This is a rerun of a 2009 post in tribute to the late Stephen J. Cannell.
My Stephen J. Cannell tribute continues with one of the prolific producer's flops. Well, in the ratings, if not with critics, who loved this quirky crime drama. And it really operated under the same formula that made HARDCASTLE & MCCORMICK a hit just a few years later: two talented leads with great chemistry solving crimes with action and humor. Ben Vereen, a terrific song-and-dance man just coming off ROOTS, and Jeff Goldblum were the stars. At the time, nobody knew who Goldblum was, and I suspect ABC viewers of 1979 just thought he was too weird to watch every week.
I think all the themes to Cannell's shows were composed by Mike Post or Post with Pete Carpenter.
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Big problem was the scheduling: CBS' Sunday night lineup of veteran sitcoms really got hot that year, and had 60 MINUTES as a lead in, television's number 1 show that year. This one really seemed like a can't miss, and the ads were all over TV Guide and the network, and I remember the ratings being decent all things considered, but ABC didn't give it much of a chance. Maybe they were starting to panic after falling out of the number 1 spot that season and seeing previously infallible hits like MORK AND MINDY and ANGIE take huge hits due to tinkering.
A great series -- right in there with Cannell's CITY OF ANGELS and RICHIE BROCKELMAN, PRIVATE EYE, two other flops. But THE A-TEAM was a hit...?
Really loved this series at the time and have never forgotten it or its charming theme song. My girlfriends and I fell in love with Jeff Goldblum and really enjoyed his characterization which seemed to pretty much set the tone for much of his subsequent work. Great write-up!
I loved this show back in the day. I had to beg to stay up to watch it, as I recall. I'll have to make the effort to get the DVDs.
This was a strange show that I watched from the get-go...
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