"Barnaby Jones" The Deadly Valentine (TV Episode 1977) Poster

(TV Series)

(1977)

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9/10
CAN I RETURN MY VALENTINE GIFT?
tcchelsey14 February 2024
This story reminds me of the first season episodes, some with a really creepy or offbeat slant, in the tradition of HAWAII FIVE O. Thanks to Mann Rubin, who wrote many cop shows and began his career writing stories for Alfred Hitchcock's mystery magazine.

Betty has a secret admirer, sending her some strange Valentine gifts. This prompts Barnaby and JR to track down a murderer --only there's a neat twist. A suspect is captured, but the gifts and calls continue...

Yes, it's familiar material, but gauranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat, and well directed, as usual by Walter Grauman. Walter did his fair share of thrillers, notably the cult tv film, CROWHAVEN FARM (1970). He also directed an episode for the TWILIGHT ZONE.

The only debit is that producer Quinn Martin did not bring back actor James Olson, who would have been perfect for this type of role. The cast is quite good; Ed Power plays Sergeant Gallan, and looking like a cop. He appeared in five series episodes, best known for the soap opera, LOVE IS A MANY SPENDERED THING in the early 70s. Gravel voice Ken Lynch, another master of cop roles, guest stars.

Look for Joan Pringle, as Ellen. Joan made frequent appearances on IRONSIDE and co-starred in the WHITE SHADOW.

Guessing the Betty's insane secret admirer is well worth the wait, again thanks to Mann Rubin.

In the travel department, scenes were filmed at famous Lafayette Park in LA, which neighbors even more famous MacArthur Park, across Wilshire Boulevard. A prime location for both movies and tv.

Along with the chills, the wardrobe is excellent, and I think the series was inspired by MANNIX, a showcase for 70s fashions. You can also credit lots of viewers back in the day, who wrote in with their thoughts and suggestions. Can you guess how many different jackets Barnaby has worn this season alone?

SEASON 5 EPISODE 21 remastered CBS/Paramount.
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9/10
Edward Power made this a fantastic episode!
imdb-2528815 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Thoroughly enjoyed this one thanks to Edward Power's outstanding performance. I find Barnaby Jones to be a mostly soporific show. I quite enjoy Buddy Ebsen but strongly dislike the actress playing Betty and her one, constantly pained, expression. If that weren't bad enough, when the creepy dwarf joined the cast, that was it for me: Mark Shera COMPLETELY RUINS the show! His face disgusts me, you just wanna punch him, he is a creeper with creepy disgusting vibes. (UGH! He's changed his page pic here, this week, and now he's staring at the camera and he is revolting looking here!) I don't know how this guy ever became famous, YUCK!

Back to this episode. There are some really good scenes. Everyone, for the most part, is very well dressed here, which for me stands out and makes the show more enjoyable. (Betty being the weakest link, I totally disregard the creeper and glaze over his scenes.) But this show really had me going, as I was convinced the copper was the bad guy. That scene with him staring out the window, with Betty: that was a masterpiece! I'm sure he was directed to make the viewer believe he was the bad guy, and boy! Did he have fun with that or what?!

Mark Shera: THIS is how you do creeper vibes! You act them out, you don't "be" them. Major difference. Edward portrayed creepy to perfection, whereas the dwarf is a creeper and that's built-in within his energy, there's no escaping that.

A lot of likeable elements in this one. Pity that Merriweather can't act and she's stuck with the one frozen, pained expression. I only wish that Power would have been added to the cast, instead of the dwarf. He would have made the show watchable. This is a one-off, elevated by Edward Power's great acting. Pity that he quit acting in the mid-90s. I'm going back to re-watch it from the top, it's on YT as I type. 9 out of 10. It's probably a 7.5 because of the creeper and bad actress but I can't help but give Ed the 9. And great clothes too, a tour de force for the 1970s!
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5/10
Betty in peril....yet again.
planktonrules29 July 2021
I have recent begun marathoning "Barnaby Jones" and have noticed two things. First, the show is much more enjoyable than I'd assumed. Second, the show also is overburdened with the 'Betty in peril' plot...to the point of it becoming a cliche.

When the story begins, Betty receives a creepy Valentines gift by mail. It's NOT Valentines day and it's also menacing. It also appears to be like a bunch of other threatening messages which a serial killer's been using!

Had they hadn't put Betty in peril at least a dozen more times already, I would have enjoyed this one a bit more. But regardless, it's still a weak episode...especially since the twist is pretty obviously coming, as the crime was solved...with 12 minutes to go in the show! Not particularly good.
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4/10
Poor Betty. Creeps are coming out of the woodwork!
pnolname21 June 2023
When Betty starts getting creepy valentine gifts and messages, Barnaby, Jed and the cops have to track down the "Valentine killer", a rough looking guy with a bad leg. But the notes, calls and gifts keep coming, and it's about this time that Sgt. Gallan, a cop with a crush on Betty, pulls strings to get assigned as her security detail (red flags, anyone?). Gallan moves in and gives Betty a stream of pseudo-romantic blather while ordering her around like a slave. So who turns out to be Betty's tormentor? Well, by this time, I was hoping it was Gallan, because he clearly was not to be trusted, but this episode, for better or for worse, was full of surprises. I won't give away the punchline, but it was an unwelcome encumbrance to an already cluttered plot. It was right around this time that the producers should have insisted on real plots and banned any more Betty or Jedediah love interests, but they didn't.
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