Television often seems to have trouble handling sensitive issues without exploiting them.
Fortunately for us, there also are times when TV gets it exactly right, as it does tonight on "Reasonable Doubts" (9 p.m., Ch. 2). NBC's fine, adult drama dramatizes the crime of date rape with remarkable sensitivity.It's not shrill, or hyped, or reckless, or "politically correct."
"I think this is the most important thing, issue-wise, we've done," said the series' creator-executive producer Robert Singer, who chose to devote three episodes to the issue.
"I think it's something that should be out there," he said. "I think we've handled it well, and I hope maybe it opens a few eyes and makes people think about this a little more."
It's good, affecting, realistic drama that succeeds because of its straightforward treatment of a violent crime that hides in the shadows. Some estimates suggest that about half of all reported rapes are acquaintance rapes.
"I think it's interesting that we've chosen to take one of our regular characters and have it happen to her . . . a character that we've met over a few episodes and gotten to like," Singer said.
The victim is bar owner Kay Lockman (Nancy Everhard), who endures the anguish, pain and humiliation of an attack by her date, handsome, popular cop Andy Cromyer (guest star James Acheson).
Kay turns to her ex-boyfriend, detective Dicky Cobb (Mark Harmon). His boss, assistant district attorny Tess Kaufman (Marlee Matlin), tries to persuade Kay to testify against the policeman.
"When you undertake something like this, you've really got to do your homework," Singer said.
Singer, Everhard and members of the series' writing and production team consulted with the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica, Calif., to ensure the accuracy of the script.
"We talked extensively with them, and Nancy Everhard had her own personal sessions with a rape counselor," Singer said. "Our police adviser was also very helpful in giving us the slant on how the (police) department would react, and what the brass's immediate reaction is, and, really, how the department splinters over this."
He said next week's episode deals with the aftermath of the attack, Kay's decision to testify against the policeman, and how the district attorney's office goes about making a case against a police officer. The third episode deals with the trial.
"As we started talking about doing this, and the deeper we got into it and the more information we got, we realized that certainly one, and then even two episodes wouldn't be enough," Singer said.
"Reasonable Doubts" will surprise viewers who expect to see another cop show or just another lawyer show.
"When we started the thing, one of the questions we got was, `Do we need another cop show? Do we need another lawyer show?' What I kept saying is, `Well, I don't rally think of it as either one of those."