"There's No Place Like Home" was most definitely a throwaway episode of Major Crimes, but with the guest stars and the circumstances surrounding the rather boring murder, there was no reason to hold it against anyone.

When Provenza had a hard time hitting his mark at the firing range and worried that his age might be causing him to lose his edge on the job, the entire team was introduced to a group of zany characters who had made an apartment complex into their own retirement home after working together on a television show in the 70s called Prognosis: Homicide. 

Enter Tim Conway, Paul Dooley, Doris Roberts, Ron Glass and Marion Ross. My favorite enactment by far was Ron Glass. He was an absolute delight as a past wardrobe consultant on the program. 

It was a case dreams are made of. Their friend owned the building and left it to his "family" - meaning them. Instead, though, his nephew fought the meaning of family in court and took the building. They never knew that, but the nephew was a horror. He took away their Shangri La and made their lives miserable in the hopes of getting them to move out so he could sell the land.

As evil as he was, they were just as interested in getting rid of him. After all, with all his rules and regulations, he still had the nerve to walk by their buffets and help himself, so he kind of deserved to drop dead of an allergy, right? The episode was rife with great quotes like this one, and some great one liners from Tao:

Howard: I'm Howard Grey and, uh, Ed helped himself to our buffet without asking and walked off with two brownies. We waited while he went upstairs to eat and then, after he choked to death on his own rudeness and his cries for help kind of petered out, uh, I propped him up in one of those kitchen chairs and called 911. And, we're very sorry your honor, and we promise never to let someone kill themselves again. | permalink

Provenza used the funny glasses Doris Roberts used on the show to shoot a perfect target and I have to hope like hell the entire "Time Of My Life" karaoke video is on the Major Crimes Season 2 DVD release. 

So, yeah, it was a tosser episode, but it was fun. And there's really not much more to say about that.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.