Quincy, M.E.
Quincy, M.E. | |
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Genre |
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Created by | |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Glen A. Larson & Stu Phillips |
Opening theme | Original "Untitled" Score |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 8 |
No. of episodes | 148 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time |
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Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | October 3, 1976 May 11, 1983 | –
Quincy, M.E. (also called Quincy) is an American
Inspired by the book Where Death Delights by Marshall Houts, a former FBI agent,[1][2] the show also resembled the earlier Canadian television series Wojeck, broadcast by CBC Television. John Vernon, who played the Wojeck title role, later guest-starred in the third-season episode "Requiem for the Living". Quincy's character is loosely modeled on Los Angeles' "Coroner to the Stars" Thomas Noguchi.[3][4]
Quincy was originally broadcast as 90-minute telefilms as part of the into its own weekly one-hour series without a typical 60-minute pilot. Instead, a two-hour episode kicked off a thirteen-episode shortened run of the series, which concluded the 1976–1977 season, while NBC canceled the Mystery Movie format in the spring of 1977.
The Quincy series often used the same actors for different roles in various episodes, a frequent occurrence on many
Synopsis
The series starred
While engaged in para-police investigations, Quincy frequently comes into conflict with his boss, Dr. Robert Asten (John S. Ragin), and the police, in particular, LAPD Homicide Lieutenant Frank Monahan (Garry Walberg). Quincy and Asten would usually tussle about halfway into an episode, after which time Quincy would successfully solve the case, outsmarting the LAPD and his argumentative boss. Both Monahan and Asten frequently had their own theories about a particular case which were usually at odds with Quincy's deductions. In early episodes, Quincy's relationship with both men was often volatile and nearly adversarial; this changed markedly in later episodes, where Quincy appears to have much closer professional and personal relationships with the two. Frequently, however, the entire investigation would be handled by Quincy with little or no cooperation from the police. Quincy is assisted in the lab by the faithful and adept Sam Fujiyama (Robert Ito).
It is revealed in the episode "The Last of Leadbottom" that Quincy is a retired Captain in the
Quincy is quite successful with women. He was once married, but lost his wife, Helen, to cancer. In the
Quincy occasionally drives an antique car (which is shown in Season 4, Episode 1 to be an antique
As originally conceived as part of
Quincy, M.E., was one of the first dramatic series to use a format like this to further a social agenda. Klugman himself even came to testify before the US Congress about some of these issues (such as orphan drugs in 1982),[6] describing what he had learned about a difficult or complex social concern as a result of its use in one of the show's episodes.[7]
In 2008, Klugman sued NBC, asserting that the network had concealed profits from the show which were owed to him.[8]
While many detective series had depicted rudimentary physical evidence analysis such as fingerprints and bullet comparisons, Quincy M.E. was the first to regularly present the in-depth forensic investigations which would be the hallmark of later detective shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Diagnosis: Murder, Crossing Jordan, et al. Klugman appeared twice on Diagnosis: Murder, as, respectively, Dr. Jeff Everden and Det. Harry Trumble, and once on Crossing Jordan as Dr. Leo Gelber.
Cast
A total of 148 episodes of Quincy. M.E. were produced, with Jack Klugman appearing in all but one of them. In "Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy?" (season 2, episode 7), Dr. Asten talks to Quincy twice on the phone, but Quincy's voice is not heard, and he is never seen on screen. Klugman refused to appear in this episode because he disliked a scene when a body delivered to the morgue turns out to still be living. Klugman thought it ludicrous that a medical examiner of Quincy's expertise would fail to notice it.[citation needed]
Conversely, Klugman was the only regular cast member who appeared in the final episode of the series ("The Cutting Edge"), which was a
Actor Eddie Garrett portrayed a forensic photographer in approximately 113 episodes of the series.[9] Joseph Roman appeared as Sgt. Brill, Lt. Monahan's partner. Marc Scott Taylor, technical advisor for the series beginning in season four, also appeared in the recurring role of Mark, a lab technician. John Nolan also played the recurring role of John the bartender in 86 episodes.[10] Jonathan Segal played the recurring role of the laboratory technician Jeff Sellers.[11]
Anita Gillette portrayed both of Quincy's wives. Until marrying Dr. Emily Hanover near the end of the series, Quincy had been a widower, having lost his first wife, Helen, before the events of the series. Anita Gillette was cast as the late Helen Quincy for the flashback scenes in the episode, "Promises to Keep", before being hired as Dr. Hanover.
Home media
Universal Studios has released Seasons 1 and 2 of Quincy, M.E. on DVD in regions 1,[12] 2 and 4. Season 3 was released in Region 1 on June 2, 2009, four years after the release of Seasons 1 and 2.[13]
On September 7, 2012, it was announced that
In June 2011, Madman Entertainment announced that it had acquired the distribution rights to the series in Region 4. It subsequently released seasons 3 – 5 on DVD.
The DVDs separate the 90-minute and 60-minute episodes into first and second seasons, although they aired during the same broadcast season (1976–1977). Traditionally, the 1977–1978 season was considered the second, etc.
In 2013,
DVD Name | Ep# | Release dates | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
Seasons 1 & 2 | 17 | June 7, 2005 | December 5, 2005 | July 20, 2006 |
Season 1 | 4 | February 13, 2018 (re-release) |
N/A | N/A |
Season 2 | 13 | TBA | N/A | N/A |
Season 3 | 20 | June 2, 2009 | March 4, 2013 | July 20, 2011 |
Season 4 | 23 | December 18, 2012 | TBA | November 16, 2011 |
Season 5 | 22 | March 19, 2013 | TBA | March 21, 2012 |
Season 6 | 18 | July 9, 2013 | TBA | TBA |
Season 7 | 24 | November 11, 2014 | TBA | TBA |
Season 8 | 24 | March 10, 2015 | TBA | TBA |
Seasons 6-8 | 66 | N/A | N/A | November 2, 2022[21] |
The Complete Collection | 148 | N/A | N/A | November 2, 2022[22] |
Episodes
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 4 | October 3, 1976 | January 2, 1977 | |
2 | 13 | February 4, 1977 | May 27, 1977 | |
3 | 20 | September 16, 1977 | March 10, 1978 | |
4 | 23 | September 21, 1978 | April 12, 1979 | |
5 | 22 | September 20, 1979 | April 30, 1980 | |
6 | 18 | September 16, 1980 | May 6, 1981 | |
7 | 24 | October 28, 1981 | May 12, 1982 | |
8 | 24 | September 29, 1982 | May 11, 1983 |
International broadcasts
Canada
The series was first broadcast nationally in Canada in 1976 on CBC.
Australia
Quincy, M.E. currently[when?] airs on the Seven Network's digital-only channel 7mate daily at 11 am and 3 am.
United Kingdom
The series was first broadcast nationally in the United Kingdom in 1977 on the
Japan
Quincy M.E. has aired on the TV Asahi network since 1979. Tsuneyuki Serizawa, who supervised the Japanese edition, was a friend of Thomas Noguchi.[citation needed] Doctor Detective Quincy was the Japanese title.
Germany
Thirteen episodes were first aired from 1981 through 1983 by the public broadcaster
Italy
The series appeared in Italy in the mid-1980s on the TV channel Italia 1. The first four episodes have never been dubbed into Italian; hence they have never been aired on TV, and can be found only (with subtitles) in DVDs. Moreover, many episodes were shortened to about 50 minutes for the Italian version.
References
- ^ "Marshall Houts, 74, Author and Lawyer". The New York Times. November 30, 1993. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
- ^ "Deaths: Marshall Houts". The Washington Post. November 29, 1993. Archived from the original (Fifth death notice on the page) on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ Hastings, Deborah (January 29, 1999). "Retiring 'coroner to stars' has no regrets". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ "Thomas Noguchi Biography". Who2. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ^ "Promises to Keep,” 1 March 1979
- ^ "Episode 329: Orphan Drugs". 99% Invisible. November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ Scheinberg, I. Herbert, and J.M. Walshe Orphan Diseases and Orphan Drugs pages 137–138
- ^ Jack Klugman Sues For Profits From 'Quincy M.E.'.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (May 28, 2010). "'Quincy' actor Eddie Garrett dies". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Rosin, James. Quincy M.E., The Television Series. BearManor Media. p. 76 – via Google Books.
- ^ Rosin p.87
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. – Is there an M.E. in the house? – With Artwork". Archived from the original on September 17, 2012.
- ^ Lambert, David (February 27, 2009). "Quincy M.E. – Long-Awaited 3rd Season DVD Set Gets Announced by Universal". tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. – Shout! Factory Picks Up the DVD Rights, Schedules a 'Season 4' Set". Archived from the original on September 9, 2012.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. DVD news: Announcement for Quincy, M.E. – Season 5". Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. DVD news: Announcement for Quincy, M.E. – Season 6". Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "Shout! Factory – Quincy, M.E.: Season Seven". Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. DVD news: Announcement for Quincy, M.E. – Season 7". Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E. DVD news: Announcement for Quincy, M.E. – The Final Season". Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
- ^ Quincy ME – Series 3 Archived March 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Quincy, M.E: Seasons 6-8". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Quincy, M.E: The Complete Series". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ "Quincy ME appears on TVGuide.co.uk – TV Guide UK TV Listings". Retrieved January 12, 2015.
External links
- Quincy, M.E. at IMDb