I am talking about the 1999 "Law and Order" episode "Killerz", featuring Hallee Hirsh's breakthrough performance as child serial killer Jenny Brandt. Let me start by saying it justified all I had heard about it, and that Jenny Brandt, the fictitious character, is looking real good right now for The Raving Queen's BOTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It puzzled me initially why this episode was entitled "Killerz", with a z. The first reason to occur was its spelling out the perps were juvies. But I think there is a far more insightful reason. It is entitled such because it taps into the potential evil of many children.
The story starts with a group of pre-teen boys finding a child's body--an eight year old boy--sticking out of a drain pipe at a construction site. He has been bludgeoned, and his pants have been pulled down, suggestion sexual congress. The boys are fascinated and excited, BUT THEN one of the boys gets the idea to charge admission to others for the "privlege" of viewing this poor victim's body. How sick is that, darlings??????????
A local mechanic is susepected, but dismissed for lack of evidence. Then it is learnt that when the vicitm, Aaron Polanksy, left his apartment building, two girls were standing outside, as though waiting for him. One of those girls, Tara Padden, is brought in for questioning, and that is when we first learn about Jenny.
But first let me say that actress Madeline Blue's performance as Tara blew me away. Tara is an emotionally, intellectually dysfunctional 13-year-old, who has repeated sixth grade twice. Honey, it is bad enough going through it once. Hope she doesn't have to repeat high school. I mean, if I had, I MIGHT have killed someone!!!!!! It seems that Tara hangs out with Jenny, and she (Tara) has something to hide. It turns out she and Jenny walked with Aaron to the construciton site, where, Tara tearfully confesses, Jenny bashed him repeatedly with a rock until he was dead, removed his pants, and stuck a battery in his mouth. Yes, lambs, this IS based on the James Bulger case. And child serial killer Mary Bell, who is now an adult and out and about, only don't get me started.
No wonder Tara was scared and hiding. She probably had no idea of what Jenny would do, and when it happened, went into shock. And Jenny, a real pro, no doubt said something to the effect that if Tara tells she would kill her. I know how these twisted things work, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now it is time to meet Jenny and her Mom. Both superbly played by Miss Hirch and Luba Mason. On first site Jenny is so cute, you almost think....but then you look into those eyes and see the evil bitch beneath. Her mother, oh brother, like something from Goat Alley, only in Manhattan--oblivious, co-dependent on her daughter, a husband in prison for grand auto theft, and a boyfriend as soon as he is out the door, who thinks nothing of leaving doors open for Jenny to see all kinds of things she should not see. So we can see where Jenny's hatred of the male gender comes from.
As for her mother, why don't women like this do themselves and society a favor and get their tubes tied? They are trouble, they look for and find it, and then inflict trouble on society via their progeny. True, if not a killer, Jenny might have turned out at best White Trash, but then there is her twisted brain chemistry. One crticism I have of this episode is that it piles on the family dysfunction too heavily, implying that Jenny Brandts come from the lower social orders. I mean, honey, look at Daphne Abdela, remember her? She was the 15-year-old who, with her friend Christopher Velasquez, murdered Michael McMorrow in Central Park in 1997 for the thrill of it. Her reasoning--"He's a fatty. He'll sink." Nice, Daphne. And her parents were Central Park Westers, so let me be the first to say, twisted brain serial killer chemistry knows no social class boundaries. However, this is the history the writers have concocted for Jenny Brandt, so we have to go with it. What I want to know is--even in 1999, how do scum like the Brandts get an apartment in Manhattan???? Huh???? I mean, they don't exactly hang out with Blythe Danner!!!!!!!!!!
Back to matters at hand. Jenny is brought in and examined by Dr. Emil Skola, played by the wonderful J.T.Simmons, who was so superb as Ellen Page's father in "Juno." He questions Jenny, who displays absolutely no emotional level of any kind, even when talking about dissing a neighbor's cat (the sure sign of a budding serial killer), and who, when Skola turns up the heat on her be feigning anger, barely bats an eye. Cool as ice, this one!
But Carolyn McCormick, as the wonderful Dr. Elizabeth Olivett, and who worked for the D.A. at one time, is now in her private practice, and while with the D.A. she is talking about change, and hope and giving the child a future, rather than saving society from the monster that Jenny clearly is. Yeah, that's right!
The further the investigators probe, the more things point to Jenny. Neighborhood boys--her contemporaries--say they do not like playing with her, because "she hits." Aha! Her teenage babysitter says she was horrible to sit for, because if Jenny did not get what she watned, she would act up so much it was disturbing. Lucky the sitter was a girl, or Jenny would proabably have iced her!!!!!!!!!
It all comes to a showdown betwen Sam Waterson as Jack McCoy, stating Jenny is a mosnter who should be put away, and rightfully so, and everyone is, who sees this cute little girl and thinks she deserves a second chance. Never mind, girls, that this is a child who killed ANOTHER CHILD. And the always observant M. Davide, who watched this with me, pointed out that this case had a lot of gender bias--the defense attorney was female, the judge was female, Olivett was in Jenny's corner--thoe only woman who has Jenny's number is powerhouse A D A Abbie Carmichael, played by the stunning Angie Harmon. This is one cookie who will not crack under Jenny!!!!!!!!!!
Well, girls, even though it has been almost 50 years since "The Bad Seed," apparently adults cannot fathom the concept of innocent looking children committing murder or being confined. But this episode saves the best for last. As it becomes clear, that Jenny is going to walk scott free, an evil smirk comes over her face, which only we the viewer see. And then as McCoy is walking out of court he sees , to his horror, Jenny, conspiculously eyeing another boy in the hall, with the malevolence suggesting if he is not going to be her next victim, there will definitely BE a next victim. The justice system failed Jenny Brandt and it failed the people in protecting them from her.
Now, before you start thinking that I am going to say Jenny reperesnts Diane Dykeman, let me say at once, NO! Diane Dykeman was simply your garden variety Suburban Bitch; she was not a serial killer. But when I reached back into my past, I remember a little girl who DID remind me of Jenny, and that was Miriam Wysoker!!!!!
The Wysokers were related to my then next door neighbors, the Friedenreichs; she was Victoria Wysoker before she got married. The Wysokers lived in a gray barn shaped house on the corner of North Eighth Avenue and Abbott Street, and had three children, Rachel, who was two years behind me, Alex, behind her, and Miriam, who when I was in ninth grade, was a little girl, about Jenny's age or younger. She used to go around and say the nastiest things to people--each time she would pass me, she would say how ugly I was, or mockingly sing "Rudolph, The Red Nose Reindeer." I do NOT forget, honeys!!!!!! If you confronted Miriam, she would attack you; I spoke admonsihingly to her once and she kicked me. Hard. Definitely a Jenny Brandt on the make. Later, as she disappeared from my scene, I heard that she was having all kinds of problems in school. Uhm hummm!!!!!!! I have to wonder what became of Miriam today, because children like shs and Jenny do not change, they only get worse!!!!! Jenny should have been locked up, and probably so should have Miriam!!!!!
But I am telling you, this was SOME episode for crystalizing evil in its purest, most distinct form. Girls, I want you to keep meeting VOGUE models and stay away from the Jenny Brandts of this world. Or call me, because I can take care of these creatures real good! So in the meantime, we are going to watch a musical to get this unpleasantness out of our system.
However, Hallee's performance as Jenny is worth catching at least once!!!!!!!!!!!!
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