Riot (31 Jan. 1980)

Quincy and Sam go to a prison to investigate the death of an inmate who had a reputation for being somewhat of an activist and the main suspect is a guard who is noted for his brutality. ... See full summary »

Director:

Rod Holcomb

Writers:

Allan Cole, Chris Bunch,

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
John Milford	...	Prison Warden Tompkins
Al White	...	Lenny Wood
Taylor Lacher	...	Capt. Bull Stewart - Prison Guard
Marc Alaimo	...	Ed Burly
Bob Delegall	...	Ray Stone
James Ingersoll	...	Duane
Dean Brooks	...	Dave
Allen Joseph	...	Jonah
Raymond Mayo	...	Charley

Storyline

Quincy and Sam go to a prison to investigate the death of an inmate who had a reputation for being somewhat of an activist and the main suspect is a guard who is noted for his brutality. However, while they are conducting the investigation, the inmates decide to stage a revolt to protest conditions in the prison and Sam is taken hostage. Now its a race against time not only to find out the exact cause of the the inmate's death, but to save Sam's life.

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

---

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 January 1980 (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

User Reviews

Al White helped make this one worth seeing.

"Riot" begins inside a prison. It's soon very obvious that the warden is a jerk--the sort of guy who inflames the prisoners and makes small problems huge. Soon, a prisoner dies and the inmates assume one of the guards killed him. After all, he was a brutal guy and loved mistreating them. So it isn't surprising that a riot breaks out and the prisoners take many of the guards prisoner--including the guy they think is responsible for the death. Unfortunately, Sam and Quincy are in the middle of this, as they were called in to examine the dead prisoner's body--and they are taken prisoner by the rioters. Fortunately, one of the rioters (Al White) is not such a hot-head and he is able to influence some of the prisoners to use caution and restraint. Without him, Sam and Quincy as well as the other prisoners would be goners. Quincy is able to get the men to give him time to finish the autopsy before they take their next step. However, there are two huge problems--Sam is forced to stay behind with the prisoners while Quince goes back to the lab and the warden seems to be doing everything he can to escalate the situation! Can Quincy figure out what happened as well as save his friend?

This is a very taut and well made episode--and among the best of season five. It's made better by Al White's guest appearance. He is a solid actor and has a real presence about him throughout the show. And, if you see him and can't quite place where you saw him before, think of the movie "Airplane!". He was one of the two black men who spoke through subtitles!