The system chews you up and spits you out — but who catches the pieces?
High school dropout Jimmy McCusick goes to prison for robbery. After suffering a gang-rape and then drawing the attention of a hardened life-term convict, he is put in protective confinement. Upon being paroled he finds himself unable to hold onto either his girlfriend or his job. Parole officer Andy Driscoll must find a way to keep Jimmy from sliding back into crime.
Acting
James Naughton's quiet desperation as the parole officer.
Writing
Unflinching prison sequences that TV rarely dared in 1982.
Director
Michael Tuchner
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Patricia Wettig's second screen role; she'd later win Emmys for 'thirtysomething' and 'Prison Break.'
Released during the early 'tough on crime' era, it quietly subverted the era's punitive rhetoric by showing parole as another trap.
US
