(airdate: 6 Oct 95) Eye of the Beholder sound files

It's the day of Caleb Temple's custody hearing and Sheriff Lucas Buck is busy shooting down his competition and making allies. He begins with Dr. Matt Crower by causing (or maybe it's just a coincidence) one of his patients to have an epileptic fit while under anesthesia. When the doctor protests that there was nothing in the patient's chart about epilepsy, Lucas has the anesthesiologist read the chart and sure enough, there's a notation that the patient is subject to seizures. Lucas implies that maybe the doctor is having a problem with his drinking. After Lucas leaves, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Dan Trulane, protests that he doesn't know how Lucas did it, but that notation wasn't there before.

The Sheriff makes an unwilling ally of Dr. Trulane by sending him and his wife, as a wedding present, a mirror which captivates Cheryl. At one point, Lucas and the doctor have a conversation in which he tells Lucas that the mirror has changed his wife. Lucas tells him that all he has to do is tell the truth about Dr. Crower's past and he'll make sure the doctor's wife "straightens right up". Dr. Trulane resists Lucas until, when he finally breaks the mirror, his wife's face "breaks" also. In order to avoid losing her, he decides to tell the truth.

It falls to Selena Coombs to get the goods on Gail Emory. When Gail brings Caleb back to school, Selena cajoles her into telling the students about her job as a reporter. This gives Selena some information to use against Gail at the hearing.

Lucas talks to the Judge who will preside at Caleb's custody hearing. It's obvious they go back a long ways and the Judge tells Lucas that he will do the right thing.

While the Sheriff is plotting, Caleb is trying to deal with his new life. Merlyn leads him to a boarding house where he meets Miss Loris Holt, the owner. They talk about Caleb's situation and he helps her make soup and then carries a bowl of the soup to the Judge.

During the hearing, the Judge questions Gail first and then Selena tells the Judge how much she admires Gail for having the courage to spend two weeks undercover in a crack house. Selena then tells the Judge that Caleb is a good boy who needs discipline and that Sheriff Buck is the man for the job. Before Lucas speaks, the Judge asks Caleb who he wants to live with and Caleb tells him that he wants to go with Dr. Matt. Lucas takes this opportunity to question Dr. Trulane about the doctor's past and Dr. Matt admits that he is responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter. He had been drinking and they died in a car accident that was his fault. After the testimony, the Judge surprises everyone by naming Miss Holt as Caleb's temporary guardian. Caleb is happy with this and the Sheriff is foiled again.

Lucas questions the Judge's decision after everyone else leaves and the Judge tells the Sheriff that he has terminal cancer and is off the hook. Dr. Crower moves into the boarding house. Dr. Trulane goes to the hospital and, when he removes the bandages from his wife's, face her wounds have healed. That night, the Judge dies.

1. August 2002