Quinn Martin cast of regulars in a very tense murder caper, with some dark humor implied as the lead character is as bad as they come.
As I have written earlier, Lynne Marta was at her best playing genuinely crafty ladies, and here she's one of the worst yet. She plays Lorraine, a woman with some obvious psychological problems and member of an out patient therapy group. Quite cleverly, she manages to sneak away from the retreat to kill the wife of a man she is in love with, who doesn't have a good marriage in the first place.
The wry catch is -- although she's got her fair share of mental problems, she's smart enough to corner the guy (played by Robert Hogan) and make it clear should he call the police --she'll implicate him in the murder.
True, it's not the first time something like this would be concocted, but it's done well, thanks to writer Worley Thorne (also known for FANTASY ISLAND). Robert Hogan, who regulary appeared in cop shows and tv movies, usually playing the good guy, is well cast as Ken, the hopeless man in the middle. Lynette Metty, famous for playing nurses on MASH, also guest stars, yet ANOTHER woman who happens to like Ken. Is she next?
Best described as a soap opera crime drama, and waiting for homicidal Lorraine to eventually get her due. A-plus direction from series director Walter Grauman who makes Lynne Marta the queen of mean. Lynne was also a singer, associated with David Soul, who passed in early 2024.
For all us spot the location fans, partly filmed at beautiful Marina del Rey, not too far from Venice Beach, CA. Expensive, but a nice place to spend the day.
SEASON 5 EPISODE 16 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set.
