Description[]
The team reinvestigates the 1963 death of Samantha Randall, a 16-year-old tomboy whose death was ruled a suicide, after new evidence suggests that she may have been murdered for acting and dressing like a boy.
Synopsis[]
A teenage girl whose death was originally filed as a suicide in 1963 turns out to be a homicide, when a witness steps forward to say she didn’t jump off the bridge as originally believed but was thrown into the river. The witness was on the bridge that day and claims to have heard a car and then a splash witnessing the body float by him shortly after. As the investigation unravels it turns out the victim, Samantha "Sam" Randall was bullied and treated as an outcast for being a tomboy. Her struggle causes problems both in school and at home with her father, Archie, who doesn’t know how to handle it. Sam must also deal with her growing feelings for a boy in school, Dom Barron, who finds himself having feelings for Sam despite the pressure to conform to the heterosexual norms of the day. The situation comes to a head; and Sam's father decides to commit her to an institution, where he thinks they can cure her of her "confusion". Sam struggles against the treatment, which involves electroshock therapy; but she is forced to finally submit, leaving her in an almost catatonic state. When Dom sneaks into the institution to try and rescue Sam, he realizes he's too late. The Sam he once knew is no longer there. He smothers her with a pillow and dumps her body into the river.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Linsey Godfrey as Samantha "Sam" Randall
- Lelia Goldoni as Nurse Polly Leonard (2007)
- Elisabeth Harnois as Janey Davis (1963)
- Wings Hauser as Red Buckley (2007)
- John Patrick Jordan as Red Buckley (1963)
- Jonathan Keltz as Dom Barron (1963)
- Michael Oberlander as Archie Randall (1963)
- Mark Rolston as Ari Gordon
- Jim Abele as School Principal (1963)
- Mina Badie as Nurse Polly Leonard (1963)
- Jack Donner as Maurice Habershaw (2007)
- Leigh Rose as Janey Davis (2007)
With[]
- David Selby as Dom Barron (2007)
And[]
- Michael Constantine as Archie Randall (2007)
Co-Starring[]
- Lane Compton as Bully #1 (1963)
- Jim Jansen as Dr. Russell Kearns (1963)
Notes[]
- This episode uses some elements from the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
- The song "Walk Like a Man" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons was previously used in the episode "Strange Fruit", which also took place in 1963.
- The song "The End of the World" was also used as the closing song in the episode "Slipping", which took place in the previous year, 1962. However, the version used is that of Brenda Lee, who also sings the closing song in this episode.
- While Sam is labeled as a tomboy, certain aspects of this episode imply that Sam was actually transgender.
- This episode has many recycled concepts from past episodes:
- A boy falling in love with the victim, a girl who dresses like a boy and/or is otherwise masculine, and then failing to save her is similar to "Daniela".
- Sam's father is alone in an old folks home at the end just like Curtis Collins in "Best Friends".
- Dom not helping Sam when she was (non-sexually) assaulted by some classmates is similar to what happened with Nathan Jones and Sadie Douglas in "The Letter".
- Sam is lobotomized through EST just like Arnold Culliver in "The Boy in the Box", though it's non-fatal in her case.
- Dom used his art to deal with Sam's death just like Charlotte Jones did with Zeke Williams' death in "Strange Fruit".
Music[]
- The Crystals "He's a Rebel"
- Dion "Runaround Sue"
- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons "Walk Like a Man"
- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons "Big Girls Don't Cry"
- The Miracles "You've Really Got a Hold On Me"
- Skeeter Davis "The End of the World"
- Closing Song: Brenda Lee "Everybody Loves Me But You"
| Season 5 Episodes |
| Thrill Kill | That Woman | Running Around | Devil Music | Thick as Thieves | Wunderkind | World's End | It Takes a Village | Boy Crazy | Justice | Family 8108 | Sabotage | Spiders | Andy in C Minor | The Road | Bad Reputation | Slipping | Ghost of My Child |
