- Title: Spenser: For Hire – She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
- IMDb: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the mean streets of Boston and the travails of a smart ass private detective. “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not” gives us a rare Frank Belson (Ron McLarty) episode when Frank’s old partner (Jess Osuna) is killed by those searching for the smuggled minks the former cop turned into a lucrative business years before. Gail Strickland guest-stars as Frank’s new neighbor who he immediately falls for not realizing she’s a hitter from out of town after the minks as well. The pair make for an interesting, if short-lived, couple.
Aside from a couple of action scenes, including the climax of the episode, Spenser (Robert Urich) and Hawk (Avery Brooks) spend more time on the sidelines in the episode, mostly watching Frank’s back looking for a more obvious target to come after him than his attentive neighbor. Despite not taking the news all too well, once Frank learns the truth about “Frankie” he has no trouble doing the right thing in helping Quirk (Richard Jaeckel) and Spenser wrap up the gang.
Aside from Frank’s love life, and revealing a bit about his past, the episode is also notable for a con (Greg Mullavey) sending Spenser on a wild goose chase to the marina which almost gets him killed. Susan (Barbara Stock) has a small role in the episode, helping Spenser investigate a local furrier. It’s really nothing more than a cute scene to get her involved in the episode, but the segment does highlight a difference in income and priorities between the pair. I don’t believe the show had decided not to bring Stock back for Season Two at this point, but knowing Susan would be written of for a year scenes like this are a little more interesting (whether it be intentional or not).
