Concerned about “Diagnosis Murder”…

… I have been watching as much as possible over the summer hols. Got into a nice gentle afternoon routine: Lunch, “Neighbours”, “Cash in the Attic”, “Diagnosis Murder”, followed by a short sleep. Have enjoyed watching the series with “Jack” (played by the gorgeous Scott Baio – who played Bugsy Malone some years back) – and was frankly, shocked when that series came to an end and launched straight into the series with “Jesse”. But I loved the re-cap at the beginning which, in no more than 30 seconds, explained where “Jack” had gone, who “Jesse” was, and, more to the point how come “Amanda” was suddenly married and pregnant! What it failed to mention was Barry Van Dyke’s close encounter with a bottle of bleach. We sat there, transfixed! We kept saying: “I don’t remember “Steve” being blond!” I have since found a photo of him with brown hair – thank goodness – and I can only assume it is some kind of mid-life crisis. That sort of thing messes with your head! We were beginning to doubt ourselves, wondering if “Mark” had a moustache the previous day!

Now I learn that Jack Klugman has been in a couple of episodes of Diagnosis Murder – (for those of you not into cheesy daytime crime drama, Jack Klugman was “Quincy ME”). This got me thinking – wouldn’t it be great if he played his Quincy character in Diagnosis Murder! Maybe Amanda could have a day off, or something, and Quincy could take her place! Quincy and Dr Sloan would be able to solve twice as many murders if they were working together! Wouldn’t that be brilliant!

I’ve always thought that this sort of thng would work brilliantly in UK soaps as well. If someone was ill in “Eastenders”, they could go to the hospital in “Casualty”; if they were robbed, they could see the ‘coppers’ from “The Bill”. If they needed a vet for Wellard, they could ask Rolf Harris… No, wait – that was real life – they would have to see James Herriot – which would be weird, because as well as a vet he was that boring doctor in “Doctors”. Perhaps they could see Robert Hardy instead. I have major problems with him – either he can’t act at all, and just plays himself – or he is an extremely accomplished actor who is forced to play every part in exactly the same way.

Now for a good actor, look no further than the gorgeous Christopher Plummer. The way he put on a pair of gloves to dance with Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music” was awesome – which, in a very roundabout way, brings me back to Dick Van Dyke.

Would it be a bad thing if I recorded Diagnosis Murder on the days I work?