Barnaby Jones (TV Series) Circle of Treachery (1977) User Reviews

The crooks were right to go after the horny young guy!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 28 July 2021]

When the show begins, a hired gun shoots one of the cops protecting Fritz, a witness in hiding from the mob. The police are able to shoot the killer and he turns out to be a junkie hired to kill Fritz...but by whom? As far as Fritz goes, however, he ran and now no one knows where he is. However, he does trust Barnaby and perhaps the great detective will be able to return the witness to police custody,

In the meantime, Jedediah meets a girl who instantly falls for his shtick. This means she either has low standards OR is working for a mobster who hopes they can get info about Fritz's whereabouts from Jedediah. After all, he seems like a smitten school boy and certainly is the weakest link. Will J. R. wise up or will he end up spilling the beans?

This was a decent episode. While Jedediah seemed kinda dopey at first, he eventually showed some adeptness as a private eye! Overall, interesting and worth seeing.

By the way, notice the scene at the hospital. That doctor sure seemed in a hurry to declare the guy dead. Perhaps the doc was late for a golf game.

THE MYSTERY LADY AND JR!

[tcchelsey · 9/10 · 21 February 2024]

Robert Sherman, also one of the producers for the series, put a touch of film noir in this episode, cleverly involving JR. Not a classic, but fairly entertaining, and for all us Mark Shera fans.

Barnaby and JR have to protect a mob informer (played by Tim O'Connor), a rather familiar story, but with a twist. The trick here is there's a woman in the middle of all this, who seems to like JR. Really? --Or does she want to know the whereabouts of O'Connor so the mob could nail him. What a crafty person. This is an early role for Tovah Feldshuh, who gained notoriety the same year this episode was filmed, co-starring in the tv movie, THE AMAZING HOWARD HUGHES, playing Katherine Hepburn.

Some top actors here, and I agree with the last reviewer, the star power gives it the feel of a COLUMBO episode. Alex Rocco, always the tough guy, plays Harry, Tim O'Connor makes another series appearance, looking desperate and check out his wardrobe. Van Williams plays Munson. Williams, who will always be remembered as the GREEN HORNET, was still quite popular on tv at the time, but gradually gave it all up to be a successsful businessman.

Tovah Feldshuh is still acting to this day, as of 2023, appearing in the tv mini series, COBENS SHELTER. Yes,there is a scene in the police station with Barnaby and a stenographer typing notes, but her fingers are not touching the keys! If you watch many cop shows, it's a familiar mistake... but you think Walter Grauman, a director known for detail, would have caught it. Hmmm?

The ending is quite clever, one you'd never expect, and with lots of stray horses to build tension.

A-plus episode, and to see JR really earn his stripes. SEASON 5 EPISODE 18 remastered CBS/Paramont dvd box set,

Possibly the worst of the series

[Doodaddy · 1/10 · 12 September 2023]

The last few episodes have been bad, but this one is really bad. Since J. R. came along, the writing has gotten worse just by trying to fit him into the script. Shera is not a good actor - plain and simple. And the shmoopy dialog between Betty and him is cringe worthy.

It's a shame Buddy Ebsen wanted to be less involved with the show, and it's understandable at his age at the time. But it feels like they just threw Shera in there as a last minute effort to accommodate Buddy.

The story is convoluted and more predictable than most of the episodes in the series. The phone booth scene where JR meets Laura was not believable, even for the 70's. Hoping the JR episodes gets better but I have my doubts.

Jr is terrible

[cvitale-53599 · 1/10 · 11 October 2022]

Jr needs to stop using his male enamoty to think he nearly blew the case. Barnaby should have sent him packing. Between he & Better both need to look for other employment. Being private decetatives is not for them. Both always ended up being more of a hassle then help. Overall a good series would be better without JR and Betty. We need to see more of Barnaby. Good writing and directing need more series like this in today's TV its a classic.season 2,which is way better then season 1. Lots of great guest stars and it almost feels a little bit like Columbo. I wasn't alive when all these great 70's shows were on TV,but thankfully I somehow discovered them. The creativity and acting is much better then what is on TV today, and because of that,i have invested in a lot of old series on DVD. Quincy ME, Columbo,The Rockford Files and Hart to Hart I own. Going to invest in Mcmillian and Wife,The Jeffersons and All in the Family next!!!!!!