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Diagnosis: Murder was a mystery television series with 45 minute long episodes that ran from 1993 to 2001. There were also movie versions that were first aired in 1992, 1993 and 2002.
The show was a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman. Dr. Mark Sloan made his first appearance in Jake and the Fatman's episode 4.19, "It Never Entered My Mind". Afterwards, three TV movies aired prior to the start of the series.
The regular series debuted on October 29, 1993 and became a rapid success, airing in many countries around the world. 178 episodes were made and aired in the show's eight seasons on the CBS network in the United States and two more TV movies aired after the series' cancellation.
Plot
The plot centered around Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke), a renowned physician who occasionally worked for the local police department as a consultant, and who could not resist a good mystery or a friend in need. Those cases often involved his son, Detective Steve Sloan (played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry Van Dyke). Helping him were his colleages, pathologist Dr. Amanda Bentley (Victoria Rowell) and Dr. Jack Stewart (Scott Baio), who later left and was replaced by a new resident, Dr. Jesse Travis (Charlie Schlatter).
Cast
- Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke), Chief of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital. Son of a cop and father of another, in whose cases he often got involved. He has a great eye for detail. Dick Van Dyke was apparently considered for the lead role after the positive reviews he received from his dramatic role in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy (although the character he played in the movie was villainous and very different from the role of Mark Sloan).
- Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke), a Detective (later Lieutenant) in the Robbery/Homicide Division of the LAPD and Dr. Sloan's son. After an earthquake destroyed his apartment, he lived in a separate apartment in his father's beach house.
- Dr. Amanda Bentley, later Bentley-Livingston (Victoria Rowell), resident Pathologist at Community General Hospital and assistant County Medical Examiner. During the series, she married a military man, had a son with him and later divorced him. She later adopted another boy.
- Dr. Jack Stewart (Scott Baio, 1993-1995, seasons 1-2), a doctor at Community General Hospital and Steve's best friend, whom he often helped in his cases. Left to open his own practice in Colorado.
- Dr. Jesse Travis (Charlie Schlatter, 1995-2001), a resident at Community General Hospital who Mark took under his wing. He often got involved in Mark and Steve's cases, with good intentions but not always good results.
- Norman Briggs (Michael Tucci, 1993-1997, seasons 1-4), administrator at Community General Hospital and a close friend of Mark, though often exasperated by him.
- Delores Mitchell (Delores Hall, 1993-1995, seasons 1-2), Dr. Sloan's lively secretary.
Cameos
One unique aspect of the series was that it frequently appropriated characters from various classic television series.
- Mike Connors reprised his titular character from Mannix in the season 4 episode "Hard-Boiled Murder".
- Andy Griffith reprised his titular role of Ben Matlock from Matlock in season 4 two-parter "Murder Two".
- Barbara Bain reprised her role of Cinnamon Carter from Impossible in season 5 episode "Discards".
- Robert Culp also guest starred in the episode "Discards" as a retired spy/tennis pro (and Dr. Travis' father) whose name was never specifically used, but who was obviously supposed to be a reprisal of his Kelly Robinson character from I Spy.
- Jack Klugman also guest starred in season 4 episode "Physician, Murder Thyself", as a character very similar to his famous role in Quincy (he guest-starred again, in season 6 episode "Voices Carry" as a police Detective).
Over the run of the show, various episodes guest starred at least eight different members of the Van Dyke family:
- Dick Van Dyke and son Barry Van Dyke in the lead roles.
- Dick's brother, Jerry Van Dyke.
- One of Dick's daughters, Stacy Van Dyke.
- Barry's children: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke, and Taryn Van Dyke.
TV Movies
Made prior to the series start:
- Diagnosis of Murder (January 5, 1992)
- The House on Sycamore Street (May 1, 1992)
- A Twist of the Knife (February 13, 1993)
Made after the end of the regular series:
- Town Without Pity (February 6, 2002)
- Without Warning (April 26, 2002)
Novels
Since 2003, five novels had been released based in this series. All of them are written by Lee Goldberg, a former producer of the series. Seven novels are currently on sale and, according to his website Diagnosis Murder Novels - News, he's working on the eight and last one.
Broadcasters
- Australia: TV1.
- Japan: NHK and Super Channel.
- Spain: Telecinco, TV3 (Catalonia).
- United Kingdom: BBC and Hallmark. In the UK and Ireland, the show has become particularly popular with students, due to its mid-afternoon showing time.
- United States: CBS (original run), Hallmark Channel (reruns).
DVD releases
Diagnosis Murder Season 1 is scheduled to be released as a 5-DVD set on September 12th, 2006. It will however not feature the episode of Jake & The Fatman which introduced the character of Dr. Mark Sloan.
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnosis Murder The Complete First Season | September 12 2006 | N/A |
References
External links
CBS network shows | Crime television series | 1990s TV shows in the United States | 2000s TV shows in the United States | CBS Paramount Television shows
"Diagnosis: Murder"