Quincy M.E.: Accomplice to Murder starts as Martha Steele (Karen Philipp) arrives home after a day shopping with her friend, inside her apartment & she is faced by burglar Joseph Kling (Randall R. Stumpe) who frightens her & causes Martha to trip over, hit her head on a cushion & die. Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) performs an autopsy & concludes Martha died from a severe cerebral hemorrhage, Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) arrests Joseph & considers it an open & shut case. However Quincy isn't so sure as there were no indications to suggest Joseph hit her & that the main cause of Martha's death was an old brain injury sustained six months earlier, Quincy also finds out that Martha was regularly beaten by her husband William (Robert Colbert) & Quincy becomes convinced that's how Martha got the injuries which ultimately killed her, although how can he prove it?
Episode 13 from season 3 this Quincy story was directed by Paul Krasny & is a solid entry in the series. This episode is divided between Quincy proving Joseph the burglar wasn't responsible for Martha's death & trying to prove her husband William was along with the strong moral message about domestic abuse & wife beating. The script suggests that nobody wants to deal with the problem of domestic violence as the victims Doctors, the police, prosecutors & judge's all turn a blind eye. Of course that's where Quincy steps in & show's everyone how to do it, how to stand up for women's rights & that a man beating his wife isn't normal or acceptable which it obviously isn't. The script does a good job of balancing the two out, giving enough time for the usual Quincy murder mystery where he has to use his medical expertise & knowledge to prove something & the moral message about wife beating & that there are people out there who can help & that women shouldn't just accept it. I liked this episode, it moves along at a good pace, there's a touch of humour to lighten the tone & it has the balls to portray a serious issue which Quincy as a series never shied away from anyway.
Accomplice to Murder is the fabled episode where Quincy gives his business card to a woman named Bonnie as he offers her a job, later on while looking through her purse her husband sees the card & there's a close-up on it & it reads 'Dr. R. Quincy M.E.' which is as close as we ever came to discovering Quincy's first name. In fact it became a running gag & even during his wedding vows in season eight he is just referred to as Quincy! So what does the initial 'R' stand for? I guess we'll never know now... Accomplice to Murder also indicates that Sam keeps his lunch in the laboratory fridge along with dissected human brains, nice. The acting is good although again like a lot of season three there's no Danny or bar scenes.
Accomplice to Murder is a good solid Quincy episode, it has a decent murder mystery & a commendable moral message which are both given equal time to develop. A must for fans.
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