Quincy M.E. Give Me Your Weak (1976–1983) Online

To Paul Andrews

Episode Aired October 1982 Orphan Drug Act passed - January 1983 QED

P.S. I am not saying Quincy changed the law but it cannot have hurt to have a prime time TV show airing the issue and politics involved presumably just as Congress and the Senate were considering the bill. As to there being no crime - in the UK a crime of omission can be just as much a crime as one of commission - surely the point Quincy was making and you have patently missed. And think of the lives saved by the bill since...(a similar measure was adopted by the EU in 2000).

PPS - Actually this was a better Quincy than normal as the scripts tend to be formulaic and clunky, as is the acting. Must do some real work though, so byeee

Michael Constantine appeared in "Seldom Silent, Never Heard" in season seven of "Quincy". Now, in season eight's "Give Me Your Weak", he's back as the same character and with the same problem.

The show begins with a disabled man killing himself. It seems that his life was miserable and death was a relief. However, sadly, it seems he COULD have lived a much more normal life if a drug had been available to him. The rest of the show is basically "Seldom Silent, Never Heard" all over again--with Quincy fighting the government for the implementation of an orphan drug law. However, in the case of BOTH episodes, it ends with nothing really happening--and because of this, the show isn't very satisfying nor entertaining. It just comes off as preachy...very, very preachy. Overall, worth seeing only for die-hard "Quincy" fans--otherwise, you could do a lot better.

For those in the know this episode was pivotal to the passing of the Orphan Drug Act in 1983, which had been neutered by Oren Hatch in the Senate after the first episode on the subject. That bill, which later passed intact, was helped along immensely by the impact of this episode in which Jack made the studios pony up an extra mil to create the March. This was Jack's last year on Quincy and he had always wanted the show to have social relevance as well as entertainment value. Perhaps this episode failed to be entertaining, but politically it was the most significant episode ever filmed. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/25/jack- klugmans-secret-lifesaving-legacy/ for a more detailed description of the facts.

Give Me Your Weak begins with a young man, David Bowman (Roderick Ewing), suffering from myoclonus in a convalescent center shooting himself in despair over his declining health. Initially the police think it may have been a murder rather than a suicide because of the angle of the bullet, but after Quincy (Jack Klugman) consults further with friends Dr. Ciotti (Michael Constantine) and his son Tony (Paul Clemens) who knew the victim, this is ruled out as they confirm he was despondent and that his condition would have caused the unusual positioning of the gun. Dr. Ciotti and David also inform Quincy that the victim deteriorated because a drug that he had been taking was no longer available and the reason that it was pulled was because the Orphan Drug Act legislation that they lobbied for previously stalled in Congress. This leads Quincy and several other advocates to band together and lobby once again for the government and pharmaceutical companies to work together in making available lifesaving medications for disabling conditions which are not as common among the public.

I found this to be a rather interesting episode which picks up where a previous one left off and we learn that the initial campaign to get the pharmaceutical companies on board with this effort through government support was not successful. This is a rarity in the Quincy series as usually once we see a social problem addressed that is usually the end of it, but not here. I was further intrigued to learn that the follow up story was based on the real life struggle in Congress of getting this legislation passed where a Senator was holding up the bill for his own interests, very similar to the Simon Oakland character here. Given that this episode was based on actual events that helped lead to passage of legislation that helped benefit those suffering from rare diseases, I think that it is very compelling and effective.

During the final scenes, I incorrectly assumed that they were using stock footage of the protest march to the Senate offices, but I was surprised to then see guest stars from this episode in the actual crowd of those marching. As it turns out, 500 extras were hired to film this powerful scene and many of them were suffering from the conditions that would benefit from the Orphan Drug Act. Wow, this was pretty impressive and talk about making a statement!

While this Season 8 episode may not feature an intriguing murder mystery, it does tell an important story which mirrored real life events and surely had an impact in getting crucial legislation passed shortly thereafter, so for these reasons I feel that it was very worthwhile and I do recommend viewing!

Quincy M.E.: Give Me Your Weak starts as David Bowman (Roderick Ewing) a sufferer of a rare neurological disorder called myoclonus commits suicide & end sup on L.A. coroner Quincy's (Jack Klugamn) autopsy table. All the evidence points to suicide, Quincy then learns from his old friend Dr. Arthur Ciotti (Michael Constantine) that David was making good progress while taking a new drug but the doctor who developed the drug had his funding taken away & couldn't provide it anymore & David was reverting back to a point where he couldn't even walk on his own. Quincy sets out on a moral crusade to get the Government, the drug agencies & the pharmaceutical companies to work together & develop drugs for rare 'unprofitable' diseases like myoclonus...

Episode 3 from season 8 this Quincy story was directed by Georg Fenady & is the third rubbish Quincy episode in a row, I think it's safe to say season 8 isn't the show's finest hour & if things carry on like this it's not hard to see why the show was canned & never made it to season 9. Show's like Quincy rely on a strong fan base as well as the casual viewer & so far during season 8 there's very little of what I personally like about the show & I just can't see these poor & frankly dull morality tales appealing to casual viewers either, I just can't. Quincy is barely in this one, he gets to make a few passionate speeches but does virtually zero lab work, there's no crime to investigate unless you count suicide because technically it's illegal although you'll have a hard prosecuting & there's not much mystery or interest in who did it! All I'll say is if it isn't broke don't fix it & I just wish the makers of Quincy had followed that simple yet relevant saying.

Quincy gets to go to Washington in this episode but it's obviously mostly studio bound. Give Me Your Weak feels like either a remake or a sequel to Seldom Silent, Never Heard from season 6 back in 1981 as both are almost exactly the same & features a couple of the cast from that episode in recurring roles. Also making an appearance here is Robert Ginty a couple of years after he was dishing out revenge on those who killed his mate in the exploitation classic The Exterminator (1980).

Give Me Your Weak is a poor Quincy story & that's coming from someone who considers themselves a big fan of the show, no crime means a dull episode & they don't come much duller than this.