# Diagnosis: Murder season 5

Diagnosis: Murder's fifth season originally aired Thursdays at 9:00–10:00 pm (EST). The season includes the 100th episode of the series. This is the first season of the show that didn’t feature Michael Tucci in his role as Chief Hospital Administrator Norman Briggs.
The season was released on DVD in two parts and as a whole by Visual Entertainment, Inc. When the split season was released, the episode of Obsession Part 2 wasn't included. The scene where Mark meets Rob Petrie at the radio station is absent in the single releases but was included in the complete collection set.

## Cast

* Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan
* Victoria Rowell as Dr. Amanda Bentley
* Charlie Schlatter as Dr. Jesse Travis
* Barry Van Dyke as Steve Sloan

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 86 | 1 | "Murder Blues" | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | September 18, 1997 (1997-09-18) | 13.96 |
| The investigation of a councilman's wife's murder uncovers a possible conspiracy within the police department. Keen eyed viewers will spot the fact that all the guest stars in this episode are actors who previously starred in classic US TV Cop shows. Fred Dryer was in Hunter, James Darren was in T.J. Hooker, Angie Dickinson was in Police Woman, and Martin Milner and Kent McCord were in Adam-12. McCord also starred alongside Barry Van Dyke in Galactica 1980, the short-lived continuation of the original Battlestar Galactica. Guest Stars: Fred Dryer, Kent McCord, and Martin Milner. Murderer: Councilman Watson (James Darren) and Captain Cynthia Pike (Angie Dickinson) |||||||
| 87 | 2 | "Open and Shut" | Christopher Hibler | Jacquelyn Blain | September 25, 1997 (1997-09-25) | 15.11 |
| A judge's son, David, also a judge, has been having an affair with Allison Porter (Marisa Coughlan), the daughter of a media mogul, since she was 13. On her 18th birthday she announces to David that she is going public, saying "I'm an adult now, and you're not married, so there is no need for secrecy", whereupon he drowns her in the bathtub. Guest Stars: Carol Huston, James Read, and Robert Stack. Murderers: David and Peter McReynolds (Robert Stack) |||||||
| 88 | 3 | "Malibu Fire" | Christian I. Nyby II | Story by : Gerry Conway Teleplay by : Gerry Conway & Wayne Berwick | October 2, 1997 (1997-10-02) | 13.86 |
| In the hills above Malibu, what appears to be a protest over a new housing development, leads to a major fire incident. At news of the fire, Community General swings into action. Steve Sloan, in his role as a local volunteer firefighter, is present when the body of an antagonistic ecologist (who had a long list of enemies) is discovered. While investigating, Steve is attacked and left unconscious in the path of the oncoming inferno. Guest Stars: Robert Fuller, Randolph Mantooth, Brian Patrick Clarke, and Richard Gross. Murderer: Sally Tremont |||||||
| 89 | 4 | "Deadly Games" | Christopher Hibler | Jeff Peters | October 9, 1997 (1997-10-09) | 12.86 |
| In this intricately plotted episode, we start with one, Larry Dobbs. Larry isn't exactly one of life's big winners. His main interest appears to be a fantasy of a romantic relationship between himself and Victoria Larkin – one of the world's richest women. Larry is overjoyed by the fact that he has received an invitation to attend a benefactor's reception for Victoria. On the day of the reception, Larry's less than sophisticated appearance and manner, immediately attract suspicion. In his unbridled impatience to meet his great 'love', Victoria, Larry lunges towards her. In the ensuing confusion, Victoria's head of security, Frank Waldeck, uses a switchblade to stab Victoria and immediately blames the attack on the supremely confused Larry, who flees. Waldeck pursues Larry. When he realizes that Larry has got away, Waldeck then proceeds to stab himself with the very same switchblade he had used moments earlier on Victoria. And all of this happens before the title sequence! We know Waldeck is a ruthless manipulator from the start, but his true agenda unfolds only gradually during the course of the episode. Waldeck sees himself as a chillingly cool strategist and he proves to be a resourceful and formidable foe for Dr. Mark and the gang. Of course, being Diagnosis Murder, we still get a generous dollop of humour. This involves Mark's encounters with the enhanced security measures put in place at Community General by the U.S. Marshals Service, for their prisoner Bentley Crocker, “the most hated Felon in North America”. Guest Stars: Michael Beck, Jack Kehler, Victoria Tennant, Patricia Charbonneau Murderer: Frank Waldeck |||||||
| 90 | 5 | "Slam-Dunk Dead" | Vincent McEveety | Story by : Larry Brody Teleplay by : Larry Brody and Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | October 16, 1997 (1997-10-16) | 13.86 |
| Jesse faces being fired and losing his State license because he is blamed for the death of a professional basketball star who took a lethal mixture of medications. Guest Stars: Dan Gilvezan (plays Kent Beaudine), Mark Taylor, Pooh Richardson, Malik Sealy, and Brent Barry. Murderer: Dwayne (Courtney Gains) |||||||
| 91 | 6 | "Looks Can Kill" | Christopher Hibler | Craig Tepper | October 23, 1997 (1997-10-23) | 15.03 |
| A seemingly healthy model, Julia Brush (Signy Coleman), drops dead, and her condition may be related to the extensive plastic surgery procedures she had undergone. The clinic that did her work comes under investigation. Guest Stars: Shelley Hack, Anthony Michael Hall, Neil Roberts, Jill Whelan Murderer: Dr. Richard Johnson |||||||
| 92 | 7 | "Fatal Impact (Part I)" | Christian I. Nyby II | David Bennett Carren & J. Larry Carroll | October 30, 1997 (1997-10-30) | 14.93 |
| Doctors Mark Sloan and Amanda Bentley participate in the investigation of an airliner's deadly crash. Guest Stars: Harry J. Lennix (plays F.B.I. Agent Ron Wagner) and Steven Anderson. Continuity: notice that in the bedroom scene between Dr. Amanda and Special Agent Wagner, Victoria Rowell (Dr. Amanda) has a completely different hairstyle than she does in the rest of the episode! Murderer: To be revealed in part 2. |||||||
| 93 | 8 | "Fatal Impact (Part II)" | Christian I. Nyby II | Jacquelyn Blain | October 30, 1997 (1997-10-30) | 14.93 |
| Amanda's new boyfriend Special Agent Ron Wagner, declares he's taking over the investigation of the plane-crash and its hijack and smuggled Russian nuclear fuel rods for the FBI, but soon realizes he couldn't make anything like the necessary progress without the ingenious doctors trio and Steve. They team up for the investigation which becomes desperately urgent as there are indications that the nuclear material is to be used for a bomb likely to be used to cause an LA Apocalypse by surprising, personally vindictive suspect Diane, the spokesperson of the bereaved. |||||||
| 94 | 9 | "Must Kill TV" | Christopher Hibler | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | November 6, 1997 (1997-11-06) | 15.45 |
| A TV executive's death from a second heart attack leads Sloan to uncover the fact that her nitroglycerin tablets had been replaced by sugar pills. Guest stars: Michele Greene, Jaleel White, John Aniston, Erik Estrada, Peter Graves (plays himself doing a Pilot of Doctor Danger as Dr. Mark Sloane), Jane Seymour, Fred Willard, Stephen J. Cannell (plays Jackson Burley), Reginald VelJohnson, Doug E. Doug, Tom Gallop (plays Phil Zarkin), and Dr. Joyce Brothers. Barry van Dyke delivers a wonderfully deadpan 'Airwolf' reference while in conversation with Stephen J Cannell's TV producer character (Barry van Dyke starred as St. John Hawke in the final season of 'Airwolf'). Murderer: Harry Fellows (Fred Willard) |||||||
| 95 | 10 | "Discards" | Christian I. Nyby II | J. Larry Carroll & David Bennett Carren | November 13, 1997 (1997-11-13) | 16.07 |
| Jesse gets involved in a deadly web of international intrigue when he discovers his father is a real-life secret agent. Guest stars: Robert Culp (plays Dane Travis, Jesse's Father), Barbara Bain (plays Cinnamon Carter, the same character she played on the Mission Impossible TV Series), Robert Vaughn, Phil Morris, and Patrick Macnee. This episode is worth watching for the impressive location used as Cinnamon's home. Murderer: Jim Kesler |||||||
| 96 | 11 | "A Mime Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" | Christopher Hibler | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | November 20, 1997 (1997-11-20) | 15.05 |
| In this comedy episode, Rachel York stars as an attractive in-your-face polymath who finds a murdered mime in her bed. She will do anything to solve the murder, including stealing Steve's badge and calling herself Lieutenant Stevie Sloane. In the end, Mark and Steve agree that "She is really something!" This is a great comic episode, with some great comic lines. Guest Star: Ken Kercheval. Murderer: Chelsea Drew (Kim Lankford) |||||||
| 97 | 12 | "Down and Dirty Dead" | Ron Satlof | Barry Van Dyke | December 11, 1997 (1997-12-11) | 14.87 |
| An extreme motocross daredevil's fatal crash during the filming of a lucrative video production, turns out to be sabotage. Guest Stars: Carey Van Dyke, and Shane Van Dyke. Murderer: Kyle Lewis |||||||
| 98 | 13 | "Retribution: Part 1" | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | January 8, 1998 (1998-01-08) | 13.89 |
| The night before his crucial testimony in the trial of a drugs kingpin, Steve is seriously wounded in an attempted hit. Mark confronts the mobster and threatens him in front of multiple witnesses. When the crime lord is then murdered with the use of a sophisticated binary poison, Dr. Sloan becomes the prime suspect and is put on trial for murder. Guest Stars: Susan Gibney (who plays Tanis Archer), Fred Dryer (plays Police Chief Masters), Dennis Lipscomb, Jack Carter, and Connie Blankenship (who plays A.D.A. Sharon Ellison). Murderer: To be revealed in part 2. |||||||
| 99 | 14 | "Retribution: Part 2" | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | January 15, 1998 (1998-01-15) | 15.98 |
| Four months after the events of the previous episode, a distraught Mark is still on death row and is being tormented by an old adversary whose crime Mark was instrumental in uncovering years earlier. Steve is recovering from his wounds but the vicious mob war that started in the previous episode, shows no signs of abating. Steve and ADA Sharon Elison race to find out who framed Mark and finally end the mob war. Guest Stars: Susan Gibney, Fred Dryer, Dennis Lipscomb, James Stephens, Neal McDonough, and Robb Skyler. Murderers: Malcolm Trainor and Ian Trainor |||||||
| 100 | 15 | "Drill for Death" | Ron Satlof | Robin Madden | January 22, 1998 (1998-01-22) | 15.58 |
| During an emergency drill at Community General the nursing administrator and an artist patient are murdered. Halfway through the episode a subway tunnel collapses and they have a real emergency on top of the drill. This 100th episode of the show features multiple guests stars from the original Robert Altman movie 'M*A*S*H' and the TV show 'M*A*S*H'. Guest stars: Kim Little[incorrect link] (plays Nurse Susan Hilliard, Jesse's Girlfriend), Sally Kellerman, Elliott Gould, Loretta Swit, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, and Christopher Norris. Murderer: Adele Botsford |||||||
| 101 | 16 | "Rain of Terror" | Christian I. Nyby II | Craig Tepper | January 29, 1998 (1998-01-29) | 14.42 |
| On a wet and stormy night in Topanga Canyon the widow and daughter of an old friend of Mark's are anticipating their upcoming dinner party when violence suddenly erupts. When dinner guests Mark and Amanda arrive at the isolated house amidst the growing thunderstorm, they quickly suspect that all is not as it should be. Guest Stars: John O'Hurley, Phina Oruche, and Adrienne Barbeau. Murderers: Amy Sanderson (Ele Keats) and Dana Neal (Andy Shreeman) |||||||
| 102 | 17 | "Baby Boom" | Vincent McEveety | Jacquelyn Blain | February 5, 1998 (1998-02-05) | 13.20 |
| A man wearing a suicide vest, holds a child-birth class, along with Dr. Amanda, hostage. He claims that one of the expectant women used his sperm without permission. There are a lot of comic moments in this episode, but they don't quite land given that the jeopardy of the situation is generated by a man who is wearing a suicide vest and threatening to use it to blow up a group of expectant mothers! Guest Star: Sam McMurray Murderer: Nurse Perky |||||||
| 103 | 18 | "Talked to Death" | Christian I. Nyby II | Joyce Burditt | February 26, 1998 (1998-02-26) | 15.25 |
| A pair of talk-show hosts pull a February sweeps ratings stunt that ends with one killing the other. Guest Stars: Phyllis Diller, Army Archerd, Mary Frann, Kathie Lee Gifford, Regis Philbin, Ian Ogilvy, Greg Lauren, and Tod Susman. Murderers: Larry Duggin, Tom Grant & Lucy Caruso |||||||
| 104 | 19 | "An Education in Murder" | Frank Thackery | Story by : Jacquelyn Blain and D. O'Brien & Paul Rendle Teleplay by : Jacquelyn Blain | March 5, 1998 (1998-03-05) | 14.99 |
| Mark is teaching a genetics class at Norrington Hall a highly competitive private prep school. A homicidally manipulative social butterfly plots multiple deaths for those who don't share her idea of returning 'favours'. Guest Star: Kim Little (Nurse Susan Hilliard) Murderer: Noelle Andrew |||||||
| 105 | 20 | "Murder at the Finish Line" | Christopher Hibler | J. Larry Carroll & David Bennett Carren | March 26, 1998 (1998-03-26) | 13.76 |
| Sloan investigates a speedway crash that (apparently) killed a stock-car racer. He soon discover that he may have died before the race even started. Guest Stars: Marina Sirtis (voiced Demona in Disney's Gargoyles) and Tommy Kendall as himself Murderer: Mary Ann Eagin |||||||
| 106 | 21 | "First Do No Harm" | Vincent McEveety | Ernest Kinoy | April 16, 1998 (1998-04-16) | 14.62 |
| This powerful episode tackles the potentially life-threatening consequences of HMO influence within the modern-day American health care system. A young girl dies in the ER due to delays involving a HMO's bureaucratic regulations. Another patient doesn't receive tests (due to cost) and is later found to have colon cancer which has spread. Dr. Mark Sloan delivers a remarkable 'J'accuse' of the prevailing accountancy-led health strategy. Guest Stars: Alan Oppenheimer, Jason Schombing, Richard Fancy (plays Harold Lomax the new Administrator at Community General Hospital), Neil Dickson, Nancy Youngblut (plays Nurse Nancy Rush), and Davenia McFadden (plays Betty Pearson). Murderer: None of the parties involved were found to be liable. |||||||
| 107 | 22 | "Promises to Keep" | Christian I. Nyby II | David Bennett Carren & J. Larry Carroll | April 23, 1998 (1998-04-23) | 14.95 |
| Disgraced ex-cop Ryan Matthews and his daughter, arrive in Los Angeles to identify a female murder victim believed to be Ryan's ex-wife, but it's not her. Little does the hospital know that Ryan is being threatened by a con artist who holds Ryan's wife responsible for the loss of the proceeds of an earlier con. When Community General is scammed and Ryan is the obvious suspect, Dr. Mark Sloan hatches a plan to con the conman. Note: This episode concludes a story that begins on Promised Land in "Total Security". Guest stars: Troy Evans, Gary Graham, and Christopher John Fields. Murderer: Eddie Ward |||||||
| 108 | 23 | "Food Fight" | Ron Satlof | Jacquelyn Blain | April 30, 1998 (1998-04-30) | 13.09 |
| Jesse volunteers to select the caterer for the important Benefactor's Ball when a murder is committed. Little does he realise just how ruthlessly competitive it can get. Guest Stars: Kim Little (plays Nurse Susan Hilliard), Pat Morita, David L. Lander, Leslie Easterbrook, Conrad Janis, Erin Moran, and Don Most. Murderer: Emerson Horn |||||||
| 109 | 24 | "Obsession: Part 1" | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | May 7, 1998 (1998-05-07) | 13.43 |
| Dr. Mark Sloan is convinced that the Sunny View Bomber, a serial bomber he helped convict of murder, is guilty even when there's another bombing after the man's execution takes place. This new bombing bears key hallmarks of the Sunny View Bomber's idiosyncratic technique – including details that were never released to the press. Is there a copycat? Or was an innocent man identified by Dr. Sloan and tragically killed by lethal injection? 1990's trivia: Dr. Jesse makes a remark about the prosecutors in the notorious O.J. Simpson murder trial – a case that was clearly still part of the zeitgeist several years after Simpson's controversial acquittal. Guest stars: Harry J. Lennix (plays F.B.I. Agent Ron Wagner), Orson Bean (plays Lewis Sweeney, the son of Reagen Sweeney, and father of Carter and Caitlin Sweeney), Arye Gross (plays Carter Sweeney), Stephanie Niznik (plays Caitlin Sweeney), and Dennis Boutsikaris (plays D.A. Neil Burnside). Murderer: To be revealed in part 2. |||||||
| 110 | 25 | "Obsession: Part 2" | Christian I. Nyby II | Lee Goldberg & William Rabkin | May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) | 12.03 |
| Three months after the events in the previous episode, an unemployed Mark, Jesse and Steve together with Amanda and FBI Special Agent Ron Wagner, go on a very unauthorized investigation into the apparently random bombings in Los Angeles. But even when the case appears satisfactorily solved, is it really? Guest Stars: Harry J. Lennix (plays F.B.I. Agent Ron Wagner), Arye Gross (plays Carter Sweeney), Stephanie Niznik (plays Caitlin Sweeney), Jasper Armstrong Marsalis (plays Amanda's child C.J.), and Dennis Boutsikaris (plays D.A. Neil Burnside). The first two episodes of the next season, with the same writers, Resurrection Parts I and II, continue these episodes with Carter Sweeney and his sister Caitlin. Also, one of the writers, Lee Goldberg has written a book: Diagnosis Murder #8: The Last Word, which is the last book in his series, in which Carter Sweeney appears again, coming up for an appeal. Murderers: Carter Sweeney and Caitlin Sweeney. Accessory to murder: Sharon Ellison, ADA. |||||||