Episode 18, Season 5
Title: Thin Ice

Written by: Jon Cowan, Robert Rovner
Directed by: Donna Deitch
Original Air Date: April 16, 2006

Description:    (full synopsis)

A professional baseball player is accused of rape, however a shocking discovery emerges when they check out his alibi. Jordan and Lu have different theories about what really happened to the victim and eventually Jordan is taken off the case for obstruction. Meanwhile, Nigel becomes determined to find the family of a fighter pilot frozen in time.  His search brings his own memories of his father to the surface and Bug helps him to cope.

Guest Stars:

Ethan Sandler (Jeffrey Brandau), Jeff Doucette (Nicholson),  Jeanette Brox (Shannon Paige),  Angela Goethals (Deborah),  Paul Wesley (Quentin Baker),  Nick Wechsler (Hopper)

Random Facts:

- Early titles: Fallen Heroes and The Iceman Cometh

- In this episode Nigel makes a comment how he got 'Peter' and 'Sydney' to cover his and Bug's shift.  Guess those two aren't missing in action and are still at the morgue.

- Woody when talking about the baseball player says "He's the next A-Rod."  He's referring to the real life baseball player Alex Rodriguez who plays third base for the NY Yankees.

- Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern U.S., attains an elevation of 6,288 feet above mean sea level, and is located at latitude 44° 16' N, longitude 71° 18' W.  It is in Sargents Purchase in Coös County, New Hampshire, at the heart of the White Mountain National Forest.  Originally called Agiocochook by native Americans, the mountain boasts some of the planet's most severe weather.  Mount Washington is in New Hampshire.

- Nigel mentions the following people in this episode: Calvin Coolidge who was president from 1923-1929.  George Gershwin: who wrote Rhapsody in Blue was an American composer born in Brooklyn New York and Doris Day was born on April 3rd, 1924.  She was an actress and singer.

- The Iceman Cometh is a play written by Eugene O'Neill, published in 1940.  It was first produced on Broadway in 1946. It was later made into a TV movie in 1960 as well as a big screen motion picture in 1973.

Goofs:

-The T-33 was a training jet, not a fighter. It carried an instructor and trainee, not a pilot and navigator, as Nigel asserted. 

Also the men in blue are airmen, not soldiers. And at one point it is said that the Army has sent some records. The Army wouldn’t have Air Force records.

air·man  n. 1- An enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force that is above airman basic and below airman first class, A person who holds this rank, 2- An enlisted person in the U.S. Navy working with aircraft, 3-An aviator.

- If you watch closely you can see of cadaver 'Shannon' breathing on the autopsy table.

Music:

Big girls don't cry,  Frankie Valli

Quotes:

Jordan: You're own office congrats...oh excuse me.

Jordan: She's still alive?  Then what am I doing here?
Brandau: Walcott wanted you.  You're office knows more about human crimes than any hospital in the city.

Brandau: Oh good you're here.  (Lu walks up) You'll be working with Detective Simmons on this.  Everything by the book.  I can't have anything come back and bite me.

Lu: Look…um…
Jordan: It’s okay.  Don’t worry about it.

Quentin: I’m not a rapist.
Garret: Lower your trousers please.

Shannon: He raped me I know he did.
Lu: But you don’t remember any of it.

Nigel: You hear what’s coming out about the accuser?  Two drunk driving arrest.  History of mental illness.
Lily: Which probably means she’s seen a therapist who hasn’t.  It’s depressing how the press is trying to discredit her.

Jordan: Anyone can look sympathetic. That doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth.
Nigel: Yeah, well that can go for the accuser too.  And I know it’s not politically correct to say but the truth is that there are some women who make false accusations.  Am I right Woodrow?
Woody: I…um…I…uh…I don’t know.  Hey Jordan can we talk?
Jordan: Nothing to talk about.

Woody: Let me ask you this.  Once this thing melts there’s not chance he’s gonna…(look from Nigel and Bug) Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Lily: You’re wearing the tie I gave you.  It looks handsome.
Jeffery: I read that vertical patterns look good on television.  Case of the century and all.
Lily: It’s so good that Walcott picked you.  It’s what you’ve been waiting for.
Jeffery: It’s a…um…nightmare Lily.  Cases against celebrities are always stacked against the prosecutor.  Walcott hates me.
Lily: Oh you are going to do great.
(kisses him, his phone starts to ring to Beethoven – 5^th Symphony)
Jeffery: Walcott. (hold phone up)  May I please use your office for a moment?

Lu: About this morning…
Garret: Baker’s rape kit is clean.  No trace of Shannon on him. (Jordan walks away from Lu)
Lu: (takes a deep breath then turns) Is that unusual?
Jordan: Yeah that is unusual.

Lu: No wonder she passed out.  I’m surprised she remembered anything.
Jordan: Her behavior isn’t of issue here.  It’s what Baker did to her in that hotel room.

Shannon: I thought it didn’t matter what I wore or what I drank.  I thought that people were supposed to stand up to animals like him.  If I don’t isn’t he just going to do it again.  He’ll do it to some other girl like me.

Bug: Nigel seems to think we’ll find dental records from 55 years ago.
Nigel: Why do you always have to be so negative?
Bug: I’m not being negative.

(Woody throws dart at dart board)
Lu: That’s a nice gift.
Woody: Oh yeah it’s great.  I already feel Zen…totally relaxed.
Lu: I meant hers not mine.  You should have talked to her.
Woody: I tried to at the morgue but everybody was around.
Lu: I meant before today.

Lu: She didn’t need to do this.
Jordan: Kind of tough when you feel like the whole world’s against you.
Lu: (after pause) I was just trying to get to the truth.

Jordan: He crushed her windpipes so she wouldn’t have been able to scream.  Two broken fingers on her right hand trying to get his hands off her throat.  You didn’t think she was a victim before.  I’m just making sure you know it now.

Jordan: How long until we can get a warrant?
Jeffery: Based on what? I need evidence to get a warrant.
Jordan: We need a warrant to get the evidence.

Nigel: Actually he’s 81.  He was born in 1924.  Why Calvin Coolidge was president, George Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue and the glorious Doris Day was born.

Nigel: This must be difficult for you, especially with him looking younger than…
Son: That’s not him.
Lily: but he had your picture.
Son: All my life I’ve waited and I thought that finally I’d know and…  You should have left well enough alone.

Jeffery: Well detective Simmons said you didn’t find any trace on him and that his alibi checked out.
Jordan: Yeah for the murder.  Not for the rape.
Jeffery: She had sex with her boyfriend after.  I mean if she was in that much pain…
Garret: There was Vicodin in her system, maybe she took it for the pain.
Jordan: And it wasn’t just some romp.  You heard her.  The boyfriend wanted sex.  She was afraid to say no.  This girl was broken.  She was in need of comfort where ever she could find it.
Jeffery: You’re speculating.
Jordan: She was victimized and victimized and victimized again.
Jeffery: You want the bruised cervix to be proof, but like it or not is can happen during consensual sex.  And without the victims testimony to persuade a jury otherwise this is just not proof enough.  Shannon is dead.  Frankly her story and her motive were clouded when she was alive to defend herself.  You want to get this girl justice focused on solving this girl’s murder.
Jordan: You’re afraid.  Walcott threw this case at you because it’s a mine field and you’ve been looking for any excuse to dump it since you called me to the hospital.
Jeffery: That’s not true.
Jordan: You let detective Simmons shred the accuser.  Keep the stain off your own hands make it all go away so you can save your political ass.
Garret: Jordan.
Jordan: Or maybe it’s just not important that a woman was raped.
Jeffery: This was a murdered case not a rape case.  And since you don’t seem to understand that… Dr. Macy, I’d like to request that Dr. Cavanaugh be reassigned.  She’s obstructing the investigation.  Pull her off or I’ll call Walcott and you can have this conversation with her.

Lily: I heard about what happened.
Jordan: Oh, I don’t want to talk about it.
Lily: I do.  You attacked Jeffery.  Jordan, he’s turning himself inside out on this.
Jordan: I’m sorry Lily, but Shannon Page was...
Lily: Victimized and raped.  But Jeffery is not about to commit career suicide to satisfy your agenda.  Not everyone is you.  If he had a case he could prosecute he would.

Nigel: You okay?
Bug: Sure.  You?
Nigel: I got carried away.  Dragged in a man who’s been searching his whole life for his father and I crushed him.  I guess it was the idea of reuniting father and son.  Happy ending.  Not like real life.
Bug: Not like with your father.
Nigel: He’s still alive.  I haven’t seen him in a half dozen years.  Doesn’t mean I don’t wish things were different.

Lu: I didn’t believe her that she was raped.
Garret: A lot of people didn’t believe her.
Lu: Jordan did.  I just have a tough time with people who unnecessarily put themselves at risk.  Especially women.
Garret: The price for making a mistake shouldn’t be raped or murdered.

Hopper: There was a pizza guy.
Lu: A pizza guy? (turns to Jeffery) There’s always a pizza guy.

Bug:…They said they won’t be ale to search for Mr. Nicolson’s remains for another two weeks.
Nigel: Two weeks that’s absurd.
Bug: Yeah they said something about a war going on and the fact that he’s waited for 55 years and another 14 days won’t kill him. 

Nigel: Well no matter we have pine samplings.
Bug: Come again?
Nigel: Little green trees with needles and cones…
Bug: Yes I know what a pine tree is what about them.

Bug: You are not seriously going up there.
Nigel: No.  Not alone.  Peter said he’s take your shift tomorrow.  Sydney’s taking mine.

Bug: I’m not sure I can feel my toes.  Can you feel your toes?
Nigel: It’s not that cold.

Bug: Look I was all for helping out, but we are freezing to death.  Can we just let it go?
Nigel: You want to go.  Go.
Bug: (starts to leave, turns back) And have somebody find your body up here 55 years from now.  Look.  Go back to the morgue.  Pick up the phone.  Call your father.
Nigel: This has nothing to do with… It’s not that simple.

Bug: (in reference to Nigel’s father)  It’s not about you.  He’s the ass.

Nigel: You’re right.  Maybe we should had back before we make our own head lines.  Forensic Friends found frozen.

Lu: How’s it go?
Woody: How’d what go?
Lu: You’re talk with Jordan.  You went to the morgue last night to talk. (look from Woody) You didn’t talk to her?
Woody: Well…I…uh…was going to but she was busy working her rape case.
Lu: Working? She’s off the case.
Woody: That’s never stopped Jordan.  Listen…
Lu: (cuts him off) You know what I think?  I think that you are afraid to talk to her.
Woody: That’s ridiculous.
Lu: You keep running back to help her.
Woody: We work together.
Lu: You are trying to keep your options open.

Bug: (tired and breathing hard, climbing a mountain) This guy made it up here after a plane crash.  I need to get to the gym.

Quentin: I have worked my whole life to play baseball.   I have sacrificed everything.
Jordan: Even who you are?  What I don’t get it why you rather be labeled as a rapist rather than gay.

Lily: Jordan I am so sorry if I took your head off yesterday.
Jordan: He’s your boyfriend.  And he’s probably right about there not being a case here.

Bug: You did a good think Nig.

Nigel: Do you think I should try to call him again?
Bug: Yeah you could.  You can’t make him change.  You know if there’s one thing I’ve learned this year…sometimes things don’t work out how you want them to, but if you let go decided that you are done, you’ll be okay.

Jeffery: You know if this is what happens when you get thrown off a case…I look forward to the next one.
Jordan: Thanks.

Lily: You did a nice thing.
Bug: (points to Nigel) He did a nice thing.
Lily: Well he didn’t do it alone.

Garret: So no date tonight?
Jordan: No.  No date tonight.
Garret: Everything okay?
Jordan: I uh…I don’t know.  I gave voice to Shannon Page today.  Made people believe her.  A lot more important than not having a date right?
Garret: Well you’ve got a date now.  It’s in the place around the corner.  It’s got steaks this think.  My treat.

 

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