Quincy M.E. (TV Series) Snake Eyes (1977) User Reviews

A very good and timely two-part episode.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 4 March 2013]

Quincy is a lot like Jessica Fletcher from "Murder She Wrote" because whenever either goes on a vacation, you KNOW that something horrible is going to happen!! Bodies pop up right and left whenever either of them or folks like Charlie Chan are trying to take a break from their jobs--which never seems to happen! Heck, for the good of mankind, all these folks should work 24/7 and never take a vacation!! In the case of "Snake Eyes" (parts 1 and 2), Quincy takes his first regular girlfriend of the series (Lynette Mettey) on their second attempted vacation (the previous one to Catalina Island ended in death, of course). This time it's to go to a conference and do some gambling in Lake Tahoe--with guest Buddy Hackett on hand for a bit of color as, what else, a standup comic, and Van Johnson (who needed a haircut) as the resort manager.

The show begins with a lounge singer becoming sick while she's performing. Soon, guest of the resort also become sick. The manager is worried--but he's more worried about his resort getting a bad reputation. So, at first, they are slow to respond to the growing crisis. Eventually, they get three pathologists at the conference to help them with the epidemic--and soon several of these victims die! What could it be? There's a worry that it COULD be the dreaded Legionnaire's Disease (here called 'Legion Fever').

This episode is pretty timely, as only a year earlier Legionnaire's was first seen--and by 1977 they STILL weren't exactly sure what caused this to occur. It's also well written, very interesting and among the best shows of the series so far. Episode 1 ends with panic beginning to grip the resort's guests--see part two to find out exactly what occurs next.

Entertaining and educational

[rayoflite24 · 8/10 · 28 July 2015]

Snake Eyes Part 1 begins with Quincy (Jack Klugman) attending a Pathologists Convention at a hotel and casino in Lake Tahoe where numerous guests and staff suddenly become very ill at the same time. Quincy, a couple of other pathologists attending the convention and the resident doctor of the resort are brought in to treat the ailing patients. They quickly suspect Legion Fever (aka Legionnaire's Disease) and Quincy does his best to keep a lid on the outbreak in order to prevent hysteria and people fleeing while they try to identify the cause and who else might be affected. The manager of the resort (Van Johnson) is happy to oblige as he does not want this to turn into a public relations nightmare that will negatively impact business.

I'm usually not a fan of the go on a trip and low and behold there's a murder type episodes of the series, but this one is pretty compelling as the audience does not know whether this outbreak was of a natural origin or the result of criminal activity. There are some good guest stars featured and Lynette Mettey returns again as Quincy's girlfriend, Lee, which is nice to see.

Highlighting this disease as a plot was very timely in early 1977 as the famous outbreak at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia which several people died as a result of had just occurred the summer before. This is a testament to the willingness of the series to tackle real diseases and issues in their plot lines in a responsible way that helped to educate the audience as well as entertain.

Top quality classic Quincy.

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 24 October 2007]

Quincy M.E.: Snake Eyes: Part 1 is set in Las Vegas where LA coroner Quincy (Jack Klugman) is attending & pathologist convention, all goes well & once it's over he settles down to enjoy the rest of his stay there with his woman friend Lee (Lynette Mettey). However Quincy's enjoyment is rudely interrupted when he gets a call from the assistant manager of the hotel he is staying in, it turns out that there is some sort of disease sweeping through the hotel & dozens of guests are infected. Quincy does his best to help but people start to die, the hotel manager Al Ringerman (Val Johnson) wants it kept quiet to avoid bad publicity while Quincy wants it kept quiet so the other guests don't panic leave the hotel & spread a potentially fatal disease across America so they come to a compromise. Can Quincy discover the cause & find a cure while there's still people left alive to save?

Episode 1 from season 2 this Quincy story was directed by Joel Oliansky & is a terrific way to kick off the second season. A two part story this first part is classic Quincy, as usual whenever he is on holiday or trying to enjoy himself away from the lab a medical emergency occurs & he has to deal with it as well as contend with the usual bureaucracy & uncooperative officials who only look out for themselves. This is also a departure from the murder mystery stories that littered the first season proving the show could tackle a wide variety of issues & story lines. What I like about this one is that it's not political or one of those horrible episodes with a moral & gives Quincy a good mystery to solve, a race against time & some dead bodies as well. It moves along at a nice pace, the character's are good & even at this point you feel like you've known Quincy all your life. There is also a subplot about a gangster gambling all his money away in a casino & a stand-up comedian who spouts some really bad jokes.

This one looks alright, it does look dated at times & some of those hair-dos & suits are just plain frightening. The acting is good from all involved & Danny gets a bigger role than usual in this one. One of the few episodes not to feature either Lt. Monahan, Sgt. Brill, Sam or Dr. Asten.

Snake Eyes: Part 1 is a great Quincy episode & sets things up nicely for Part 2, a must for fans & I'm sure a wider audience would enjoy this too. Perfect afternoon viewing.

A good first regular episode of Quincy...

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 28 January 2024]

... with the previous episodes actually being TV mystery movies, which is also how Columbo started out.

Quincy is attending a forensic pathologists' convention in Las Vegas when a singer collapses from a strange illness at the hotel where he and the other conventioneers are staying. This is followed by more than a dozen other people collapsing of the same illness, the only thing in common being that they are guests at the hotel/casino. The owner doesn't want this news released to the public because it will destroy his business and make him vulnerable to the mob which wants a piece of his hotel.

Quincy agrees to keep things quiet if possible only because he does not want a panic among the guests and have them scatter. He comes up with a way to keep new guests from checking in and from preventing the current guests from checking out without a cursory medical exam. This latter goal leads to a couple of humorous encounters with understandably suspicious young women who think Quincy is some kind of masher.

While Quincy and the other forensic pathologists set up a make-shift clinic in some of the rooms upstairs, a sweaty and nervous middle aged man seems to be deliberately losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the casino. Are either of these things related ? Watch and find out in part two. Note that the "Legionnaires Fever" that the doctors keep referring to was what they called the outbreak of a serious and mysterious illness at a Legionnaires' convention in Philadelphia in 1976 where the patients seemed to have nothing in common other than where they were staying. At the time, people were afraid that the illness would spread to the general public.

This first regular episode of Quincy shifted its focus from celebrity cases, as was the case in the movies, to the situations of more average people. Also, I find the relationship between Quincy and his Toni Tenille look-alike girlfriend, Lee, to continue to seem forced. They call each other "honey" in the most cringeworthy and disingenuous manner. Especially after Quincy has made a point of telling Lee in no uncertain terms that she is Miss Right Now, not Miss Right.

Snake Eyes - Pt 1

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 5 December 2019]

Quincy is attending a Pathologists Convention at a hotel and casino resort in Lake Tahoe.

In the same resort the lounge singer suddenly feels unwell, later the guests start to fall ill. The resident hotel doctor is unsure as to what is happening. The casino owner wants to keep things hushed up and avoid negative publicity.

Quincy and a few other pathologists are called into action to treat the ill guests who are multiplying. When one of them die, they hold an impromptu autopsy and suspect Legionnaires Disease.

This is a first of a two part episode. It is also the start of the proper series of Quincy. The first season were movie length mysteries.

It is a topical episode for the time. As Legionnaires Disease, was new. It is called Legion Fever here after an outbreak in Philadelphia a year earlier. This is referenced in the episode. Dr Asten rings Quincy and tells him of proposed budget cuts. This might be reversed if Quincy can treat the hotel guests effectively.

However Danny Tovo who is travelling with Quincy has a theory of foul play. There is a gangster playing Blackjack and losing badly. He is in the casino for some business.

An enjoyable episode, it does have a few laughs. Buddy Hackett plays a nightclub comic. However the threat of an epidemic and ensuing panic makes for a dramatic ending.

Utter and total drivel. This story is so bad its bad

[kindofblue-78221 · 1/10 · 7 October 2021]

Let's be clear, Quincy is utter and total trash. Every episode is completely implausible as Quincy takes on a world of disbelieving bureaucrats and incompetent detectives.

Quincy is omniscient as he always know more than experts in fields he knows nothing about.

So why do I watch it?

Because its so bad its good.

But, yes there's the inevitable but, this episode is so bad its bad.

This episode has a hotel with a convention of guess what. Pathologists.

There's guests dropping like flies with legionnaires and what do the pathologists and god do.

Do they call it in and bring in the emergency services?

Does the usually idealistic Quincy go straight to the disease control services?

No. He does nothing.

You've got a hotel with a fully functioning autopsy suite and morgue. You've got a hotel with operating theatres.

This episode is unrealistic even by Quincy standards.

There are guests at the hotel dying like the proverbial flies and the greatest pathologists do absolutely nothing to bring in emergency services.

Can I please give this episode a minus rating.

Part 1 and 2 review

[xbatgirl-30029 · 5/10 · 21 March 2022]

I watched both parts as one movie so am reviewing them together. As another reviewer points out, the plot in Part 1 is too unrealistic from the very start to get into right away. Multiple people fall critically ill all at once and the hotel owner refuses to allow ambulances to be called because of how it might look. The little infirmary that would normally treat the occasional headache or upset stomach, becomes a fully outfitted ER, complete with an OR/autopsy room in the back. The hotel doctor seemingly throws his Hippocratic oath out the window with little trouble and agrees the keep the patients captive and deny them the better care they would get at a hospital. What's worse is soon after that, all the other doctors, including Quincy, agree this is a perfectly fine plan because they don't want people to panic.

Quincy, the egomaniac, immediately assumes he knows how best to lead the situation and takes charge, even though managing an active outbreak of live patients, crowds, and possible contagion has nothing to do with his specialty. There's no reason he wouldn't be valuable at the hospital in searching for the cause, but ultimately I'm sure the producers didn't want to pay for another set and more extras.

What should have been resolved, but never was, is did the hotel doctor know he'd be told to keep the sick people out of the hospital? He suggested calling an ambulance right away. Did he think they wouldn't get as seriously ill if they went to the hospital as expected? It would make him less evil if he assumed the latter.

There are strong overtones of various disaster movies that were popular at the time this was made. Most of the guests continue to party, blithely unaware of outbreak, or later on ignoring it. Unfortunately we get a now obligatory scene where Quincy argues with his inept, bureaucratic boss. Luckily, he's terrible at keeping a secret, the outbreak is revealed, and we can finally move past the stupidity of Part 1, including the farcical scene where Quincy demands to examine two stewardesses.

One big improvement here over season one, Quincy's girlfriend is pretty much an afterthought. There's none of her whining every five minutes that he's not spending enough time with her. If she's going to stay with him, she's gotta let him do his job and not constantly complain or be jealous.

As others point out, Part 2 gets much better as things go along and the focus goes to what the mob might be up to. We also get more about the hotel doctor who Quincy thinks is wasting his talent. We finally get to some of the most interesting scenes of the show. That actor, who is always Morgan Harris from Anne of Green Gables to me, has great presence and adds positive energy to this mess. Same with Joanne Phlug in a tiny part as his cheating wife. She was always a favorite of mine. I love their scene in the bathroom where she realizes she's taken him for granted. It just shows how adding a little acting talent can add so much to a bad script. I can't say the same about super annoying Buddy Hackett.

I'd give a higher rating than 5/10 to Part 2 but I can't ignore the insanity of Part 1.