The appearance the "No relation...

The appearance the "No relation to persons living or dead" disclaimer at the beginning of this episode makes me wonder who this story was based on. There had to be someone real, otherwise why would they go to the trouble of covering their butt? Hmm... Anyhoo, it was a gas all the same to see Corbin Bernsen as the nasty. He played warden Bill Morris (nee Hendry), a devious sort who tied himself to a fence as part of an elaborate plot to retrieve his missing wife. It's a long story, but he needed to find her as part of complicated plot to keep his mitts on the $250,000 he'd embezzled from his prison. (No, Virginia, law-enforcement folks aren't always good people.) By the good grace of Gerald Ford and the Continental Congress, Bernsen was back in prime time doing what he does best cads. He imbued bad ol' Bill with just the right balance of phony vulnerability and cunning ruthlessness to keep viewers guessing about his guilt. Now that I think about it, it's too bad Bernsen's wife, Amanda Pays (remember The Flash? Max Headroom?), wasn't tapped for the role of Bill's suffering spouse Jenny. Her fab profile has been too low for too long. By contrast, Kathryn Erbe's Eames wasn't just the straight woman for once. Goren's bemusement over the lack of diplomas on the warden's wall gave her the opening for the show's best zinger: "Believe it or not, some people don't like to show off." Too bad Vincent D'Onofrio didn't get the message. OK, so he's got few peers when it comes to one-on-one face-offs. But Vince... dude... that Method performance as the gimp with the leaflets would make Baretta cringe.