Prescription for Death (Season 1, Episode 1)
Premise: When a teenage girl dies hours after an emergency-room visit, her father demands a homicide investigation into the hospital that treated her.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 1, Episode 1
- Detectives
- Sgt. Max Greevey (George Dzundza), Det. Mike Logan (Chris Noth)
- ADAs/DA
- Exec. ADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty), ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks), DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)
- Guest stars
- Paul Sparer as Dr. Edward Auster, John Spencer as Howard Morton, Erick Avari as Dr. Ekballa Raza, Ron Rifkin as defense attorney Phillip Nevins
- Ripped from the headlines
- Inspired by the 1984 death of Libby Zion at a New York hospital.
- Director
- John P. Whitesell II
- Writers
- Story: David Black; Story & teleplay: Ed Zuckerman
Summary
The Investigation
“Prescription for Death,” the series premiere, opens with Suzanne Morton dying in the emergency room of Urban Medical Center after coming in for what seemed like a routine prescription. Her father, Howard Morton, a former medic who served in Vietnam, refuses to accept that she was sick enough to die and pushes the police to treat it as a crime. Sgt. Max Greevey takes him seriously, while Det. Mike Logan is slower to suspect the doctors.
The detectives notice that part of Suzanne’s chart has been covered with correction fluid. Underneath is an order for a narcotic painkiller that, combined with an antidepressant she was already taking, could have been fatal. A young resident, Dr. Raza, initially takes responsibility for the change, citing exhaustion. The staff close ranks, but the detectives eventually learn that the hospital’s chief of medicine, the celebrated cardiologist Dr. Edward Auster, came to late rounds after an evening party and ordered the drug himself. A nurse’s account suggests he had been drinking.
The Trial
Executive ADA Ben Stone charges Auster, knowing a jury will be reluctant to convict a physician with his reputation. The defense highlights Auster’s record, and residents worried about their careers are reluctant to say he was drunk. To show recklessness rather than an honest mistake, Stone builds a picture of a doctor with a known alcohol problem, including treatment he quietly abandoned and earlier deaths on his watch.
The case still hinges on proving Auster was impaired, and none of the witnesses will say so directly. Stone suspects the doctor’s habits have not changed even during the trial and looks for a way to show the jury what the residents would not.
Spoiler, the ending: Stone gets Auster to admit on the stand that he drank during the lunch recess, then has him attempt a basic sobriety test in front of the jury, which he fails. Auster is convicted. Stone later explains that he recognized the pattern because his own father drank the same way.
Why it stands out
- It was the first episode broadcast, although it was not the pilot; “Everybody’s Favorite Bagman” was filmed earlier and aired sixth.
- It establishes Ben Stone’s backstory as the son of an alcoholic father, which drives his cross-examination.
- The real Libby Zion case led New York to limit resident work hours, a context the episode’s exhausted-resident subplot reflects.