"Quincy M.E." Deadly Protection (1982)

Director:

Paul Krasny

Writers:

Michael McGreevey (teleplay)
Fred Long (story) ...

TV Series:

"Quincy M.E." (1976)

Original Air Date:

5 May 1982 (Season 7, Episode 23)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Crime

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Coroner | Murder | Cult Favorite | Courtroom | Amateur Detective

Cast

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
Jim Antonio	...	Mike Snyder
Jenny O'Hara	...	Jane Snyder
Carl Franklin	...	Gary Rediford
Hoke Howell	...	Dave Whelan
Sam Groom	...	Jay Stapleton
Ray Duke	...	Benny Morgan
Nicholas Georgiade	...	Bob Gooden (as Nick Georgiade)
Keri Houlihan	...	Mandy
Kristin Gamboa	...	Emily Stapleton

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Universal TV

"You you please get your dog of my foot." Another social issue for Quincy to solve.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Quincy M.E.: Deadly Protection starts as a young girl named Emily Stapleton (Kristin Gamboa) is happily playing in her yard when the family's new German Shephard guard dog named Samson goes crazy & attacks her, L.A. county coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is deeply upset & moved at having to perform an autopsy on her. Quincy speaks with Emily's father Jay (Sam Groom) & promises him he will look into the regulations surrounding the training & selling of guard dogs before anymore innocent lives are lost to killer dogs, as he digs deeper Quincy discovers a virtually unregulated business & he uses his influence to try & warn the general public of the dangers...

Episode 23 from season 7 (the IMDb is wrong because it also states that Expert in Murder aired on 31/03/82 yet lists it as episode 20 from season 6, a season which aired in 1980 & 1981, when it was in fact episode 20 from season 7 & Deadly Protection actually aired on 05/05/82 which makes it episode 23 from season 7, got that? Good) this Quincy story was directed by Paul Krasny & is yet another diverse story from this very adaptable & varied series, it's not the best Quincy episode ever but it's still a decent watch & a perfectly entertaining way to pass an hour. Disappointingly there isn't much of a crime here for Quincy to solve for mot of it's duration & when one does finally arise it's painfully obvious what's going on, the issue it tackles though is still very relevant & I can recall several high profile attacks here in the UK on children by vicious dogs which have left them either dead or horribly scarred although as far as I remember they were from family pets as opposed to guard dogs. It's not a pleasant subject to be honest & I didn't think it made the basis for a particularly good story, it's Quincy & I like the show even when it's not as good as usual but other's may not have the same tolerance levels.

There's a cheesy comedy gag running through Deadly Protection as Quincy adopts a cute little doggy from the pound & has to hide it from his boss Asten (John S. Ragin) whom the dog keeps peeing on, very funny if you like that sort of thing. The acting is alright here but Sam Groom as the father who has lost his only daughter doesn't convince.

Deadly Protection isn't the best Quincy episode, it focuses too much on it's moral issue & for the most part leaves Quincy on the sidelines which is never a good idea, it's a perfectly watchable story but there are better ones out there.