User Reviews

I enjoyed the complexity of this episode, with the vulnerability of affirmative action programs mixed with mysterious deaths, and the reputation of one of Quincy's oldest friends on the line. Good acting throughout, and I appreciated that it raised a social issue which is still sensitive today, with systemic racism common in the medical profession.

Although it wasn't difficult to identify the murderer (mostly because they had no other function in the plot), I did enjoy that Quincy spent fruitless days trying to find the cause of death in the first victim until Dr Asten wandered in, picked up a magnifying glass and found it in 30 seconds. I also enjoyed the 1970s electronic hospital record system, which seemed much more complete and accessible than the ones we have today!

Quincy M.E.: Death by Good Intentions starts as a misdiagnosed patient at Pratt Hospital undergoes seemingly successful surgery by Dr. Matthews (Brock Peters) to repair a hemorrhage, however a short time later the patient goes into cardiac arrest & dies. Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) performs the autopsy & together with the patients medical records decides that he has an unlawful death on his hands, his suspicions immediately fall on Dr. Eric Taylor one of his good friend Dr. Matthews protégé's. Dr. Matthews defends Taylor & says that he has no idea how the patient died, meanwhile the politics of the situation leads the Hospital administrator Dr. Banning (Pernell Roberts) to suspend Taylor which could finish his career unless Quincy can prove his wasn't responsible for the death despite all the evidence saying otherwise...

Episode 4 from season 4 this Quincy story was directed by Ronald Satlof & after the horrible A Test for the Living (1978) the previous episode things get back on track here with a nice mix of murder mystery, detective work & politics for Quincy to get worked up about as well as having time for a bit of a moral message too. In fact I think Death by Good Intentions has a bit of everything, murder, mystery, detective work, obtrusive politics & a moral message! Unlike a lot of Quincy episodes one could say Death by Good Intentions is sort of relevant today as it deals with racial issues of black Doctor's facing prejudice & the politics of running a Hospital. Luckily it doesn't forget that it should entertain first & foremost so there's a decent mystery element here too with Quincy having to do lots of detective work & plenty of laboratory experiments to catch a killer. The killers motives are little bit more interesting than usual as well, I'm not saying they're overly original or surprising but it makes a difference from the usual money, love or hate motives. A good episode slightly bogged down with a bit too much moral nonsense but otherwise a good way to pass fifty odd minutes.

The one thing I noticed most about Death by Good Intentions was the size of actor Brock Peters nostrils, they are huge & your eyes can't help but be drawn to them. They are huge gaping holes & his nose looks like he has been punched square in the face too many times. The acting is alright with again the regulars coming off better than the guests.

Death by Good Intentions is a good solid Quincy episode & it's a relief to get back to what makes the show so enjoyable for me after A Test for the Living, a must for fans & armchair detectives everywhere.