Quincy Touch of Death (1976–1983) Online

Quincy M.E.: Touch of Death starts on the set of the 'new Bruce Lee' kung-fu film star Tad Kimura during the shooting of his latest picture, after a carefully staged martial arts fight sequence Kimura drops down dead. Los Angeles coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is called, the death of Kimura is more poignant & meaningful than usual as he was Sam's (Robert Ito) nephew. Initial examination suggests a heart attack while Lt. Monahan (Garry Walberg) finds a large bag of cocaine in Kimura's trailer, Quincy is unsure of the cause of death & has to perform an autopsy but Sam has followed traditional Japanese customs & taken Tad's body to his grieving father (Cho-Li Chi) who has forbidden an autopsy. Quincy is stuck in the middle, he doesn't want to hurt or upset anyone particularly Sam but he has to carry out an autopsy. Quincy insists & Sam resigns as once the autopsy is complete there are more questions than answers as usually people's liver don't just explode for no reason...

Episode 10 from season 3 this Quincy story was directed by Alexander Singer & is one of those infamous camp classic Quincy episodes which when viewed today has so many unintentionally funny moments it's hard to take seriously but does provide 50 minutes worth of inoffensive fun. Apparently this episode was inspired by the mysterious death surrounding the real life kung-fu mega-star Bruce Lee after taking a headache tablet a few years earlier & the similarities are obvious to say the least, like a lot of Quincy episodes there's a moral message to Touch of Death in that you must obey local customs & live in the future rather than the past, now that's the boring bit out of the way there's lots here to laugh along with & entertain. The masked ninja assassin who attacks Quincy & breaks his arm before Quincy fights him off with a wine bottle, the hilarious scene when the fat guy from Goldfinger (1964) breaks the bricks using the 'vibrating palm' technique & the scene at the end as when the killer is revealed they decides to jump out of an apartment block window to fall 100's of feet to their death below! They didn't even open the window first either. If that wasn't enough Quincy gets a new lab assistant when Sam quits & she's a good looking girl named Lilly who then quits herself a few days later which means Sam can be reinstated after changing his mind, it's amazing how things work out eh?

Touch of Death sees a few firsts in Quincy, we see the inside of Sam's apartment for the first (maybe only) time & not content with lab work during the day he has a mini lab set up in his living room, there's a martial arts fight straight out of a kung-fu flick & Quincy is attacked by a ninja assassin which I also believe was the first time this happened. The cheesy happy comedy ending is also much better than usual, after working with Lilly it turns out her coffee is terrible so as a leaving/marriage present Quincy & the boy's buy her a coffee maker! You get the irony? Pure comedy genius! There's no other words for it. The cast are alright here with a surprise appearance by Harold Sakata of the man with the razor brimmed bowler hat Oddjob from the James Bond flick Goldfinger fame, he's dubbed here in the most awful way possible & sounds ridiculous.

Touch of Death isn't a great Quincy episode, the murder mystery isn't that great & the moral message is rather outdated but there are some truly classic so bad it's funny moments & while not as hilarious as the infamous Next Stop, Nowhere (1982) from season eight this is still pretty entertaining to watch.

Touch of Death begins at a Hollywood studio during the filming of a martial arts movie where the lead, Tad Kamura (Frank Michael Liu), suddenly collapses and dies after completing a scene. The body is later transported to the coroner lab where Quincy (Jack Klugman) is scheduled to perform the autopsy. As he is about to do so, he finds out that Sam (Robert Ito), who was also Tad's cousin, sent the body back to the family per Buddhist tradition. Quincy maintains that an autopsy is necessary to determine if the young and otherwise healthy Tad died of natural causes and gets Sam and the family to agree to a non-invasive evaluation. This proves to be inconclusive, so Quincy proceeds with a full autopsy which uncovers evidence that Tad was in fact killed. As a result of Quincy going against the wishes of the family and defying ancient Japanese custom, Sam promptly quits his job.

I found this to be an interesting and enjoyable episode for several reasons. First off, Sam is given a much bigger role than usual and we never see him stand up to Quincy like he does here. Although his character is a man of science, when that world suddenly collides with his deeply rooted religious and cultural beliefs this sets him up for facing a compelling dilemma. While Sam and Quincy enjoy a great working relationship and friendship throughout the series, it completely breaks down in this episode with some powerful scenes that make it quite unique.

Another positive is that there is a murder mystery featured along with several suspects. Part of the plot is based on or inspired by the death of the iconic Bruce Lee, but to me there was enough original content thrown in so that it doesn't feel like a total copycat. I also found there to be a good balance of action and drama in this episode unlike other Season 3 entries which feature too much of one or the other. You will see some familiar faces among the guest stars, including a very young Joanna Kerns of Growing Pains fame as Quincy's temporary assistant.

The only criticisms I have of this episode is that the guilty party makes a very convenient confession at the end and the motive for the murder is a pretty flimsy one. These elements cause it to lose a point from me, but otherwise I would characterize this as a good, entertaining episode which is well worth watching.

Many years ago, when "Quincy" aired in its original run, I hated "Touch of Death" and thought among the worst shows in the series. Now, decades later, I feel pretty much the same way--plus am irritated by how irresponsible the show was as well.

The show begins on a movie set. Some martial arts movie is being filmed when suddenly the lead keels over...dead! At first, folks assume the action star had a heart attack but Quincy, like always, wants to investigate further. The problem is that the dead man's father is NOT going to consent to the autopsy, as he's a Buddhist priest and thinks this will violate their religious beliefs. But, being a case where Quincy can order the autopsy anyway, he does this. However, to complicate things, the dead man is Sam's cousin--and family pressures result in him going on a leave of absence. So, Quince is forced to use a new assistant (a very young and adorable Joanna Kerns).

So far in the show, this plot only mildly irritated me, as it was obviously meant to cash in on the recent and mysterious death of Bruce Lee. But, when a bizarre (and AMAZINGLY STUPID) theory about this being a murder, the show goes way off the deep end. First, the theory was just plain dumb--really dumb. Second, the murderer admitted to the killing even though there was no evidence they did it (you'd call this a Perry Mason moment)!!! Third, this show served to add fuel to irresponsible speculation about Lee--a man whose death, though strange, has been thoroughly investigated and explained. Overall, irresponsible and stupid. If you don't believe me, at one point, Quincy is actually attacked by a ninja--a ninja in Los Angeles!!!! A definite low-point in the series.

The only thing I liked in this one? When Quincy goes to Monahan with his crazy theory and Monahan says, in essence, that most of Quincy's crazy theories pan out--so he'll investigate without arguing--the first time this ever happened on the show!