Barnaby Jones (TV Series) Dark Legacy (1974) User Reviews

Such a nice, loving older couple.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 10 July 2021]

When the episode begins, a couple happy newlyweds (Nick Nolte and Barbara Stanger) meet a nice older couple (David Wayne and Eileen Heckart) on the beach. They talk a bit and exchange pleasantries and then the newlyweds leave. But the husband returns soon after, looking for a pipe he thought he dropped. However, the older couple stole the pipe...and did it to lure him there. Soon, they bash him over the head...killing him!

While it appeared to be a death by accident, the wife hires Barnaby to investigate. During this investigation, another young guy is killed by the same couple....and you wonder WHY....why kill these people? They don't rob them...so that wouldn't explain it. Why???

This is one of the better episodes with some very interesting characters (the older couple are adorable murderers) and an interesting plot. The ending is odd, however, as I kept thinking Buddy Ebsen or the evil couple would hurt themselves while climbing among the rocks on the beach! Well worth seeing.

Most delightful Indeed

[Diosprometheus · 10/10 · 18 October 2019]

If I had to see only one episode of Barney Jones this would be the one. What a great cast it had behind the excellent story of an elderly couple who apparently are psychotic serial killers who enjoy killing young people, only to have a surprise dropped into the story and find that is not what they are doing at all. A young and handsome Nick Nolte, Lost in Space's Mark Goddard, veteran actors David Wayne and Eileen Heckart and the under-rated and ubiquitous Paul Fix. who appeared in almost everything from the earliest John Wayne movies to playing the recurring prosecutor Jonathan Hale on Perry Mason all are a joy and treat to watch.

A special mention should go to the delightful Barbara Stanger, who looked very much like Doby Gillis's Tuesday Weld, for her performance in the resolution of this twisted drama. Buddy Ebsen, who gained stardom late in his career playing Jed Clampett on the very funny Beverly Hillbillies, again comes through with a stellar performance tracking down and solving the murders. Most excellent indeed.

ALL WE WANT IS YOUR MONEY, AND YOU DEAD!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 14 March 2023]

One of the few dark comedies slash mysteries for Barnaby to solve. There is no other way to explain it. This episode is a gem.

Robert Lenski wrote it, and must have had a lot of fun in the process. He also wrote for MANNIX and CANNON, without too much surprise. This is comparable to a HAWAII FIVE O episode, all the way. They don't make killers any more bizarre than this.

Two genuinely unforgettable actors. Eileen Heckart and David Wayne play the Lennoxes, a homicidal couple ( loving smiles?) who are murdering young people. They are also watching their own money in the process, sort of an inside joke.

The catch is a long, long line to a fortune due them, IF they kill the remaining Barringer family heirs. The way they kill their victims is also as sneaky as it is clever. It's fascinating to watch.

Barbara Stenger plays Marilyn, who hires Barnaby after her new husband is the first to be killed. Also co-starring young Nick Nolte and Mark Goddard, from LOST IN SPACE. Goddard was a very good actor and was featured in many Quinn Martin productions.

If you are a western fan, watch for gray-haired Paul Fix, as the family patriarch, best remembered from THE RIFLEMAN tv show.

Note, the dialogue steals the show. I expected Barnaby to do a double take when he met these maniacs. If you are a true series fan, you may remember a similar type couple (Jacqueline Scott and Michael Strong) in a SEASON 6 episode, titled "Uninvited Peril," who were just as desperate, only their son was the killer. Watch for it.

A textbook whodunit if there ever was one. Filmed partly at Malibu. SEASON 2 EPISODE 21 remastered color CBS dvd box set.

David Wayne makes this episode sing

[aramis-112-804880 · 24 May 2024]

Two older people are bopping younger folk over the head with an iron pipe, but not robbing them. What are they up to? It takes a long time for the plot to unfold, but David Wayne's big bopper is so amusing no one can care.

Quite an old pro, Wayne (who would in a few years be the dad on the "Ellery Queen" show) turns in an amusing performance. It's too bad the whole episode didn't take a comedic route. But on "Barnaby Jones" murder, however played for a smile, is a serious business.

Keep an eye out for Mark Goddard from "Lost in Space." I just added that to get six hundred characters. Oh, Buddy Ebsen Is in it, too, but he's a spoilsport.