BEARCATS! (1971) – This unique action-adventure series was set in the American West of 1914 and starred Rod Taylor (who also produced) and Dennis Cole as renowned trouble-shooters who commanded huge fees for their services. “If you can put a price on it, you don’t need them badly enough” was the program’s tagline.
This short-lived series cleverly used the mix of past and present in America’s southwestern states in that time period as cars and biplanes began sharing the scenery with horses and carriages. Part Wild, Wild West and part Diesel-Punk, the stories featured the two leads clashing with villains who often used primitive tanks and other “futuristic” devices.
The Bearcats named themselves after the Stutz Bearcat automobile they rode around in.
PILOT MOVIE: POWDERKEG (April 16th) – Mercenary trouble-shooters Hank Brackett (Rod Taylor) and Johnny Reach (Dennis Cole) are hired by a railroad tycoon to rescue 73 hostages being held aboard a moving train. Their captors are led by a Mexican bandit chief who demands his brother’s release from prison in exchange for the hostages. Guest stars were Michael Ansara, Fernando Lamas, Luciana Paluzzi and Tisha Sterling.
EPISODE ONE: THE DEVIL WEARS ARMOR (September 16th) – The Bearcats are hired to stop a gang of bank robbers who travel from town to town using a stolen 1914 prototype tank to carry out their thefts. John Vernon, Kathleen Lloyd (as a nun), Sherry Bain and Paul Koslo guest starred. Continue reading
DANGEROUS ASSIGNMENT (1952) – Brian Donlevy, famous as Professor Quatermass in a pair of movies, starred as secret agent Steve Mitchell. He received his missions from a man called “The Commissioner” (Herb Butterfield). 
THE OMEGA FACTOR (1979) – This eerie BBC series combined the best elements of 
THE SCARECROW (1972) – Gene Wilder, Blythe Danner, Nina Foch, Pete Duel and Will Geer starred in this Hollywood Television Theatre production that first aired January 10th, 1972. Long time readers of Balladeer’s Blog may recall my remarks on previous Halloweens about how underused I feel scarecrows still are in Halloween movies. 
Percy MacKaye stretched the story out and altered some of the themes, so The Scarecrow is an adaptation of Feathertop, not a faithful dramatization of it. Gene Wilder portrays the scarecrow.
Halloween Month rolls along with this look at a very old British series of telefilms that presented some classic horror tales during Christmas Season. The tales themselves were NOT set around Christmas, so they make for nice Halloween Season viewing, too. 
THE STALLS OF BARCHESTER (Dec 24th, 1971) – Dr. Black (Clive Swift), a scholar cataloguing the book collection at Barchester Cathedral, comes across the diary of a former Archdeacon who murdered his predecessor so he could rise to the position. The killer was then haunted by ghostly figures in the form of the carvings on the cathedral’s choir stalls. Also starring Robert Hardy, Thelma Barlow and Will Leighton. 
THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. (1966-1967) – This spinoff series from (What else?) The Man from U.N.C.L.E. starred Stefanie Powers as superspy April Dancer. Like Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, April worked for the United Network Command for Law & Enforcement. Her series lasted just one season of 29 hour-long episodes. 
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. – THE MOONGLOW AFFAIR: Airing on February 25th, 1966, this backdoor pilot for The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. had Mary Ann Mobley as new agent April Dancer. She replaced the incapacitated Solo and Kuryakin to stop the establishment of a lunar presence by the evil organization T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity). 
A YEAR AT THE TOP (1977) – What a cast! PAUL SHAFFER, GREG EVIGAN, Gabriel Dell (from the Dead End Kids/ Bowery Boys/ East Side Kids/ Little Tough Guys), Priscilla Morrill (Lou Grant’s wife Edie), Antonio “Huggy Bear” Fargas, Julie Cobb (Lee J. Cobb’s daughter) and Nedra Volz in her usual “sassy old lady” role. 
Even worse, Greg Evigan turned down a role on Welcome Back, Kotter to star in this TV Turkey. But at least B.J. and the Bear lurked in his 1970s future. I’ll let you readers decide if that’s good or bad. 
SALTY (1974-1975) – From some of the team behind Flipper came this short-lived series about a trained seal named Salty. The program was based on the 1973 film Salty, which featured Clint Howard in the role now played by Johnny Doran. 
THE BARON (1966-1967) – This ITC/ABC venture starred rugged he-man Steve Forrest as wealthy Texan John Mannering, who works for British Intelligence under the codename the Baron. Mannering’s assistant was Cordelia Winfield, played by the British actress Sue Lloyd. 
Mannering’s cover in London was an antique dealer and jet-set playboy. He drove around in a Jensen C-V8 that had the personalized license plate BAR 1. The Baron was originally a character from novels but John Mannering bore little resemblance to his printed page counterpart.
CITY OF ANGELS (1976) – Wayne Rogers starred as 1930s private investigator Jake Axminster, a hardboiled detective plying his trade in corruption-filled Los Angeles, hence the ironic title. Sadly, this series was no more successful than the decade’s earlier attempts at launching a 1930s crime show – Banyon and Manhunter. 
Jake and Marsha shared all 13 episodes with crooked L.A. police detective Lt. Murray Quint (Clifton James), while Axminster’s lawyer, Michael Brimm (Philip Sterling) appeared in 10 episodes. Mystery novelist Max Allan Collins (The Road to Perdition) called City of Angels “the best private eye series ever.”
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