TV and Movies

[GingerPeach]

I haven't watched Cannon in a long while but take a look at how the Netflix blurb describes the show.  This reads just as if our own @Oznell might have written it:

"William Conrad stars in this hit crime drama as Frank Cannon, a corpulent gourmand and fearless private eye who operates out of his Los Angeles penthouse, nabbing bad guys ranging from smugglers and bank robbers to arsonists and arms dealers. Working alone and famously indulging his epicurean tastes -- he rolls in a silver Lincoln Continental -- Cannon knows just how much of his weight to throw around to crack the case."

I used to love Nero Wolfe, also with William Conrad and the very handsome Lee Horsley as his assistant.  But that was 1981.

It used to be a hard show to find but a DVD set was just released last year.  

[Highlands72]

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@Oznell wrote:

When this came up before, I hadn't seen enough episodes to give much opinion, but now that our ability to DVR is restored, I'm catching up.  On what, you say?

"Cannon"   3:00 a.m. Eastern weekdays on MeTV,  right after "Mannix".

William Conrad was a staple of the classic film and radio era-- he memorably played "heavies" in film noir and his rumbling, resonant baritone was instantly recognizable.  That voice also landed him plummy narration jobs, like the portentously intoning narrator on unforgettable TV series "The Fugitive" with David Janssen.

Jump cut to the Seventies.  He's a rumpled and retired cop with expensive tastes, and a horrible family tragedy to crawl back from.

He's overweight, smart, tough, dryly funny, and a secret "softie".

I really like his everyman quality, and the high standards and strict scruples with which he runs his private eye business.

Cannon lives in an improbably elaborate, dark and over-decorated L.A. apartment, complete with fancy doorman.  He loves to cook for friends and drives those impossibly long, shiny, fancy 70's cars.  He'll take on loser cases and is in frequent danger, so I guess the doorman and high security make sense. 

I enjoy the period California ambiance, and the fact that many old Hollywood movie stars as well as veteran TV legends were still around to make guest shots on "Cannon".    Think Anne Baxter, Barry Sullivan, Anne Francis, David Hedison, Martin Sheen, David Janssen himself, to name just a few.

If you like vintage TV of this sort-- "Rockford Files",  "Barnaby Jones", "Mannix",  etc.,  I'd suggest DVR'ing about a week's worth of "Cannon" to get the full flavor.   Or if you're an insomniac, you have something to look forward to in those wee hours...     

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William Conrad was the original Matt Dillon in the 1950s radio version of "Gunsmoke." He was very good in the radio role, but I think it was good decision to switch to James Arness for the TV series.

I have never seen Cannon or most of the other detective shows listed above, but I have seen a few episodes of the "Rockford Files." I really like James Garner, especially in some of his older movies, particularly the more serious ones,  like "The Americanization of Emily." 

[Cumbercookie13]

Cannon is OK. I prefer Barnaby Jones. It's interesting that he never killed any of the baddies in the show, just shot and injured them with his gun when he had to. And he worked with his daughter-in-law and later his cousin. They all looked out for each other. 

The Streets of San Francisco was another good one. Karl Malden and Michael Douglas had good chemistry and worked well together. Both shows had awesome theme songs too and I liked they showed the guest stars at the beginning so you know who was in it.  Back when YouTube allowed full episodes of older shows to be uploaded, I'd binge watch on my computer. I knocked out quite a bit of series! I was able to see Vega$, Kojak, McMillan and Wife, and even Mrs. Columbo, later renamed Kate Loves a Mystery, with Kate Mulgrew. 

[Oznell]

Oh, I love all the memories you all are evoking!

How could I have forgotten "Hunter"?   Very high energy show, from the terrific opening theme music to the chemistry-laden relationship between hunky Fred Dreier and Stepfanie Kramer (it always amused me that she spelled her name that way-- at least, I think that's how she spelled it...)

And Hawaii Five-O.  MeTV runs it @6:00 p.m. Eastern.  I haven't watched many episodes all the way through, but gosh, Jack Lord is just a force of nature.  He's a natural for a television lead, so charismatic.  He's that way even when he made guest shots in other series, like a memorable "The Invaders" episode that he just dominated, where he played a human who was collaborating with the invading "forces from another world"....

MeTV or FE TV or one of the other retro channels also needs to run "Honey West" again with Anne Francis, and "Burke's Law" and, let's see.............

[Shelbelle]

Dont forget Kojak!!

[heart of savino]

heres my list

CHARLIES ANGELS

STARSKY AND HUTCH

QUINCY

REMINGTON STEELE

MAGNUM P.I.

THE AVENGERS

KNIGHT RIDER

ROCKFORD FILES

[Judaline]

I liked It Takes a Thief. Robert Wagner played Alexander Mundy. I once heard him say, "I'm Alexander Monday." It was overlooked I guess, but I caught it right away. 

@OznellWe recently started getting MEtv. We get the original Hawaii 5-0 with Jack Lord. Yum.

[bikerbabe]

I’m a Macgyver girl. ♥️
As a kid, it was Starsky and Hutch. ♥️

[Oznell]

Veering slightly off-topic, but staying in the Seventies and in law enforcement, FETV runs "Barney Miller" in the middle of the night. 

I get a kick out of Barney Miller--  the off-beat humor, the silly characters, absurd situations, and the unlikely police station.   I like the way Hal Linden seemed to take it all seriously and try to stay on top of things--he's a great foil for the crazies he works with....

[Mary Bailey]

Dan August with Burt Reynolds  1 beautful season sigh......