For its second season on the air, McCloud expanded from 60 to 90 minutes per episode, and joined
Columbo and
McMillan and Wife as one of the three rotating components of the weekly anthology The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie.
Dennis Weaver returns as Sam McCloud, gonzo New Mexico deputy sheriff transplanted to Police Precinct 27 in New York City. Also back is J.D. Cannon as McCloud's ulcerated superior, Chief Peter Clifford. The first of the season's seven episodes is "Encounter With Aries," wherein McCloud uses his cowboy savvy to solve the mysterious kidnapping of a famous astrologer's wife. This is followed by "Top of the World, Ma?" in which our hero tangles with an ailing football player and a usurious mobster. In "Somebody's Out to Get Jennie," McCloud champions a young woman who has been shunted off to a mental institution after the mysterious death of her boss. Next up, a visiting dignitary is targeted for assassination in "The Disposal Man." McCloud follows the trail of clues in a case involving stolen penicillin to an upscale Manhattan cemetery in "A Little Plot, a Tranquil Valley." In "The Fifth Man in a String Quartet," our hero tries to clear a concert violinist who has been accused of murdering his mentor. The season ends with "Give My Regrets to Broadway," in which McCloud tries to determine if a famous Broadway producer (portrayed by
Milton Berle) really did kill the detective probing into his questionable business dealings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide