Cry for Help begins with an upset teenage girl (Megan Wyss) phoning her father (Richard Gautier) at work, but he is too busy to speak which makes her even more depressed. Later that day, she is found dead along a roadside and Quincy (Jack Klugman) conducts the autopsy. The police initially suspect that her boyfriend Joby (Thom Bray) may have killed her, but Quincy believes she committed suicide and enlists the help of his girlfriend, Dr. Emily Hanover (Anita Gillette), to conduct a psychological autopsy which will help determine her mental state. When the results point to suicide, it exonerates Joby but further problems arise as he is believed to be suicidal as well.
This is a pretty sad story addressing teen suicide and while it may not be an uplifting or entertaining episode, you have to give the Quincy writers and production team credit for tackling such a complex and difficult problem. I thought they did a decent job of educating the audience on the warning signs, the treatment available to those suffering and delivering the important message that there is always hope and a way to turn things around for the better. The final scenes pack quite an emotional whallop, so you might need to keep Kleenex handy.
Although it may be lacking in a crime or a mystery, overall this is an OK Season 8 episode which addresses a significant problem that still exists in our society today and does so in a competent manner.