This is not really that bad of an episode, if you remember it back in the day. Producer Quinn Martin was obviously trying to attract a younger audience, and to a degree, he succeeded with episodes like this. We all used to talk about this stuff in high school.
The star attraction is pretty Robin Mattson, who also became a soap opera celeb. It's worth a look just to see her, and a good actress. Mann Rubin wrote this episode, and actually put Robin in a soaper type situation. She plays a young woman called Shelly who is saddled with a mother who has mental problems. To add to her unpredictable life, she's involved in an accident, is accused of murder and claims Barnaby is her father. That's three the hard way!
Actually, what surprises me after all these years, is that a story involving Barnaby and someone claiming to be his long lost daughter or son did not come sooner. It's a clever storyline, however Barnaby is absolutely no relation to Shelly. Good support from Inga Swenson (who passed in 2023), best known for BENSON. Swenson was a master at dialects, but was born in Nebraska.
Popular actor and producer Darrell Fetty plays Tom.
By the way, in case you are keeping notes, Robin Mattson appeared for years on GENERAL HOSPITAL, SANTA BARBARA and ALL MY CHILDREN.
Dedicated to all us fans rooting for poor Barnaby.
SEASON 7 EPISODE 4 remastered color/CBS.