Original title
Father Dowling Mysteries
Released
1/20/1989
Origin country
US
Genre
Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Production companies
Viacom Productions, Dean Hargrove Productions, Fred Silverman Company
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
3
Number of episodes
43
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.
The case at hand finds Father Dowling and Sister Steve investigating the apparent suicide of a former parishioner. In between saying Mass, hearing confessions and managing the softball team, Father Dowling somehow finds time to conduct his own investigation and he is quite certain his friend was murdered. At the heart of the case is a powerful senator and the widow of a notorious crime boss.
Father Dowling lands on the wrong side of the FBI after a dying man falls at his feet. Father Dowling puts the church in a bad light when he insists on tracking down the killer. While doing so, he seems to have helped botch a FBI sting operation!
Father Dowling lands on the wrong side of the FBI after a dying man falls dead at his feet. Father Dowling puts the church in a bad light when he insists on tracking down the killer. While doing so, he seems to have helped botch a FBI sting operation!
Father Dowling comes to the aid of a man when his fiancée is murdered just as she was about to confess to being a prostitute. A search leads to three powerful clients, none of whom want to be involved in a scandal. And even the police are trying to discourage Father Dowling from continuing his investigation.
A witness to a murder is pursued by the killer and he takes refuge in St. Michael's, enlisting the help of a woman he once almost married--Sister Steve.
Father Dowling finds himself caught in a bizarre mystery when he attempts to prove a fellow priest innocent of murder. Dowling and Sister Steve get more than they bargained for when they discover the young priest's family is indeed connected--to organized crime!
Undeterred by appearances, Father Dowling sets out to prove a young priest innocent of murder after he discovers the priest has been framed by a member of his own family. Nothing is ever easy, of course, and when the real assassin is himself killed, Dowling must rely on a family member who is too afraid to tell the truth. But tell it he must.
When the good Father's evil half-brother shows up unexpectedly, Dowling suspects right away that the evil one is up to no good. After thwarting his brother's attempted diamond heist, Dowling finds himself in hot water when he discovers that the police can't tell the two brothers apart.
Father Dowling and Sister Steve find themselves in the most unlikely role of parents when an abandoned baby is discovered at the rectory. When they attempt to reunite mother and child they learn that the mother is being chased by violent kidnappers.
Father Dowling and Sister Steve are taken in by a fake priest. It turns out ""Father"" Damon is actually a hit man sent to kill aging gang-leader, Victor Malko. Father Dowling tries to warn Malko, but he won't take Dowling's warnings seriously. And now the real Father's life might be in jeopardy.
Sister Steve heads undercover as a crooked card dealer at a high stakes poker game. It turns out the game is really nothing more than a ploy to cover up a robbery. Meanwhile, Father Dowling has his work cut out for him. He has to expose the crime, solve the murder of the exotic dancer and rescue Sister Steve before the card sharks find out her true identity.
Sister, Father and a brother find themselves in a life and death situation when Sister Steve's younger brother, Mark, finds himself in the middle of a street gang battle. Someone ends up dead and Mark is the one charged with murder. He points the finger at the real killer, Police Captain Edward Hayton, and then finds himself leading candidate in the role of next potential victim. Father Dowling throws his hat into the ring and finds a case that involves not only murder, but smugglers trafficking in precious gems.
Someone is using Father Dowling for target practice and the marksman appears to be an angry ex-con the Father sent up river on a murder rap. Full police protection is offered but how can you run a parish with all those men in blue hanging about? Let alone take part in a charity race.
Is Father Dowling serving up a stew of lechery, larceny and murder? No, it's the work of his evil twin brother, Blaine, who is trying to lure lonely matrons into a phony investment scheme. Father Dowling is forced to masquerade as the wicked brother in a last-ditch effort to prove his innocence and pin the rap on the woman's real killer.
Father Dowling is more than a little skeptical when a young woman insists that her house is haunted. He agrees to investigate just the same after Sister Steve confesses that she has also seen some of the unexplained ""happenings."" Father Dowling concludes that something is indeed amiss, but is it the work of a person or a spirit?
Sister Steve has always been a trusting soul. It's part of her job, of course. So it is no surprise when she opens her heart to a blind man who seems to be in need of assistance. But she soon discovers that she has become an unwitting accomplice in a scheme to blackmail a prominent parishioner.
An ""angel"" visits Father Dowling and Sister Steve at the parish and delivers a stern warning that big trouble is hiding just around the next corner. One of the parishioners is about to be ""charged"" with the ""crime"" of guilt by association when it is revealed that his late father was connected with the underworld.
Talk about security clearance. Father Dowling and Sister Steve find themselves smack dab in the middle of a top secret security investigation when one of the parishioners is suspected of stealing confidential documents. The case revolves around a spy who really isn't a spy, a mistress who never was and a cheating husband who didn't. Add to the mix a FBI headquarters that never existed and you've got a case that's about as clear as Irish Stew.
A flim flam con-man has his eye on a valuable church receptacle that Father Prestwick is taking to Romania. He'll stop at nothing to get his hands on the monstrance, even if he has to permanently inconvenience Father Prestwick. It's up to Father Dowling and Sister Steve to put a cap on the con.
Sister Steve knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why would anyone name her as administrator of a six million dollar trust fund? And if you think she is puzzled, the family of the dearly departed are just a tad upset themselves. In fact they are willing to do just about anything to keep Sister Steve away from the fund. And just to show they are serious, they've kidnapped Father Dowling's trusty housekeeper. They've offered to let her go, as soon as someone coughs up mere six million dollars.
Father Dowling has always enjoyed fine art, but someone is going overboard in their role as freelance art critic. A mystery thief is methodically stealing the art treasures that once belonged to the wealthy Cabot family. And Father Dowling has an inkling the thief might be the surviving son, Jonathan. The only question is why would a rich businessman take the risk of stealing the paintings when he could easily afford to buy them outright? And Cabot has perfect alibis for each theft. It looks like it's time for some of Father Dowling's old-fashioned digging for clues.
Suffering for the sake of one's art is one thing, but this temperamental artist's talent might soon be hidden beneath a sad addiction to drugs and alcohol. And that's just the start of his problems. He's just discovered that someone is also trying to kill him.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
An author who used Dowling and Steve as characters in his murder mystery dies before its completion.
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.
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!
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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