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"When Justice Fails" is the tenth episode of RoboCop: The Series.

Plot[]

Tori Tolan, the "Wicked Witch of Wall Street," successfully defends her latest corporate takeover, this time of Cryonautics Laboratories, the developer of Cryo-Fuel, which is to be used for OCP's Space-Tram, which is to be piloted by four astronauts: "a Catholic, a Protestant, a Muslim and a Jew." Because protesters await outside, the Detroit Police Department has a substantial presence outside the courtroom, with Sergeant Parks and Detective Madigan in attendance. Owen Merritt, owner of Cryonautics, is incensed with the court's decision, believing Tolan will ruin the company in addition to those who have lost their jobs and homes because of Tolan's activities. RoboCop arrives as backup as Tolan and her partner J. J. Biddle leave the courthouse. RoboCop and Madigan notices a woman aiming a gun at Tolan and as she fires, RoboCop shields Tolan and takes a bullet just before the woman is apprehended.

The woman is booked and Parks tells RoboCop that her husband was a Cryonautics supplier whose business was ruined by Tolan's takeover, urging him to jump off a bridge. After accompanying Tolan home, Madigan says she blames the police for the attempted assassination and wants to have RoboCop.

Tolan contacts the OCP Chairman with the intent of gaining RoboCop from him as part of a business deal. She threatens to hold Cryo-Fuel from OCP, which would jeopardize the Space-Tram project. She also points out that the Chairman has stock in Cryonautics after acting on insider information.

Merritt wonders aloud to his colleague Jack Dixon what he should do, since he never had a chance to complete the final tests for Cryo-Fuel, knowing that he will take the blame if something were to go wrong with the Space-Tram. They watch Mediabreak coverage of the Space-Tram, specifically Eric Marley being interviewed. Marley is the only Cryo-Fuel engineer to remain on the project and falsely assures viewers that Cryo-Fuel has passed all of its tests. Jack expresses desire to attack Marley and when Merritt looks up from the TV, he finds that Jack has gone.

Marley works in a lab, looking over Cryo-Fuel test results that indicate danger. A man in a ski mask enters the lab, demanding Marley give his boss "a message." Marley presses a silent alarm button and RoboCop is alerted. The masked man attacks Marley and when RoboCop enters, he breaks off one end of a pipe and aims it at RoboCop, freezing one of his legs, allowing himself to escape. RoboCop's leg breaks off and Marley hides the test results.

At the precinct, Charlie installs a replacement leg on RoboCop. Parks and Madigan enter, discussing Marley, who claims he could not identify his attacker. Madigan does not believe this assertion, believing it must have been a former Cryonautics employee. Parks informs RoboCop that he has been summoned to Tolan's office once his repairs are done.

Marley speaks with Biddle and Tolan, telling them he believed his attacker to be Jack Dixon, who was aware of the test result, which indicated Cryo-Fuel's instability, as it tends to crystallize after ten hours. Marley calls for the postponement of Space-Tram to allow time for further tests, but Tolan and Biddle refuse. Biddle tells Marley to destroy the test result. RoboCop then arrives at Tolan's office.

Madigan speaks to Merritt, who has no knowledge or suspicions about Marley's attack. He regrets his decision to take Cryonautics public, because it led to Tolan's takeover, which OCP backed once she promised immediate delivery of Cryo-Fuel. He informs Madigan that the fuel is untested and that OCP is not aware of this. After Madigan leaves, Merritt sees Dixon, who is nursing an injured hand. Merritt immediately realizes Jack had attacked Marley and, being non-violent, Merritt decides they should part ways.

Marley burns the test result printout, but hides a disc inside a protective container hidden in a vat of chemicals.

As Tolan examines RoboCop, Biddle takes a call from Dixon, who threatens blackmail against him and Tolan. They arrange a meeting, where Biddle plants a bomb just before RoboCop and Tolan arrive at the meeting spot, causing it to detonate near them. RoboCop shields Tolan and Biddle blames Dixon, opening fire on his van. RoboCop shoots out his tires, causing him to exit his vehicle. However, Biddle gets to him first and kills him, claiming to have found the detonator on him. OCP assures the public that the attack will not delay the Space-Tram launch.

Parks interrogates Merritt, who doubts Dixon's ability to create a bomb. He regrets not telling Madigan that Dixon was to be suspected in Marley's attack. Madigan believes Merritt and that Dixon is innocent, due to Merritt's testimony and RoboCop's inability to tell whether Biddle was telling the truth. Parks, however, remains skeptical.

In front of RoboCop, Tolan tells a friend that Cryonautics stock is about to go up and RoboCop points out that buying stock while possessing privileged information is a crime. Tolan tries to brush it off, but RoboCop insists he will report the crime. Tolan insists that he does not really understand life, because he is programmed.

Madigan goes to Cryonautics and asks Marley about the fuel's instability. However, he denies any such thing. Biddle emerges, questioning whether she has the evidence for her line of inquiry. He closes her out of the building and warns Marley of "hell to pay" if the test results still exist.

Tolan informs the Chairman that the Cryo-Fuel is being delivered. After hanging up, she expresses concern over the fuel's instability, a matter that Biddle is much more flippant about, suggesting that they use the ten-hour timeframe between the Space-Tram's launch and potential destruction to liquidate some of their assets. RoboCop checks the building for security threats and requests to return to his normal duties, but Tolan demands he stay.

Madigan watches Merritt arrive at Cryonautics, spying on his meeting with Marley, who wishes to do the right thing. Someone catches her, knocks her out, then uses her gun to kill Marley and wound Merritt. Coming to shortly later, Madigan requests backup before passing out once more.

After learning of Marley's death, Tolan takes RoboCop to the precinct, asking Parks about the murder. RoboCop checks on Madigan, who is certain Marley was not killed by Merritt. They watch Biddle usher Tolan out of the precinct and decide to follow, but Madigan is held back so she can be seen by a doctor.

Space-Tram is fueled for takeoff as Biddle takes Tori to the Cryonautics, lab where he finds the test result disc Marley had hidden and reveals he had set the bomb. RoboCop shows up and tries to arrest Biddle, who puts a gun to Tori's head and threatens to kill her if RoboCop does not put down his gun. RoboCop complies, and Biddle shoots a pipe full of the same material that froze RoboCop's leg. RoboCop's entire body is frozen this time, causing critical systems failures. He watches as Tolan fights Biddle when he tries to shatter RoboCop with a pipe, buying the cyborg enough time to un-freeze himself and beat up Biddle.

Biddle tries to make a break for it, but slips on the ice created when he shot the pipe, sliding right into the sub-zero plume. He freezes to death within seconds, and his body crumbles into fragments. RoboCop makes an emergency call to the Chairman, and Tolan convinces him to abort the launch. Tolan returns Cryonautics to Merritt and decides to leave the material world behind, joining a swami at a health spa.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the only episode have a death scene: J.J. was frozen to death and his body was smashed into fragments.
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