Deadly Arena begins with a man running a concession stand at a sports stadium dumping spoiled chili in a utility sink while the water is turned off, and somehow the bacteria seeps into the pipes of a nearby water fountain. When three otherwise healthy people suddenly die of neurological problems and poisoning, botulism is determined as the cause and the only common link is that they were all at the sports stadium. Quincy (Jack Klugman) works with a health department official (Diana Muldaur) to try and identify the source of the botulism in the huge stadium to prevent more deaths and must do so before an upcoming soccer championship tournament which is expected to bring in over 90,000 people.
Although there is no crime and very little mystery to this episode as we see what the source of the contamination is right in the beginning, I still found it to be pretty interesting and entertaining. It kind of reminded me of some of the race against time Hawaii Five-O styled episodes where they are tracking down a lethal drug or such which poses a serious danger to anyone who comes into contact with it. I also found the argument over whether or not to still have the championship in the stadium or cancel it to be a reasonable one. We all know how passionate and crazy people get in this country over big sporting events, and given how profitable they are I could totally see the organizers fighting against public health officials in this type of situation.
Overall this is a reasonably good Season 5 episode which does not feature a crime or mystery but does manage to entertain.