The Rookies (TV Series) A Farewell Tree from Marly (1973) User Reviews

Very good episode with an interesting story

[pkfloydmh · 8/10 · 4 July 2021]

This is one of the better episodes from the first season. It's about a mentally challenged woman who witnesses a bum getting run down and killed by a car and the episode revolves around whether the woman is competent enough to be a witness at the trial.

There's no mystery here as we know who the guilty party is right from the beginning. The only question is whether the woman will be able to withstand the grilling she's going to face from the defense lawyers on the witness stand.

Logan Ramsey really steals the show as the conniving lawyer, and Dennis Patrick, who excelled at playing villains throughout the '70s, is really good here too as the ruthless father.

All in all, a very good episode.

Tyne Daly's First Appearance In The Series

[Jimmy_the_Gent4 · 11 January 2019]

Chad Bennett is a spoiled rich kid who chases an old drunk in the parking lot with a sports car. The man dies of a heart attack. The only witness is Marly Devon, a mentally handicapped young woman.

An excellent episode, one of the best. It is made great by the touching performance of Daly as Marly Devon. Daly at the time was married to series star Georg Stanford Brown. It seems that Marly is being treated with an experimental medicine which helps her mental capacity, similar to the plot of the Cliff Robertson film "Charly".