Quincy

This is the king of formula shows. Every single episode goes down the same way:

Quincy has just gotten off of a particularly grueling case.

The boss brings in a new body that Quincy "just has to look at".

Sam, his ever faithful assistant, is just about to leave for the night before Quincy calls him back. "I need you to stay and figure this one out."

They show the 'late-night working montage', which always consists of Sam running spectral analysis tests while Quincy pokes at the body.

The montage ends, and Sam says "I don't like the looks of this Quince".

Quincy then insults Sam about the quality of his coffee.

Quincy puts on his detective hat, and interviews witnesses.

Quincy will come against opposition to him solving the case, and he will yell at that person. In fact, he will have been yelling for most of the episode, but now the yelling is of a righteous nature.

Quincy will confront his main adversary and scream, "PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT STAKE HERE!!"

Quincy's boss, who was against all meddling from the start, eventually comes around.

Quincy solves the case, then explains everything over breakfast/lunch/dinner with his pals.

Someone at the table tells a throw-away joke, usually at Quincy's expense, leaving everyone in stitches.

Roll credits.

Eat your heart out, Jordan Cavanaugh

So every episode seemed the same? Every episode of I Love Lucy was the same too, and that's a classic. Heck, 90% of TV is the same episode over and over again. This show is great. Before a couple years ago, I wasn't a huge fan of 70s TV, especially dramas, but I'm hooked on this show. The cast is great, the characters delightfully predictable and occasionally over-the-top, and the storylines intriguing. Great stuff. And I got a huge kick out of the fact that Garry Walberg (Lt. Monahan) was also Speed on The Odd Couple. Guess he and Jack followed each other around. LOL

..."Thank God!" some people might think, well, not me. "Quincy" is one of my favourite shows of this kind (second only to the excellent "Columbo"). Jack Klugman is unforgettable as the intense and often angry Dr Quincy and is brilliantly supported by Robert Ito as the idealistic Sam, John S. Ragin as the by-the-book Dr Astin and Garry Walberg as Lt Monahan. Occasionally hammy but always enjoyable.

The laws of 'Quincy'

1. No more than 5 minutes shall pass before Quincy yells 'Dammit!'

2. At least once an episode, Sam (Quincy's Asiatic sidekick) has to say 'I don't like it Quince'

3. Every woman, even if they are young enough to be his granddaughters, has to find Quincy unbearably attractive

4. No cop is allowed to point out that he is a pathologist, and investigating crimes is way outside the limits of his job

5. There shall never be a suprising death

6. Quincy's boss always has to object to his investigation at first, be won slowly round, and then appear, supporting, in the final denouncement

7. Not one person is allowed to point out that there are probably bodies rotting in the aisles, considering the amount of time he spends investigating just the one death

God I love this show......

In the beginning, the show was usually about a crime that Quincy solves using his skills as a medical examiner., sometimes officially, sometimes not so officially, as he did when he was on jury duty on one episode. Honestly, who would allow a medical examiner to sit on a jury in a criminal trial? But I digress. These whodunnit based episodes were interesting, and Quincy is one of the first of the CSI style shows that I can recall - it really was ahead of its time. But, especially in the last couple of years of the show, there was a shift and Klugman started doing lots of issue shows with lots of pontificating. This was probably partially due to the changing times, partially a reaction to the Reagan administration. You can see the same kind of thing happen to the show Lou Grant and its star Edward Asner during the same time frame.

Of course, crime scene investigation techniques have changed a lot over the years, and the ability to analyze DNA evidence was a ground breaker that was far in the future when this show debuted, but it is still worth it for the acting and the amazing Jack Klugman.