Point After Death

And love that title.

Robert I. Holt wrote this gripping episode, many others, boasting a long list of credits, including ADAM 12, THE ROOKIES, and BARETTA.

A pro football player is in the hot box, accused of murdering his girlfriend. Canadian actor Scott Hylands plays Joe, a possible victim of a post traumatic brain injury, suffered from his years in the game. Then again, he may have also partied TOO much. Pick your poison.

To make matters worse, he's receiving death threats from the girl's father, who is going to kill him one way or the other. Fairly potent stuff as Cannon races against the clock to find out what really happened -- and with a dynamic ending.

10 Stars.

Excellent supporting cast of familiar faces. Character actor Frank Marth is memorable as the colonel, perhaps one of the best roles of his career. Peggy McCay plays his wife, who worked with William Conrad at Warner Brothers/ABC TV. Later a regular on tv soap operas.

Richard Dysart plays Hartford, known for LA LAW. Antoinette Bower plays Karen, who reminded me a bit of exotic Barbara Steele, queen of British horror films. Directed by Chris Robinson, also an actor and appeared in over 200 episodes of GENERAL HOSPITAL. This shows the difference an inventive director makes. Robinson nails it.

Filmed at Bell Canyon Equestrian Center in Ventura County, chock full of hills and horses. The Canyon is also home of many Hollywood stars.

You will remember this one, if for the tense finale.

Outstanding. SEASON 5 Episode 23 remastered color CBS/Paramount dvd box set. Released 2016. 7 dvds. Collectors edition for fans.

The two prior episodes of "Cannon" were big disappointments. One ended up being the worst "Cannon" episode ever ("The Quasar Kill") and the next was also below average. So, it was gratifying to see "Point After Death"...an excellent episode which returned the series to form.

The episode is about a very young woman who was living the wild life in many, many ways. When she's murdered, her boyfriend (a pro football player named Joe) was too stoned to know what he'd done...though the police do not think he's a suspect. Her father, however, is judge, jury and soon...executioner! He knows the ball player is guilty...and he's going to make him pay. As for Cannon, he's looking for the killer...and hopefully he'll find them before the father does something he'll regret.

This episode was very modern in many ways. First, it actually talked about chronic traumatic encephalopathy--head injuries that result in brain damage in athletes and this was LONG before the recent discussion about it. Second, there is a lesbian relationship in the show...something you would NOT expect back in the 1970s on TV! Overall, very exciting and different!