Calven Clements, Jr., wrote 11 episodes for the series, and the reason is his work was terrific. He also wrote many episodes for GUNSMOKE, later DALLAS.
This is another one of those puzzlers for Barnaby that's so much fun to solve. Wayne Rogers plays Gil who stands accused in the drowning death of his wife on a boat in the middle of the lake --and there's lots of witnesses? Interestingly, he has a friend in Stefanie Powers (as Sharon), who proves quite valuable to him in so many ways. Do the math.
This is extremely clever stuff, and an original story, that has Barnaby eventually realizing he's been hoodwinked. This certainly won't be the first time it's happened, still it's neat to watch him outwit a guy who thinks he's staged the perfect crime. And when you think about it, it truly is as close as you can get to a perfect crime!
Good support from Daniel Travanti as Lon, and also look for two veteran actresses, Irene Tedrow and Helen Kleeb (the WALTONS), both familiar faces on tv for decades. Wayne Roger's lawyer is Bill Erwin, who also had a lengthy career, in later years playing bickering old guys and having lots of fun.
I do agree with the last reviewer it is rather curious as to why Sharon would hold onto a wig, which would be valuable evidence. Bragging rights, possibly, but she and Gil are walking a thin line here. I remember seeing this episode when it first came out and, yes, I did a double take, but I guess it was meant as an inside joke between them.
According to production notes, Stefanie Powers actually wore two wigs, which must have required a top flight hairdresser.
This was beautifully filmed at Malibou Lake, Agoura, California, about 40 miles from Los Angeles, near Thousand Oaks. The lake was used in many films and tv shows with good reason.
SEASON 2 EPISODE 3 remastered CBS dvd box set.