Villainess Review: Andrea Rivers & Lily Andrews (Diagnosis Murder)

Diagnosis Murder is quite an amazing show which has featured its share of twisted female baddies, with Clare Brantigan being among them. Even the holiday-themed episodes have featured some diabolical villainesses, and this review will cover not one, but two examples.

Andrea Rivers: Season Four's Christmas-themed episode, "Murder in the Family," was a true literal family affair. It was another example of the famous Van Dyke family acting together, as the episode featured Stacy Van Dyke (daughter of series star Dick Van Dyke and sister of co-star Barry Van Dyke) as Carol Sloan Hilton, who was being visited by Mark and Steve Sloan during Christmas time. It had been eight years since they had seen each other, and Carol is established as being in a very rough marriage, as her husband, trucker Bruce Hilton, had been beating her.

Bruce is later found shot to death, and while there were several suspects (including Carol herself), the actual killer was revealed to be Andrea Rivers, a dispatcher for the company connected to Bruce. As it turned out, Andrea was being paid to dump toxic waste, and she was working with cohorts Vince and Malcolm in the scheme. The trio was caught on tape by Bruce, who blackmailed the group, leading to Andrea having her henchmen kill Bruce to cover their tracks. Andrea later ordered Vince and Malcolm to abduct Carol, as she was needed to get the incriminating video from Bruce's safe, with plans to kill Carol afterwards. However, Carol was saved by Steve, who arrested Andres, but not before the villainess ended up decked by Carol.

"Murder in the Family" was the 12th episode of the show's fourth season, and aired on December 12, 1996. The villainess, Andrea Rivers, was played by Anne Lockhart, and if that surname sounds familiar, it should: Anne is the daughter of famed actress June Lockhart. Andrea was quite opportunistic, and as her crimes escalated, so did she, as she went from simply greedy and opportunistic to ruthless and even murderous. This was an amazing performance from Anne Lockhart, she truly is her mother's daughter. Fun fact: this wasn't Anne Lockhart's first appearance on the show--she had made a number of uncredited appearances in bit roles prior to and following her villainous appearance in the episode.

For Andrea Rivers' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

Lily Andrews: "Santa Claude," from Season Seven, centered on Claude Campbell, a janitor working at Community General Hospital, but as we would learn, there was more to Claude that meets the eye. For one, Claude Campbell wasn't his real name, it was Andrew Basevich, and he had escaped from prison. He had been in jail for 13 years, and the charge? Murder. The victim was his wife, Sharon Basevich, and during Steve's look into the cold case, he interviewed Sharon's close friend, Lily Andrews, who claimed that she last saw Sharon at a country club on two nights prior.

However, there was a problem with Lily's story: her ex-husband disputed her claim, and later provided another tidbit--Sharon was Jonathan's mistress. He also suggests that Lily may have known, and it was also uncovered that Sharon's earrings were in Lily's safe deposit box. Everything was out in the open: after finding out about Jonathan's affair with Sharon, Lily turned heel and stabbed Sharon to death, and after Andrew returned home, Lily knocked him out and took Sharon's earrings. Steve returned to Lily's home to search her safe deposit box, with Lily claiming that she had to go change her clothes. In actuality, Lily grabbed her gun and committed suicide, as her evil secret had been exposed.

"Santa Claude" was the 11th episode of the show's seventh season (Clare Brantigan's episode followed it), and aired on December 11, 1999. The episode featured Ann Gillespie as the episode's surprise villainess, Lily Andrews, who was a very captivating baddie. Lily appeared to be a mourning friend at first, but the progression revealed that Lily was truly a scorned and vengeful villainess. Lily's actions ruined not one, but two lives, as she ended up causing Andrew to lose 13 years of his life in prison, and was still callous enough to accuse Andrew in a crime she committed. With all of that, it was clear that Lily's suicide was committed not out of guilt, but to avoid facing the consequences of her villainous actions. Gillespie's performance was brilliant; she acted out Lily's feigned mourning well, and shined when it came to Lily's realization that she had been exposed.

The name Ann Gillespie should be familiar to 90210 fans; she played Jackie Taylor, the mother of Jennie Garth's Kelly Taylor, in 55 episodes of the original series, and reprised her role in six episodes of the CW's reboot. She has also appeared in episodes of T.J. Hooker, 7th Heaven, and Gilmore Girls, though her reprisal of Jackie Taylor was her last role before retiring from acting.

For Lily Andrews' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki, click here.

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