie became deaf because of a fever she suffered as a baby, which her parents could not pay for due to being uninsured. He further explains that the man Laurie stole the money from was on the payroll for an expensive government study used to gauge the effect of the methane from cow flatulence on global warming. He conjectures that Laurie is essentially redirecting government spending she views as wasteful into more charitable ends. Maxine deduces that Laurie plans to “reallocate” her newly-stolen funds into a relief fund for flood victims in Rome. However, Laurie has other plans first: she wants to pay a visit to Zack at his school, as Jill mentioned earlier that the sign language program was cut out of the school’s budget. They raid a costume closet and dress up as characters from The Wizard of Oz, posing as sign-language instructors. The police catch wind of this and rush to the scene, interrupting Laurie’s lesson to Zack’s class. In the ensuing chase, Jimmy shoots Laurie in the back as she’s escaping. Her gang pulls her into their van and they drive off. Laurie’s in bad condition, but the police patrol the hospitals, forcing Laurie’s men to take her to Jill's office. Jill and Laurie’s interpreter, Cole, work on removing the bullet from her back. Cole tells Jill that he’s a doctor. The police and FBI show up just as the procedure is being completed. Laurie is taken to the hospital to recover while Cole is put in jail. That night, Jimmy talks to Zack and they discuss whether Laurie is a criminal or a hero. Zack is upset that Jimmy shot her in the back. Wambaugh, representing Cole and Laurie, attempts to get the FBI to give Cole hospital visitation rights. When asked for his reasons, Cole reveals that Laurie is his wife. Laurie’s condition worsens and Cole is brought into the hospital under armed guard. He asks Laurie whether they can one day settle down to a normal life. Jill discovers that Laurie apparently has some sort of heart problem that could prove fatal. Evidence suggests that it may have been triggered by the gunshot wound. The next day, Jimmy and Zack argue about Jimmy shooting Laurie. He admits that he feels guilty for doing so, despite following police procedure. In the hospital, Jill asks Laurie what motivated her to pursue her life of crime, and she reveals that she started by breaking into a lab to steal experimental drugs to help her friend, who was dying of AIDS. Cole, for his part, got involved with Laurie after hospital politics prevented him from treating a patient, who ended up dying. Cole is brought to the hospital again when Laurie’s condition begins to worsen. He and Jill agree that in order to save Laurie, she’ll need to be airlifted to Chicago, which has a facility capable of performing an experimental and dangerous procedure on her heart. Zack arrives to talk to Laurie, who tells him not to be mad at his father for shooting her. She advises him to admire “the good qualities in people rather than their hero status,” in reference to both Jimmy and herself. Her heart rate spikes and she is rushed out of the room just as Jimmy arrives. He and Zack reunite, seemingly on much better terms. Cole says goodbye to Laurie just before she is loaded up onto the helicopter to take her to Chicago. However, Cole reveals to Jill that the whole scheme was a ruse: he and Laurie faked her heart problems with epinephrine doses and the helicopter she is on actually is piloted by her own people. The real helicopter arrives moments later. Jill lies to the FBI in order to allow Laurie to escape, moved by Cole choosing to go to jail in order to free her. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: November 12, 1993 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:44:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:60924
- GENRE: Drama, police
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1992-1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David E. Kelley … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Michael Pressman … Co-Executive Producer
- Ann Donahue … Producer
- Robert Breech … Producer
- Alice West … Producer
- Geoffrey Neigher … Co-Producer
- Jonathan Pontell … Co-Producer
- Lou Antonio … Director
- Stewart Levin … Music by
- Tom Skerritt … Cast, Sherriff Jimmy Brock
- Kathy Baker … Cast, Dr. Jill Brock
- Costas Mandylor … Cast, Officer Kenny Lacos
- Lauren Holly … Cast, Officer Maxine Stewart
- Holly Marie Combs … Cast, Kimberly Brock
- Justin Shenkarow … Cast, Matthew Brock
- Adam Wylie … Cast, Zack Brock
- Fyvush Finkel … Cast, Douglas Wambaugh
- Zelda Rubinstein … Cast, Ginny Weedon
- Ray Walston … Cast, Judge Henry Bone
- Kelly Connell … Cast, Carter Pike
- Marlee Matlin … Cast, Laurie Bey
- Chris Sarandon … Cast, Cole
- Lisa Chess … Cast, Rebecca
- Sam Anderson … Cast, FBI Agent Donald Morrell
- Eric Poppick … Cast, Chauncy Smith
- Bobby Garabedian … Cast, Jack Hughes
- Chris Hendrie … Cast, Kenneth Graham
- Catherine Richardson … Cast, Sylvie
- Emily Yancy … Cast, Mary Coburn
- Eddie de Harp … Cast, Guard #1