DIAGNOSIS MURDER (1992) *1/2 "Murder, She Wrote," but for old guys instead of old ladies. But not as good. Not because of Dick Van Dyke, he's absolutely great, wonderful, charming, charismatic...easily a match for Angela Lansbury. In fact, there'd be a fine show in their union, if not a romance! Nor is the problem that the actors, other than Dick, are pretty lousy, or that the story is less than enthralling what with it masterminding the most superficial evils of corporate America and steroid use. No, the problem is that the concept of a little old lady chasing down bad guys is more novel, even in this most particularly enlightened age, and that maybe writers are inherently more interesting than doctors. Not all writers and not all doctors obviously...or maybe that isn't even it at all. Maybe it's because we all have some negative association or another with doctors and hospitals. Whatever the case, ever since Ghostbusters I've been willing to think the worst whenever William Atherton shows his face. Whether that makes me a better or worse...ah, detective...than Van Dyke will have to stand aside for the moment. And Bill Bixby, why doesn't he just get mad and turn green and throw the Jeep Cherokee through a wall? There are obviously undeveloped potentialities, but even with that being the case I think they were right in shrinking the format to fit a tv slot.
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