The Eye of the Needle (12 Apr. 1979)

A woman dies because of her ulcer. It was discovered that she was seeing a doctor who practices alternative medicine. The doctor claims that she's aware of her ulcer and wouldn't have ... See full summary »

Director:

Ron Satlof

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (creator), Lou Shaw (creator),

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
Frances Lee McCain	...	Dr. Barrie Stoddard
William Sylvester	...	John Burnett
Anthony James	...	Drifter
Sally Kemp	...	Helen Burnett
Robert Webber	...	Dr. Steven Chase
John Clavin	...	Heffron
Thomas Bellin	...	Police Doctor
Gilbert Green	...	Dr. Benson
Karen Philipp	...	Secretary

Storyline

A woman dies because of her ulcer. It was discovered that she was seeing a doctor who practices alternative medicine. The doctor claims that she's aware of her ulcer and wouldn't have allowed it to get as bad as did. But the woman's husband is suing her for malpractice. And she is facing the possibility of losing her license so Quincy tries to prove her innocence.

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

---

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 April 1979 (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

In one scene, Quincy disrupts Dr. Stoddard's session to inform her that Mr. Burnett plans to sue for malpractice. Then Dr. Benson arrives to tell Dr. Stoddard that her clinic will be reviewed. As Benson leaves the hospital PA pages "Dr. Heinlein." As Quincy leaves, the PA pages "Dr. Ellison." Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison are science fiction writers. One of the writers of this episode, Robert Crais, is a science fiction fan whose protagonist Elvis Cole occasionally reads Heinlein.

User Reviews

Sometimes, Quincy is just annoying!

This episode of "Quincy" begins with a woman in some sort of physical distress trying to get some help. Unfortunately, the guy she finds is just some thief--who steals her purse and leaves her in agony. Soon, she is discovered...dead. They think it's due to carbon monoxide poisoning, but it turns out she died from a perforated ulcer--something you'd rarely die from in this day and age. So, without looking into the facts, Quincy runs about half-cocked making wild accusations against the dead lady's doctor. These wild accusations appear to lead to the surviving husband filing suit against this doctor--and it's a great case of Quincy opening his big, fat mouth! Later, when Quincy finds out that a LADY doctor is the attending physician (one that he was really lusting after earlier in the episode), Quincy changes his tone completely--and spends the rest of the film trying to prove the doctor was innocent!! This hypocrisy and sexism really make it hard to like Quincy in this one--and I am surprised that his part was written this way. Because he was so inconsistent and never apologized for creating a lynch-mob mentality, I found this one a less than stellar episode. The writing just wasn't up to snuff here.