Episode Guide: Nichols

“Where is your gun?”
“I don’t need one.”
“How do you arrest people?”
“Moral authority.”

James Garner has called this his favorite of all the films and television shows he’s done. Teamed with Frank Pierson, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of COOL HAND LUKE and CAT BALLOU, Garner produced NICHOLS under his Cherokee Productions banner. One of the most progressive westerns ever seen on TV, NICHOLS was set in 1917 and mixed automobiles, telephones, and motorcycles with the traditional horses and six-shooters.

If MAVERICK was the inspiration for THE ROCKFORD FILES, NICHOLS was the warmup. Garner is again a reluctant hero, an ex-soldier who quits the Army to get rich. Gold, silver, he doesn’t care, so long as it makes him rich. Tired of fighting, Nichols agrees to kiss a pig in the pilot in order to avoid a beating. NICHOLS’ non-violent, non-traditional, humorous take on westerns led to conflict between the filmmakers and NBC, which wanted the same ol’ same ol’.

Nichols became the town’s reluctant sheriff whose stance against violence extended to his refusal to carry a gun. The rest of the supporting cast included Ma Ketcham (Neva Patterson), who ran the town, and her dimwitted son (John Beck), called Ketcham; Mitch (Stuart Margolin in a dry run for his Emmy-winning turn as Angel on THE ROCKFORD FILES), Ketcham’s equally dim sidekick and Nichols’ deputy; and Ruth (Margot Kidder), the sexy young bartender at the town saloon who shared a flirtatious relationship with Nichols.

With the seventh episode, the title card was changed to read “James Garner as NICHOLS.” This has led some to write that the name of the series was altered from NICHOLS to JAMES GARNER AS NICHOLS, but I don’t know if I believe it. This was supposedly a desperate attempt at drawing viewers, as if the audience didn’t already know Garner was the star, his credit had to come three seconds earlier to lure them in.

Ratings were not good, but NICHOLS managed to last the entire season. Many episodes centered on a swindle or con in an effort to convince viewers NICHOLS was like MAVERICK. While never action-packed, the show started to introduce more gunplay and fights. NICHOLS’ worst enemy, unfortunately, was probably its whimsy. It’s hard to imagine any other westerns doing a show about the leading man taking care of a dog or betting on an amateur baseball game. In a cheeky move, Beck co-starred in two episodes as Orville, an exact double of Ketcham who teamed up with Nichols for adventure.

NICHOLS premiered on Thursdays opposite LONGSTREET (James Franciscus as a blind insurance investigator) and THE CBS THURSDAY NIGHT MOVIES. After a couple of months, NBC moved it to Tuesdays, where it was clobbered opposite CBS’ CANNON.

NICHOLS
James Garner as Nichols
Margot Kidder as Ruth
Neva Patterson as Ma Ketcham
John Beck as Ketcham
Stuart Margolin as Mitch

Creator: Frank R. Pierson
Executive Producer: Meta Rosenberg
Producer: Frank R. Pierson
Assistant Producer: Michael Zinberg
Script Consultant: Robert Foster
Production Manager: Terry Nelson
Cinematographer: Lamar Boren
Music: Bernardo Segall
A Cherokee Production
In association with Warner Brothers Television


“Pilot”
September 16, 1971
Writer: Frank R. Pierson
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Stars: Paul Hampton, John Quade, John Harding, Wayne Heffley, Harry Hickox, Owen Bush

1917, Arizona. Nichols resigns his commission after eighteen years in the U.S. Army and returns to his family’s hometown of Nichols to get away from guns and violence and settle down. Unfortunately, the town is a lot different from when he left. The family ranch is in the hands of new owners. The town is run by the rich and ornery Ketcham family. And Nichols is forced to become the new sheriff to pay off a debt.


“The Siege”
September 23, 1971
Writer: Shimon Wincelberg
Director: Paul Bogart
Guest Cast: Ricardo Montalban, Armand Alzamora, Stefan Gierasch, Wayne Heffley, John Harding, Barbara Collentine, Anna Marie Majalca, James Reeves, Vernon Weddle, Chuey Franco, Toby Anderson

Colonel Alvarez (Ricardo Montalban), a notorious Mexican revolutionary called “El Aguila,” comes to Nichols to seek out its town doctor, Dr. Bernstein (Stefan Gierasch), to cure his toothache. Nichols works out a deal with Alvarez to keep his men out of trouble, but Ketcham and the other townspeople are getting restless.


“Indian Giver”
September 30, 1971
Writer: Theodore J. Flicker
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Cast: Michael Tolan, James Greene, John Harding, Judd Pratt, Britt Leach, William Patterson, Eddie Quillan, Richard Bull

Flying Fox (Michael Tolan), an alcoholic Princeton-educated Apache, comes to Nichols to claim land given to his father by the federal government—the Ketchams’ ranch.


“Paper Badge”
October 7, 1971
Writer: William Wood
Director: Paul Bogart
Guest Cast: Joyce Van Patten, John Rubinstein, Ray Reinhardt, Tracy Bogart, James Lee Reeves, James Beach, John Evans, E.A. Sirianni, Dick Ryal

Nichols’ new deputy, a green criminology student named Fred Buckerman (John Rubinstein), runs afoul of both Ketchum and a celebrity passing through town, the glamorous actress Arletta McGreevey (Joyce Van Patten).


“Gulley vs. Hansen”
October 14, 1971
Teleplay: Shimon Wincelberg
Story: Frank R. Pierson
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Cast: Robert Gist, Charles McGraw, Jack Garner, M. Emmet Walsh, Joe Brown, Joanie Larson, Ralph Montgomery, Jerry Harper

Nichols plays peacemaker and tries to prevent a fatal shootout between two old coots (Gist, McGraw) who have been feuding for the past twenty years.


“Deer Crossing”
October 21, 1971
Teleplay: Shimon Wincelberg
Story: Frank R. Pierson
Director: William Wiard
Guest Cast: Ray Danton, Gene Evans, William Bramley

Nichols comes between Ketcham and a renegade Apache (Ray Danton), both of whom are out to shoot a magnificent eight-point buck two weeks before hunting season.


“The Specialists”
October 28, 1971
Writer: George Kirgo
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Cast: Ralph Waite, Don Keefer, Michael Baseleon, Henry Beckman, Robert F. Simon, Charles Dierkop, Poupee Bocar, Stefan Gierasch, John Harding, John Crawford, Ralph James

Nichols assembles a squad of his old Army buddies—all specialists—for a mission to steal $200,000 in stolen gold from an outlaw in Mexico.


“Peanuts and Cracker Jacks”
November 4, 1971
Writer: Bud Freeman
Director: Peter Tewksbury
Guest Cast: Med Flory, Alice Ghostley, Paul Hampton, Wayne Heffley, Richard Bull, M. Emmet Walsh, E.J. Andre, William Christopher, Buck Kartalian, Florence Lake, James Reeves, Don Newcombe, Art Passarella, Ken Endoso, E.D. Sirianni, Raphael Lopez, Moosie Drier, Sarah Fankboner

To raise money for the town, Nichols challenges an Army baseball team to an exhibition game. Of course, he’s got a wager going on the side, and to ensure victory, he brings in a ringer, a former pro named Rusty Sills (Med Flory).


“Ketcham Power”
November 11, 1971
Writer: Gene L. Coon
Director: Peter Tewksbury
Guest Cast: Alan Oppenheimer, Clifford David, M. Emmet Walsh, Don Pedro Colley, Hoke Howell, John Harding, Stefan Gierasch, E.J. Andre, James Lee Reeves, James Beach, William Patterson, Harry Harvey

After Mitch breaks his ankle, Ma installs her bullying, drunken lout son Ketcham as the temporary deputy at the same time a pair of dangerous con artists, Averill (Alan Oppenheimer) and Billings (Clifford David), hit Nichols.


“The One-Eyed Mule’s Time Has Come”
November 23, 1971
Writer: Jack Curtis
Director: Gerd Oswald
Guest Cast: Kristoffer Tabori, Roy Jenson, Walter Burke, Rayford Barnes, Jerry Summers, Lillian Bronson, Edith Leslie

James Garner is the only regular cast member to appear in this episode, which finds Nichols trapped in a cellar by an earthquake with a crippled young soldier (Kristoffer Tabori) and a mule that may be contagious.


“Away the Rolling River”
November 30, 1971
Writer: Ken Kolb and Juanita Bartlett
Director: Ivan Dixon
Guest Cast: Steve Forrest, Stefan Gierasch, John Day, Richard Yniguez, William Paterson

Nichols’ old Army buddy, Sam Jaeger (Steve Forrest), gets drummed out of the service and arrives in town to convince Nichols to rob a payroll train and run away to Nicaragua.


“Where Did Everybody Go?”
December 7, 1971
Writer: Buck Houghton
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Cast: Nira Barab, Jesse Vint, Bill Vint, Alan Vint, Paul Hampton, Robert Gist, Richard Bull, John Harding, Robert Gibbons, Dana Derfus, James Lee Reeves, Bennie Dobbins

Free-spirited Mabel Zimmerman (Nira Barab) arrives in Nichols and drives the men crazy with her flirting. But her jealous boyfriend Bob Springer (Bill Vint) wants her back and sends his brother Charlie (Jesse Vint) to Nichols to fetch her. I believe this was the first episode produced after the pilot, but was held back until December for airing. Casting the real-life Vint brothers as siblings was an interesting idea.


“The Marrying Fool”
December 28, 1971
Writer: Ben Masselink
Director: Gerald Mayer
Guest Cast: Tom Skerritt, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Susan Tyrell, John Harding, Barbara Collentine, Joe Billings, Joe Brown

Ruth returns from a vacation with a surprise for Nichols: a fiancé (Tom Skerritt). But—whoops—he’s already married, and his wife’s father (Gerald S. O’Loughlin) is out for blood.


“Eddie Joe”
January 4, 1972
Teleplay: Frank R. Pierson and William Wood
Story: Robert Van Scoyk
Director: John Badham
Guest Cast: Paul Winfield, Warren Vanders, Eric Laneuville, James Daris, Lou Frizzell, Scatman Crothers, Jester Hairston, Napoleon Whiting, James Beach, John J. Fox, Howard Dayton, Sam Javis

Nichols protects the new chef (Paul Winfield) at Ruth’s café, an escaped convict on the run from an old prison enemy (Warren Vanders) and a federal marshal (James Daris).


“Zachariah”
January 11, 1972
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
Director: Ivan Dixon
Guest Cast: Strother Martin, Barry Cahill, Marc Lawrence, Edward Faulkner, Barbara Collentine, Luis Delgado, Dick Ryal

In one of the series’ most MAVERICK-y episodes, Nichols, his uncle Zachariah (Strother Martin), and two ex-cons attempt to swindle one another out of a missing $32,000.


“The Unholy Alliance”
January 18, 1972
Writer: Ben Masselink
Director: John Badham
Guest Cast: Noam Pitlik, Jennifer Gan, Liam Dunn, Orwin Harvey, Chuck Hicks, William Christopher, Ted Gehring, Regis J. Cordic

$475,000 is sitting in the Nichols town bank after robbers led by Jack (Noam Pitlik) cause a landslide and delay the train carrying the money. They mistake Nichols for a safecracker named Fingers (Liam Dunn) and force him to break into the bank vault.


“Slight of Hand”
February 1, 1972
Story: Frank Telford
Teleplay: Juanita Bartlett and Frank Telford
Director: Ivan Dixon
Guest Cast: Bo Hopkins, Dabbs Greer, Jonathan Lippe, Luis Delgado, William Christopher, Barbara Collentine, Frederick Downs, Duncan McLeod, Harvey Johnson, Chester Grimes, Steve Chambers

The town of Nichols gets gold fever when country boy Kansas (Bo Hopkins) arrives with a gold mine for sale. Little do the townspeople know they’re being swindled by father-and-son loan sharks (Dabbs Greer, Jonathan Lippe).


“Wings of an Angel”
February 8, 1972
Writer: Robert Foster and Buck Houghton
Director: Ivan Dixon
Guest Cast: John Crawford, Val Avery, John Harding, Richard Bull, Jack Garner, M. Emmet Walsh, Chuck Hicks, Richard Stahl

In a clever piece of casting, series regular John Beck guests as Orv, a barnstorming pilot who crashes on his way to a world record in Santa Monica. Nichols convinces him to use his biplane to help capture a mass murderer named the Dutchman (Chuck Hicks).


“About Jesse James”
February 15, 1972
Writer: James L. Henderson & Sam Roeca
Director: William Wiard
Guest Cast: Jack Elam, Charles McGraw, Fran Ryan, Vincent Van Patten, Dort Clark, Rance Howard, Dennis Robertson, Paul Brinegar, Charles Knapp, Frank Bonner, John Rayner, Barry O’Hara, John Bunzel

An old woman (Fran Ryan) who escaped from an asylum tips Nichols that Jesse James is still alive and using the name Hopkins. Lured by the $123,000 in reward money still on the books for James’ capture, Nichols, with the unwelcome help of a con man named Baxter (Jack Elam), tracks down Hopkins (Charles McGraw) while disguised as a priest.


“Fight of the Century”
February 22, 1972
Story: Gilbert Ralston
Teleplay: Marion Hargrove and Gilbert Ralston
Director: William Wiard
Guest Cast: Ray Young, H.B. Haggerty, Ed Flanders

A fast-talking promoter (“Special Guest” Ed Flanders) convinces Nichols to put up a dim-but-sweet local boy (Ray Young) against his barnstorming heavyweight (H.B. Haggerty).


“Man’s Best Enemy”
February 29, 1972
Writer: Bud Freeman
Director: Tony Leader
Guest Cast: Lou Wagner, Kelly Thordsen, Iler Rasmussen, M. Emmet Walsh, James Lee Reeves, John Harding, Richard Bull, Nora Marlowe, Olan Soule, Barbara Collentine, James Beach, Kay E. Kuter

Nichols tries to take care of Mitch’s ornery dog, while also guarding a dangerous escape artist and accused murderer (Lou Wagner).


“Wonder Fizz Flies Again”
March 7, 1972
Writer: Robert Foster
Director: Frank R. Pierson
Guest Cast: Allyn Ann McLerie, Val Avery, Ramon Bieri, Jay Varela, Priscilla Garcia, Rayford Barnes, Chuey Franco, Douglas Dirkson, Henry Allin

Series regular John Beck reprises his double role as biplane pilot Orv from “Wings of an Angel.” He and Nichols team up for a mission across the Mexican border to rescue the kidnapped daughter of an Army captain (“Special Guest” Ramon Bieri).


“All in the Family”
March 14, 1972
Story: Frank R. Pierson
Teleplay: Juanita Bartlett
Director: Jeremy Paul Kagan
Guest Cast: Anthony Zerbe, Marge Redmond, John Quade, John Harding, Russ McCubbin, Luis Delgado, Ray Pourchot, Chester Grimes, Buck Kartalian

In the series finale, Nichols is shockingly murdered by mean drunk Quinn (Anthony Zerbe). Even more of a shock is the arrival of his tougher, more serious twin brother, Jim Nichols (played by James Garner, natch), who vows not to leave town until he brings in the killer.


“Bertha”
May 16, 1972
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
Director: Robert Butler
Guest Cast: Alice Ghostley, Gale Dixon, Karl Lukas, Eve Bruce, Maria Gahva, Sandy Brown Wyeth, James Lee Reeves, William Christopher, Barbara Collentine, Buck Kartalian, Gregg Palmer, Herman Poppe, Larry Gelman, John Taylor, Richard Wright

James Garner plays the original Nichols character in an episode that NBC preempted in November 1971 and later aired during summer repeats. To earn quick cash for another investment scheme, Nichols takes over the local brothel owned by Bertha (Alice Ghostley) while her daughter (Gale Dixon) is in town.

Here's the NICHOLS pilot, which should play in its entirety as a YouTube playlist:

Episode Guide: Walking Tall

This is an updated version of a post on my old Tripod blog dated 4/17/06.

The cinematic saga of Buford Pusser began in the winter of 1973, when the now-defunct Cinerama Releasing Corporation released WALKING TALL, a crude, simplistic, violent R-rated drama about an ex-Marine and pro wrestler who returned to the Tennessee county of his childhood and single-handedly wiped out organized crime. Joe Don Baker played Pusser, who was elected sheriff of McNairy County after a severe beating by hoodlums left him scarred and near death.

WALKING TALL struck a major chord with rural audiences, who turned it into one of the year’s most talked-about and financially successful films. Pusser planned to portray himself in the 1975 sequel, but he was killed in a mysterious auto accident, and 6’6” Bo Svenson was enlisted to play the lawman who “walks tall and carries a big stick” in two movies and a short-lived NBC television series.

WALKING TALL, the series, premiered the same month that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th U.S. President, which may have been too soon. The Reagan administration’s black-and-white views on law and order were an influence on dozens of violent, high-octane Hollywood action movies, many of them starring macho men like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Chuck Norris. But when NBC debuted WALKING TALL on January 17, 1981, audiences were still in the sensitive grip of the Carter era and perhaps weren’t quite prepared for a single-minded law enforcer who eschewed the civil rights of the accused if they stood in the way of what he considered to be justice.

Svenson, a familiar face to TV audiences from schlocky TV-movies like GOLD OF THE AMAZON WOMEN and SNOWBEAST, probably felt right at home with Sheriff Buford Pusser’s badge and “pacifier” (his term for the hefty four-foot club he carried in the back seat of his police car) in hand again. The show’s premise was just like that of the WALKING TALL movies in which Svenson had starred. He again was a widower who lived in McNeal (changed from McNairy) County, Tennessee with his father Carl (Walter Barnes, taking over for Noah Beery and Forrest Tucker), son Michael and daughter Dwana. McNeal was a small rural community where everybody knew everybody else, which didn’t make it as difficult as you would think for some of its citizens to get into trouble with the law and run afoul of Buford’s temper.

NBC scheduled WALKING TALL for 8:00pm Central on Saturday nights. Its CBS rival, the shortlived FREEBIE AND THE BEAN (also an action-oriented spinoff of a successful film), was no competition, but both series were slammed in the ratings by THE LOVE BOAT, which formed a Saturday-night juggernaut with FANTASY ISLAND for several years on ABC. After five episodes, the show was pulled, only to reappear six weeks later at 9:00pm on Tuesdays, where another smash ABC series, HART TO HART, buried it, this time for good. Only seven episodes of WALKING TALL were made, and all of them are available on DVD from Columbia/Tri-Star. Because I believe that no TV series should be forgotten, what follows is a somewhat comprehensive WALKING TALL episode guide. Print it out and keep it next to your remote.

WALKING TALL
Bo Svenson as Sheriff Buford Pusser
Walter Barnes as Carl Pusser
Harold Sylvester as Deputy Aaron Fairfax
Courtney Pledger as Deputy Joan Litton
Jeff Lester as Deputy Grady Spooner
Heather McAdam as Dwana Pusser
Rad Daly as Michael Pusser

Music: Edd Kalehoff
Cinematographer: William Gereghty
Editors: Bob Fish, Richard Freeman, Rod Stephens
Production Designer: Stan Jolley
Associate Producer: Stephen Cragg
Producer: Mel Swope
Executive Producer: David Gerber

“The Killing of McNeal County’s Children”
January 17, 1981
Writer: Stephen Downing
Director: Alf Kjellin
Guest Cast: Robert Englund, Charles McDaniel, Eric Stoltz, Whit Bissell.

Pusser investigates when two teenagers become brain-damaged after a few puffs of some powerful new PCP cigarettes. He threatens pusher Bobby Joe Wilson (Englund, later Freddy Krueger in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and is nearly killed when Wilson’s home lab explodes, but still fails to stop the ring led by oily businessman Oliver Moss (McDaniel). Even Buford’s environmentally dubious strategy of assaulting Moss’ trucks and dumping their chemical contents onto the highway makes little dent in the drug’s onslaught of the local high school. It gets personal after two classmates (one is played by future star Stoltz) drug Michael Pusser’s drink with angel dust, which leaves him perched on the school roof thinking he can fly.

“The Protectors of the People”
January 24, 1981
Writer: Donald R. Boyle
Director: Daniel Haller
Guest Cast: Charles Napier, Jesse Vint, William Windom, William Sanderson, Otis Young, Dey Young.

This episode may have the show’s best guest stars, and Boyle (the show’s executive story editor) gives them an incendiary topic to bite into. McNeal runs afoul of the Ku Klux Klan, mainly in the personage of vile Napier (the great character actor with the toothy grin), sadistic Sanderson (NEWHART) and store owner Vint (FORBIDDEN WORLD). In their repulsive desperation to make the county all-white, they attack a white teenage girl while disguised in blackface and then blow up a store owned by black businessman Otis Young (THE LAST DETAIL). It all gets terribly out of control when Pusser’s black deputy Aaron (Harold Sylvester) is framed for raping a white woman.

“Kidnapped”
January 31, 1981
Writer: Paul Savage
Director: John Florea
Guest Cast: Chuck Connors, Edward Albert

Theo Brewster (Connors in a “special cameo appearance”) is shot by a guard during his commission of a bank robbery and taken into custody to Pusser’s jail, where he lies on life support. His sons--also his fellow bank robbers--plot to break him out by taking a local family and Buford’s father hostage.

“Hitman”
March 31, 1981
Writer: Robert E. Swanson
Director: Alf Kjellin
Guest Cast: Merlin Olsen, L.Q. Jones

Not a terribly original concept, but strong direction, particularly during the final act, and good performances make the episode worthwhile. NBC sportscaster and former Los Angeles Ram Olsen, just a few months before starring in his own NBC drama, FATHER MURPHY, is Webb McClain, an old friend of Buford’s who returns to McNeal County to renew their relationship. Unbeknownst to Pusser, however, McClain is an assassin who has been hired by mobster Jones to murder Buford. Svenson and Olsen play the tension perfectly, giving the incredulous idea necessary weight.

“Company Town”
April 7, 1981
Writer: Lee Sheldon
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Guest Cast: Ralph Bellamy, Lane Bradbury, Art Hindle, Claude Earl Jones

Leaving his regular supporting players behind, Pusser travels to a mining town to investigate the disappearance of a miner who had been riling his employers with talk about low wages and unsafe working conditions. Learning of other missing mining workers with similar rabble-rousing backgrounds, Buford follows the trail of bodies all the way up to the mine’s owner, James Clausen (Bellamy), and his hot-headed son Stuart (Hindle).

“Deadly Impact”
April 14, 1981
Writer: Gregory S. Dinallo
Director: Alexander Singer
Guest Cast: Gail Strickland, Ken Swofford, Richard Herd, James Whitmore Jr.

Credit director Singer and guest star Strickland for pulling off a late-in-the-game story twist that provides this episode with an effective dramatic punch. It smells like SILKWOOD when chemical plant employee Strickland suspects her boss of authorizing illegal dumps of toxic wastes into the nearby river. After she’s nearly run off the road, Pusser protects her from further attempts on her life by putting her up with Carl and the kids at his house, where his relationship with her turns from professional to personal.

“The Fire Within”
June 6, 1981
Writer: Lee Sheldon
Director: Phil Bondelli
Guest Cast: James MacArthur, Ed Nelson, Lance LeGault, Anthony Edwards, John McLiam, Richard Venture

MacArthur, a veteran of eleven seasons on HAWAII FIVE-0, exchanges his badge for a collar in this “special guest star” role as Father Adair, a new priest who takes the confession of a dying criminal. His vows prevent him from telling Pusser any information about what the man was involved with, namely a gunrunning operation masterminded by McNeal County real-estate agent Ed Campbell (Nelson). Look for future ER star Edwards as a horny teenager.

After WALKING TALL’s quick cancellation, star Svenson continued to rack up an army of television and film credits. Many of them were in exploitation movies such as NIGHT WARNING (in which he played a homophobic cop) and the Italian THUNDER WARRIOR (he also reunited with Charles Napier in the Fred Olen Ray ALIEN-ripoff DEEP SPACE), but his best TV performance of the era was a memorable turn in MAGNUM, P.I.’s third-season premiere as Ivan, a KGB agent who had tortured Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) in Vietnam and murdered Magnum’s friend Mac in Hawaii. The final confrontation between Magnum and Ivan was quite a corker and is probably the series’ finest moment.

Brian Dennehy played Buford Pusser in A REAL AMERICAN HERO, a CBS movie that aired in 1978, The Rock starred in a 2004 WALKING TALL remake that had nearly nothing to do with the original films or the Buford Pusser legend, and Kevin Sorbo (HERCULES) played Pusser in two direct-to-video sequels to the Rock movie.

The seven one-hour television episodes on DVD are nothing like TV crime drama at its finest, but its realistic location shooting (all in Southern California, it appears), fine actors, sharp action scenes, and committed, passionate lead performance by Bo Svenson, who could usually be counted on for one deeply felt monologue per show, make it an appealing curiosity for cop-show fans.

Episode Guide: The Protectors

THE BOLD ONES was an interesting experiment on the part of NBC and Universal to do something different in episodic drama. The idea was to produce three different television series and rotate them in the same Sunday night timeslot. Premiering in the fall of 1969, THE BOLD ONES was successful enough for the network and studio to continue the strategy for most of the 1970s in FOUR-IN-ONE, THE NBC WEDNESDAY MYSTERY MOVIE, and—most famously—THE NBC SUNDAY MYSTERY MOVIE, which gave us COLUMBO, MCMILLAN AND WIFE, and MCCLOUD, among other shows.

THE BOLD ONES began with three rotating series: THE NEW DOCTORS starring E.G. Marshall (THE DEFENDERS), John Saxon (ENTER THE DRAGON), and David Hartman (LUCAS TANNER); THE LAWYERS with Burl Ives, James Farentino (COOL MILLION), and Joseph Campanella (MANNIX); and the series written about here, THE PROTECTORS.

THE PROTECTORS was the least successful of the BOLD ONES ventures, lasting only six one-hour episodes following the pilot movie, DEADLOCK, which NBC aired in March 1969. Leslie Nielsen, who died November 28 at age 84, starred as Sam Danforth, the deputy police chief of San Sebastian, located in southern California. A politically conservative man who ran his force by the book, Danforth was brought in from Cleveland to clean up the city using modern police methods.

Danforth frequently clashed with Hari Rhodes (DAKTARI) as liberal district attorney William Washburn, who grew up in the San Sebastian ghetto. That Danforth was white and Washburn black played into the scripts’ attempts at relevancy. Rhodes passed away much too early in 1992 at age 59.

What’s perhaps most distinctive about THE PROTECTORS is its lack of a musical score. It’s an odd choice by executive producer Jack Laird (NIGHT GALLERY) and not an entirely successful one. The show seems slowly paced because of it, and while I suppose the choice was made to give the production more realism, it isn’t shot in such a way to suggest it. This strategy was abandoned in the final episode, which featured a rock score by Tom Scott.

An experimental fast-cutting style and cinematography by the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond in the first episode create the series’ strong visual sense. Another intriguing element is the use of audio from a political call-in radio show during the opening and closing scenes that paralleled the theme of each episode.

Partway through THE PROTECTORS’ run, NBC reportedly changed the title to THE LAW ENFORCERS in an effort to pick up viewers. Although THE LAWYERS and THE NEW DOCTORS proved quite popular with Sunday-night viewers, THE PROTECTORS was a flop and was cancelled after six shows.

Its replacement for the 1969-70 season was THE SENATOR, the most critically acclaimed BOLD ONES segment, starring Hal Holbrook as an idealistic politician, but it also didn’t last more than one season. THE LAWYERS and THE NEW DOCTORS filled out THE BOLD ONES’ third season with THE NEW DOCTORS holding the reins alone the fourth and final season.

I haven’t seen the pilot of THE PROTECTORS, which was directed by Lamont Johnson (another 2010 casualty) and written by Chester Krumholz and Robert E. Thompson with a story by William Sackheim and Roland Wolpert, but I have seen the six regular episodes and compiled the following episode guide.


THE PROTECTORS
Leslie Nielsen as Sam Danforth
Hari Rhodes as William Washburn

Music: Tom Scott (final episode only)
THE BOLD ONES Theme: Robert Prince
Cinematographers: Vilmos Zsigmond, Richard Batcheller, Richard C. Glouner
Art Director: Frank Arrigo, Alexander A. Mayer, Joseph Alves Jr.
Editors: Richard C. Meyer, Douglas Stewart, Thomas Scott, James Leicester
Associate Producer: Mark Rodgers
Producer: Jerrold Freedman
Creators: Roland Wolpert and William Sackheim
Executive Producer: Jack Laird
Filmed in Universal City, California at Universal Studios


“A Case of Good Whiskey at Christmas Time”
September 28, 1969
Teleplay: L.T. Bentwood and Betty Deveraux
Story: Robert I. Holt
Director: Robert Day
Guest Cast: Edward Andrews, Amy Thomson, Charles Drake, Lorraine Gary, Michael Bell, Frank Maxwell, Bart Carpinelli, Fabian Dean, Fred Williamson

Jack Sheehan (Charles Drake), a local politician suspected of accepting graft, is found floating in the harbor. Washburn and Danforth’s investigation of his murder uncovers corruption behind the construction of a low-income housing project.


“If I Should Wake Before I Die”
October 26, 1969
Teleplay: Adrian Spies
Story: Jerrold Freedman
Director: Daryl Duke
Guest Cast: Robert Drivas, Edmond O’Brien, Gene Evans, Milton Selzer, Len Wayland, Connie Kreski, Regis Cordic, Ron Stokes, Arthur Malet

Robert Drivas is excellent as Martin Sitomer, a Death Row prisoner who earns a new trial, causing Danforth to reopen the investigation that will provide a sympathetic Washburn with enough evidence to convict.


“Draw a Straight Man”
December 14, 1969
Writer: Sam Washington
Director: William Hale
Guest Cast: Michael Bell, Celeste Yarnall, Janine Gray, William Mims, Tom Reese, Peter Brocco, Charles Brewer, S. John Launer, Terence Garin, Bill Hickman

Washburn and Danforth are at odds when an elderly night watchman implicates two police officers in a robbery ring.


“The Carrier”
January 11, 1970
Teleplay: Mark Rodgers and Barry Trivers
Story: Paul Stein & Charles Watts
Director: Frank Arrigo
Guest Cast: Louise Sorel, Clifford David, Barbara Babcock, Frank Maxwell, Peter Mamakos, Mikel Angel, Joseph Perry, Carl Byrd, Walter Mathews, Carmen Zapata, Richard Dillon, Ira Angustain, Kurtis Laird

Danforth urgently seeks a Mexican-American boy and a man (Clifford David) who were exposed to a deadly virus that endangers the entire city. Directed by the series’ art director. Universal remade the teleplay as the KOJAK episode “A Wind from Corsica.”


“A Thing Not of God”
February 1, 1970
Teleplay: Mark Rodgers
Story: Harold Livingston and Mark Rodgers
Director: Jerrold Freedman
Guest Cast: Lynn Carlin, James Broderick, Lew Brown, Garry Walberg, Peter Brocco, Kenneth Kirk, Stuart Thomas, Carl Byrd

A priest (James Broderick) is attacked while protecting a young soldier (John Rubinstein) who’s thinking of deserting the Army.


“Memo from the Class of ‘76”
March 8, 1970
Teleplay: Ben Masselink
Story: Jerrold Freedman
Director: Daryl Duke
Guest Cast: Norma Crane, Billy Gray, Peter Hooten, Michael C. Gwynne, Claude Johnson, Danny Smaller, William Wintersole, Steve Pendleton, Carl Byrd, Richard Collier, Stuart Nisbet, S. John Launer, Matt Pelto, Fredricka Myers, Jack Bender, Don Lorbett, Cathe Cozzi

Danforth declares war on the local high school when several popular students are arrested for possessing marijuana. He has good reason to be worried when a new batch of acid is discovered to be deadly.


Here's an example of the main titles for THE BOLD ONES featuring the Robert Prince theme. However, it's from the second year after THE SENATOR had replaced THE PROTECTORS in the rotation:

Episode Guide: Broken Badges

Stephen J. Cannell, who died in September at age 69, was one of television’s greatest writer/producers. Shows carrying his credit include THE ROCKFORD FILES, THE A-TEAM, HARDCASTLE & MCCORMICK, ADAM-12, and THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO.

But they weren’t all hits. Several Cannell series you may have never heard of, since they weren’t on the air very long, were released on DVD earlier this year in a box set called PRIME TIME CRIME: THE STEPHEN J. CANNELL COLLECTION. Included are all seven episodes of BROKEN BADGES, a series Cannell co-created with Randall Wallace, who went from this series to earning an Oscar nomination for penning the BRAVEHEART screenplay.

BROKEN BADGES fits nicely into the Cannell oeuvre with its theme of outsiders and misfits fighting crime and forming a tight family unit. Miguel Ferrer, just off a memorable role on TWIN PEAKS, starred as Beau Jack Bowman, a maverick New Orleans cop in trouble with his bosses after he drove a garbage truck through a house in pursuit of drug dealers. To get him out of their hair, the brass send Beau Jack to Bay City, California to extradite a prisoner and ends up joining a trio of mentally unstable detectives to capture a murderer.

Since no one wants to work with the three officers, all of whom have personality disorders that put them on the department’s restricted list, Bowman decides to stay in Bay City and work with them as part of a special squad. His new partners are Stanley Jones (Jay Johnson), a short ventriloquist (with a dummy dressed as a policeman) who becomes violent whenever anyone mentions his size; Toby Baker (Ernie Hudson), a depressed kleptomaniac; and J.J. “Bullets” Tingreedies (Eileen Davidson), an aggressive woman who’s addicted to danger. Also on the team is Dr. Priscilla Mather (Charlotte Lewis), a police psychiatrist whose job is to keep Bowman’s team out of trouble. Good luck.

BROKEN BADGES was not on CBS’ 1990-91 fall schedule, but was pressed into service when its eco-action series E.A.R.T.H. FORCE with Gil Gerard crumbled after just three weeks on the air. The network had no better luck with Cannell and Wallace’s series, which was quickly canceled after only four episodes (the same day as WISEGUY, another Cannell series). The remaining three shows were burned off by CBS the following June.

It’s no surprise BROKEN BADGES was a bust, as it never found the correct balance of humor and action. Ferrer and Hudson are really good, but Davidson forces the tough-chick stuff and standup comic Johnson (SOAP) is too silly to pull the cop stuff off. Another point in the series’ favor is its rollicking Cajun-flavored theme song penned by Mike Post.

BROKEN BADGES
Miguel Ferrer as Beau Jack Bowman
Eileen Davidson as Judith J. “Bullet” Tingreedies
Jay Johnson as Stanley Jones
Teresa Donahoe as Dr. Eleanor Hardwick (pilot only)
Charlotte Lewis as Priscilla Mather
Ernie Hudson as Toby Baker

Music: Mike Post, Velton Ray Bunch
Theme: Mike Post
Cinematographers: Cyrus Block, John S. Bartley
Art Directors: Graeme Murray (pilot only), Stephen Geaghan
Editors: Larry D. Lester (pilot only), Argyle Coe Nelson, Casey O’Rohrs (pilot only), Ron Spang, Albert J.J. Zuniga
Associate Producers: Bruce Golin, Alan Cassidy, Gary Skeen Hall
Supervising Producer: Jo Swerling Jr.
Co-Supervising Producer: Jack Bernstein
Producer: John Peter Kousakis (pilot only)
Producer: Joan Carson
Creator: Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace
Executive Producers: Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace
A Stephen J. Cannell Production
Filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

“Pilot” (2 hours)
November 24, 1990
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace
Director: Kim Manners
Guest Cast: Ada Maris, Carlos Gomez, Tobin Bell, Richard Riehle, Forry Smith, Don S. Davis, Michael MacRae, Ismael (East) Carlo, Tim Neil, Gary Chalk, Leslie Carlson, Gerry Bean, Rosanna Iverson, Jessica Marlowe, Rob Roy, R. Nelson Brown, John Cuthbert, Adrien Dorval, Terry Barclay, Dwight Koss, Michael Rogers, Howard Kruschke, Richard Sargent, Rob Johnson, Barbara Constantine, Phil Hayes, Michael Tiernan, Peter Bibby, Maureen Wilson, Pat Bermel, Kehli O’Byrne, Michael A. Jackson, Mitch Kosterman, Allan Lysell, Rosanne Hopkins

Bowman extradites prisoner Frank Cardenas (Carlos Gomez) from New Orleans to Bay City to stand trial for the murder of his parents. He believes businessman Martin Valentine (Tobin Bell) framed the young man, but when the Bay City cops refuse the listen to Bowman, he recruits Bullet, Jones, and Baker to find proof of Frank’s innocence.

“Chucky”
December 22, 1990
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell
Director: Kim Manners
Guest Cast: Don S. Davis, Diedrich Bader, Clint Carmichael, Garry Chalk, Alec Burden, Lyle Alzado, Robin Smith, Steve Oatway, Roger Crossley, Veronica Lorenz, John Tierney, Marcy Mellish, Lana Higgins, William MacDonald, Steve Adams, Sharlene Martin, Graeme Kingston, Bruce Corkum

When Toby is accused of murdering hood Tommy Moran (Lyle Alzado), Bullets goes undercover as a hostess at Moran’s club and Stanley befriends Tommy’s naïve son Chucky (Diedrich Bader) to find the real killer.

“Westside Stories”
December 1, 1990
Writer: Jack Bernstein
Director: James Whitmore Jr.
Guest Cast: David Naughton, Don S. Davis, Heidi Zeigler, Mary Jo Keenen, Peter Blackwood, Merrilyn Gann, Rebecca Toolan, Sandra Carpenter, Georgie Major, Paul Haddad

Our crazy cops infiltrate a hoity-toity country club to catch a cat burglar (David Naughton) who accidentally killed a man on his last job.

“Can I Get a Witness?”
June 20, 1991
Writer: Jack Bernstein
Director: David Nutter
Guest Cast: Andrew Hill Newman, Anne Betancourt, Don S. Davis, Jerry Wasserman, Jason Scott, Frank Ferrucci, Suki Kaiser, Jack Ammon, Dwight McFee, Lon Katzmann, Brent Chapman, Donna Carroll White, Pedro Salvin, Ahnee Boyce, Lenno Britos

Bowman and the team are assigned to transport a government witness, nerdy accountant Max (Andrew Hill Newman), back to Bay City, but a hit squad hired by Max’s druglord boss (Anne Betancourt) is right on their tail.

“Meet Your Matchmaker”
June 6, 1991
Writer: Jack Bernstein
Director: Tucker Gates
Guest Cast: Brian L. Green, Forry Smith, Garry Chalk, Paul Boretski, Tamsin Kelley, French Tickner, Larry Hill, Ellie Harvie, Glynis Davies, Norman Armour, Deryl Hayes, Terry Arrowsmith

Stanley joins a video dating service to smoke out a serial killer who’s bumping off the company’s clients.

“Strawberry”
December 8, 1990
Writer: Randall Wallace
Director: Jonathan Sanger
Guest Cast: Jamie Rose, Tim Neil, Jay Brazeau, Andrew Johnston, Brent Stait, Howard Jerome, Sharlene Martin, Claudio de Victor, Ken Budd, Alex Taylor, Celia Louise Martin

Beau Jack’s old partner (Tim Neil) arrives in Bay City, and warns the squad that Beau Jack may be the target of a sexy ex-cop (Jamie Rose) he sent to prison back in New Orleans.

“Argo the Venusian”
June 13, 1991
Writer: Randall Wallace
Director: Alan Cooke
Guest Cast: Forry Smith, Garry Chalk, Jano Frandsen, Elena Stiteler, James Kidnie, Sam Malkin, Andre Daniels, Terry King, Douglas Stewart

Beau Jack and the team come to the aid of a fellow cop (Forry Smith) who is accused of killing his secret girlfriend’s husband, a noted mobster.

See BROKEN BADGES' opening title sequence with Mike Post's cool Cajun theme song, which leads off this collection of TV themes from 1991:

Episode Guide: George Burns Comedy Week

89-year-old George Burns became the oldest person to host a prime-time television series when GEORGE BURNS COMEDY WEEK premiered on CBS in the fall of 1985. On paper, it sounded like a great concept: a weekly anthology of half-hour comedies hosted by Burns and executive-produced by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb, who first worked together as staff writers on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR in 1968.

Despite an impressive roster of talent both before and behind the camera, GEORGE BURNS COMEDY WEEK didn’t go. Perhaps the format was the problem, as anthologies were already a dead genre in 1985. Or maybe it was the fact it was following Flip Wilson’s dud sitcom CHARLIE AND COMPANY on Wednesday nights opposite DYNASTY, the year’s seventh-highest rated series, on ABC. At any rate, thirteen episodes and gone was GEORGE BURNS COMEDY WEEK, despite some damn fine episodes.

The cream of the crop were “Late for Dinner,” which established the series’ brand of absurdist humor; “The Couch,” which spawned a series of its own, the shortlived LEO & LIZ IN BEVERLY HILLS starring Harvey Korman and Valerie Perrine; “Disaster at Buzz Creek,” a rare foray into episodic television by director John Landis (TRADING PLACES); “The Assignment: A Philip Flick Adventure,” a clever adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman’s classic short story “The Mission”; and “The Borrowing” with funny lead performances by adept ad-libbers Peter Bonerz (THE BOB NEWHART SHOW) and Michael McKean (THIS IS SPINAL TAP).

Host: George Burns
Executive Producers: Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb
Producers: George E. Crosby and Paul Perlove
Creative Consultant: Earl Pomerantz
Executive Story Editor: Pamela Pettler
Story Editor: David Axelrod
Associate Producers: Deborah Hwang and William Cairncross
Theme: Charles Fox, Claude Debussy
Music: Charles Fox, David Michael Frank, Ira Newborn, Ernest Gold, Jeff Barry, and Roger Steinman
Director of Photography: Ronald W. Browne
40 Share Productions Inc.
In association with
Universal

“The Dynamite Girl”
September 18, 1985
Guest Cast: Catherine O’Hara, Tim Matheson, Ruth Buzzi, Richard Libertini, Mason McCalman, Julie Payne

The only episode of GEORGE BURNS COMEDY WEEK I haven’t seen, so I’m relying on TV.com’s plot description: In the series premiere, an escaped mental patient (Catherine O'Hara) uses her pliable mind to react believably to any situation she confronts. When she's mistaken by a police lieutenant as a bomb expert, she proceeds to disarm the explosive.

“Home for Dinner”
September 25, 1985
Writer: Larry Levin & Jonathan Day
Director: Carl Gottlieb
Guest Cast: Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, Frank Bonner, Greg Morris, Anne Lockhart, Joe Flaherty, Don Calfa, Jonathan Ward, Susan Powell, Vincent Bufano, Jeanette O’Connor, Merritt Yohnka, Renee Victor

Robert (Eugene Levy) tries to fit in with his new suburban neighbors by accompanying them on a weekend fishing trip. Boy, is he surprised to learn that the boys on the block are really commandos hunting a Latin American dictator (Don Calfa)!

“Death Benefits”
October 2, 1985
Writer: Amy Heckerling & Neal Israel
Story: Irving Newman
Director: Neal Israel
Guest Cast: Joe Piscopo, Deborah Harmon, Robert Klein, Arthur Rosenberg, Gary Riley, Ian Abercrombie, William Boyett, John Wesley, Robert Lussier, Richard Partlow, Pamela Bach, Lee Arnone, Georgie Paul, Twink Caplan, Billy Beck, Arlene Lorre, Ed McCready

After Lou (Joe Piscopo) is prematurely declared legally dead by a physician, he tries to collect his life insurance from the shyster agent (Robert Klein) who sold it to him.

“The Smiths”
October 9, 1985
Writer: James Berg & Stan Zimmerman
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Guest Cast: Martin Mull, Tess Harper, Ken Stovitz, Gigi Vorgan, Candy Azzara, Jon Cedar, Floyd Levine, Michael Ensign, Hank Rolike, Cameron Young, Jeffrey Alan Chandler, Terry Camilleri, Brian Thompson, Mark Burke, Eric Fleeks, Marc Levine, Melanie Gaffin, Randy Norton

A mob accountant (Martin Mull) is put into Witness Protection and is whisked away to Albuquerque, where he discovers not only his new identity as Donald Smith, but also his new wife (Tess Harper) and kids.

“The Couch”
October 16, 1985
Teleplay: Ed Scharlach
Story: Steve Martin & Carl Gottlieb
Director: Steve Martin
Guest Cast: Harvey Korman, Valerie Perrine, Carrie Fisher, Bronson Pinchot, Michael Ensign, Michael McManus, Jay Robinson, Jack Heller, Fritz Feld, Ken Olfson, Susan Powell, Michael J. Pollard, Phil Rubenstein, Ivor Barry, John Findlater, Arnold Turner, Dick Patterson, Marlena Giovi, Greg Collins, Gracia Lee, Parker Whitman, Mark Steen

The misadventures of Leo (Harvey Korman) and Liz (Valerie Perrine) and the very expensive sofa they purchased for their daughter’s wedding. Spawned the shortlived sitcom LEO AND LIZ IN BEVERLY HILLS.

“Disaster at Buzz Creek”
October 23, 1985
Writer: Andy Breckman
Director: John Landis
Guest Cast: Don Rickles, Don Knotts, Fannie Flagg, Stephen Collins, Jack Blessing, Paul Brinegar, Lana Clarkson, Paul Barselou, Linda Hoy, Craig Berenson

A small town on the verge of bankruptcy fakes an earthquake in order to qualify for aid, but must outsmart a government inspector (Stephen Collins).

“The Assignment: A Philip Flick Adventure”
October 30, 1985
Teleplay: Bruce Jay Friedman
Story: Bruce Jay Friedman’s “The Mission”
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Guest Cast: Telly Savalas, Elliott Gould, James Avery, Severn Darden, Diane Salinger, Michael Ansara, Freddye Chapman, Louis de Farra, John Hamelin, Bernard Kuby, Milt Jamin, Brian Thompson

Humorist Bruce Jay Friedman adapts his celebrated short story “The Mission,” which appeared in the March 7, 1964 issue of THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. A great white hunter (Elliott Gould) and his guide (Telly Savalas) set out into the African jungle to bag a very rare game animal.

“Dream, Dream, Dream”
November 6, 1985
Writer: David Simon
Director: John Fox
Guest Cast: Patrick Duffy, Colleen Camp, Geena Davis, Anthony Holland, Raymond Singer, Charles Fleischer, Beverly Hope Atkinson, Eve Brenner, Frank Birney, Kirk Wall, Bart Baker

An accountant (Patrick Duffy) escapes the drudgery of his life within his daydreams, where he has created and become fixated on his perfect woman (Geena Davis).

“Boris and Ivan in Las Vegas”
November 13, 1985
Story: Carl Gottlieb
Teleplay: Paul Perlove
Director: Carl Gottlieb
Guest Cast: Dave Thomas, Candy Clark, Bronson Pinchot, Vladimir Skomarowsky, Howard Witt, Len Lesser, Michael Rider, Danny Wells, Kimberly Ross, Adam Gregor, Harry Woolf, Mike Muscat, Bill Cort, Jim Doughan, Larry McCormick, Waldemar Kalinowski, Michael Yama

Two cosmonauts (Dave Thomas, Bronson Pinchot) crash their space capsule near Las Vegas and try to assimilate while dodging American soldiers and the KGB, which is disguised as a bowling team.

“The Honeybunnies”
November 27, 1985
Writer: David Cohen & Roger S.H. Schulman
Director: Peter Bonerz
Guest Cast: Howard Hesseman, Laraine Newman, David L. Lander, Casey Kasem, Sandy Baron, Joyce Little, Al Pugliese, Kat Sawyer-Young, Nick DeMauro, Merritt Olsen, Nicole Rosselle, Ted Pitsis, Charles Quertermous, Connie Danese, Renee Victor, Carol Androsky, Thomas Brunelle, Caroline Ducrocq, Anna Mathias, Robert Neuwirth, Jack Scalici, Paul Willson

A struggling playwright (Howard Hesseman) who can’t sell his depressing plays is embarrassed to find fame and fortune as the creator of a cutesy TV cartoon show.

“The Funniest Guy in the World”
December 4, 1985
Writer: Pamela Pettler
Director: John Korty
Guest Cast: Jack Gilford, Paul Reiser, Victoria Tennant, Peter MacPherson, Howard Allen, Gerry Bednob, Lois Bromfield, David Glickman, Darryl Sivad, Joey Villa, Bob Zany

A grumpy, rich old man (Jack Gilford) puts up $100,000 to anyone who can make him laugh. Along comes a nerdy crossword puzzle enthusiast (Paul Reiser) to try to charm the old man’s heart.

“Christmas Carol II: The Sequel”
December 11, 1985
Writer: Carl Gottlieb & David Axelrod
Director: Carl Gottlieb
Guest Cast: James Whitmore, Roddy McDowall, Samantha Eggar, Ed Begley Jr., James Widdoes, Conrad Janis, Carolyn Seymour, Paul Benedict, Severn Darden, Larry Hankin, Shawn Southwick, Dean Dittman, Bernard Kuby, Stuart Rogers, Jerry Supiran, Hy Pyke, Martin Clark, Signy Coleman

One year after his reformation on Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge (James Whitmore) has become such a pushover that Bob Cratchit (Roddy McDowall) and the rest of the townspeople now take advantage of his generosity, requiring the spirits to return.

“The Borrowing”
December 25, 1985
Story: Merrill Markoe
Teleplay: Pamela Pettler
Director: Alan Myerson
Guest Cast: Peter Bonerz, Candy Azzara, Michael McKean, Florence Halop, Anna Mathias, Julia Jennings, John-Michael Williams

Two con artists (Peter Bonerz, Michael McKean) decide to try kidnapping to pick up a quick $100,000 ransom, but the victim (Candy Azzara) refuses to cooperate.

Here is a CBS promo for the premiere episode guest-starring SCTV's Catherine O'Hara:


Another CBS promo for “The Assignment: A Philip Flick Adventure”:


And a couple of minutes from "The Couch":

Episode Guide: The Phoenix

THE PHOENIX was just one of about a million TV series that failed against CBS’ Friday night ratings juggernaut of the late 1970s and early ‘80s: THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD, and particularly DALLAS. THE PHOENIX, which premiered as a TV-movie in the spring of 1981 before becoming a weekly series nearly a year later, lasted only four weeks against THE DUKES. Whether it deserved to do better is another story. While the premise was certainly unusual for its era and boasted an appealing leading man in tall, blond Judson Scott, its scripts never rose above typical crime-drama fare and rarely seemed to have much to do with the show’s central idea.

Erich von Daniken’s best seller CHARIOTS OF THE GODS was the likely inspiration for THE PHOENIX’s 90-minute pilot. Archeologist Ward Frazier (E.G. Marshall) and his team discover an ornate sarcophagus buried in Peru (which looks a lot like the Fox ranch near Malibu, California). Inside is a big, blond hippie named Bennu (Judson Scott), who can read minds, shoot electricity from his fingertips, and speak perfect English. He also can’t survive in Earth’s pollution, so he teams up with a beautiful photographer (THE ASSOCIATES’ Shelley Smith) to win the $500,000 he needs to construct a rejuvenated body at a crooked casino, which puts a few hoods on his tail. Unwilling to be the subject of worship by the Peruvian government or curiosity by the Americans, Bennu sets out alone to find himself.

A trendy mix of New Age mumbo-jumbo and standard action/adventure tropes made THE PHOENIX a bit different from most network fare, which, along with the appeal of Judson Scott, pulled in enough ratings to make the series a go.

“The Phoenix” (90 min)
April 26, 1981
Mark Carliner Productions
Music: Arthur B. Rubinstein
Film Editor: David Berlatsky
Production Designer: William T. McAllister
Director of Photography: Don H. Birnkrant
Executive Producer: Mark Garliner
Supervising Producer: Christopher Kochoff
Associate Producer: Carole Coates-West
Creators: Anthony & Nancy Lawrence
Producers: Anthony & Nancy Lawrence
Writers: Anthony & Nancy Lawrence
Director: Douglas Hickox
Cast: Judson Scott (Bennu), Fernando Allende (Diego DeVarga), E.G. Marshall (Dr. Ward Frazier), Shelley Smith (Noel Marshall), Daryl Anderson (Dr. Clifford Davis), Hersha Parady (Lynn), Jimmy Mair (Tim), Lyman Ward (Howard), Carmen Argenziano (Kingston), Stanley Kamel (Murray), Angus Duncan (Surgeon), Wayne Storm (Patrolman), Terry Jastrow (Hood), Bret Williams (Technician), Paul Marin (Anesthesiologist), Patricia Conklin (Surgical Nurse), Jim Malinda (Croupier)

Season 1

Judson Scott as Bennu
Richard Lynch as Preminger

Executive Producer: Mark Carliner
Supervising Producer: Bob Birnbaum
Associate Producer: Julia Crosthwait
Producer: Leigh Vance
Creators: Anthony and Nancy Lawrence
Music: Arthur B. Rubinstein
Director of Photography: Frank Beascoechea
Mark Carliner Productions

“In Search of Mira”
March 26, 1982
Writer: Leigh Vance
Director: Douglas Hickox
Guest Cast: John Vernon, Bert Remsen, Britt Leach, Sandy Ward, Jenny Parsons, Terry Wills, E.G. Marshall

Between the pilot and this premiere episode, Bennu learned he was sent from the stars to perform a specific mission on Earth. He also learned he had a partner, a woman named Mira, who knew what the mission was. All Bennu knows about her whereabouts is that she rests in one of at least 2000 Indian burial grounds in North America. In pursuit of Bennu and Mira is a government operative named Preminger (Richard Lynch). While investigating a site in New Mexico, Bennu witnesses a murder and holes up with a friendly farmer (Bert Remsen) and his daughter.

“One of Them”
April 2, 1982
Writer: Mark Carliner
Director: Reza S. Badiyi
Guest Cast: Andrea Marcovicci, Carmen Zapata, Lawrence Casey, Peter Michael Goetz, Gene Ross, Behrouz Vossi, Sheila Frazier, Debbie Richter, Marshall Teague, Josh Cadman, Marc Alaimo, John Zenda

Bennu visits an archeology professor, Dr. Lacey Coleman (Andrea Marcovicci), whom he hopes can provide some insight as to where Mira may be buried. While visiting an ancient Indian burial ground in Arizona named Mesa Grande, the two are attacked by Lacey’s psycho ex-boyfriend (Behrouz Vossi), but manage to find an important clue.

“A Presence of Evil”
April 9, 1982
Writer: David Guthrie
Director: Douglas Hickox
Guest Cast: Lee Purcell, Kaz Garas, Jeremy Licht, Robert O’Reilly, Jim Staskel, Tobias Anderson, Carol Vogel, Nancy Grahn, Bill Dearth, Joan Foley, Rudy Daniels, Lisa Morton

Bennu hires on as a hand at Houghton Stables the same day its land is being used by uranium smugglers to make an exchange. What timing. Meanwhile, a skeptical Preminger considers using a psychic to track Bennu.

“The Fire Within”
April 16, 1982
Writer: David Guthrie
Director: Reza S. Badiyi
Guest Cast: John Milford, Tracey Gold, Eileen Davidson, Peter Icangelo, Woody Eney, Karen Anders, Carmen Argenziano, Bret Shryer, Rick Grassi, Nocona Aranda, Ned Bellamy, Noel Conlan, Fred Franklin, Sam Laws, Nelson Mashita, Robert Cornthwaite (uncredited)

In St. Louis, Bennu becomes involved with the daughter (Eileen Davidson) of a contractor (John Milford) who’s being cheated by his business partner (Carmen Argenziano).

The series’ formula, which was, of course, THE FUGITIVE, had already become stale after four episodes. Benna arrives in a new town, makes a new friend, defeats a criminal element, and then slips away quietly one step ahead of Preminger and his dogs. The producers were never clear about Bennu’s powers either. In “The Fire Within,” after a kindly old man with a metal detector tells Bennu he’s looking for a lost necklace to return to its owner for the reward (and not to keep for himself), Bennu immediately pinpoints its location. Why he can’t do that to find Mira is never explained.

“The Fire Within” was the final PHOENIX to air on ABC, though I don’t know if any others were shot (it seems likely there must have been). Two months later, Scott appeared on the big screen as Joachim, the main henchman to villainous Khan Noonian Singh (Ricardo Montalban) in Paramount’s moneymaking blockbuster STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. However, Scott’s solid presence in a hit film appears to have done little for his career, as he received no on-screen billing. It has been reported that Scott’s agent’s attempt to secure better billing for his client somehow resulted in the actor receiving no credit at all.

Scott continued to act constantly on genre TV shows during the 1980s, including stints on V and THE COLBYS, but his performance as Bennu indicates that he really should have gotten a better shot at stardom.

Episode Guide: The Renegades

One of network television’s most obscure crime dramas returned to the spotlight for the first time in over 25 years when Patrick Swayze died of cancer in September. Making the viral rounds was the opening title sequence to a TV series Swayze starred in when he was a 29-year-old actor looking for a big break. And he probably thought THE RENEGADES was that break.

It isn’t difficult to figure out where THE RENEGADES came from. Co-creator Lawrence Gordon was the producer of THE WARRIORS, Walter Hill’s colorful 1979 action film about a New York City street gang. Meanwhile, Rick Husky, whose T.J. HOOKER was a big cop show on ABC, had produced several episodes of THE MOD SQUAD a decade earlier. Like putting chocolate in your peanut butter, ABC teamed up the two men and came up with a high-concept combination of the two properties. Hence, THE RENEGADES, a cop show about a Los Angeles street gang that becomes undercover police officers.

The Renegades were Bandit (Patrick Swayze), Eagle (Randy Brooks), J.T. (Paul Mones), Tracy (Tracy Scoggins), Dancer (Robert Thaler), Dragon (Brian Tochi), and Gaucho (Fausto Bara)—L.A.’s first multi-racial co-ed street gang. All of the actors were basically unknowns, though Tochi had been a child actor with several regular series gigs (including ANNA AND THE KING and SPACE ACADEMY) and the tall, shapely Scoggins was appearing in a lot of episodic television.

Each Renegade had his or her own specialty. Bandit was the tough leader, Eagle the smart one, J.T. the wiseguy who carried a pocket tape recorder, Tracy the sexpot, Dancer the handsome one, Dragon the martial artist (well, he was Asian, you know…), and Gaucho was, well, Gaucho was Mexican.

The Renegades had been busted by hardass but compassionate Lieutenant Frank Marciano (James Luisi), who made a deal with them. Instead of going to jail, the gang went to work with Marciano out of a precinct house, where they had their own groovy clubhouse in the basement. Whether they actually lived there or not is hard to say, since we never saw any of the Renegades at home. Marciano’s perpetually pissed-off boss was Captain Tom Scanlon (Kurtwood Smith), who didn’t like the Renegades or Marciano’s concept, but had to admit they got the job done.

THE RENEGADES began as a two-hour pilot movie that aired on ABC in August 1982. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode, a former film editor whose two earlier movies, TERROR TRAIN and THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER, had been low-budget moneymakers. Husky and Steven E. de Souza wrote the teleplay based on Gordon’s story. Gordon, de Souza, and Spottiswoode had worked together on Hill’s 48 HRS. the year before.

I haven’t seen the pilot, but I have seen the six one-hour episodes that followed. Episodes generally fell into a simple formula of Marciano splitting the Renegades into two separate teams: one that infiltrated the gang/criminals/robbers from the inside, and one that followed outside leads. Despite their disparate backgrounds, the Renegades get along extremely well, and none of the guys ever flirts with Tracy, who is usually seen dressed in a bikini, leotard, or T-shirt with no bra whenever the writers could get away with it.

THE RENEGADES premiered as a midseason replacement on March 4, 1983, but low ratings led to its quick cancellation six Fridays later on April 8. Did it deserve its early death? Well, it isn’t very good, but I can’t say it’s any worse than other ABC cop shows. It was regularly trounced in the ratings by DALLAS (which was the #2 rated show of the year, behind 60 MINUTES) on CBS and KNIGHT RIDER on NBC. In fact, THE RENEGADES was the lowest-rated non-news prime-time series of the 1982-83 season. So, yeah, I guess it deserved to die.

What follows is a listing of THE RENEGADES’ regular cast and crew, as well as a short episode guide. If I don’t do it, who will? Perhaps the most fun I had watching THE RENEGADES was glimpsing guest shots by actors who were either well-known and welcome sights or just starting out and hoping to break out soon: Kelly Preston, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Dick Miller, Xander Berkeley, Don Stroud, Terry Kiser, Terence Knox, Brion James, and Kane Hodder, to name a few.

THE RENEGADES
Patrick Swayze as Bandit
Randy Brooks as Eagle
Paul Mones as J.T.
Tracy Scoggins as Tracy
Robert Thaler as Dancer
Brian Tochi as Dragon
Fausto Bara as Gaucho
Kurtwood Smith as Captain Tom Scanlon
James Luisi as Lieutenant Frank Marciano

Executive Producers: Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon
Supervising Producer: Nicholas Corea
Producer: R.J. Louis
Creators: Lawrence Gordon and Rick Husky
Production Executive: Joel Silver
Associate Producer: Stephen P. Caldwell
Executive Script Consultant: Gregory S. Dinallo
Executive Story Editors: Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi
Costume Designer: Bobbie Mannix
Director of Photography: Charles Correll
Music: Barry DeVorzon and Joseph Conlan
A Lawrence Gordon Production
In association with
Paramount Television

“Back to School”
March 4, 1983
Writer: Bobby Zavatini
Director: Nicholas Corea
Guest Cast: John Furey (Harold Primus), Grand Bush (Jewel), Kelly Preston as Kelly Palzis (Lisa Primus), Rex Ryon (Raymond), Wally Taylor (Coach Riley), Chris Hensel (Danny Mehlmann), Keenan Ivory Wayans (Lloyd Wayne), Pete Antico (Carlo), Travis McLaughlin (Grunt), Rex Pierson (Soldier), Julius LeFlore (Skull), Steve Hulin (Skull)

The Renegades go undercover to investigate a game-fixing scheme on college campuses. Lt. Marciano enlists Eagle, the group’s only black guy, to join a college basketball team. Tracy and Dancer become students to befriend Lisa, whose brother Harold is the criminal mastermind, while Bandit and J.T. join the biker gang that provides Harold’s muscle.


“The Demon Dragsters”
March 11, 1983
Writer: Nancy Ann Miller
Director: Don Chaffey
Guest Cast: Arlen Dean Snyder, Gary Hudson

Bandit, Tracy, and J.T. ingratiate themselves with the Demon Dragsters and their leader, a beautiful blonde named Hot Rod Hannah, who rip off car parts and sell them to used car dealer Roy Keeler’s chop shop. Lots of tires squeal to bad synth music, as was de rigueur on ABC in 1983.


“The Big Time”
March 18, 1983
Writer: Stephen McPherson
Director: Barbara Peeters
Guest Cast: Kathryn Leigh Scott (Julie Robinson), Marc Alaimo (Manton), Lee de Broux (Backus), Richard Pierson (Alex), Xander Berkeley (Gillette), Ian Rosenberg (Wilson), Dick Miller (Sgt. Young), Clement St. George (Martin Lucas), Jeff Imada (Busecy), Travis McLaughlin (Nash), Bennie Moore (Keith), Thomas Ryan (Security Guard), Glen Wilder (Casey), Tom Zahn (Harbormaster)

Eagle, J.T., and Bandit go to jail to find out who’s training convicts to pull high-tech heists after they’re released. Dick Miller, who appeared in director Barbara Peeters’ STARHOPS and SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS, has a small role.


“On the Pad”
March 25, 1983
Writer: Robert Earll
Director: Bruce Bilson
Guest Cast: Don Stroud (Bob Ellison), Terry Kiser (Phil Reya), Terence Knox (Rufus), Nicolas Surovy (Billy Romaine), Suzanne Barnes (Ginger), Peter Iacangelo (Davis), Dolores Cantu (Celia), James Saito (Sam Chow), Robert Feero (Mark Holland), Jill Andre (Mrs. Harris), Al Fann (Walt), Lillian Lehman (Eleanora), Wil Albert (Shopkeeper), Jeffrey Josephson (Godzilla), Gene Ryals (Minister), Viola Kates Stimpson (Elderly Lady)

The Renegades’ assignment: find out whether a decorated policeman, Bob Ellison (Don Stroud), is involved with a hood named Phil Reya (Terry Kiser) who’s suspected of running a neighborhood protection racket.


“Film at Eleven”
April 1, 1983
Writer: Gregory S. Dinallo
Director: Robert Thompson
Guest Cast: Allyn Ann McLerie (Connie Templeton), Brion James (Cochran), Kipp Lennon (Vic), Peter Frechette (Kane), Charles Boswell (Kramer), Jeff Silverman (Luno), Thomas Babson (Walters), Michael Conn (Flash), Robert Goldner (Store Employee), Norman Howell (Undercover Cop), Mary Kate McGeehan (Lilah), David Sage (Shopkeeper), Lynn Seibel (Mr. Edwards)

A double mission for the Renegades: track down a gang of masked armed robbers who murdered an off-duty cop and find the boy who witnessed the murder before the killers do.


“Target: Marciano”
April 8, 1983
Songs: Micheal Towers (sic) (lyrics), Barry DeVorzon (music)
Writer: Nicholas Corea
Director: Barbara Peeters
Guest Cast: Thom Christopher (Anthony Gunn), Darrell Fetty (Silver Stride), Kelly Curtis (Cynthia Holtson), Rick Dean (Tom Tom Porter), Angela Robinson (Rose Richleau), Alex Henteloff (Dr. Rogers), Colleen Riley (Candya), Eugenia Wright (Pixa), William Riley (High Heel Club M.C.), Clark Mitchell Long (J.J. Turrell), Jeremy Sunderland (Punk Rocker), Kane W. Hodder (Distrom), Matt Johnston (Cort), Scott Perry (Mingus), Paul Trafas (Tally)

Tony Gunn (Thom Christopher) busts out of a mental ward where he was serving a sentence for killing Marciano’s partner. He swears to kill Marciano in a letter or innocent bystanders. For some reason, he goes back to his old stomping grounds to produce his old band, the Waste Band. Tracy, J.T., Eagle, and Dancer learn to become punk rockers overnight.


And as a bonus, here are the completely ridiculous opening credits to THE RENEGADES, which run nearly two minutes over a pulsing and catchy synthesizer theme by Barry DeVorzon (who scored THE WARRIORS) and Joseph Conlan.