Blood Lines

The other two reviews cover the bvasics of the plot, I won't repeat them here. I was kind of fascinated by some of the first and last connected with the episode. This was Priscilla Barnes first credited role. She plays the blonde who screams when Michael Narak dives to his death. At that same time she was the Penthouse Pet on the newsstands, although no one probably put the two together. That would change five years later when she was hired to replace Suzanne Somers on Three's Company, and Penthouse tried to republish her photos using her real name instead of the alias in the magazine (where she was presented as a British lass of means who like to travel the world). She sued to block it, which she won, but the publicity of the trial meant that everybody knew who "Joann Witty" really was. This was also an early role for unknown Robert Hays who plays the doomed son, the center of the story, but who had only a few lines before dying. (Some characters die without ever uttering a single word.) Just before he jumps to his death, a guy tries to talk him out of it. That guy is played by Leslie Moonves, who would give up acting (he never was much of a success at it) move into management and later become the head of CBS (the network that broadcast Cannon). There's some kind of connection there...

This would also be the last role ever for Nancy Kovack, who had married symphony conductor Zubin Mehta, and had apparently decided that it was a better life to be a New York society figure. It's a shame too, since she is absolutely radiant here, and now that she was 40, never more beautiful, much more so than she was in the '60s. There really is no other reason to watch this episode except for the moments she appears on camera. It's kind of interesting that no one mentions something fairly obvious, in that she is much older than her husband (Hays was 12 years younger than her). The Old Man, who blames her for his death, only seems to care that she is an actress and is only interested in her career, and never complains about the age difference. Even Cannon doesn't ask any questions about it. (Of course if the man is 12 years older than the woman then nobody cares about that...)

The other significant point here is the great big secret that no one openly says but may in fact be something that only Cannon knows about. For those who weren't around then, you couldn't really say the H word, as it was still rather taboo. (Interestingly, The Rockford Files would also have a similar story, where a mob boss couldn't accept that his son, who was supposed to take over the family business, was gay). Not long after this Cannon, the TV series SOAP would come around, and for the first time, have an openly gay character as part of the cast (played by a then unknown Billy Crystal). And so it goes...

One last point. Mob families are traditionally shown as Italian, but this is clearly a Greek family. Were they trying not to use the usual stereotypes, and figured why not use some a Greek family for a change? (Or could it have something to do with the then controversal marriage of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy to a Greek businessman twice her age?) I guess we'll never know....

In season five (the final season) of "Cannon", the detective seemed to take a lot of cases from unsavory people...quite a departure from the previous seasons. In one case ("Snapshot") everyone involved was awful...especially his client. Here in "Bloodlines", his client is essentially scum. It's odd, as before he had such high ideals....but here in the fifth season he's consorting with some wicked folks!

This episode begins with a young man (Robert Hays) deliberately jumps off a cliff in Acapulco to his death. His billionaire father insists that the young man was NOT suicidal and someone else is to blame. When Cannon cannot find anyone to blame, the man decides to make up a scapegoat. Why would the young man kill himself and why create a patsy?

I would love to tell you more about the reasons for the death...but it would give away too much of the plot. Suffice to say, it was pretty shocking for 1976! A very good episode and the final film or TV appearance by the lovely Nancy Kovacks, as she apparently retired to be the wife of the brilliant musician, Zubin Mehta. It's also among the last films of Robert Drivas, who died a decade later from AIDS...and he was only 50. Overall, a very good penultimate episode...one worth your time.

As we near the end of the series, you begin to see Cannon's temper really flair up. There's good reason when he gets mixed up with some deadly folks (the Greek mafia) attempting to prove a wealthy man's son did not commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.

As the last reviewer noted, there's also a taboo subject explored here, a credit to the series. It's believed the man's son was gay. In an interesting scene, Cannon goes through the young man's suitcase in Acapulco and finds a "controversial" paperback book. The show also dealt with gay themes in past seasons, way ahead of its time for 70s tv.

Credit Robert C. Dennis for writing the script, writer for Hitchcock's tv show and a colleague of William Conrad at Warner Brothers/ABC TV. METV Plus is now airing many of these classic cop shows on Sunday nights.

Fond farewell to Nancy Kovack, portraying Charlotte, a red herring in this one. She made this her very last role before changing careers and accompanying her conductor husband on a world tour. A dynamic actress, who reminded me of Beverly Garland at times. For all us cult tv fans, she's remembered for playing Queeny in BATMAN.

David Whorf directed, also behind STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO. He served as assistant director since the first season. Tito Vandis plays Sosa. A top performer, who could make you laugh out loud or do some serious dramatic work.

Footnote; Priscilla Barnes (THREES COMPANY) has a bit role, if you can spot her quickly (the blonde girl in the diving scene). Once again, proving the show opened the door for lots of new faces and new careers.

The ending comes as a surprise. Tito Vandis in one of his best tv roles. The finale between he and Cannon worthy of an Emmy nod, thanks to David Whorf. He passed in 2020.

SEASON 5 EPISODE 24. Feb 1976. Remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. 7 dvds. Final season collectors edition for all us fans from the beginning.

A young man deliberately jumps off a cliff in Acapulco to his death, but his billionaire father insists that his son didn't commit suicide, and that someone murdered him - but Cannon draws a blank in finding murder connection so the father decides to frame his late son's widow. The beautiful Nancy Kovack plays the widow in her last role, and acquits herself well in a well-made entry that is quite absorbing. The reason why the young man killed himself is quite a revelation, well for 1976.