DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Diagnosis Murder - The Second Season

By Jeff Swindoll Jul 17, 2007, 14:19 GMT

Dick Van Dyke returns to the small screen in a show that your Granny wants to see as a double feature with Matlock. However, snarky I may sound it’s always great to see Van Dyke do his thing.

What the back of the box says:
“Treat yourself to a second dose of Diagnosis Murder, starring multiple Emmy®-winner Dick Van Dyke (Night at the Museum) as Dr. Mark Sloane, the inquisitive physician with a knack fir direction, In addition to his duties as Chief of Internal Medicine at L.A.'s Community General Hospital, Dr. Sloan is a consultant for the police department. Aided by his prodigy Dr. Jack Stewart (Scott Baio, Happy Days, Charles in Charge), pathologist Amanda Bently (Victoria Rowell (The Young & the Restless) and his son, Homicide Detective Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke, Airwolf), Dr. Sloan won't rest until the bad guys are put to bed - permanently! A light-hearted potion of twists and tourniquets, incisions and intrigue, this collectible six-disc set of Diagnosis Murder™: Season Two is just the right mix for every fan of medicine and mystery.”Disc 1:
Many Happy Returns: Dr. Sloan’s patience is taxed to the limit when he is audited by the IRS.
A Very Fatal Funeral: Several members of a charity are murdered and Community General’s administrator is the prime suspect.
Women Trouble: A love triangle is suspected when a wealthy patient fails to keep an appointment.
The Busy Body: Dr. Sloan spends his birthday in hot pursuit of a restless cadaver. Disc 2:
My Four Husbands: A celebrity friend of Dr. Sloan’s becomes a suspect when one of her ex-husbands is killed.
Murder Most Vial: Community General falls under a cloud of suspicion after the death of a media mogul who threatened to sue the hospital.
You Can Call Me Johnson: Dr. Sloan becomes a target when Jack’s “godfather” dies after surgery.
Georgia on my Mind: The cryptic last words of a murdered private detective are the only clue to his death. *The back of the back has a notation that this episode has been edited from its original network version by a few minutes. No doubt because of music rights. Disc 3:
The Last Laugh (Part 1): There’s nothing funny about the death of a plastic surgeon who may have been murdered by his wife.
The Last Laugh (Part 2): Dr. Sloan is not amused when he learns that he has been duped during the investigation of his colleague’s death.
Death by Extermination: Dr. Sloan’s sister gets more than she bargained for when she buys a new home.
Standing Eight Count: A boxer goes down for the count – permanently – after winning a championship bout. Disc 4:
The Bela Lugosi Blues: Loss of blood appears to be the cause of death in the murders of two eligible bachelors.
The New Healers: The script of a TV show filming on location at Community General did not include the untimely demise of its leading man.
Call Me Incontestable: Dr. Sloan has his doubts when clients of a dating service apparently take their own lives.
A Blast from the Past: When a killer is paroled from prison, he seeks revenge on the father of the man who put him there.Disc 5:
Playing for Keeps: The members of a women’s volleyball team seem curiously unaffected when one of their teammates turn up dead.
Sea No Evil: Dr. Sloan comes to the aid of a lifeguard after a swimmer drowns on his watch.
How to Murder Your Lawyer: Law school turns deadly when Steve’s professor is almost run down in the parking lot. Disc 6:
Naked Babes: Amanda goes undercover at an adoption agency to locate a missing friend and her quadruplets.
Death in the Daytime: Stars of the Young and the Restless (Eric Braeden, Lauralee Bell and Melody Scott Thomas) appear as themselves after a series of mishaps occur on the set of their show.
My Baby is Out of the World: The wife of a rock star takes things to a whole new dimension when her husband is murdered. When you get down to it, one of the reasons I enjoyed Night at the Museum so much was the presence of Dick Van Dyke (in a change of role for him), Mickey Rooney, and Bill Cobb. Van Dyke is a television icon and it’s always good to see him on the small screen again. He assembles a fine cast to carry out his detective work/doctoring. Small screen veteran Scott Baio is all charm as Dr. Stewart, Delores Hall is a good foil for Van Dyke as his sassy nurse, and he even finds employment for his son Barry playing his son Steve (talk about typecasting). The mysteries aren’t very complicated but Van Dyke and cast are charmers as they work their way through them. Diagnosis Murder is presented in fullscreen as they were originally aired on television. Sadly, there are no special features. An interview or commentary with Van Dyke (either of them) or Scott Baio would’ve been most welcome. Especially Baio since his character wouldn’t make the season three retooling. Not to mention that the dreaded “some music has been changed for this home entertainment version” is present on each of the cases. Diagnosis Murder isn’t too hard to figure out, but it is great to see Dick Van Dyke on the case again. Diagnosis Murder - The Second Season is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.