While I enjoy watching "Quincy" reruns, the show had a few flaws. One, of course, is that Quincy was almost always angry and on a crusade. No one can do that without having a stroke!! And, why didn't Monahan, Astin and the rest believe him when he had his doubts about a case (this DID eventually happen in later episodes but it took a while)? The other problem was that a coroner cannot do 149823 different jobs like Quincy did--they'd never get the autopsies completed!! In this episode, Quincy is not only a coroner but a social worker and cop!! When folks don't act, he does EVERYTHING himself--and in reality such behaviors might have gotten him sent to jail or sued.
The show begins with Astin's wife picking up a little runaway while driving at night. Joey is VERY young and before long, the pair are in a traffic accident and are sent to the hospital. When the doctors examine the boy, they find MANY older injuries--injuries consistent with child abuse. Now at this point, you'd think the system would act--but everyone seems to make an excuse not to act in this case. So, Quincy does it all--interviewing neighbors (where he accuses the family of abusing the kid), doctors and even taking the kid home when he runs away for a second time!! No sane doctor would act this way--and it stretched realism past the breaking point. It's a shame, really, as the topic is GREAT and really needed. With a minor re-write, it could have been among the best of the series. Having Quincy angry about the abuse and pushing and pushing for prosecution would have been great--breaking confidentiality and opening himself up to lawsuits one the other hand was crazy stupid. Now I am NOT saying this is a bad episode. It's very well meaning...but a tiny bit sloppy as well. And, at least it got folks talking about child abuse--a topic seldom talked about back in 1977. Worth seeing...just a bit too preachy.