One of the delights of television in the 80s, brilliantly updating screwball comedy using The Main Event device of a rich woman whose accountant has taken all her money, leaving her with some assets, including a detective agency that was a tax write off.
Cybil Shepherd's career received a major leap from playing the lead- her specialty had been playing sullen eyed stunners in Last Picture Show and Heartbreak Kid then she became something of a joke as Peter Bogdanovich tried to build her into a star with Daisy Miller and At Long Last Love. By the early 80s she must have been washed up - in the pilot for Masquerade she has dull eyes, the sign of a nothing. But here she sparkles and shines, and finally became the star (albeit a small screen one) that Bogdanovich always thought. (She's still very good looking too and in the opening scene flashes a lot of leg).
She's perfectly matched by Bruce Willis' star making turn as the naughty boy David Addison -while in some spots he's a bit rough in this episode he's charismatic and full of energy and life - so funny (he's stopped being funny now,hasn't he, Bruce Willis?). The plot is effective with a memorable assassination sequence involving a jogger, guns and a Mohawk.
Bright, tangy dialogue. They really did it right with this one.
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