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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Quincy M.E.: Murder on Ice starts mere hours after Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) & psychiatrist Dr. Emily Hanover (Anita Gillette) tied the knot & got married. After a send off in Danny's with some Baked Alaska & Champangne the happy couple set off on their honeymoon, originally meant to be Hawaii one of Quincy's friends Judge Julian Blake has offered Quincy & Emily the exclusive use of his winter lodge where they intend to spend a romantic week skiing & relaxing in the front of open log fires. However once there the couple find out they are not alone, Deputy D.A. Liz McKenna (Lola Albright), LADP Lieutenant Ken Spool (Robert Alda) & homicide Sgt. Herb Gleason (Dane Clark) have also all been lured there under false pretences. Judge Blake's wife Dorothy (Ann Blyth) is also there & knows nothing of why they have been summoned there, mild curiosity soon turns to terror as Judge Blake's dead body is discovered & with the roads blocked by snow the unwilling guests are stranded with a killer...Episode 19 from season 8 this Quincy story was directed by Mel Ferber & was the show directly after Quincy got married where he is supposed to be on his honeymoon, but wouldn't you just know it he gets caught up in a complex murder mystery where he is a potential target. Trouble just follows this guy around doesn't it? I have to start off by saying Murder on Ice is a great Quincy episode, a lot of season eight has been really bad with a lot of show's devoted to boring moral issues but Murder on Ice is a terrific murder mystery set in an isolated log cabin. There are several twists at the end which come a little quickly but for the most part this is a really good Agatha Christie style whodunit even down to the end when Quincy calls everyone involved with the case into the living room to explain all the how's, why's & where's to them & expose the murderer. There's also a touch of 80's slasher horror film with it's killer on the loose stalking people in an isolated location style storyline, I liked it & thought it was one of the very best Quincy episodes I've seen & probably the best from a generally disappointing season eight. The character's are decent, Emily didn't get in the way too much but I wasn't sure about the mute servant Max! This is one of those infrequent episodes where the traditional laboratory setting doesn't feature at all & Quincy has to live on his wits as he ends up making a microscope from bit & pieces he finds lying around & performing an autopsy with a razor blade.The log cabin setting makes a nice change from the laboratory & it's good to get Quincy out of Los Angeles, it's actually a very nice location & the cabin looks great as well. There's a real sense of isolation which was essential if the story was going to work. There are three murders in this although not by who you would initially imagine & the twist at the end isn't that predictable which makes for a nice change. There's also a surprisingly action packed snowmobile chase sequence near the end which at times felt like it belonged in a James Bond film! Murder on Ice is maybe the only Quincy episode where the cheesy comedy moment at Danny's happens at the very start rather than the very end. The acting is pretty good.Murder on Ice is one of the best Quincy episodes ever, it's a cracking old school whodunit with a twist or two that I doubt most will see coming, in fact at times it tries to be a bit too clever & there's even a snowmobile chase. What more do you want? If your a fan of the show or murder mysteries in general then Murder on Ice is quite simply essential viewing.
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