This one is about a former soldier who is killed in an elevator by a grenade and the elevator operator who was in the elevator with the soldier when the grenade exploded and was injured in the blast is a friend of Peggy's so Joe agrees to investigate what happened.
This is a nice change of scenery as much of the episode takes place in San Diego and is the first episode in a long time where the identity of the killer isn't revealed early on or obvious, so there's an actual mystery with lots of possible suspects introduced. There are also some nice twists concerning the identities of a couple of the characters. The story is well-written, intriguing and engaging.
There are a couple of plot holes. How did Joe know someone was hiding behind the door in Stoner's office and how did he know where the colonel was when he dropped in on him at the restaurant?
The clichés include Joe getting clobbered over the head again and getting shot at but not hit.
Melendy Britt makes her third and final appearance and is solid once again, as is Eugene Peterson, who is very convincing as Lou Morgan, a syndicate hood. He mentions the Godfather at one point, which would have been in theaters around the time this episode was filmed. This is his second and final appearance. Dabney Coleman makes his first of two appearances. John Milford is really good as Col. Ewing.
Charlie Picerni makes another appearance, this time as both a regular character (a mechanic) and a stuntman.
The same staircase that was seen in the very first episode of the series (The Name is Mannix, 1967) and in the opening credits for a couple of seasons is seen again here.
This is an enjoyable episode and is certainly better than the trash that was seen in the first four episodes of the season. It's the best episode of the season so far, which of course wasn't a difficult achievement considering how horrific the first four episodes were. The show is back on track at least for now.
This is a nice change of scenery as much of the episode takes place in San Diego and is the first episode in a long time where the identity of the killer isn't revealed early on or obvious, so there's an actual mystery with lots of possible suspects introduced. There are also some nice twists concerning the identities of a couple of the characters. The story is well-written, intriguing and engaging.
There are a couple of plot holes. How did Joe know someone was hiding behind the door in Stoner's office and how did he know where the colonel was when he dropped in on him at the restaurant?
The clichés include Joe getting clobbered over the head again and getting shot at but not hit.
Melendy Britt makes her third and final appearance and is solid once again, as is Eugene Peterson, who is very convincing as Lou Morgan, a syndicate hood. He mentions the Godfather at one point, which would have been in theaters around the time this episode was filmed. This is his second and final appearance. Dabney Coleman makes his first of two appearances. John Milford is really good as Col. Ewing.
Charlie Picerni makes another appearance, this time as both a regular character (a mechanic) and a stuntman.
The same staircase that was seen in the very first episode of the series (The Name is Mannix, 1967) and in the opening credits for a couple of seasons is seen again here.
This is an enjoyable episode and is certainly better than the trash that was seen in the first four episodes of the season. It's the best episode of the season so far, which of course wasn't a difficult achievement considering how horrific the first four episodes were. The show is back on track at least for now.