McMillan & Wife
Murder by the Barrel
TV Flash files “Murder by the Barrel” as hour 2 of 40 in the TV Flash guide — McMillan & Wife (1971–1977) on NBC, season 1, episode 2, aired 1971-09-29, 90 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E02: listed hour 2 of 40 in the McMillan & Wife guide, hour 2 of 8 in season 1. It aired 1971-09-29 (90 min). The listed hour before it is “Once Upon a Dead Man” (S01E01). Next is “The Easy Sunday Murder Case” (S01E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
During the move into the McMillans' new house, Sally is terrified to discover a dead body in one of the barrels delivered by the movers. She calls Mac, but when he and Sgt. Enright arrive, the body is gone. As Sally tries to prove that she didn't imagine it, Mac and Enright investigate the moving company and discover that several people have lost items and have also reported missing persons on the same day.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Murder by the Barrel sit in the McMillan & Wife guide?
S01E02 is listed hour 2 of 40 — hour 2 of 8 in season 1, season 1 episode 2.
When did McMillan & Wife S01E02 air?
Murder by the Barrel aired 1971-09-29 and is listed at 90 minutes.
Do I need Columbo or McCloud first?
No. They share the NBC Mystery Movie wheel, not a plot. McMillan is husband-wife San Francisco mystery on its own cocktail hour.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Rock Hudson's police commissioner solves murders with martini banter while Susan Saint James's Sally does the smarter half of the sleuthing. NBC Mystery Movie jewel: husband-wife crime as comfort fashion. San Francisco gloss, cocktail chemistry, and a leading-man image the tabloids later rewrote in full.
Open on martini banter that is load-bearing. NBC's McMillan & Wife (1971–1977), from Leonard Stern, rolls on the Mystery Movie wheel beside Columbo and McCloud: San Francisco police commissioner Mac McMillan solves crimes with help from clever wife Sally and a deadpan housekeeper. Rock Hudson brings movie-star scale; Susan Saint James's Sally does the smarter half of the sleuthing; John Schuck's Sgt. Enright and Nancy Walker's Mildred complete the household. Husband-wife comfort crime. San Francisco gloss.…
Filed against
- Rock Hudson as Commissioner Stewart 'Mac' McMillan
Rock Hudson's Commissioner Stewart 'Mac' McMillan solved murders with martini banter on McMillan & Wife — Susan Saint James's Sally doing the smarter half of the sleuthing, NBC Mystery Movie jewel, San Francisco gloss. Cocktail chemistry…
- Susan Saint James as Sally McMillan
Susan Saint James’s Sally McMillan did the smarter half of the sleuthing beside Rock Hudson’s martini commissioner — NBC Mystery Movie jewel, San Francisco gloss — then sunned Kate & Allie’s Greenwich Village brownstone opposite Jane…
- John Schuck as Sgt. Charles Enright
John Schuck’s Sgt. Charles Enright backed McMillan & Wife as the cop in the cocktail — Rock Hudson’s police commissioner solving murders with martini banter, Susan Saint James’s Sally doing the smarter half of the sleuthing. NBC Mystery…
- Nancy Walker as Mildred
Nancy Walker’s Ida Morgenstern nagged Rhoda home to New York — wedding America watched, then a marriage that fell apart on network air — and kept McMillan & Wife’s San Francisco gloss in martini motion as Mildred. MTM neurotic edges; NBC…