User Reviews

Bradford Dillman plays a man who is like an evil chameleon. He has pretended to be all sorts of professional people and married rich, pretty ladies...and periodically he'd disappear and start all over again.

When the story begins, he's about to get married...and one of his other wives shows up! Since he's a complete sociopath, he kills her and goes on his merry way. Sometime later, one of his colleagues starts to suspect 'Dr. Kohlmeyer' is a fraud....so he kills this colleague! It seems that there is nothing or no one who's going to get in this man's way! Can Barnaby manage to get to the bottom of this and stop this reign of terror?

The character Dillman plays is pretty frightening and fascinating at the same time. And, this sort of guy makes for an excellent episode...one you won't soon forget.

By the way, years ago I knew a guy much like the character Dillman played in the show, though as far as I know this creep didn't kill anyone (but who knows?). The guy defrauded and hurt a lot of people...only to receive the most minimal of sentences for his illegal activities as a supposed psychologist, preacher, financial consultant and dean of a military academy! It seems that this sort of limp response by the law is pretty common in these cases. Oh, and after being caught, he continued to pose as a wide variety of professionals and never served a day in jail.

I like Buddy Ebson. I like cop/detective shows. However,this tv series is almost always pretty bad,in my opinion. This episode,however, breaks the mold. It is a good,engaging show for a change! The cast has some well-known actors (for a change) and the show actually has some life and excitement in it ! I almost could not believe it was an episode of Barnaby Jones,in fact. Good episode.

Bradford Dillman came from the polished school of villains, much like Jack Cassidy, and is the one to watch here. He is the whole show.

Dillman plays Dr. Kohlmeyer, a successful LA physician who is a fraud. Actually, he preys on young women, robs them blind, then moves onto his next conquest. Enter beautiful Mariette Hartley, playing Vanessa, one of his victims who asks for Barnaby's help. This is another one of those very clever cat and mouse games Barnaby has to play, as he is up against someone who is about as good as he is. Watch the puzzle fit together.

I agree with the last reviewer as this story may have been taken from real headlines, as there are many professionals out there who are cons. The story never ends. It also serves as a slight warning to one and all.

Excellent direction by William Hale, who headed many episodes of the F. B. I., also the first two seasons of CANNON. There are some familiar faces here, including Patty McCormick as Angie, and she is great.

Outstanding fake out scene toward the end with Betty on an airport phone, and the doctor catching her bogus conversation.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 23 remastered CBS dvd box set.