My overall thoughts on seasons 1-2 of Diagnosis Murder (yappy, sorry lol)
my mom and I have been watching Diagnosis Murder together starting from the first two seasons with Jack Stewart, she likes to be thorough and we wanted to see what we were missing.
first of all, very enjoyable! sooo camp at times, which, Diagnosis Murder would not be itself without camp. writing and character work strengthened throughout the first season into season two, which we’re nearly done with. I wasn’t fully sold on Jack at first, but now I am. I’m like UGH… Scott Baio… but he is actually great at portraying Jack. the main cast as usual are witty as hell, but there is a difference in the banter between Jack, Amanda, and Steve. unlike Jesse, Jack is portrayed as more of a potential romantic interest for Amanda (like Steve) and he is on the same age level as Amanda, and is generally more of an equal being a resident for three years. the banter between Jesse and the others is not as sharp-tongued because he’s young and in a more “immature little brother” role than Jack. I appreciate the edgy banter with Jack, and I appreciate the snarky banter with Jesse, but I’m definitely gonna miss the hilarious edgy banter and the sort of ‘will they won’t they’.
as expected Jack ping pongs back and forth between lovable jerk or straight up prick depending on the situation 💀 there have been times he really dug into people, or the time he purposefully didn’t invite the ladies to Mark’s birthday to hire a stripper instead, boneheaded behavior that doesn’t go unpunished. for the most part though, Jack is a fun tough guy character with a feisty personality and a strong need to protect his friends.
Steve is his usual self, it helps to play the straight man consistently like that. everyone else around him drives him crazy (lovingly), he has to be the straight edged cop. but can I say, brother is having even more trouble keeping a girlfriend than Jack 😭 his girlfriends either leave off screen or end up being evil
in season 2, Norman and Delores get more things to do with the main cast like actual reconnaissance missions, which is fantastic. we have some meaningful moments that humanize Norman as more than the antagonistic neurotic administrator of season 1. he and Jack butt heads every single day, and it was brilliant when Mark had asked Norman, ‘do you ever thank Jack for his hard work?’ and told Jack that Norman wouldn’t bicker at him so much if he wasn’t mean to him. and Norman told Jack that he never revealed cooler things about himself because he never asked.
Amanda is a really interesting case, one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve seen on TV for her personality and its various facets. she’s a little ditzier than her mature self in later seasons, she’s a highly competent pathologist but overzealous in detective work that gets her into trouble. the poor girl literally bought “The Swindler’s Guidebook” 😭🙏🏻 which is a fantastic symbolic summary of her seasons 1-2 persona. the show often sprinkles in reminders that Amanda is a rich girl from a sheltered life, who enjoys luxuries while remaining humble and focused on her own career/finances. I have really liked watching Amanda grow into herself, going from a naive excitable amateur sleuth to the mom-friend with learned experience. by the time Jesse enters the picture she has mellowed, doesn’t jump at every opportunity to solve a murder but is still nosy as hell. she serves as someone to reign in Jesse, just as Jack tries to reign her in.
Mark is always quirky but has more random quirks and hobbies in seasons 1-2. I know the show gave up on most of them to be taken more seriously, but one thing the later seasons did 1000% correctly was take his boring stuffy office and make it a hoarder hole. that is where Mark is really exemplified, his collection speaks for who he is and how disorganized he is. Delores is a witty companion who is much more than secretary, she serves to be the connection to Dick Van Dyke’s theater and movie background as she and Mark share a love for old television and dances. it’s weird not having her be there having to keep him organized, but it also works well later on showing how Mark, left to his own devices, really IS that scatterbrained and playful and the oddball eccentric. he’s like Columbo, in the vein of “look at how messy this guy is. he’s nothing but a big child with all these toys and gadgets. he’s nothing to worry about.” but we know how competent he really is
