Another jumper off the roof tale, but it's an interesting mystery. Generally, most films and cop shows portray jumpers as suicidal types, and you know right off the bat Barnaby doesn't buy it. It's also a neat way to silence someone, especially with a jewelry store robbery very close by.
This is another classic fitting the pieces together case we all know and love, and the cast is what
makes it run, especially the suspicious faces. Seymour Robbie directed, who handled 8 episodes for the series, others for CANNON and the FBI, also the old favorite, the NAME OF THE GAME. There's a show that should be rerun again.
What you have to admire about the series is how Barnaby gently eases his way into a suspects life, and there is one in particular; and all it really takes is a few words ... or that glance at precisely the wrong time, and you could tell he's got the right guy.
Excellent cast with classy Susan Howard, a standout as always, who co-starred as Maggie in PETROCELLI, later one of the famous
ladies of DALLAS. Brooke Bundy, who we all watched grow up on tv, plays Miss Dorsey, and also series regulars Tim O'Connor (not a model citizen here) and big guy Ramon Bieri as the police.
Note Jonathan Goldsmith, who plays Ed. He appeared in five episodes of the series, and at the age of 85 today, is still at work, recently appearing this year on GREYS ANATOMY. Good for him. I wonder if he has any fond recollections of Buddy Ebsen so long ago.
Barnaby does some more lab work here, comparing fibers from O'Connor's briefcase. I always credited the old CHARLIE CHAN movies as an inspiration for this technique, and you have to admit writers borrowed many times from those classic films. They were ahead of their time.
Good late, late night entertainment if you could sleep in the next day. SEASON 2 EPISODE 2 remastered dvd box set.