Father Dowling Mysteries

Father Dowling Mysteries

1989
Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries

Father Dowling Mysteries

6.9 | en | Comedy

Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that aired from January 20, 1989 to May 2, 1991. Prior to the series, a TV movie aired on November 30, 1987. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC for its last two seasons. It is based on the adventures of the title character created by Ralph McInerny, in a series of mystery novels. The series was produced by The Fred Siverman Company and Dean Hargrove Productions in association with Viacom Productions.

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Seasons & Episodes

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EP1  The Royal Mystery
Sep. 20,1990
The Royal Mystery

It looks like a royal mess when Sister Steve find herself trapped in a Royal scandal. The Sister trades places with a frisky British noblewoman in order to infiltrate a trade delegation. Father Dowling has his hands full riding shotgun, trying to keep an eye open for the Sister's Royal killer.

EP2  The Medical Mystery
Sep. 27,1990
The Medical Mystery

The local hospital is the scene of some 'extra' deaths when Father Dowling and Sister Steve uncover a string of mystery murders. Father Prestwick insists on helping out and almost becomes the next victim.

EP3  The Devil In The Deep Blue Sea Mystery
Oct. 04,1990
The Devil In The Deep Blue Sea Mystery

When most people look at Harry Deil they see one of the most powerful men in underworld crime. Father Dowling sees something else, something even more sinister: The devil. Now Father Dowling must beat him at his own game in order to save Sister Steve.

EP4  The Showgirl Mystery
Oct. 18,1990
The Showgirl Mystery

A showy showgirl of a shady nightclub is surprised to discover that her late husband's estate consists of nothing but debts. Or is she the victim of a scam to deprive her out of a small fortune? The investigation reveals a motley crew of underworld characters as Father Dowling and Sister Steve go hunting for a suspect.

EP5  The Movie Mystery
Oct. 25,1990
The Movie Mystery

Everyone is enjoying the slice of Hollywood as a movie crew uses St. Michael's as a location, until a series of unexplained, and life-threatening, accidents put a damper on the mood. Father Dowling and Sister Steve are enlisted to assist in the investigation while Father Prestwick decides to make his screen debut...as a stand in.

EP6  The Undercover Nun Mystery
Nov. 01,1990
The Undercover Nun Mystery

Sister Steve's return to her Mother's house to celebrate the convent's Silver Jubilee ceremonies should be a time of great joy for everyone. But shortly after arriving the Sister discovers a nun with a gun. Not quite what she expected. And her worst fears are indeed realized when another visiting nun is murdered.

EP7  The Murder Weekend Mystery
Nov. 08,1990
The Murder Weekend Mystery

It's man against machine when a hired killer uses computer technology to conceal his crime during a weekend retreat for mystery writers. A series of traps further complicate the investigation and one of them almost costs Sister Steve her life.

EP8  The Reasonable Doubt Mystery
Nov. 15,1990
The Reasonable Doubt Mystery

Father Dowling does his duty, jury duty, in a murder case that should have been open and shut. Father Dowling is not so sure and his claim of reasonable doubt ends in a deadlocked jury. While the DA angrily works toward a retrial, Father Dowling and Sister Steve conduct an investigation of their own, at the center of which is the testimony of an eyewitness who seems to keep company with some unusual sorts.

EP9  The Vanishing Victim Mystery
Nov. 29,1990
The Vanishing Victim Mystery

Father Dowling stumbles into a kidnapping plot when he befriends a young woman who is about to disappear. Fearing the worst, Sister Steve signs on as the family's new maid to try and find out what happened to the girl.

EP10  The Christmas Mystery
Dec. 13,1990
The Christmas Mystery

There's a murder attempt on a woman who has left her son in the temporary care of St. Michael's and the search for the culprit leads to a department store on Christmas Eve.

EP11  The Fugitive Priest Mystery
Jan. 03,1991
The Fugitive Priest Mystery

Trouble is brewing for Father Dowling when his evil twin brother rolls into town. Blaine manages to frame his brother for a bank robbery, while protecting himself with a perfect alibi: He's been arrested for overdue parking tickets. With the help of Sister Steve, Father Dowling masquerades as his troublesome twin in order to track down his underworld associates.

EP12  The Substitute Sister Mystery
Jan. 10,1991
The Substitute Sister Mystery

Father Dowling and Sister Steve are caught in the middle of the battle of the bugs when warring exterminators do battle over franchise rights. The plot is further thickened by a nun who isn't, a hitman who is and a mobster who will do anything to rescue his daughter.

EP13  The Missing Witness Mystery
Jan. 24,1991
The Missing Witness Mystery

Sister Steve has disguised herself as a trashy lady-of-the-evening in order to track down a witness who can clear the name of a young businessman charged with murder. But was he really framed or is he actually guilty? Father Dowling is not certain.

EP14  The Prodigal Son Mystery
Jan. 31,1991
The Prodigal Son Mystery

A blast from the past rocks Father Dowling's world when a man he's never met shows up claiming to be his son. The man disappears before Father Dowling can question him. And then his would-be son is charged with murder.

EP15  The Moving Target Mystery
Feb. 07,1991
The Moving Target Mystery

A hired killer has a change of heart when he discovers that Father Dowling is his intended victim. He warns the priest that someone else is certain to accept the contract. Now it's up to Father Dowling to figure out who, and why, someone is out to get him.

EP16  The Priest Killer Mystery
Feb. 14,1991
The Priest Killer Mystery

When a rooftop sniper almost kills Father Dowling, Sister Steve goes undercover as a cab driver, hoping the flush out the would-be priest-killer.

EP17  The Mummy's Curse Mystery
Feb. 21,1991
The Mummy's Curse Mystery

While visiting the Chicago Museum to take in a Pharaoh's burial chamber, Father Dowling and Sister Steve encounter an ancient Egyptian curse. Father Prestwick almost becomes a victim himself when he attempts to uncover the tomb's deadly secrets.

EP18  The Monkey Business Mystery
Mar. 07,1991
The Monkey Business Mystery

Father Dowling and Sister Steve go out on a limb when they kidnap a chimp accused of murdering an animal activist. The killer-chimp will be put to sleep unless they can prove it has been framed.

EP19  The Hard Boiled Mystery
Mar. 28,1991
The Hard Boiled Mystery

An author who used Dowling and Steve as characters in his murder mystery dies before its completion.

EP20  The Malibu Mystery
Apr. 04,1991
The Malibu Mystery

Father Dowling is on the trail of a runaway teen who is taking a walk on the wild side of L.A.'s night life.

EP21  The Consulting Detective Mystery
Apr. 25,1991
The Consulting Detective Mystery

It is difficult to tell who is consulting with whom when Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of Father Dowling. The pair prove to be an unbeatable team as they put their powers of deduction to the supreme test as eyewitnesses to multiple murders. There's only one hitch: No one other than Dowling can actually see Mr. Holmes!

EP22  The Joyful Noise Mystery
May. 02,1991
The Joyful Noise Mystery

The local District Attorney's office is home to bullets and ballots as deadly rivals battle for power. One man is already dead and an innocent boy has been charged with murder. Father Dowling tries to expose the real killer before a political rally becomes a blood bath.

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6.9 | en | Comedy , Crime , Mystery | More Info
Released: 1989-01-20 | Released Producted By: Viacom Productions , Dean Hargrove Productions Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
info

Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that aired from January 20, 1989 to May 2, 1991. Prior to the series, a TV movie aired on November 30, 1987. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC for its last two seasons. It is based on the adventures of the title character created by Ralph McInerny, in a series of mystery novels. The series was produced by The Fred Siverman Company and Dean Hargrove Productions in association with Viacom Productions.

Genre

Comedy , Crime , Mystery

Watch Online

Father Dowling Mysteries (1989) is currently not available on any services.

Cast

Tom Bosley , Tracy Nelson , James Stephens , Mary Wickes

Director

Dean Hargrove

Producted By

Viacom Productions , Dean Hargrove Productions

Father Dowling Mysteries Videos and Images

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Father Dowling Mysteries Audience Reviews

Harockerce What a beautiful movie!
ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.
ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
girvsjoint The concept of a Priest who spends his spare time solving murders and crimes is nothing new of course, Father Brown had been doing it for decades before Father Dowling arrived on the scene, but this is an American slant on the thing, and good leads like Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson make it work, back before crime shows got too dark and gruesome, this one has plenty of humour, and plays like some of those wonderful old 'B' movies of the 30's & 40's, in other words, just plain old fashioned good entertainment. How many people I wonder realize that 20 years before this, Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson appeared in the same movie together? 'Yours, Mine and Ours' with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, of course Tracy was only about 4 years old at the time, neither could have imagined one day they'd co-star in the same series.
Simon Jones (bowles64) In our house we used to play a game called Father Dowling Bingo, where we watched each episode holding bingo cards containing a selection of elements we just knew would appear on the show, such as a criminal behaving incompetently, Sister Stephanie taking on a street-wise individual in a bet and winning, Father Dowling telling a lie to gain entrance to some room etc. Usually somebody had shouted "Bingo" before the episode was half-way through, especially as the series wore on.Long before series three had started we regarded Father Dowling Investigates as a joke, only worth watching because it was in the "So Bad it's Almost Good" category. My advice for anyone coming to it anew is don't waste your time.
bkoganbing The mystery solving parish priest Father Brown who was the creation of converted Catholic G.K. Chesterton got an American makeover in that most American of cities Chicago for the Father Dowling Mysteries. That man did get himself involved in more situations that were not necessarily related to his calling which made for interesting episodes. Tom Bosley as Father Dowling was a trial to both the Catholic Archdiocese and the Police Department which he was always showing up.That's usually the way it is with most television series, the private detective or the amateur is constantly showing up professional law enforcement. As viewers we enjoy that.Unlike Chesterton's detective Dowling did not dwell too much on Catholic dogma, the better to get a universal audience. Tracy Nelson was a young nun who shared Dowling's taste for mystery and adventure and her being a nun and all that that entailed put her in some interesting situations as a Dowling operative so to speak.Sad to say the show did run out of creative ideas and that was probably due to the parameters imposed by making a priest your lead character. When Dowling confessed to really fathering a child before taking his vows of celibacy you knew the jig was up for this show.Still it was a pleasant series to watch and Tom Bosley and Tracy Nelson gave a good account of themselves in the series.
nyjava2003 Like Perry Mason, this series wasn't an original, it was based on a (still ongoing) series of books by Ralph McInerny. Unlike Perry Mason, though, the producers took almost nothing from the books but the characters of Fr. Dowling and Mrs. Murkin, and of those two only Mrs. Murkin bears any resemblance to the character in the book. I'd advise anyone who likes mysteries but was disappointed in Fr. Dowling on TV to read the books, they are excellent.