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Title

A Matter of Love and Death

Plot

Having grown weary over sharing him with crazed fans, the wife of a legendary football player walks into a police precinct and confesses to his murder.

Episode

0451

Air Dates

  • First Run - March 19, 1976
  • Repeat - August 4, 1976

Actors

Writer

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Rating

87
78     9


8 Responses to Episode 0451

This has got to be one of my most UN-favorite episodes of all time. It's about a celebrity sports figure who has a very disturbed wife who is so jealous of his fans she is going crazy. Then there's this stalker woman Gwen who shows up and I don't know who is more weird, the stalker or the wife. I'm not sure what this show was trying to say, but it seemed to suggest that all fans of celebrities are crazy stalkers. I can understand how Helen (the wife) felt about her husband being grabbed at by crazed fans, but the way she reacted, she was really unhinged. The weird part was that Helen was a starry-eyed fan in the beginning herself and she seemed to only lover him for *who* he was and she was flattered that he was interested in her. I didn't see any genuine love on her part, yet she hated all his fans. The script was written by Elspeth whats-her-name (I really can't remember). For some strange reason, I can tolerate listening to the episode, even though I don't really like it. (smile) The acting is very good, which makes it tolerable. I just don't like the weird characters or the message of the plot - whatever that is.

Amy

A woman walks into a police station and confesses to killing her husband -- a famous football player. She had tired of sharing him with obsessive fans.

Nico M.

Fame and fortune come with a high cost that some are more willing to pay than others. A famous football player has been murdered and his wife enters the police station some time after and confesses. Having met in their small town high school only briefly, a now-famous football player marries the now small-town kindergarten teacher. He revels in the frenzied admiration of his fans while she is distraught and sometimes shocked at the lengths these fans will go to get a 'piece' of her famous husband.

Gilbert

This was an okay story, but the main character was certainly off kilter if she married a football player and didn't like attention he got. Apparently she didn't realize what life would be like before hand. I did like how the sergeant just kept listening to her and asking if she was comfortable - sometimes that's what they need to do.

Alec

I thought this was a great episode! I had a feeling the killer was not who it was but really wasn’t sure until the end!!

Pj

Now widowed, Helen Collins recalls to Police Sgt. Callahan that her husband Jim’s life as a celebrity was haunted by fans, who pursued him everywhere. Although Jim seemed to enjoy the attention, it drove Helen crazy to the point where, as she tells the unbelieving sergeant, she thinks she murdered her husband.

Jack

Oops! I confused Gwen and Helen🙄

Ruby

At one time Gwen was also one of those adoring fans. She’s not so understanding of the subsequent fans that follow her Jim. Elspeth Eric was always good at exploring the psychological terrain of her characters, the dark and twisty trails of the human psyche. Jim and Gwen needed couples counseling!

Ruby


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