Passing (27 Jan. 1978)

While returning from a coroners convention, Quincy and Sam find a human skull in the desert. They immediately hire a forensic artist to use it to try to identify it. Eventually, they ... See full summary »

Director:

David Alexander

Writers:

Mann Rubin (teleplay), David Shaw (teleplay),

Stars:

Jack Klugman, Garry Walberg, John S. Ragin

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
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
Zohra Lampert	...	Lynn Peters
Neva Patterson	...	Mrs. Lockwood
Sondra Blake	...	Meg Malloy
Michael Strong	...	Mob Boss
Elizabeth Stack	...	Jody Lockwood
Simon Oakland	...	Sal Jarrett
Frank Maxwell	...	Ross Bricker
Phillip Pine	...	Attorney Thomas Brown
Todd Martin	...	Augie

Storyline

While returning from a coroners convention, Quincy and Sam find a human skull in the desert. They immediately hire a forensic artist to use it to try to identify it. Eventually, they discover that the skull belonged to a missing labor leader. Soon, his main rival finds out and he and his goons threaten to stop Quincy by hurting the artist as well as Astin. Also, as the investigation goes on, Quincy discovers a hidden secret the man had that may have been the reason for his killing.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 January 1978 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story was no doubt inspired by the real life disappearance of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.

User Reviews

An interesting episode.

While Quincy and Sam are out driving in the desert, they notice a bike driven by some thug-type. Why did they notice? Well, the bike had a human skull attached to it! Even though it's not in his jurisdiction, Quincy is driven to figure out WHO this skull belonged to and how it got there. His path eventually brings it to the case of a missing union organizer--one who MIGHT have been killed by the mobster leaders of this organization. But, they wonder, is it REALLY him? After all, the dead man appears to have been a black man--and the missing man was white.

In addition to traditional forensic work you'd expect to see, this one also features a guest who is an expert at facial reconstruction. This aspect of the show makes this one very interesting--and a nice change of pace for the series.