Diagnosis Murder: The House on Sycamore Street

Anodyne nonsense from the tap-dancing - and in this episode, rapping, doctor sleuth.

Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) has to unravel a mystery when he deduces that an old plastic surgeon friend didn't commit suicide by jumping off a building. No, even though he was under pressure and in debt, leading the ever short-sighted Steve (Barry Van Dyke) to the easy deduction of an accident, it's Mark's knack of sleuthing that gets them involved in a murder investigation.

Fans of the Diagnosis Murder series will want to catch this pilot, with Cynthia Gibb and Steven Caffrey in the roles taken up by Victoria Rowell and Scott Baio, but newcomers will wonder what the fuss is about.

If you search through the sea of countless dark Diagnosis Murder episodes to find the gems that involve Dick Van Dyke rollerskating through the halls, bantering with his son, and fitting in a little bit of soft-shoe, then you will enjoy this! It has so many fun lighthearted moments, from (slight spoilers) when he is accidentally mistaken as being the deliverer of a singing telegram, to an invisble-man-like ensemble.

As one of the other reviewers for this episode mentioned, there are a couple of creepy things scattered throughout, but it is done in almost a tongue in cheek sort of a way. Everything that appears to be somewhat on the creepy side at first, is flipped on its head almost. The foggy, spooky House on Sycamore Street for one. But I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers.

The mystery of course was well done, with many twists and turns about. The ending was satisfying, and fit well with the theme.

Though not as charming as the first feature-length Diagnosis Murder flick, The House on Sycamore Street wasn't really meant to be charming. Aired in May, I would have thought it was a Halloween special. With spooky meetings, jump-scares, and a creepy plastic surgery racket, there are far less jokes and cute moments in this one. Dick Van Dyke still roller-skates and sings, but prepare to be a little creeped out when you watch this one.

What else should you expect with David Warner as the guest star? It's Jack the Ripper! But don't jump to immediate conclusions. Is Warner really the villain, or is George Hamilton or Ron White? That's the fun part about seeing famous guest stars: you can always be reassured that the regular cast members aren't the bad guys. This isn't the best introduction to the series, but if you've already seen some episodes or tv movies, you'll really enjoy it.