“You Do Have Something Else to Do, Right?” “Swamped! We’re Just Swamped Around Here.”
I’m continuing with my look at the Diagnosis; Murder movies. Up next is the second movie that aired before the series kicked off – The House on Sycamore Street.
This movie originally aired in May of 1992, so a little over a year before the series premiered. Everything I said about the cast and location in my review of the first movie still holds true, so I won’t repeat myself and will instead focus on this movie.
We meet Dr. Zach Drummond (Peter Scolari), a former student of Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke). He’s become a successful plastic surgeon, but something is troubling him. After he calls Mark in the middle of the night, the two agree to meet for lunch. However, Mark gets delayed, and by the time he arrives, Zach has leapt to his death from the top of the restaurant where they were planning to meet. Mark doesn’t believe it was suicide, however. Can he prove it?
Dr. Amanda Bentley (Cynthia Gibb) and Dr. Jack Parker (Stephen Caffrey) have larger roles in this movie than they did the first. I enjoyed getting to know these versions of the characters a bit more. Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke) isn’t quite as strong a presence as he’d have in the series, but he still makes a strong impression in his scenes. It’s a bit weird that he and Mark aren’t living together, but so much of these movies are weird to fans of the series you just have to let it go.
The mystery was stronger than in the first one. The medical subplot didn’t take up as much screen time, and it started a little sooner. Even with the better focus, I felt like that story took some leaps, especially at the end. But things did make sense when Mark pieced them all together.
An early scene allowed Dick Van Dyke to be Dick Van Dyke. It finds Dr. Sloan rapping in class. When I saw where it was going, I started to cringe just a bit, but I need not have worried – Dick Van Dyke pulled it off easily. I also appreciated that they kept some continuity with his car not being reliable in this movie.
This second Diagnosis: Murder film is definitely a step up from the first. While it still feels different from the series, fans will enjoy seeing where their favorite doctor detective came from. If you can find a way to watch The House on Sycamore Street, do so.
You can find the movie in the Diagnosis: Murder Television Movie Collection DVD set.
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