True Crime
Episode 206 (#16) - October 9 1996
A series of bank robberies has the police stumped and the media out for blood. Jim is put in charge of the investigation and must endure a film crew from True Crime, a syndicated life on the streets type police show.
The robberies are well planned with the culprits knowing the bank schedules and codes. The group disguises themselves as city workers and uses stolen city vehicles as the get-away car.
Jim discovers one of the robbers is a baseball memorabilia collector and sets up a sting to catch him. The sting goes bad when the crew from True Crime refuses to stay back until it’s over, but Jim manages to run the man, Mick, down in an alley; right in front of the camera crew. In the confusion of the arrest, Mick’s cell phone is missed by Ellison and picked up by Connor, the cameraman for True Crime.
In searching Mick’s belongings, Jim finds a receipt for another bank in town and possibly the next target. In order to catch the rest of the gang, Jim convinces Wendy Hawthorne, the reporter for True Crime to run a piece stating that Mick was dead. Little does Jim know, Connor has plans of his own to make his story. When Jim tells Connor and Hawthorne to stay back during a bank stake out, Connor calls the last number dialed in Mick’s cell phone and leaves the line open for the robbers to hear the police outside. Realizing they’re surrounded, the robbers blow up the bank, injuring several police officers. Connor and Hawthorne are there to get the whole thing on tape.
Afterward, Jim discovers Wendy was fired four years ago from a producer position when its uncovered she faked a story to make better copy. Wendy denies tipping of the robbers, herself, but she finds out about the phone a decides its really Connor who made the call. Hawthorne and Connor track the robbers with a receipt that was with the phone, but get caught by the robbers. Jim and Blair track down the reporter and arrest the robbers.
Episode Oddities:
- Simon tells Wendy “we heard a cell phone inside the bank”
- Wendy works for True Crime but when she ran her story about Mick’s ‘death’, her by line was under the program POV. There was ever a POV sticker on Connor’s camera.
Canon Tidbits:
- Jim keeps a gun under his pillow
- Blair collects baseball memorabilia from 1961 and had a Nolan Ryan bat
- Jim has the best case record in the city
- Wendy drives a red Chrysler 802-GDT
Main Cast:
- Detective Jim Ellison: Richard Burgi
- Blair Sandburg: Garett Maggart
- Captain Simon Banks: Bruce A. Young
Guest Stars:
- Wendy Hawthorne: Elizabeth Mitchell
- Connor: Scott Cleverdon
- Mick: Walter Goggins
- Jack: John Tench
- Eddie: Jackson Cole
- Quinn: Kavan Smith
- Frank: Lance Gibson
- Bank Manager: Andrew Wheeler
- Roy: Colin Lawrence
- Pete: John Destry
