History Recap / LawAndOrderS4E1Sweeps

* DrivenToSuicide: Tommy, the drag queen who appeared in the show and was lied to about having his family's approval.

A tech crew prepares to film another episode of ''Final Confession'', a talk show hosted by TV personality Rick Mason. Mason walks the camera into a restaurant and sums up that day's guests: Dr. Joseph Vinton, a therapist who molested young patients, Scott Fisher (Creator/DavidKrumholtz), one of his victims (eleven at the time of the crime, now fifteen), and Sarah Fisher, the boy's mother. Mason mocks Vinton and establishes that he got off easy for the crimes; he only did 18 months for abusing seven victims. The show is quickly derailed when, after Vinton apologizes for his crimes, someone in the audience shoots him. The shooter is shot by a security guard and quickly restrained, but the audience panics. Mason screams "COMMERCIAL!" as chaos ensues.

Later, Mason berates Stone for the courts letting Vinton go free so quickly. He's contemptuous of Stone and walks out on Stone's offer to drop the manslaughter charge in return for a plea to facilitation. On her way out, Sutton says she'll have the phone call Talbot overheard excluded. This turns out not to be the case -- later, Judge Steinmann says she'll allow it. Stone threatens Sutton with disbarment and accessory to murder charges based on the call, but she laughs it off. Stone exorciates her for helping Mason plan a murder.

Mason says that he visited Scott to make sure he was ready for the show. He denies telling Scott the location and also denies stopping Talbot from hiring additional security. Mason expounds on his own journalistic credentials; he says he's an ethical journalist, moreso than mainstream reporters. Stone disputes all his statements and brings up Tommy, but the judge blocks that line of questioning because it's irrelevent. In response, Stone gets Mason to say that he never knowingly put anyone in danger; this allows him to talk about the previous incidents to challenge the credibility of that statement. The judge allows this.

* Note: First appearences of Lt. Anita van Buren and ADA Claire Kincaid.

A tech crew prepares to film another episode of Final Confession, a talk show hosted by TV personality Rick Mason. Mason walks the camera into a restaurant and sums up that day's guests: Dr. Joseph Vinton, a therapist who molested young patients, Scott Fisher (Creator/DavidKrumholtz), one of his victims (eleven at the time of the crime, now fifteen), and Sarah Fisher, the boy's mother. Mason mocks Vinton and establishes that he got off easy for the crimes; he only did 18 months for abusing seven victims. The show is quickly derailed when, after Vinton apologizes for his crimes, someone in the audience shoots him. The shooter is shot by a security guard and quickly restrained, but the audience panics. Mason screams "COMMERCIAL!" as chaos ensues.

The detectives talk to Sarah, who says she went on the show to get closure. She also says that Scott wasn't in touch with Sid. She denies telling Sid where Vinton was. Later, Briscoe and Logan are discussing the case, when Logan sees a paper saying that it's sweeps and Final Confession is getting a huge ratings boost. Briscoe mocks the idea that Mason was behind it. The two argue and decide that the most likely suspect is still Talbot.

Back in the precinct, Briscoe says the DA won't indict yet. They decide to watch Final Confessions to see if this sort of thing had happened before. They first talk with a Mr. Hudson, a TV manager, who exposits that TV ratings go up when people die and that they're trying to broadcast executions in Nevada. He directs them to an ex-employee of Mason's, Debbie Curio.

----

* Note: First appearences of Lt. Anita van Buren and ADA Claire Kincaid

Sid is in the hospital, and he claims that he shot Vinton without help. He thinks that no jury will send him to jail for shooting Vinton, and even with his lawyer disagreeing, he won't say any different. Mason, Sid says, deserved to die.

Curio says she couldn't handle Mason, so she quit. She denies being fired. She brings up an old show where a mob trial juror went on his show and then went missing; Mason promised the juror safety but didn't deliver. Another time, Mason got Tommy, a drag queen to sing on his show, then invited his family without telling him. She gets them the tape.

On the stand, Talbot repeats that he got scared from the phone call -- he thought Mason was guessing that Sid would come. Mason wouldn't let him hire extra security for the show. He says, if Sid showed up, he'd let things play out. Sutton points out that Mason never called the police, and tries to bring up Talbot's being forced out of the police, but Judge Steinmann blocks that line of questioning. Sutton then points out that Talbot lied to the police and was fired by Mason.

Curio testifies about the juror, Davis, from the mob trial. The juror they chose was the one who pushed for conviction, and was willing to go on, but was very concerned about security. Mason said they'd alter his voice and hide his face. Mason then invited the convicted mobster's son onto the show and didn't tell Davis. Davis vanished quickly thereafter. Stone brings up an incident in which Mason did a show on prostitutes in New York; when one prostitute was tired, Curio says, Mason gave her money to buy cocaine. She almost died; it was a bad batch.

A tech crew prepares to film another episode of Final Confession, a talk show hosted by TV personality Rick Mason. Mason walks the camera into a restaurant and sums up that day's guests: Dr. Joseph Vinton, a therapist who molested young patients, Scott Fisher, one of his victims (eleven at the time of the crime, now fifteen), and Sarah Fisher, the boy's mother. Mason mocks Vinton and establishes that he got off easy for the crimes; he only did 18 months for abusing seven victims. The show is quickly derailed when, after Vinton apologizes for his crimes, someone in the audience shoots him. The shooter is shot by a security guard and quickly restrained, but the audience panics. Mason screams "COMMERCIAL!" as chaos ensues.

->''I shot an animal. Call the vet.''\\

->''I cannot let you commit perjury.''\\
''I didn't get any calls. I didn't talk to anybody.''\\

A tech crew prepares to film another episode of Final Confession, a talk show hosted by TV personality Rick Mason. Mason walks the camera into a restaurant and sums up that day's guests: Dr. Joseph Vinton, a therapist who molested young patients, Scott Fisher, one of his victims (eleven at the time of the crime, now fifteen), and Sarah Fisher, the boy's mother. Mason mocks Vinton and establishes that he got off easy for the crimes; he only did 18 months for abusing seven victims. The show is quickly derailed when, after Vinton apologizes for his crimes, someone in the audience shoots him. The shooter is shot by a security guard and quickly restrained, but the audience panics. Mason screams "COMMERCIAL!" as the credits roll.

Sid is in the hospital, and he claims that he shot Vinton without help. He thinks that no jury will send him to jail for shooting Vinton, and even with his lawyer disagreeing, he won't say any different. Mason, says Sid, deserved to die.

Kincaid talks to Stone and Schiff, who take the detectives' side. They say that Mason is at least guilty of facilitating the murder. Stone wants to offer Sid a deal for manslaughter 1, which he's going to get anyway, in exchange for his testimony. Stone says they can threaten to charge Scott if Sid doesn't take a deal. Sid has fired his lawyer so they can probably bluff Sid about charging Scott. Schiff says they're not inditing Scott, Stone says Sid doesn't know that.