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» » Quincy M.E. Ashes to Ashes (1976–1983)

Short summary

A young woman dies suddenly at a bar, and Quincy's autopsy shows her death was a result of a heart condition. However, Quincy doesn't believe the woman's husband is as devastated by her death as he should be, and becomes suspicious of his behavior. Further investigation leads him to the sister of a former wife, who also died before her time. The man is preparing to marry a third woman, and move to Brazil to avoid being extradited back to the US. Can Quincy find the true cause of death before the suspect leaves the country?

At the beginning the stock footage of the Golden Gate Bridge is the same used during the credits for the old TV show The Streets of San Francisco.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Maucage
    If you like to watch TV shows streamed from Netflix, then you might end up watching "Quincy". However, oddly, this particular episode, "Ashes to Ashes", is NOT among the shows that you can stream--it's somehow missing. I have no idea why, but to see it I had to request the discs for the show instead of watching them online or through my BluRay player.

    A woman in a bar collapses dead of an apparent heart attack. The autopsy seems to establish that was the cause of death, though, as usual, Quincy has his doubts. But he REALLY begins to question this death when a lady approaches him and says that her sister was married to the same man and she, too, died of a heart attack! The coincidence is too unusual and both go searching for evidence. And, they'd better work fast, as the 'grieving' widower has already lined up a new wife--and his wife's body is barely cold! This was a very good episode--and one that is probably based on a few similar stories from real life. The only thing I was a little dubious about was Quincy and the grieving sister falling for each other. She was a mega-hot lady and Quincy was a large-nosed, angry coroner! This, more than the murder, was much more difficult to believe!
  • comment
    • Author: Steamy Ibis
    Quincy M.E.: Ashes to Ashes starts as Marie Yagher (Judith Baldwin) suddenly drops down dead in a bar, she ends up on Los Angeles coroner Quincy's (Jack Klugman) autopsy table & he quickly discovers she died from cardiac arrest or to put it more simply a heart attack. Quincy is unsure why she died form a heart attack though, she was seemingly young, healthy & had no heart problems to that point. Then a woman named Tracy Boulder (Janice Lynde) confesses to Quincy her suspicions of Marie's husband Richard (John Fink) who was married to her sister Donna who also mysterious died from a sudden unexplained heart attack three years ago leaving him free to marry the rich Marie, Tracy is sure it was murder & as the evidence stacks up Quincy becomes convinced of it as well but can he prove it?

    Episode 17 from season 3 this Quincy murder mystery was directed by Herb Wallerstein & is an enjoyable enough entry into the series. Once again Quincy has go out on a limb as he puts his reputation on the line to catch a murderer & prove that there was even a murder in the first place, that brief outline sounds familiar because it is familiar as it's been used many time in the series but I must admit I never tire of it. The makers usually throw something different into the mix & try to vary the story lines, in this case Quincy manages to autopsy a pile of ashes to get to the truth! At the standard 50 minutes (without commercials) in length it moves along at a brisk pace & certainly entertained me but then I'm a fan of the show in general so maybe I'm biased. As usual there are one or two things which don't quite add up, for a start that dodgy Doctor Jones who lives in Mexico sure tells Quincy what he wants to know without much resistance doesn't he? You would have thought spilling the guts & dishing the dirt on your customers wouldn't be particularly good for business but this guy doesn't seem to care, what makes it worse as soon as Quincy leaves he phones Richard to tell him! Talk about a good way to lose customers, just grass them up to the authorities & implicate them in a murder! Does Doctor Jones actually want to go out of business? Then there's the scene when Lt. Monahan is waiting in Asten's office to tell Quincy just by chance that Richard is about to fly to Brazil, why would Monahan be monitoring Richard when he didn't even believe Quincy's story? Why waste valuable police time waiting for Quincy to come back to the lab to tell him information which might not mean anything?

    Competently made but unremarkable to look at this is standard Quincy stuff, there's a very racist & stereotypical studio bound set of a bar that is meant to be in Mexico. The acting is alright, as usual it's the regulars which carry it & as usual the guest cast aren't so hot with John Fink as Richard turning in a poor performance.

    Ashes to Ashes is a good solid Quincy murder mystery, sure there are a few silly moments in it but most of what makes the series so likable is here.
  • comment
    • Author: jorik
    Ashes to Ashes begins with an intoxicated woman at a piano bar collapsing and dying of a heart attack. Quincy (Jack Klugman) conducts the autopsy, and while it does affirm cardiac arrest as being the cause of death, he is suspicious as she was a young and otherwise healthy woman. Quincy tries to hold the body for further analysis, but her husband, Richard Yager (John Fink), adamantly opposes any further autopsy and Dr. Asten (John S. Ragin) sides with Yager releasing the body. Quincy's suspicions are further heightened when the sister of Yager's first wife approaches him and tells him that her sister died under the same mysterious circumstances. They begin investigating on their own and must do so quickly as Yager is already planning to elope with another wealthy young woman.

    This is a good Season 3 murder mystery episode which pretty is straight-forward and interesting. My only criticism is that the culprit is pretty obvious right from the beginning and the focus becomes more about the evidence gathering to bring down the guilty party rather than an investigation into multiple suspects.

    Other than that and Quincy's hooking up with the deceased woman's sister which was a bit creepy, this is quite an enjoyable and worthwhile Season 3 episode that I recommend viewing.
  • Episode cast overview, first billed only:
    Jack Klugman Jack Klugman - Dr. R. Quincy, M.E.
    Garry Walberg Garry Walberg - Lt. Frank Monahan
    John S. Ragin John S. Ragin - Dr. Robert Asten
    Val Bisoglio Val Bisoglio - Danny Tovo
    Robert Ito Robert Ito - Sam Fujiyama
    Joseph Roman Joseph Roman - Sgt. Brill
    John Fink John Fink - Richard Yager
    Janice Lynde Janice Lynde - Tracy Boulder
    Simone Griffeth Simone Griffeth - Cindy Allen
    Larry D. Mann Larry D. Mann - Dr. Jones
    Pitt Herbert Pitt Herbert - Dr. Gehringer
    Judith Baldwin Judith Baldwin - Marie Yager
    Mary Ann Gibson Mary Ann Gibson - Miss Becker
    William Larsen William Larsen - Board Chairman
    Eddie Garrett Eddie Garrett - Eddie
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