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The face of 1980s television was shaped by a man who stayed behind the scenes. Stephen Cannell's reluctant white knights—put-upon private eye James Rockford, World War II fly-boys the Black Sheep Squadron, hapless superhero Ralph Hinckley, fugitive mercenaries the A-Team, and maverick cop Hunter—traversed the television landscape from the 1970s to the 1990s. Cannell changed the face of the action-adventure genre, updating the crime-show format with a hybrid of rebellious morality, juvenile wit, intelligent sarcasm, and radical conservatism. This book discusses in detail the programs of the writer-producer and lists every episode of his award-winning productions from the early 1970s to the early '90s. The book features publicity photos and descriptions of unsold pilots.
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Pt. 1 Beginnings
The Rockford Files: September 1974-January 1980 43
Baretta: January 1975-May 1978 71
City of Angels: February 1976-May 1976 82
Black Sheep Squadron: September 1976-April 1978 86
Richie Brockelman, Private Eye: March 1978-April 1978 96
The Duke: April 1979-May 1979 99
Stone: January 1980-March 1980 101
Unsold Pilots (1) 106
Pt. 2 The Golden Years
Tenspeed and Brownshoe: January 1980-June 1980 109
The Greatest American Hero: March 1981-February 1983 113
The Quest: October 1982-November 1982 127
The A-Team: January 1983-December 1986 131
Hardcastle and McCormick: September 1983-May 1986 156
Rousters: October 1983, June 1984-July 1984 170
Riptide: January 1984-April 1986 175
Unsold Pilots (2) 190
Pt. 3 From L.A. to Canada
Hunter: September 1984-April 1991 192
Stingray: March 1986-May 1987 221
The Last Precinct: April 1986-May 1986 231
21 Jump Street: April 1987-May 1991 236
Wiseguy: September 1987-December 1990 258
J. J. Starbuck: September 1987-February 1988 295
Sonny Spoon: February 1988-December 1988 305
Unsub: February 1989-April 1989 313
Unsold Pilots (3) 317
The Wrap-Up 318
Sources of Quotations 335
Bibliography 345
Index 349
Overview
The face of 1980s television was shaped by a man who stayed behind the scenes. Stephen Cannell's reluctant white knights—put-upon private eye James Rockford, World War II fly-boys the Black Sheep Squadron, hapless superhero Ralph Hinckley, fugitive mercenaries the A-Team, and maverick cop Hunter—traversed the television landscape from the 1970s to the 1990s. Cannell changed the face of the action-adventure genre, updating the crime-show format with a hybrid of rebellious morality, juvenile wit, intelligent ...