The Killin' Cousin

Another crummy spinoff attempt. There's no bigger than a B Jones fan than me, but even I couldn't handle the week storyline, and the lousy plot line. These "spinoff attempts" get tiring after a while, for it is obvious within the first five minutes that none of them have the magic that made winning TV shows succeed.

And it shows a lot of lazy writing that every storyline has to revolve around a friend, relative, or accidental acquaintance of Betty or JR. Seven seasons of the show and Barnabee is constantly "testifying in court" during the final season, instead of out solving crimes in his signature, and very entertaining, style.

Worth watching simply because it is the final episode. But very disappointing.

"The Killin' Cousin" is the final episode of "Barnaby Jones" and while I love binging old TV shows, I was thrilled to finally be at the end of "Barnaby Jones". Now it isn't because I totally hated the series. Heck, the first four seasons were exceptional. But starting in season five, the average episode had less and less Buddy Ebsen. Additionally, the writers were incredibly lazy and wrote dozens of episodes where Betty's friends and family were killed, did the killings or were accused of killings. It got to the point when I found myself laughing when such plots unfolded because it had become such a cliche....and, sadly, "The Killin' Cousin" is yet another Betty's family/friends in trouble episode!

When the episode begins, one of Betty's cousin is found dead. It's made to look like suicide but it's murder. Now, instead of having Barnaby and Jedediah investigate, it's obvious this episode is at least the third attempt at a spin-off series (all of which failed and where not approved by the networks). In this case, Kenneth Mars and Thomas Havens play father-son investigators. And, the trail soon leads to a roller disco!! What follows is really dumb...at best. How dumb? Mars keeps changing costumes every few minutes to be undercover...and he's about as convincing as a four year-old who is trying to play dress-up!

The bottom line in that although this is the last "Barnaby Jones" episode, it's really NOT as Barnaby and Jedediah are barely in it and it's just another failed bad spin-off series. A huge disappointment...and at times, cringeworthy (as my wife described this one). A huge insult to the fans to end the show this way, that's for sure.

A good story, but a missed opportunity. All us kids back then remember this final episode, and were surprised Barnaby had a smaller role. It would have been a fitting end to the show to have Barnaby in one last big case, perhaps even a two part episode.

Still, Betty gets caught up in an interesting whodunit, and what makes it flow is Kenneth Mars, a master of characters, some heroes, some villains. It all starts with the death of Betty's cousin, and the mention of family money, which immediately brings Mars into the case as brash William Tarkington, the Fourth. Doesn't that remind you of Thurston Howell the Third on Gilligan's Island?

Tarkington believes Betty is a cold blooded killer out for the cash. It's all money, and with a dash of dark comedy because she's such a kind person.

Mars has fun with this over the top role, and it shows. He was voice actor for many cartoon series, like THE PINK PANTHER, later known for MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE.

Good support from veteran actress Lurene Tuttle (Emily)and Mark Goddard (LOST IN SPACE) as Roger.

Script supervisor Norman Jolley wrote the story, but again it's a shame Barnaby didn't jump into the case full time. Buddy Ebsen did return in MATT HOUSTON in the 80s, playing the detective's uncle for a few years. As this series closed, producer Quinn Martin wanted to re-boot CANNON, producing a two hour tv film, "The Return of Frank Cannon." However, a new generation of cop shows was coming in the 80s. Thankfully, there are reruns.

SEASON 8 EPISODE 22, remastered color. CBS/Paramount dvd box set released 2018. Thanks to METV for running the entire series, some of these later episodes not seen for decades.

I enjoy watching old tv series from my childhood so I was happy to stumble upon Barnaby Jones. A show of which I had little recollection besides the main characters. It was a mostly decent series, typical of 70s tv detectives. I got a good laugh from some of the silly plots but it was all in good fun. Many shows don't get an opportunity for a farewell episode. I can't imagine that after 8 seasons they were surprised the show was ending. So this finale was a bit of a let down. The last several seasons it seemed like the writers just phoned it in. I understand from some of the other reviews that Buddy Ebsen wanted a lesser role as time passed, but Betty's never ending line of troubled relatives and friends was over done. The two bumbling detectives in this episode were cringey and the story was predictable.

The show deserved a better ending.