The Night Killer (26 Nov. 1980)

A mistake at the coroners office concerning a crib death effects not only Quincy and the staff but the parents also.

Director:

Jeffrey Hayden

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jack Klugman, Garry Walberg, John S. Ragin

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Jack Klugman	...	Dr. R. Quincy, M.E.
Garry Walberg	...	Lt. Frank Monahan
John S. Ragin	...	Dr. Robert Asten
Val Bisoglio	...	Danny Tovo (credit only)
Robert Ito	...	Sam Fujiyama
Joseph Roman	...	Sgt. Brill
Tyne Daly	...	Madeline Estes
Robert Ginty	...	Bill Estes
Jonathan Segal	...	Dr. Bob Gage
Irene Tedrow	...	Mrs. Estes
Patricia Barry	...	Dr. Hotchkiss
Alex Hyde-White	...	Les
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Constance Ball	...	Bonnie (as Mary Ball)
Teri Beckerman	...	Nora
Cheryl Carter	...	Cleo

Storyline

A mistake at the coroners office concerning a crib death effects not only Quincy and the staff but the parents also.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1980 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Decent but it sure could have been a lot better.

I would agree with Paul Andrews--early in the "Quincy" series the show was much more oriented towards solving crimes and as the show progressed, it became much more of a soap box for social issues. While the issues might have been quite laudable (such as sudden infant death syndrome in this particular show), the program became less and less entertaining as well. And, often the show was simply preachy.

Tyne Daley and Robert Ginty star as two parents who sadly have to deal with one of their twins dying from SIDS. While this is a serious tragedy, an even greater pain is inflicted on them when a complete jerk-face of a coroner incorrectly diagnoses the child as having died as a result of child abuse! So, Monahan is brought into the case and when Quincy finds out about this rush to judgment, he is naturally furious! The end result of this is that the parents are really screwed up and the young coroner has lost his nerve. Can they all overcome this? Not a terrible idea for a story but as I said above, this was NOT entertaining. A bit of light humor or tension would have made this one better. Instead, it's heavy-handed and anything but entertaining.