If the show had been called 'Guy Examines Corpses,' it may not have been such a big success. But the cool title of Quincy, M.E. served Jack Klugman well in his foray as Dr. Quincy, the medical examiner of Los Angeles County.

The series started out as a TV movie but soon picked up fans and praise for the realistic medical methods woven in with good ol' procedural drama. Quincy was very intelligent, almost Holmesian in his pursuit of truth. Even when a body had obviously expired from natural causes, Quincy would notice some small discrepancy that indicated foul play and wouldn't let the matter drop. He went up against his boss and the whole police department if necessary, turning detective to ferret out the murderer of the unlucky stiff.

Not everyone thought Quincy was a meddling know-it-all: his friend and assistant, Sam, was a loyal ally in Quincy's investigations as were Lt. Monahan and Sgt. Brill, two sympathetic police officers who helped out Quincy in his quests. It is true that the relentless Quincy went above and beyond the job description of a coroner, often staking out suspects, trailing witnesses and going undercover. Luckily, he was always right and there was foul play involved.

For a show taking its cues from a room full of dead people, Quincy, M.E. wasn't gory at all. The recently departed were barely shown on camera, the action focusing on Quincy's methods and what he discovered using scientific procedures. Audiences could safely sit down to dinner while Quincy did his thing. Eventually, the series shifted its attention from the nuts-and-bolts investigative style to 'very special episodes' dealing with contemporary social issues, like toxic waste, plastic surgery, anorexia, drugs and child abuse. One very memorable episode had Quincy delving into the punk subculture of the time.

Quincy, M.E. aired for seven seasons and was immensely popular. The name Quincy is still synonymous with nosy detectives who won't accept the blatantly obvious and the series continues to be shown around the world.