BLIND JUSTICE: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this dramatic action series about Jim Dunbar, a New York City police detective who faces doubt and controversy when he returns to work after being blinded in a shoot-out.
In this episode, at the scene of a bank robbery, Dunbar is shot by one of the criminals when his partner, Terry Jansen, freezes in apparent fear. Sometime later, now blind, Dunbar prepares for his first day back on the job, accompanied by his guide dog, Hank. The press, recalling his recent high-profile lawsuit against the department to maintain his job, hounds Dunbar outside the precinct, and Detectives Karen Bettancourt, Marty Russo, and Tom Selway are less than thrilled to learn that Dunbar has been assigned to their unit. Lieutenant Gary Fisk questions Dunbar frankly, wondering how he will assist at crime scenes and support his partner without sight. Dunbar insists that he will approach investigations from "a different angle" and will leave if he finds that he cannot do his job well.
When a tongue-stealing serial killer strikes for the sixth time, Bettancourt, who had been focused on the case, is annoyed when Fisk pairs her with Dunbar and sends them off to investigate a stolen car instead, adding that she is friends with a woman with whom Dunbar previously cheated on his wife, Christie. When they eventually track down the car, Dunbar realizes that a gun was recently fired within it and declares that it is a crime scene. Back at the station house, he has an uncomfortable run-in with Jansen, who formally apologizes for his fateful moment of inaction during the bank robbery. A fingerprint on the car leads them to the body of Lynn Bodner, an escort. Dunbar and Bettancourt, knowing that Fisk will remove them from the case, decide not to tell their lieutenant that her death appears to be linked to the serial killer. Back at home, Dunbar and Christie quickly fall into a familiar argument about their emotional estrangement, with Christie telling him that he does not truly "need" her. Frustrated, he returns to the squad room and carefully memorizes its layout, later surprising his co-workers with his confident sense of orientation.
Fisk learns that the pair is trying to "hijack" the serial-killer case by holding back certain details, including how the killer apparently stole cars before every murder; he peevishly sends them off on another mundane assignment. Dunbar, however, gets an idea about the killer's area of residence; as he and Bettancourt continue their investigation, he faces off with Russo about his ability to "hold his own," particularly his choice to carry a loaded gun. Dunbar and Bettancourt track down Randy Lyman, who lives in the key area and has past solicitation charges; he quickly attacks Bettancourt, lying to Dunbar that he has a gun and intends to kill her. Dunbar, however, unflinchingly holds him at gunpoint, and Bettancourt later tells the others that her partner saved her life with his quick actions. During the interrogation, Dunbar informs Lyman that he has forensic evidence linking him conclusively to Lynn's body. Lyman confesses to all seven murders, plus three more. Dunbar then admits that he was bluffing about the evidence; when he assures Bettancourt that he will not hold her back, she agrees to take their partnership "day by day," surprised by his slightly flirtatious questions about her appearance. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: March 8, 2005 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:31
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:86312
- GENRE: Drama, police/detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/detective; Drama, mystery/suspense; Blindness; Serial murders
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2005
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - American Lung Association asthma tests
- TV - Commercials - American Online internet provider
- TV - Commercials - American Red Cross association
- TV - Commercials - Bud Light beers
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Citi PremierPass credit cards
- TV - Commercials - DeBeers diamonds
- TV - Commercials - Energizer batteries
- TV - Commercials - FedEx Ground shipping services
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Hanes apparel
- TV - Commercials - Hanes underwear
- TV - Commercials - Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Levitra medication
- TV - Commercials - Lincoln/Mercury automobiles
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Nasonex allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Olive Garden restaurants
- TV - Commercials - ReMax realtors
- TV - Commercials - Save the Children charity services
- TV - Commercials - The Foundation For A Better Life organization
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - World Vision association
- TV - Promos - "Alias"
- TV - Promos - "Blind Justice" upcoming episodes
- TV - Promos - "Eyes"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy"
- TV - Promos - "Jake in Progress"
- TV - Promos - "Lost"
- TV - Promos - "Primetime"
CREDITS
- Steven Bochco … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Matt Olmstead … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Nicholas Wootton … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Bill Clark … Executive Producer
- Jeffrey Downer … Producer
- Dayna Bochco … Producer
- Jeremy Beim … Co-Producer
- Tom Keefe … Associate Producer
- Gary Fleder … Director
- Mike Post … Music by
- Ron Eldard … Cast, Detective Jim Dunbar
- Marisol Nichols … Cast, Detective Karen Bettancourt
- Reno Wilson … Cast, Detective Tom Selway
- Frank Grillo … Cast, Detective Marty Russo
- Michael Gaston … Cast, Lieutenant Gary Fisk
- Rena Sofer … Cast, Christie Dunbar
- Sonny Marinelli … Cast, Terry Jansen
- Shawn Doyle … Cast, Randy Lyman
- Kate Reinders … Cast, Kim Chenowith
- Eden Rountree … Cast, Paula Wheaton
- Deborah Teng … Cast, Wen
- Zhao Mao … Cast, Wen's Father
- John Michael Bolger … Cast, Uniform
- Christine Toy Johnson … Cast, Reporter #1
- Adam Kulbersh … Cast, Reporter #2
- Don Clark Williams … Cast, Reporter #3
- John Cenatiempo … Cast, Uniform #1