"Diagnosis Murder" (1993) TV series 1993-2001

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Creator:

Joyce Burditt

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Release Date:

29 October 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Plot:

Dr. Mark Sloan is a doctor at Community General Hospital, and he is a consultant for the police department...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Doctor | Hospital | Los Angeles | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Dick Van Dyke	...	Dr. Mark Sloan / ... (178 episodes, 1993-2001)
Barry Van Dyke	...	Detective Steve Sloan / ... (178 episodes, 1993-2001)
Victoria Rowell	...	Amanda Bentley-Livingston / ... (176 episodes, 1993-2001)
Charlie Schlatter	...	Dr. Jesse Travis / ... (137 episodes, 1995-2001)
Michael Tucci	...	Norman Briggs (83 episodes, 1993-1997)

Also Known As:

Äèàãíîç: óáèéñòâî (Russia) [ru]
Diagnóstico aseninato (Spain) [es]
Diagnoosi: murha (Finland) [fi]
Diagnose - Mord (Germany) [de]
Diagnose - Mord (Norway) [no]
Diagnostic: meurtre (France) [fr]
Dr. Mark Sloan (Japan: English title) [en]
Mordmysterier (Denmark) [da]
Mort suspecte (France) (new title) [fr]
Un detective in corsia (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

60 min (178 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | Netherlands:6 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Dean Hargrove Productions

Trivia:

The character of Doctor Mark Sloan was first seen in an episode of "Jake and the Fatman" (1987).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Lone Gunmen: Diagnosis: Jimmy (#1.9)" (2001)

The most underrated 'whodunit' series

I remember seeing the pre-series TV-movie "Diagnosis of Murder" in 1992, but I didn't watch the Diagnosis Murder TV series until the fall of 1997 (as it was starting its fifth season), when Robert Stack made a guest appearance in the episode "Open and Shut." After that, I didn't watch the show again until January of 1998. That was when I finally started watching it on a regular basis.

Considering the fact that Diagnosis Murder mainly appeals to senior audiences, I joke at the idea of being one of the few twentysomethings who watches it. Nonetheless, it is entertaining. In addition, I consider it to be the most underrated 'whodunit' series, and one of the most underrated TV shows in general.

However, the show's most common error is that many murder victims are declared dead literally seconds after they collapse. In other words, there is little that is done to try and revive them. But that isn't always the case. Sometimes, our heroes make some effort to save them until it becomes impossible to do so.

One interesting piece of trivia is that Diagnosis Murder, which has been on for eight years, has outlasted Dick Van Dyke's other show (The Dick Van Dyke Show), which lasted an impressive five years.

With son Barry Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan's son Steve comes a major advantage: if Barry "mistakenly" calls his father dad while playing their respective roles, then they at least know that it's not a mistake at all. Get it?