Kartweeler

I remember, in the 70s, watching Barnaby Jones every Thursday night and being so disappointed week after week when JR showed up and it became the JR & Betty Show, more like a soap opera than the solving of interesting murder cases like in the early years. This one was one of the worst. Betty is one of my least favorite actors anyway, and I never liked JR and the changes his appearance wrought on the series. In this episode, Betty overacts more than usual, and her singing is atrocious. I wonder if Buddy Epson cringed as he watched what was happening to his series, but he was ready to retire and needed Betty & JR to take over.

I was so disappointed when Barnaby Jones Season Five began, and we were regaled with the happenings I mention in my title. What are the odds -- a private detective's secretary and newly appointed partner would encounter all these crimes and whose friends and relatives would be involved in them? Prior to Season Five the episodes had lots of clever murder plots and lots of Barnaby and less JR and Betty. I liked Betty in small doses, and JR as well. She always seemed so overly dramatic and hammy (even though she won Miss America with a dramatic reading). JR, IMO, was a decent actor but not right for this role After Season Four I lost interest.

The series ended for me after season four. Beyond that, it was always some far-fetched story that involved Betty becoming threatened, a friend of hers being hurt or murdered, or some other personal disaster befalling her. Between her histrionics and J. R. flirting with some young chick, the series, IMO, deteriorated into a soap opera. What I enjoyed was watching Barbany solve what was usually a clever murder plot with his Columbo-like antics, disarming the bad guys with his little remarks, his in-office lab, and the assortment of well known actors showing up each week. After season foru, it just seemed to deteriorate into a soap opera, and this episode, for me, fit that bill. I give this one a two.