Some of the Diagnosis Murder episodes and television movies were on the lighter side, but the 2002 feature-length Town Without Pity is extremely heavy. It was made after the regular series ended, and there aren't any scenes that take place in the familiar (or any) hospital. Dick Van Dyke gets a frantic voicemail from his daughter, and afterwards, he and his son track her to her last known whereabouts and begin asking questions. But in the small town "without pity", no one wants to answer his questions, and it seems fairly obvious they'd rather him leave than find his daughter.
The only lighter bit in the movie is the "family affair" element. Barry Van Dyke is in the film, of course, but so are siblings Carey and Stacey. But since Stacey plays the missing sister, is that really light, or does it add an even heavier atmosphere? If you like the usual charming tone of the series (even though they always involve a murder), you might not like this one. There's also a heavy element of racial prejudice thrown in following the 2001 attacks, and some perilous situations that make you wonder whether or not our beloved Dr. Sloan will make it out alive. It wasn't my favorite of the tv movies, but I appreciated what went into it.
