by Lee Goldberg
277. The Losers. NBC 1/15/63. 60 minutes. Four Star. Director: Sam Peckinpah. Executive Producer: Dick Powell. Producers: Sam Peckinpah, Bruce Geller, and Bernard L. Kowalski. Associate Producer: Stanley Kallis. Writer: Bruce Geller, from a story by Geller and Sam Peckinpah. Creator: Sam Peckinpah. Music: Herschel Burke Gilbert.
Aired as an episode of Dick Powell Theatre, which was guest hosted by Charles Boyer. An attempt to update and revive Peckinpah's short-lived series The Westerner, which survived for a mere thirteen episodes in 1960 and starred Brian Keith as Dave Blassingame. a footloose cowboy who wandered the Old West with his dog Brown and—sometimes—cowardly conman Burgundy Smith (John Dehner). It's become something of a cult classic, its demise blamed on its violence and "adult" attitude. The same production team that produced the series was responsible for this pilot, set in the present with a light tone reminiscent of Maverick. Lee Marvin is Dave Blassingame, a drifter who wanders the country accompanied by his dog Brown and conman Burgundy Smith, played by Keenan Wynn. In the pilot, they are pursued by thugs they bilked in a poker game, and while on the move, befriend a blind gospel singer and his orphan companion and hide out with an ornery farmer and his shy daughter.
Cast: Lee Marvin (as Dave Blassingame), Keenan Wynn (Burgundy Smith), Rosemary Clooney (Melissa), Adam Lazarre (Blind Johnny), Michael Davis (Tim), Mike Mazurki (Mr. Anston), Dub Taylor (Gregory), Carmen Phillips (teen), Elaine Walker (Diedre), Jack Perkins (Farr), Charles Horvath (Mulana), Paul Stader (Monroe), Kelly Thordsen (Frank Davis), Russ Brown (Isaiah).
278. Make More Room for Daddy. NBC 11/6/67. 60 minutes. Danny Thomas Productions. Director: Sheldon Leonard. Producer: Danny Thomas. Writers: Jack Elinson and Norman Paul. Music: Earle Hagen.
Aired as an episode of the Danny Thomas Hour. A pilot for a proposed continuation of the hit series Make Room for Daddy for the one network the show had never run on—NBC. The original series ran on ABC from 1953-1957, then jumped to CBS, where it stayed until 1964. In this pilot, Danny Thomas returns as nightclub entertainer Danny Williams and Marjorie Lord again plays his second wife, Kathy. Danny's son Rusty (Rusty Hamer) gets married to the daughter (Jana Taylor) of an Army colonel while Kathy's daughter Linda (Angela Cartwright) begins college. Oddly, two years after this pilot was junked, Thomas did another for a continuation for CBS, which passed on it as a series. A year later, though, the series turned up on ABC as Make Room for Granddaddy (with Sherry Jackson returning as daughter Terry, a role she played on the original series for the first few seasons) and managed to limp through one season.
Cast: Danny Thomas (as Danny Williams), Marjorie Lord (Kathy Williams), Rusty Hamer (Rusty Williams), Angela Cartwright (Linda Williams), Jana Taylor (Susan McAdams Williams), Sid Melton (Charlie Halm), Amanda Randolph (Louise), Edward Andrews (Col. McAdams).
279. Man on a String. CBS 2/18/72. 90 minutes. Screen Gems. Director: Joseph Sargent. Producers: Douglas Cramer and Joseph Goodson. Writer: Ben Maddows.
A revamped version of Tightrope, a short-lived 1960 series the production company won't let die. They tried reviving it several times (The New Tightrope and The Expendables) in the two or three seasons that followed the cancellation and then let it die—until 1972. Christopher George is an undercover agent working for William Schallert, the leader of a super-secret government organization.
Cast: Christopher George (as Pete King), William Schallert (William Connaught), Michael Baselson (Mickey Brown). Keith Carradine (Danny Brown), Joel Grey (Big Joe Brown), Kitty Winn (Angela Canyon), Paul Hampton (Cowboy), Jack Warden (Jake Moniker), J. Duke Russo (Carlo Buglione), Jack Bernardi (Counterman), Lincoln Demyan (Billy Prescott), Bob Golden (Motor Officer), Jerome Guardino (Scarred Man), Byron Morrow (Judge), Carolyn Nelson (Anita), James Sikking (Pipe Smoker), Richard Yniquez (Officer Jack), Garry Walberg- (Sergeant).
280. The Munsters' Revenge. NBC 2/27/81. 2 hours. Universal Television. Director: Don Weis. Executive Producer: Edward J. Montagne. Producers/Writers: Don Nelson and Arthur Alsberg. Music: Vic Mizzy.
A plodding revival of The Munsters. with Herman, Lily, and Grandpa and rest of the family are wanted for crimes committed by a mad scientist's (Sid Caesar) robots, which look just like them. A new version of the sitcom, entitled The Munsters Today, with an entirely new cast was launched in 1988 by Universal Television and the Arthur Company for first-run syndication. It bombed.
Cast: Fred Gwynne (as Herman Munster), Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily Munster), Al Lewis (Grandpa). Jo McDonnell (Marilyn Munster), K.C. Martel (Eddie Munster), Sid Caesar (Dr. Diablo/Emil Hornshymier), Bob Hastings (Phantom of the Opera), Howard Morris (Igor), Herbert Voland (Chief Harry Boyle), Peter Fox (Detective Glen Boyle), Charles Macauley (Commissioner McClusky), Colby Chester (Michael), Michael McManus (Ralph), Joseph Ruskin (Pizza Man), Ezra Stone (Dr. Licklider), Billy Sands (Shorty), Gary Vinson (Officer Leary), Barry Pearl (Warren Thurston), Al C. White (Prisoner), Toni Newman (Slim), Anita Dangler (Elvira), Dolores Mann (Mrs. Furnston).
281. Murder in Peyton Place. NBC 10/3/77. 2 hours. Twentieth Century Fox Television and Peter Katz Productions. Director: Bruce Kessler. Producer: Peter Katz. Writer: Richard DeRoy. Creator: Grace Metalious. Music: Laurence Rosenthal.
An attempt to revive the 1964-1969 serial. In this pilot. Rodney Harrington (played originally by Ryan O'Neal) and Alison MacKenzie (Mia Farrow)—in clips from the original series are killed and everyone wants to know why. Another attempt was made to continue the series in 1986's Peyton Place: The Next Generation.
Cast: Christopher Connelly (as Norman), Tim O'Connor (Elliot Carson), Ed Nelson (Dr. Rossi), Dorothy Malone (Constance), Joyce Jillson (Jill), Janet Margolin (Betty), David Hedison (Steven Cord), Stella Stevens (Stella Chernak), Marj Dusay (Ellen), James Booth (Crimpton), Jonathan Goldsmith (Stan), Charlotte Stewart (Denise Haley), Kaz Garas (Springer), Linda Gray (Carla Cord), Kimberly Beck (Bonnie Buehler), Royal Dano (Bo Buehler), Priscilla Morrill (Mac Buehler), David Kyle (Billie Kaiserman), Norman Burton (Jay Kamens), Charles Siebert (Kaiserman), Chris Nelson (Andy Considine), Robert Deman (Tristan), Gale Sladstone (Ruth), Catherine Bach (Linda), Edward Bell (David Roerich).
282. The New Maverick. ABC 9/3/78. 2 hours. Warner Bros. Television and Cherokee Productions. Director: Hy Averback. Executive Producer: Meta Rosenberg. Producer: Bob Foster. Writer: Juanita Bartlett, based on characters created by Roy Huggins. Music: John Rubinstein.
A revival of ABC's old Maverick series, which ran from 1957-1962 and featured James Garner and Jack Kelly as two brothers who are crafty gamblers roaming the West in the 1880s. Both are on hand to introduce young Ben Maverick (Charles Frank), the Harvard-educated son of their Cousin Beau (played by Roger Moore in the original series). In the pilot, the Mavericks become involved in a plot by a larcenous judge to steal a shipment of rifles. ABC turned it down, but CBS later reworked the concept as Young Maverick and commissioned a new pilot, which spawned a disastrously short-lived series. That didn't stop NBC from trying its own Maverick sequel—Bret Maverick, which starred James Garner and lasted one season.
Cast: Charles Frank (as Ben Maverick), Susan Blanchard (Nell McGarrahan), James Garner (Bret Maverick), Jack Kelly (Bart Maverick), Eugene Roche (Judge Crupper), Susan Sullivan (Poker Alice), Jack Garner (Homer), Graham Jarvis (Lambert), Helen Page Camp (Flora Crupper), George Loros (Vinnie), Woodrow Parfrey (Levesque ), Gary Allen (Dobie).
283. The New Millionaire. CBS 12/19/78. 2 hours. Don Fedderson Productions. Director: Don Weis. Producer/Creator: Don Fedderson. Writer: John McGreevey. Music: Frank DeVol.
An attempted revival of The Millionaire 1955-1960) with Robert Quarry taking over Marvin Miller's role as Michael Anthony, the executive secretary who delivers million dollar cashier's checks to unsuspecting people picked at random by the unseen, mysterious tycoon John Beresford Tipton. This pilot, like the original series, follows the fortunes of people once they get a million tax-free dollars.
Cast: Robert Quarry (as Michael Anthony), Martin Balsam (Arthur Haines), Edward Albert (Paul Matt
hews), Bill Hudson (Eddie Reardon), Mark Hudson (Mike Reardon), Brett Hudson (Harold Reardon), Pat Crowley (Maggie Haines), Pamela Toll (Kate Matthews), Allan Rich (George Jeiks), John Ireland (Marshall Wayburn), Ralph Bellamy (George Matthews), Jane Wyatt (Mrs. Matthews), William Demarest (Oscar Pugh), Talia Balsam (Doreen), Michael Minor (Clark), Milt Kogan (Parker), Sally Kemp (Judge), Patricia Hindy (Dorothy), P.R. Paul (Alan), Ann Greer (Cory).
284. The New Tightrope [Pilot #1]. ABC 1961 60 minutes. Producers: Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse.
An hour-long revamp of the half-hour CBS series. Mike Connors would again star as undercover agent Nick Stone. Quinn Reddecker would costar. The producers and Connors tried this once more the following season under the title The Expendables.
284a. The Expendables. [Pilot #2} CBS 9/27/62. 60 minutes. Screen Gems. Producers: Clarence Green and Russell Rouse.
Yet another attempt to revive the old CBS series Tightrope, this time with original star Mike Connors and costars Zachary Scott and Dina Merrill.
285. Peter Gunn. ABC 4 /23/89. 2 hours. Blake Edwards Company and New World Television. Director/Writer/Creator: Blake Edwards. Executive Producers: Blake Edwards and Tony Adams. Music: Henry Mancini.
It looked at the outset like a blueprint for disaster: revive a classic television series that defined a certain TV age and without a single member of the original cast. The late 1980s Peter Gunn would be Peter Strauss, taking over for Craig Stevens as the suave private eye whose "office" is a cocktail lounge known as Mother's. Happily, Strauss more than ably fills the bill. Aided by a tight, humor-filled script by Blake Edwards, who put his stamp on television with the original show; the memorable Mancini music, for what would an Edwards project be without Mancini; and strong performances by Peter Jurasik in the late Herschel Bernardi's part of Lt. Jacobi, Barbara Williams as Gunn's chanteuse girlfriend Edie (the old Lola Albright part), and Pearl Bailey in a rare TV acting role—her last (inspired casting in the late Hope Emerson's trademarked "Mother" part), Peter Gunn was a winning hand. ABC made the mistake of passing on it. Perhaps Peter Strauss declined to get involved with a series. In the pilot, he plays the urbane Gunn with all the expected debonair charm—a sly attitude and even a little self-parody as he hunts down a vigilant group of rogue cops. One of its memorable moments is an unusually realistic, refreshingly amusing fight scene that's anything but the smoothly choreographed interlude of fisticuffs that television—and Peter Gunn—are known for.
Cast: Peter Strauss (Peter Gunn), Peter Jurasik (Lt. Jacoby), Barbara Williams (Edie), Jennifer Edwards (Maggie), Pearl Bailey (Mother), Charles Cioffi (Tony Amatti), Richard Portnow (Spiros), Debra Sandlund (Sheila), David Rappaport (Speck), Leo Rossi (Det. Russo), Tony Longo (Sgt. Holmstead), Jeffery Allan Chandler (Abe Greenspan), Eddie Zammit (Johnny Stefano), J. J. Johnson (Barney), Jeremy Roberts (Slick), Vito D'Ambrosio (Futsy)
286. Police Story (aka Police Story: The Freeway Killings). NBC 5/3/87. David Gerber Productions, MGM/UA Television, and Columbia Pictures Television. Director: William A. Graham. Executive Producer: David Gerber. Producer: Charles B. FitzSimons. Writer: Mark Rodgers. Creator: Joseph Wambaugh, developed by E. Jack Neuman. Music: John Cacavas. Theme: Jerry Goldsmith.
An attempt to revive the 1973-1977 NBC anthology Police Story, which continued as a series of TV movies for a season after its cancellation. Following the proven concept, the pilot mixed internal police politics, the troubled personal lives of police officers, and the hunt for a serial killer, with a cast comprised of frequent Police Story guest stars. Several more Police Story movies, remakes of the old episodes, were produced for ABC during the 1988 Writers Guild strike.
Cast: Richard Crenna (as Deputy Chief Bob Devers), Angie Dickinson (Officer Anne Cavanaugh), Ben Gazzara (Capt. Tom Wright), Tony Lo Bianco (Detective DiAngelo), Don Meredith (Detective Foley), James B. Sikking (Major Cameron), Gloria Loring (Kate Devers), Scott Paulin (Lt. Todd Bannion), Frances Lee McCain (Clare Wright), Vincent Baggetta (Paul Harris), Michael C. Gywnne (Calvin), Joan McMurtrey (Joan Manning), Julie Phillips (Carrie Wright), Rob Knepper (Kari Jones), Marc Alaimo (Morello), Sam Vlahos (Diaz), Javier Graieda (Gracia), Ken Nixon (Hallett), Louise Shaffer (Laura Henley), Freddye Chapman (Mary Morris), Michael Griswold (Al Nader), Julie Ariole (Test Examiner), Carlos Cervantes (Chico), Hawthorn James (Reverend Johnson), Kamala Lopez (Lydia Chacon), Murray Leward (Max ), Susie Chan (Kim), Steve Kahan (Paulin), Tony Perez (Capt. Rodriquez), Wendy Cooke (Marna), James Hess (Chairman), Charles Fitzsimons, Jr. (Tony).
287. The Return of Frank Cannon. CBS 11/1/1980. 2 hours. Quinn Martin Productions. Director: Corey Allen. Executive Producer: Quinn Martin. Producer: Michael Rhodes. Writers: James David Buchanan and Ronald Austin. Music: Bruce Broughton. Theme: John Parker.
An attempt to revive Cannon, the 1971-1976 CBS series about overweight private eye Frank Cannon (William Conrad), who tooled around Los Angeles in a Lincoln Continental and had a taste for gourmet food. Now Cannon has opened up his own restaurant and instead of chasing crooks, he hits the high seas to catch fish for his cook (James Hong) to prepare. But Cannon becomes a detective once again (hunting down clues in his Lincoln convertible) when an old C.I.A. buddy's suicide looks more like murder. In the proposed series, Cannon would double as restaurateur and P.I. People magazine said the plot of this pilot "lumbers along as heavily as its star.”
Cast: William Conrad (as Frank Cannon), James Hong (Yutong), Diana Muldaur (Sally Bingham), Joanna Pettet (Alana Richardson), Ed Nelson (Mike Danvers), Burr DeBenning (Charles Kirkland), Arthur Hill (Curtis McDonald), Allison Argo (Jessica Bingham), Taylor Lacher (Lew Garland), William Smithers (William Barrett), Hank Brandt (Pearson).
288. Kojak: The Belarus File (aka The Return of Kojak) [Pilot #1]. CBS 2/15/85. 2 hours. Universal Television. Director: Robert Markowitz. Executive Producer: James McAdams. Producer/Writer: Albert Ruben. Creator: Abby Mann, from a book by Selwin Raab. Music: Joseph Conlan and Barry DeVorzon.
An attempt to revive the series Kojak, which ran from 1973-1978. He's still a tough N.Y.P.D. detective bucking bureaucrats while baring down on his hard-working staff, which once again includes Stavros (George Savalas), Rizzo (Vince Conti) and Saperstein (Mark B. Russell). Even Capt. McNeil (Dan Frazer) shows up. Notably absent is Crocker, Theo Kojak's young protégé, played by Kevin Dobson, who was tied up as a regular on Knots Landing when this was made. In the pilot, Kojak's friend (Max Von Sydow) may be involved in the murders of three suspected Nazi war criminals living in New York. Suzanne Pleshette is a concerned State Department official who helps Kojak obtain crucial information—contained in the so-called Belarus file—that the agency won't reveal. John Loftus, author of The Belarus Secret, was technical advisor. A second pilot, Kojak: The Price of Justice, was made in 1987, and a new series of two-hour TV movies was commissioned for ABC in 1989. Both pilots were shot in New York.
Cast: Telly Savalas (Lt. Theo Kojak). Max Von Sydow (Peter Barak), Suzanne Pleshette (Dana Sutton), Betsy Aidem (Elissa Barak), Alan Rosenberg (Lustig), Herbert Berghoff (Buchardt), Charles Brown (Julius Gay), David Leary (Chris Kenner°, George Savalas (Stavros), Mark B. Russell (Saperstein), Vince Conti (Rizzo), Dan Friizer (Capt. Frank McNeil), Clarence Felder (Kelly), Adam Klugman (Morgan), Rita Karin (Mrs. Fitzev), Harry Davis (Rabbi), Margaret Thomson (Secretary), Otto Von Wernherr (Bodyguard), James Handy (First Federal Agent), Dan Lauria (Second Federal Agent).
288a. Kojak: The Price of Justice (aka The Return of Kojak) [Pilot#2]. CBS. 2/21/87. 2 hours. Universal Television. Director: Alan Metzger. Executive Producer: James McAdams. Producer: Stuart Cohen. Writer: Albert Ruben. from the book by Dorothy Uhnak. Creator: Abby Mann, from a book by Selwin Raab. Music: Patrick Williams.
A second attempt to revive Kojak, this time unsuccessfully melding the character to a crime book based vaguely on New York's notorious Alice Crimmins case. Theo is now an inspector heading an N.Y.P.D. Major Crime Unit. In the pilot, Kojak investigates charges that a woman (Kate Nelligan) murdered her children while they
slept. John Bedford-Lloyd is Kojak's new protege. Shot on location in New York.
Cast: Telly Savalas (as Inspector Theo Kojak), Kate Nelligan (Kitty Keeler), Pat Hingle (George Keeler), Jack Thompson (Aubrey Dubose), Brian Murray (Tim Neary), John Bedford-Lloyd (Milton Bass), Jeffrey DeMunn (Marsucci), Tony DiBenedetto (Det. Catalano), Ron Frazier (J.T. Williams), Stephen Joyce (Chief Brisco), Earl Hindman (Danny), James Rebhorn (Quibro), Martin Shakar (Arnold Nadler), Joseph Carberry (Lorenzo), Fausto Bara (Benjamin), Novella Nelson (Mrs. Silverberg), Kenneth Ryan (Johnson), Candace Savalas (Anna).
289. The Return of Marcus Welby. M.D. (aka Jennings and Jennings: A Family Practice). ABC 5/16/84. 2 hours. Marstar Productions and Universal Television. Director: Alexander Singer. Executive Producer: Martin Starger. Producers: Dennis Doty, Michael Braverman. and Howard Alston. Writers: John McGreevey and Michael Braverman. Creator: David Victor. Music: Leonard Rosenman.
A revival of Marcus Welby, M.D. aimed at launching a different, but similarly themed show entitled Jennings and Jennings: A Family Practice in which Robert Young might occasionally appear. In the pilot, Marcus Welby fights to retain his accreditation at the hospital where he now works. The proposed series would focus on Dr. David Jennings (Darren McGavin), a doctor who believes, as Dr. Welby does, that he has a responsibility to his patients that extends beyond mere diagnosis and treatment. Jennings opens a practice with his son (Morgan Stevens) and hires Welby's nurse (Elena Verdugo). On some cases, Jennings would work with a husband-and-wife team of pediatricians (Dennis Haysbert and Cyndi James-Reese). In 1989, Marcus Welby: A Holiday Affair, was broadcast on NBC to lackluster ratings.
