Norman has his eyes set on the LA Rockets, a women's volleyball team that will soon have Community General as a sponsor. Not all is roses on the team, as everyone on the team hates the star player Rita Janson. Which is why they all become good suspects when she turns up dead, apparently the victim of a stalker.
"Playing For Keeps" displays symptoms of the following tropes:
- And Starring: Nancy Everhard as Suzy Balfour.
- Asshole Victim: Rita Janson screwed over her team left and right, and was an all-around rude Jerkass.
- Greed: Gregory was going to sell the DNA for about 10,000,000₣ (which may be $20,000,000+ in 2023 money)
- Killing for a Tissue Sample: This turns out to be Dr. Talbot's motive for the murder, trying to get Peggy's DNA, and with it her great immune system, to sell it.
- Medication Tampering: When Talbot worked out that Peggy was the one whose DNA he needed, he gave her malaria in her vitamin shot, knowing she would need a full blood exchange and getting his hands on the tainted blood.
- Murder by Mistake: Gregory killed Rita thinking she was the one with a great immune system because Rita had swapped the label on her bloodwork with Peggy McKenna's to cover her own cocaine usage.
- Red Herring: Rita's stalker. Turns out he really was just a creep who fell in "love" with her at first sight.
- Stalker with a Crush: Richard Morris, the man who was stalking Rita. He forgets all about her the second he sees Amanda, but he is not the killer.
- Who Murdered the Asshole: Subverted. Everyone on the Rockets had a motive to do Rita in, but it turns out the killer was actually after Peggy.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Rita was this to herself by swapping around the label on her bloodwork.
