"Quincy M.E." Dark Angel (1979)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Ray Danton

Writers:

Robert Crais (writer)
Glen A. Larson (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Quincy M.E." (1976)

Original Air Date:

15 February 1979 (Season 4, Episode 17)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

Plot:

Officer Tommy Bates, a close friend of Monahan's, is accused of killing a young car thief who goes berserk after crashing into Bate's police car...

Plot Keywords:

Coroner | Murder | Cult Favorite | Courtroom | Amateur Detective

Cast

Jack Klugman	...	Dr. R. Quincy, M.E.
Garry Walberg	...	Lt. Frank Monahan
John S. Ragin	...	Dr. Robert Asten
Val Bisoglio	...	Danny Tovo
Robert Ito	...	Sam Fujiyama
Joseph Roman	...	Sgt. Brill
Neville Brand	...	Police Officer Tommy Bates
Michael Horton	...	Steve
Marshall Thompson	...	Mr. Harris
Richard Stanley	...	Billy Harris
Michael D. Roberts	...	Police Officer Ed Waters
William Daniels	...	Charlie Trusdale
Bill Zuckert	...	Police Commissioner Parker
Stack Pierce	...	Police Sgt. Murray - Internal Affairs
Paca Thomas	...	Dr. Herb Carlton

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Universal TV

Great Quincy episode.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Quincy M.E.: Dark Angel starts as two LAPD cops Tommy Bates (Neville Brand) & Ed Waters (Michael D. Roberts) are enjoying some lunch in an alleyway, suddenly their cop car is rammed by another car driven by two teens Steve (Michael Horton) & Billy (Richard Stanley). High on PCP Billy attacks the two officers, in a struggle Billy is wrestled to the ground & never gets back up again since he dies. Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) calls in Los Angeles chief medical examiner Quincy (Jack Klugman) to perform the autopsy & conduct the investigation as officer Bates is a good friend, Steve claims that the two cops beat them & deliberately killed Billy which they deny. Quincy's finding will be crucial to the outcome, unfortunately he can find nothing to back up the police officers stories...

Episode 17 from season 4 this Quincy story was directed by Ray Danton & is a very enjoyable murder mystery with a hint of social commentary as well thrown in there for good measure. At first all the evidence points to the two officers being guilty & since they are the police everyone is quick to assume they did it, including Quincy but I guess this episodes message is not taking people at face value or by stereotype. You know, keeping an open mind & searching for the truth which is what Quincy is all about. The kid turns out to be a lying killer yet all the press wanted was a scandal involving bad cops, one might say that is still very much the case even today. If that wasn't enough Dark Angel also has a stab at warning the audience about PCP although one can say you could insert practically any other addictive personality changing drug into the story like heroin or cannabis. In fact unusually Dark Angel ends during a police training session where Monahan lectures his fellow cops about the dangers of PCP & drugs in a very school teacher preachy type way just to hammer home the message to the audience a bit more. Along with the commendable social & moral issues raised in Dark Angel there's a good solid entertaining murder mystery here as well as Quincy has to search for the truth using his medical knowledge & skills. A really good well balanced episode that I liked a lot.

Here in Dark Angel we get a rare (maybe unique) opportunity to go inside Lt. Monahan's house & see his wife Patty! I don't think we have ever seen her before or indeed since. The acting is good here & veteran actor Neville Brand has a small role, during a scene set inside Monahan's living room they are both watching a cop show on telly & they comment on how they don't make them like they used to & refer specifically to The Untouchables (1959 - 1963) in which Brand appeared.

Dark Angel is a top Quincy episode that manages to balance the moral & social issues with a good old fashioned murder mystery in a convenient fifty minute duration, what more do you want exactly?