When I was little, I remember crawling into bed with my mom to watch Jack Klugman as Quincy, M.E. He was a righteous, crime-solving, Holmes-esque medical examiner (coroner). Think CSI without all the fancy technology and groan-worthy one-liners. Or the granddaddy of Body of Proof. (Though, Dana Delaney’s Megan Hunt isn’t fit to run the chromatograph for Dr. R. Quincy!)
I was so excited to discover that good ol’ Quincy was back on Netflix Instant Watch. I’m working my way through the seasons (only up to Season 2 so far), but I’ve not been disappointed. One of the things I love about Quincy is how quick he is to quarantine people! It only took until S1E4 (Hot Ice, Cold Hearts) for the first suggested quarantine (this one of the Catalina coastline over suspicion of stonefish). The first two episodes of season two (Snake Eyes Part I and II) brought an actual quarantine at a Lake Tahoe resort over an unidentified contagion. I think the next quarantine happens in S3E11 (The Deadly Connection), but I haven’t gotten that far yet in my re-watch to confirm. I know there is another one in season five (The Monkey Plague, E9) and again in S7E3/4 (Slow Boat to Madness Parts I and II).
But that’s the fun of Quincy. Jack Klugman plays him with such fun and aplomb. He’s a middle-aged ladies’ man, Oscar Madison all grown up. The show definitely has a preachy quality to it, but it’s amazing how many of the issues he touched upon thirty years ago are still relevant today. Maybe not amazing–perhaps discouraging is a better word. Another fun reason is seeing the guest stars, often well-known actors in their much younger days. (Check out a young Louise Sorel (Vivian from Days of Our Lives) in these clips from season two!)
For some campy fun without all the fancy forensics, add this one to the queue! The acting may not be great, but it’s well above David Caruso standards.
A Common Sea 
I love Quincy and Colombo (and Rockford too but he was more of a bad boy you just couldn’t stay mad at). They were the real deal instead of a nice package rocking a great suit…There was an assumption in the writing of those shows that the audience was enjoying the story unfolding, the process of these detectives as they worked it out.
Both Klugman and Falk were superb actors with great careers performing on stage and in movies. They had skill. The writers gave them good scripts, well written and challenging. The producers had the good sense to recognize they’d pulled together a winning team and stepped away from the table. It’s all production values now – except in some of the better HBO series – and glitter.
Don’t get me started on David Caruso, *sighs, pulls off sunglasses, turns head 1/4 to right, tilts head 10 degrees, sighs again*
Maybe I’ll see if Netflix.ca has some of the Quincy shows. I know they don’t have Colombo and a lot of movies/tv series are blocked for some kinda weird ‘can’t cross this border ’cause they’ll steal it all–whaddya mean have we heard of Youtube and bit torrent?’
Nice to meet you, A-Z is a great way to meet new (to me) voices on the inter-weebs. Thanks for this. I promise to practise short comments from now on..
(p.s. I’ve tried to sign this with my Sudden Alarm of Donkeys blog but stupid WordPress.com — love it so much but sometimes, c’mon…–insists I use this one)
Posted by VB | April 19, 2012, 11:57It’s also all sensationalist and about the sex and violence! Back then you couldn’t show an autopsy scene, even an obviously fake one. Now, everything has to have oodles of sex and gore for a network to stick with it! It’s too bad.
LOL No worry about comment length! Just happy you commented 🙂
~Lynn
Posted by A Common Sea | April 19, 2012, 13:58I loved Quincy! I think I saw every single episode while growing up.
I am trying to read all the A to Z blogs, but coming back to the ones I really like.
Looking forward to seeing what you do all month!
Tim
The Other Side
The Freedom of Nonbelief
Posted by timsbrannan | April 19, 2012, 15:19Sounds like one for the boyfriend and I to watch together. I love finding shows from my childhood on Netflix!
Posted by emilylmoir | April 19, 2012, 20:50I love this show! Netflix is a beautiful, beautiful thing.
Posted by Stephanie | April 20, 2012, 07:32Netflix really is a beautiful thing! I love being able to revisit the old shows I used to love to watch!
Thank you all for commenting! Who knew “Quincy” was so universally loved? LOL
~Lynn
Posted by A Common Sea | April 20, 2012, 14:31The original CSI. Loved that show. I wonder it would hold up today. I recently saw Three’s Company, which I loved as a kid, but, alas, it didn’t age well – just an awful show.
Posted by Geoff | April 20, 2012, 18:05