Diagnostic: meurtre

"Diagnosis Murder? That's just Murder She Wrote with Dick Van Dyke instead of Angela Lansbury, isn't it? A show for old people, right?"

NOT! If you are one of the many who have fallen into this fallacy, I'm here to set the record straight. Diagnosis Murder is an action-packed, laugh-packed roller coaster ride of a series. At its heart is its wonderful company, Dick Van Dyke, Barry Van Dyke, Victoria Rowell and Charlie Schlatter. The chemistry among these four is what I love about the show. (Well,okay, that and watching Barry Van Dyke do anything, anything at all.) The show has revealed in wonderful writers over the years who know the characters, are true to the characters, and give them situations which allow their relationships to grow, develop, and shine through to the audience.

Best of all, each year the show gets better. It's incredible. Like salmon swimming upstream--you don't know how they do it, you just stand back in awe and watch. The characters are becoming more and more real rather than turning into caricatures of themselves, the way so many series characters do. And the stories are getting more exciting, suspenseful and inventive every year.

If you haven't seen Diagnosis Murder lately--you don't know this show. Give it a watch.

I remember seeing the pre-series TV-movie "Diagnosis of Murder" in 1992, but I didn't watch the Diagnosis Murder TV series until the fall of 1997 (as it was starting its fifth season), when Robert Stack made a guest appearance in the episode "Open and Shut." After that, I didn't watch the show again until January of 1998. That was when I finally started watching it on a regular basis.

Considering the fact that Diagnosis Murder mainly appeals to senior audiences, I joke at the idea of being one of the few twentysomethings who watches it. Nonetheless, it is entertaining. In addition, I consider it to be the most underrated 'whodunit' series, and one of the most underrated TV shows in general.

However, the show's most common error is that many murder victims are declared dead literally seconds after they collapse. In other words, there is little that is done to try and revive them. But that isn't always the case. Sometimes, our heroes make some effort to save them until it becomes impossible to do so.

One interesting piece of trivia is that Diagnosis Murder, which has been on for eight years, has outlasted Dick Van Dyke's other show (The Dick Van Dyke Show), which lasted an impressive five years.

With son Barry Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan's son Steve comes a major advantage: if Barry "mistakenly" calls his father dad while playing their respective roles, then they at least know that it's not a mistake at all. Get it?

For the first few episodes, I thought it was wierd to see Van Dyke play a doctor,but this show has really become one of the few shows that I will watch anymore. It has gotten a lot better since Baio left the series, and the episodes just keep getting better and better. Dick and his son have a wonderful camaraderie, and the mysteries and characters work very well. The Matlock crossover was my favorite, as are the cameo episodes where all the familiar stars return. I hope this show lasts as long as Dick wants to do it.

Thankfully as a student I have been able to watch "Diagnosis Murder" for a number of years now. It is basically about a doctor who solves murders with the help of his LAPD son, a young doctor and a pathologist. DM provided 8 seasons of exceptional entertainment. What made it different from the many other cop shows and worth watching many times over was its cast and quality of writing. The main cast gave good performances and Dick Van Dyke's entertainer roots shone through with the use of magic, dance and humor. The best aspects of DM was the fast pace, witty scripts and of course the toe tapping score. Sadly it has been unfairly compared to "Murder, She Wrote". DM is far superior boasting more difficult mysteries to solve and more variety. Now it is gone TV is a worse place. Gone are the days of feelgood, family friendly cop shows. Now there is just depressing 'gritty' ones.

Take one part Columbo, one part E.R. and one part the Dick Van Dyke Show and you get this great show. Dick Van Dyke proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is one of the most versatile actors in the history of television. I think that this is most definitely his best role since Rob Petrie. Also, like the Dick Van Dyke Show, this show relied on a great ensemble. Victoria Rowell, Barry Van Dyke and Charlie Schlatter were great supporting characters in this great show. Too bad its not on the air anymore, I miss seeing it and its wonderful cast.