- Title: Jake and the Fatman – Fatal Attraction
- IMDb: link
Flashback Friday takes us to 80s Las Angeles, a large and in charge district attorney, and his special investigator with a taste of the finer things in life. The double-length “Fatal Attraction” provides a challenge for District Attorney Jason McCabe (William Conrad) in attempting to solve the murder of an old friend he suspects was killed by his wife (Rebeccah Bush) and son (Bruce Greenwood) despite the pair’s careful work to frame a fall guy for the crime. The episode sets up McCabe’s manner of investigation, bringing out the annoying “one more thing” Columbo-style of questioning when calling on the widow and the stepson she’s sleeping with.
While the Fatman gets more screentime, Jake (Joe Penny), introduced much later in the episode, does play an important role in driving a wedge between the killers by playing on the stepson’s reckless behavior and friendship with his former lover (Kim Johnston Ulrich). The pair also have to deal with the killers’ other ploys. With the widow being an Assistant Mayor, she uses her clout to force the case against the killers’ fall guy. Meanwhile, the stepson kills off a pair of witnesses which could have helped McCabe, leaving the young prostitute dead in in the District Attorney’s bed in a smear campaign that gets him temporarily removed from the case.
Some of the smaller supporting and guest-roles are a bit hit-and-miss in terms of performance, but Greenwood and Bush make a delightfully evil and cunning pair who McCabe will eventually outmaneuver. I also quite liked Ulrich in the role of the other woman who has great scenes with both Penny and Greenwood separately. Highlights include the opening murder, the car race, and the legal maneuvering at the end of the episode where McCabe creates the perfect storm to allow the killers to turn on each other on the stand, get justice for his friend, and keep his job.
