Sci fi material in a cop show is off the charts, but "The Quasar Kill" is very interesting and worth a look for a couple of reasons. What puts it over the top is a stellar cast of veterans, including two super bad guys.
The story is all about the death of a prominent scientist who may have been killed by one of his peers, or was it actually an alien encounter? This episode could have been written due to an increase in UFO sightings, usually in the desert, and there's a lot of desert in southern California.
The lab sets are fun, especially for sci fi completists. It looks like the sets were resurrected from LOST IN SPACE (which were long used after the series ended) and, reportedly, sound effects were lifted from the original STAR TREK series. The Santa Susanna Field Lab looks to have been used here (although there are no credits, except an area called Test Drive). That may be Bravo Road, at Brandeis, California, about 40 miles north of L. A. Also for desert locations, the crew may have also headed up to the High Desert once again, at Lancaster, CA.
Two time Oscar nominee Karl Turnberg (BEN HUR) wrote this story, who, early in his career, put together many B adventure films. As for the co-stars, credit one of the best; Andrew Duggan (Dr. Lawrence), an old friend of William Conrad from Warner Bros/ABC tv. Duggan was at his best in authoritative roles, and well known for playing President and General Eisenhower. Also there's future soap opera star and long time ace villain Eric Braeden and Keene Curtis (as Dr. Tree). If Curtis was around, you knew something was brewing. He was a natural, and at times could be very funny in comedic roles.
The ending IS worth waiting for, and with some sci fi food for thought.
SEASON 5 EPISODE 21 remastered (2016) CBS dvd box set.