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BARNABY JONES: BLOOD VENGEANCE {SEASON FIVE PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

One in this detective drama series about the cases of the elderly and astute private investigator Barnaby Jones. Barnaby is contacted by his cousin Monroe, a Chicago police officer, who has just flown into town following a lead on the man suspected of killing his partner years ago. Barnaby insists on having Monroe stay with him during his time in Los Angeles and goes out to the airport to pick him up. Monroe is approached in front of the airport by Tony Ridder, his contact, who insists that they get out of the open; they are being spied upon by a mysterious individual. Tony tells Monroe that he believes he’s being followed by the man Monroe sent him to follow; the mysterious assailant appears and shoots Monroe with a silenced pistol. Tony manages to escape unharmed, but Monroe dies, and Barnaby arrives to identify the body. Jedediah “J.R.” Jones, Monroe’s son and a law school graduate, arrives to confront Barnaby over his father’s death. He is furious over the matter and is determined to bring his father’s murderer to justice, demanding that Barnaby do something about it. Barnaby is already at work analyzing police files pertaining to Monroe’s partner’s death. He offers to help Barnaby solve the case, and he, Barnaby, and Betty go out for lunch together. Tony nervously calls his brother Ritchie and asks him to meet him. Ritchie is followed by the man who murdered Monroe. Barnaby, Betty, and J.R. discuss the situation, including Walter Cahill, the man who killed Monroe’s partner and who stole a case of extremely valuable diamonds. J.R. notes that Mornoe always felt responsible for his partner’s death and spent his remaining years trying to hunt down Cahill long after the police dropped the case. Tony was a minor criminal who used to have ties to Cahill, and called Monroe to tell him that he saw Cahill in Los Angeles, offering his help in exchange for helping with his parole situation. Ritchie meets Tony, and Tony tells him about the incident at the airport and asks for money so that he can get out of town. Cahill spies on them from across the street and prepares to kill them both. Cahill misses his shot and Tony and Ritchie flee down the sidewalk, barely escaping with their lives. Barnaby and J.R. consult with Sue Ellen, an informant, who tells them about Ritchie’s presence in Los Angeles and his job as a plumber. Betty looks up Ritchie in the local plumber’s union to get a lead on him. Unbeknownst to them, Cahill has assumed a new identity, Tom Brenner, and has married Lois, the daughter of the owner of a major corporation, granting him a cushy office job. Tony calls Cahill, accusing him of attempting to kill him, and tries to blackmail him to prevent him from turning him in to the police. Cahill agrees to Tony’s request for $15,000 so that he can leave the country, and Tony gives him two hours to come up with the payment. Tony calls Ritchie to tell him about this latest development, inviting him to come down to Mexico with him. However, Ritchie is suspicious of the whole thing and turns down Tony’s offer. Barnaby and J.R. find Ritchie, but he runs when they call after him. J.R. chases him through a construction yard until Barnaby explains his presence to Ritchie, who tells them about Tony’s plan. They set off to intercept Tony before he can meet with Cahill. Cahill arrives at the meeting place, a shopping center, where Tony holds him at gunpoint. Tony instructs him to drop the package containing the money and leave. However, the package turns out to be a bomb, which explodes and kills Tony just as Barnaby and J.R. arrive. They talk to Ritchie about his death and learn that Tony spent the previous night at Ritchie’s place. Barnaby discovers a list of phone numbers in a trash bin, which indicate the number Tony called to get in contact with Cahill. They call the number and find that it belongs to the Martinson Building Supply Company, which has an office near where Tony was killed and specializes in explosives. They investigate the place to see if Cahill works there, but the secretary on duty does not recognize their mug shot of Cahill and says no one is working there by that name. They go to check personnel records, and Cahill learns of their presence in the office. Their search leads them to Lois, who believes that “Tom” is originally from Miami and is not the man they are looking for. She claims that she does not recognize Cahill’s mug shot either. She becomes upset by their questions and asks them to leave. Cahill calls her just after they depart and she tells him about their line of questioning. Lois realizes that the mug shot is Cahill, but lied to protect him. He asks her to meet him at a local marina, and there he reveals the truth about his identity to her. He claims that he has changed from the man he once was; although she is somewhat disturbed by the revelation of his criminal record she says she still loves him and wants to leave town with him, although he muses that there is “another way” to resolve the situation. Betty checks over “Thomas Brenner’s” records and finds evidence supporting the theory that he and Walter Cahill are one and the same. They cannot reach Cahill and Barnaby goes back to the Martinson building in search of him. Betty and J.R. eventually get in contact with Lois, who tells them that Cahill is looking into buying property in Santa Barbara. J.R. takes Barnaby’s gun, intending to track down Cahill and kill him despite Betty’s attempts to convince him otherwise. She informs Barnaby of J.R.’s decision, and J.R. finds Cahill hiding on the grounds of a mansion for sale in Santa Barbara. Cahill holds J.R. at gunpoint, and J.R. notes that he and Barnaby have informed his father-in-law of his true identity. They get into a struggle and Barnaby arrives just as Cahill is about to shoot J.R. Cahill fires upon Barnaby, who shoots Cahill in self-defense, thus saving J.R. J.R. thanks Barnaby for saving him, and remarks that Barnaby’s more slow-paced investigatory style has its merits. J.R. decides that he wants to stay in Los Angeles to assist Barnaby while continuing to study for his bar exam, and Barnaby agrees. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: CBS
  • DATE: October 7, 1976 10:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:46:04
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:15570
  • GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
  • SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1973-1980
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Russell Stoneham … Supervising Producer
  • Philip Saltzman … Producer
  • Robert Sherman … Associate Producer
  • Walter Grauman … Director
  • Edward Hume … Developed by
  • Dick Nelson … Writer
  • Duane Tatro … Music by
  • Jerry Goldsmith … Theme Music by
  • Buddy Ebsen … Cast, Barnaby Jones
  • Lee Merriwether … Cast, Betty Jones
  • Mark Shera … Cast, Jedediah "J.R." Jones
  • James Olson … Cast, Walter Cahill/Tom Brenner
  • Steven Keats … Cast, Tony Ridder
  • Gregory Harrison … Cast, Ritchie Ridder
  • Christine Belford … Cast, Lois Brenner
  • John Carter … Cast, Lt. Biddle
  • Kelly Thordsen … Cast, Monroe Jones
  • Suzanne Zenor … Cast, Sue Ellen
  • Susan Petrie … Cast, Receptionist
  • William Bronder … Cast, Foreman