A Blow to the Head...A Blow to the Heart begins at Danny's restaurant with everyone watching a much hyped boxing match on television. Quincy (Jack Klugman) loses money when the heavily favored contender, Luke Stokes (Rodney Hoston), is knocked out in the ring and later he is called to the sports stadium after the boxer collapses and dies. Quincy performs the autopsy and concludes that Luke died of massive head injuries and brain damage which amount to natural causes under the circumstances, but allegations of foul play from Luke's widow convince Quincy to investigate further. When Quincy learns that large bets were placed on Luke's underdog opponent in the match, he suspects that the fight was fixed and this was a factor in Luke's death.
While there is a decent enough mystery featured in this episode along with some very talented guest stars (Moses Gunn, Nehemiah Persoff), I'm not a fan of the boxing sport in general which this story was centered around and therefore could not get that interested in it. If this aspect of the story doesn't turn you off, you'll likely find this to be an enjoyable episode showcasing an investigation of corruption in the sports industry and a possible murder.
While there is a decent enough mystery featured in this episode along with some very talented guest stars (Moses Gunn, Nehemiah Persoff), I'm not a fan of the boxing sport in general which this story was centered around and therefore could not get that interested in it. If this aspect of the story doesn't turn you off, you'll likely find this to be an enjoyable episode showcasing an investigation of corruption in the sports industry and a possible murder.
