PICKET FENCES: FROG MAN (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. The Rome police disarm a bomb that turns out to be fake. Inside they find a live frog, the calling card of a mysterious criminal known as the Frog Man. This is the latest in a string of robberies he’s perpetrated. The police suspect the Frog Man is Peter Lebeck, a local draper with a noted affinity for frogs. The Brock children are also suspicious of Peter’s son Milton and plan to incriminate him to get to Peter. Maxine and Kenny respond to an alarm at the jewelry store. While Maxine is entering through the back, Kenny walks in and runs into the Frog Man, who shoots Kenny. Maxine finds him and gets him to the hospital, where Jill manages to extract the bullets and stabilize his condition. The semi-conscious Kenny tells Jimmy that the Frog Man was the culprit and Jimmy orders a full search for him. Maxine goes to Peter’s house to question him and places him under arrest. Matt and Zack talk to Milton after school, but Milton soon turns defensive when Zack starts sniffing him. He decks Matt and Zack punches him out. They two boys run away. Meanwhile, Maxine finds a horde of frogs in Peter’s guest bathroom and orders he be taken to the police station to await trial. Kenny tries to leave the hospital but is in no condition to do so, having not yet recovered from his injuries. Peter is tried in court, but the judge says he won’t try the case due to lack of anything other than circumstantial evidence. He gives the prosecution 24 hours to find further evidence. Jill is angry at Zack and Matt for beating up Milton and sends them to their room, telling them that all people deserve respect. In jail, Peter talks to his son and tries to reassure him that he’ll be out soon. Maxine tells Jimmy that she found bullets in Peter’s garage matching those that were fired at Kenny. Jimmy confronts Peter, who sends Milton away. Peter confesses to being the Frog Man. He claims he didn’t mean to shoot Kenny but got scared. He asks to tell Milton about it himself. Maxine finds Kenny at the shooting range and tells him that they got Peter’s confession. He seems distant at first, then defensive when she tries to talk about the previous night. Maxine voices her concern about him, but Kenny brushes her off. The lawyers on both sides discuss Peter’s sentence; he doesn’t want jail time because it would mean he would lose Milton. Milton visits the Brock household and talks to Zack. When Zack implies that Peter might be insane, Milton takes it personally and leaves. The trial progresses and Wambaugh, representing Peter, calls Maxine to the stand. Kenny is back in the hospital because his activity has torn his stitches. He is reluctant to talk about the night he was shot, despite Jill’s advice to do so. In court, Wambaugh casts aspersions as to Maxine’s intentions for Peter’s arrest. She had foreknowledge of Peter’s frog possession and, without any other evidence, arrested him without a warrant. The defense argues that the illegal arrest makes the subsequent evidence and confession invalid; the judge agrees and Peter goes free. Kenny, having just entered the courtroom, is outraged, but the judge says there is nothing he can do. Jimmy tries to explain the court case to his family; he isn’t sure what to do about it. Jill is uncomfortable with the knowledge that Peter is free, believing he will strike again. Maxine apologizes to Kenny for not getting a warrant, saying she was so sure Peter was the culprit that she acted in haste. Kenny is angry at her for not obtaining the warrant, and for what he perceives as a failure to come to his aid during the jewelry store robbery. He blames her for his gunshot wounds and an argument erupts between the two. She counters that she has experienced great fear about the incident and calls him “stupid” for his seeming compulsion to play the role of the hero. Kenny asks Jimmy to be assigned a new partner, as he says he has lost confidence in Maxine. Maxine overhears the conversation and bursts in, continuing her argument with Kenny. Jimmy sits them both down and chides them both for their mistakes: Kenny for going into the jewelry store without backup, and Maxine for not obtaining a proper warrant for Peter’s arrest. He notes that shifting blame will solve nothing and asks them to get over themselves. The police receive a report that the Frog Man has returned to the jewelry store and they all mobilize. The police surround the jewelry store and Jimmy moves in with his officers. The Frog Man is inside and they start shooting, but stop when Peter runs in, pleading with them to stop. He walks up and unmasks the Frog Man, who turns out to be Milton. Later, Peter admits that after he realized the bullets were found in his garage, he knew that Milton was the Frog Man. He confessed to the robberies to protect his son, and feels responsible for unwittingly instilling the “Frog Man” identity in him. Maxine and Kenny try to resolve their argument with each other; she says she needs Kenny. Kenny, for his part, realizes that he previously believed he was “invincible,” but the incident has shattered that perception. They realize they can find strength in each other. The episode ends as Peter unsuccessfully tries to cheer up his son, who is being taken away to a juvenile prison. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 8, 1993 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:45:58
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:55291
- 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
- Robert Breech … Producer
- Alice West … Producer
- Mark B. Perry … Producer, Writer
- Steve Robin … Associate Producer
- Jonathan Pontell … Supervising Associate Producer
- Michael Schultz … Director
- Stewart Levin … Music by
- Tom Skerrit … Cast, Sheriff 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
- Jason Beghe … Cast, A.D.A. Petrovic
- Michael Jeter … Cast, Peter Lebeck
- Ray Walston … Cast, Judge Henry Bone
- Russell Curry … Cast, Deputy Thayer
- Chris Owen … Cast, Milton Lebeck
- Dan Kern … Cast, Dr. Downey
- Barry Doe … Cast, Bill Johnson
- Emily Heebner … Cast, Anesthesiologist
- John Harnagel … Cast, Paramedic #1