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*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Quincy M.E.: No Way to Treat a Flower starts as Dr. John Osbourne (Paul Kent) requests a quick autopsy on his patient Kathy Campbell (Karlene Crockett) due to baffling symptoms of death, Dr. Asten (John S. Ragin) puts his best man Quincy (Jack Klugman) on the case. The autopsy turns up some strange results, virtually every major organ in Kathy's body was severely damaged. Quincy concludes that it must be a poisonous substance & investigates whether Kathy was taking drugs, it turns out that her & her boyfriend Scott Westlake had taken some marijuana treated with a deadly chemical called colchicine advertised as making plants (including grass) grow bigger & faster...Episode 1 from season 5 this Quincy story was directed by Ray Danton & is far from the best season opener but is an entertaining way to kick off the fifth season of Quincy all the same. While No Way to Treat a Flower is a moralistic episode focusing on the social issue surrounding drugs, the taking of unknown chemicals & the inadequacies surrounding the advertising of said chemicals & drugs there's some nice little sub plots including a race against time to save Kathy's boyfriend Scott & yet more examples of bureaucracy & red tape as Quincy tries to do something about the problem but finds himself hitting a brick wall at almost every turn. There's some really nice humour here too, during season four is when the production team & actors really 'got' the character's & everyone is like a family now, the dialogue is often funny yet still has a message, everyones quirks & personalities shine through & if your a fan of the series the interaction between the character's is joy to watch during this period of the show before the writers watered Quincy down, married him off, made him sell his boat, etc. Also if there is anyone out there who thinks every Quincy episode ends on a happy note then watch No Way to Treat a Flower since it has a poignant, sombre & fairly downbeat ending & is one of many Quincy's which blows the myth that there's a murder every episode out of the water.Klugman puts in a powerhouse performance here, the guy is just a wonderful actor. Here he show's real emotion ranging from anger, frustration, sorrow, exasperation, happiness, grumpiness & the whole lot played perfectly. The scenes where he comes up against red tape & the drug magazine publisher are just great. He was born to play Quincy & I can't imagine anyone else in the role (see the awful Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy? (1977) from season two for proof of that & how ordinary the show is without Klugman). Veteran Hollywood & TV actor Whit Bissell has a small role in this as a botanist.No Way to Treat a Flower is a good Quincy episode, it has a strong well written story, some nice humour & a fantastic performance by Klugman although that in itself is nothing new. Well worth a watch.
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