DRAGNET {2003 SERIES}: THE SILVER SLAYER {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere in another update of this popular radio and television drama based on logs from the Los Angeles Police Department, narrated by the laconic Joe Friday. This episode begins on another overcast Monday in L.A. as Lieutenant Friday and his partner, Detective Frank Smith, head to a hillside where coyotes located a white "Jane Doe" decomposing, cause of death unknown. After a forensics specialist cuts off one of the body's fingers at the scene, the police get a print and identify the woman as Rose Wexler, a prostitute. Going to the red light district, Friday and Smith speak with hooker Cleo, who isn't surprised to hear that Wexler has been killed. Cleo claims that Wexler was having "labor disputes" with pimp Victor Tenishuli. Meeting with Tenishuli, Friday and Smith question him about his relationship with Wexler, wondering if he killed her, a charge he categorically denies. Further forensic evidence shows that Wexler was tied up and probably died from strangulation. In addition, semen was found on the outside of her vagina while silver acrylic paint was found inside her, possibly from a spray can. Then, Smith learns about another dumped corpse found near Mulholland Drive. Reporting to the scene, Friday and Smith find a similar cause of death, including the mysterious silver paint, indicating a serial killer could be on the loose. The prints off the second victim belong to another prostitute, Deborah. Meeting with her lover, Marcia Hills, they inform her that Deborah was killed. With no leads, all the police have is the suspect's semen sample and his spray-paint "calling card." Then, Friday gets a call alerting him to yet another murder, something onto which the press have latched. Looking at the dead body, Friday believes the woman, Joanne, may have shot her attacker in the abdomen. Thus, dogs are sent out to follow a blood trail into the woods in hopes of finding the suspect. Eventually, the search team locates a bleeding, passed-out man, Christopher. Then, Friday meets with Dr. Louise Nottingham who has arrived to help establish a profile on Chrisopher. The police find bondage equipment in his house, learning that the man was into erotic asphyxiation and may have met Joanne at an L.A. adult video store. After Christopher dies, Friday doubts that he was the killer, though Nottingham and Captain Ruth Hagermann believe otherwise. Immediately, the press has dubbed the killer as "the Silver Slayer." Three hours later, another silver slaying occurs, with a new twist: tiny cuts on each palm that may have been used to insert electric torture devices. Friday wonders if it is a copycat killing, harkening back to the '70s Hillside Strangler case. Friday enlists some help from Jimmy McFarlane, one of the lead detective on the Hillside Strangler murders. McFarlane realizes that the Silver Slayer must have access to sealed evidence in order to have duplicated the Hillside Strangler with such accuracy. Friday believes that the current killer is celebrating the twenty-fifth year since the Hillside Strangler murders, the silver anniversary. A new murder makes Friday and Smith realize that the Silver Slayer is still at large, and needs six more kills to equal the Hillside Strangler's final number. Then, Friday and Smith meet with Alice Kerian, who visited the imprisoned Hillside Strangler six times in the last year. She reveals that a man named Richard Maughm pays her to fly out to Walla Walla to meet with the Hillside Strangler. A self-professed serial killer enthusiast, Maughm is tickled to find that he is a suspect in the Silver Slayer case. However, he claims that he can't be the culprit as, in the wake of prostate surgery, he can no longer ejaculate. Meanwhile, many papers are found to be missing from the Hillside Strangler files. They trace the missing papers back to Lydia Stoffel, a former employee from the Hall of Records. They accuse her of stealing the Hillside Strangler's files, curious as to who bought the evidence. At the same time, Friday speculates that the Silver Slayer will continue to follow the geographical pattern and "form" of the Hillside Strangler. Meanwhile, the press receives a mysterious letter from the dead Deborah to her son. Next, Friday and Smith head to Monterey Park, where two schoolchildren have been reported missing. Friday and Smith meet with the Kimora family, trying to get information that could help them find their daughters. Then, when one of the Kimora girls uses an emergency credit card, they are found to have been at a shopping mall with friends. Reviewing surveillance tapes, Friday and Smith see the girls speaking with a figure that could be a woman, or a man that looks like a woman, possibly Lydia's ponytailed son Brett. Tracking him down, Brett claims migraine pain before he begins having a seizure. Friday thinks he is faking and arrests him for murder. Nottingham thinks that Brett may have been aroused by violence after seeing all the Hillside Strangler evidence in his mother's basement. Examining his apartment, Friday finds doctored photographs that makes him think Brett had some issues with his absent father, who is now deceased. Friday and the other officers head to Brett's father's empty house, where they locate a locked room. Kicking the door in, Friday and Smith find the Kimora girls bound but still alive. Afterward, Friday and Smith meet with an imprisoned Brett, who claims he has never felt better now that he is a celebrity. Friday discusses how homicide is a "shortcut to fame" in Los Angeles. Includes commercials.
(This series was renamed "L.A. Dragnet" for its second season.)
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 2, 2003 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:57
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:77633
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2003-2004
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Old School" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Tears of the Sun" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless
- TV - Commercials - AdoptUSKids.org
- TV - Commercials - Alamo rental cars
- TV - Commercials - Alavert allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Alzheimer's Disease Research
- TV - Commercials - Bank of America
- TV - Commercials - Claritin allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Clorox Oxi Clean stain remover
- TV - Commercials - Clorox bleach
- TV - Commercials - DirecTV satellite television
- TV - Commercials - GM automobiles
- TV - Commercials - MCI calling plans
- TV - Commercials - Mail Boxes Etc. packing and shipping
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Nissan automobiles
- TV - Commercials - PUR water filters
- TV - Commercials - Pizza Hut restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Red Lobster restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Robitussin cough medicine
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Subway restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Tyson chicken
- TV - Commercials - U.S. Air Force
- TV - Commercials - Verizon wireless
- TV - Commercials - Visa cards
- TV - Commercials - Volunteers of America
- TV - Promos - "20/20: Living with Michael Jackson"
- TV - Promos - "Celebrity Mole Hawaii"
- TV - Promos - "I'm a Celebrity -- Get Me Out of Here!"
- TV - Promos - "Less Than Perfect"
- TV - Promos - "Life With Bonnie"
- TV - Promos - "Miracles"
- TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelorette"
- TV - Promos - "The Practice"
- TV - Promos - "The Wonderful World of Disney: The Music Man"
- TV - Promos - "Veritas: The Quest"
CREDITS
- Dick Wolf … Executive Producer
- Peter Jankowski … Executive Producer
- Walon Green … Executive Producer
- Arthur W. Forney … Co-Executive Producer
- Kevin Hooks … Co-Executive Producer
- Robert Nathan … Co-Executive Producer
- Roz Weinman … Supervising Producer
- Billy Fox … Supervising Producer
- Barry Berg … Producer
- Gary M. Strangis … Producer
- Tyler Bensinger … Co-Producer, Writer
- de Segonzac, Jean … Director
- Mike Post … Music by
- Walter Schumann … Theme Music by
- Miklos Rozsa … Theme Music by
- Ed O'Neill … Cast, Lt. Joe Friday
- Ethan Embry … Cast, Det. Frank Smith
- Jon Polito … Cast, Richard Maughm
- Anna Gunn … Cast, Dr. Louise Nottingham
- Leon Russom … Cast, James McFarlane
- Erick Avari … Cast, Sanjay Ramachandran
- Ashley Crow … Cast, Alice Kerian
- Susan Traylor … Cast, Marcia Hills
- Nicki Micheaux … Cast, Emma Guzman
- Shaun Duke … Cast, Victor
- Timothy Lee DePriest … Cast, Brett Stoffel
- Debbie McLeod … Cast, Lydia Stoffel
- Lindsay Crouse … Cast, Capt. Ruth Hagermann
- Morocco Omari … Cast, Detective Latrell
- Javier Grajeda … Cast, Detective Mayberg
- Larry Braman … Cast, Detective Greggor
- Katherine Kamhi … Cast, Detective Hubbel
- Greta Blackburn … Cast, Cleo
- Shuko Akune … Cast, Norie Kimora
- Toshi Toda … Cast, Mitsohiro Kimora
- Derek Basco … Cast, Detective #2
- Alex Esta … Cast, SID Investigator #2
- Stacy Solodkin … Cast, SID Investigator #1
- Christopher Goodman … Cast, Uniformed Cop #3
- Frank Crim … Cast, Police Photographer
- Biff Wiff … Cast, The Clerk
- Michael Miranda … Cast, Kevin Yen
- Al Bandiero … Cast, Reporter #1
- Michelle Griffin … Cast, Reporter #2
- Michelle Ann Johnson … Cast, Reporter #3
- Jon Melichar … Cast, Reporter #4
- Raoul N. Rizik … Cast, Reporter #5
- Rebecca Markham … Cast, EMT
- Nanea … Cast, Sandra Kimora
- Brynn Matsuura … Cast, Jennifer Kimora
- Michelle Tuzee … Cast, Herself
- Marc Brown … Cast, Himself