Elegy for a Cop

I looked @ all the cast & credits & I must say...I didn't see any credits for Stunts.

I can't believe the actors...especially David Janssen...rode those motorcycles. Someone had to be listed for stunts.

I luv Harry O & tape every episode.

However...I think this episode was WAY over the top for Janssen.

I think it was silly & VERY out of character.

I think it was a very bad way to end Henry Darrow out of the show. It was sooooo fast and pointless.

They could have had a combo episode of Trench replacing him and him moving to another area or maybe being killed helping Harry on a case.

It was just so bad & silly.

Makes little sense with the rehashed crap from the even worse pilot.

In fact, this whole series is just mind bendingly confusing, incoherent and inconsistent.

Many of the secondary characters have their dialog based on gibberish.

After the move to LA, it gets even more bizarre and the wise-cracking new lieutenant is just gratingly irritating.

He moves into a condo, in LA... but a few episodes later he is back in his beach house, along with the boat, again. Did he have it all moved from San Diego? A total lack of continuity.

Plus the weird manner in which an old guy seemingly manages to pull a string of girls barely old enough to be his grand daughters. 16-19 year olds apparently loved greying old dudes back then.

I feel like I'm watching an "acid-trip" detective series... maybe that is what is actually meant to represent?

Ya, Harry needed a shot of booze in this one. 10 Stars. Tribute to Henry Darrow who passed in 2021.

To this day, all us kids could never understand why Manny's character was killed off. Talk about a shocker. Likely a ratings ploy, due to the fact the show only hit #46 in the Top 50 Neilsen count, while most other cops shows; HAWAII FIVE O, MANNIX, CANNON etc were in the Top 20.

Manny has a drug addicted niece (played by Kathleen Lloyd), who he tracks down to a flop house hotel. You know something BAD is coming... He's set up, shot and killed, and what's even worse, made to look like a crooked cop. Out and outrageous, and it takes Harry to come to the aid of an old comrade. Indeed.

I agree, the story slants distinctly noir, beautifully directed, Harry's from the heart narration a gem. Should have been a Emmy winner. Sal Mineo portrays the villain we love to hate, and can't wait for Harry to nail him. Sal, at the time, played quite a few camp baddies. Kathleen Lloyd not too long after this episode went onto appear in the cult film, THE CAR. Later seen on MAGNUM, PI. Veteran actress Carmen Zapata plays Mrs. Reynosa. She was knighted by King Juan Carlos of Spain in 1990.

Neighbor Sue (Farrah Fawcett) sure was needed as a good friend to Harry in this tragedy. Why we loved her. And as for that bottle of tequila... Bottoms Up.

Lightning bolt script by show creator Harold Rodman, who also wrote for ROUTE 66 and NAKED CITY. Also the cult film, CHARLEY VARRICK.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 26 remastered Warner Brothers dvd box set. Great David Janssen cover for all us fans.

Elegy for a Cop begins with the somber voice of Harry: "My friend Manny Quinlan called in sick, took the day off, and came north to Los Angeles on family business." There's a lot of Harry's narration in this episode, more so than in others, and it's another example of great first person narrative. The incomparable David Janssen is just pitch perfect when he voices Harry's thoughts.

Manny is ambushed in a run-down apartment building. His death scene is done so well. Henry Darrow played it perfectly, not over-the-top. After paying his respects at the gravesite, Harry goes to a bar and buys a bottle of tequila, writing "Manny Quinlan" on the label, and tells the bartender not to open it yet.

The middle section of the episode sags a bit. The interplay between Harry and Lt. Trench is great as usual. But Sal Mineo playing the bad guy and Kathy Lloyd as Manny's drug-addicted niece were less interesting.

This episode ends with an absolutely wonderful, really touching scene where Harry goes back into the bar alone and finally opens the bottle of tequila that he had purchased earlier. Harry is both sentimental and a realist. And we see this in the perfectly written ending. He had talked about private grief. And several of his voice-overs had begun with "my friend Manny." But in the end when the bartender asks about the bottle of tequila, Harry's response is, "Nobody lives forever." Although Harry is at heart a caring romantic, he's also a world-weary former cop who knows human nature and has experienced the disappointments of reality.

This episode should have been excellent. Unfortunately, they used a significant amount of material from the shows pilot.

This reduces the quality of the whole story.

A great story that's totally wasted.

Manny deserved a better send off than this.

Things start well when original material is used but it descends into farce when they start to rehash and reuse so much film from the pilot.

The pilot wasn't best story or introduction to Harry O. It was laboured. Therefore the material in this episode is obviously laboured.

Why couldn't they resist the Temptations to save money and give Manny a send off he deserved?