John Larroquette

The annual LA Kennel Club Dog Show gets treated to an unexpected surprise when a backstage murder incriminates the winning canines' handler.

Mike McBride is a curmudgeon with a heart of gold. He takes cases based on their merit rather than on their monetary value, which often leads to terse notices from bill collectors. A disillusioned member of the LAPD, McBride left the force after twelve years and went back to school to become a lawyer. With the aid of his ever-present sidekick, Phil Newberry, and his former girlfriend, Detective Roberta Hansen, McBride and his team solve crimes the old-fashioned way.

The police have arrested a Latino teenager caught pawning a murdered attorney's stolen Rolex. To complicate matters, the suspect's sister wants McBride to defend her brother - despite the fact that the victim was a close friend of McBride's.

In this particular episode, McBride's client is double-crossed during a custody case by his psychiatrist. The client later confesses to McBride that he believes he accidentally shot the doctor when he confronted him in his home. When McBride goes to the murder scene, the doctor is, as the title says, out - as in gone! A search for the body begins, with time of the essence. David Bowe has a nice comic turn as the panicked client. Former child star Sydney Penny plays one of the suspects, and she has grown up to be a very beautiful young woman. Soap star John Ingle is the confused head of the hospital.