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Post by Coyote Queen on Jan 24, 2006 18:30:26 GMT -5
After viewing "Rolling Thunder" again, I realized something. This was one of the BEST 1st episodes of any TV show I can think of! The chemistry was there immediately, and the script flowed beautifully. Brian Keith made Judge Hardcastle lovable from his very first scene. I can appreciate Danny's comedic timing better this time around. It's very natural, and doesn't look forced. Both actors show great dept, and ability to do both drama and comedy. I still can't understand why the show only lated 3 seasons. In my opinion, it's a classic. Watching it again brought back memories.
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Post by cheride on Jan 25, 2006 0:55:50 GMT -5
Oh, yeah, I agree. They got off to a danged fine start. And, truly, with only a relatively few exceptions, they did decent work start to finish. (No matter how much I might nit-pick!)
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Post by owlcroft on Jan 25, 2006 15:23:06 GMT -5
It still makes me angry that ABC announced the show was cancelled and it placed in the Nielsen Top Ten the ver next week. If I remember, that was the year it followed Monday Night Football, so nobody who didn't care about the game knew when to tune in. I know BK was burned about that, too and said so. He really didn't want the show to end and made no bones about it.
Also, there were those stupid, expensive car chases which necessitated a whole extra crew. The network apparently thought it was just too expensive to continue. Oh, well, I suppose we should count our blessings and be glad it lasted three seasons: enough to make it into syndication. But, boy howdy! Sometimes, I'd just love to be in charge of the whole world!
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Post by lmlewis on Jan 31, 2006 16:58:37 GMT -5
Yup, action shows are too dang expensive, and this one never found its niche--did it want the car chase, beach girl montage demographic, or would it use the chemistry of the main actors, a la Rockford Files, to grab a broader audience (no pun intended with the 'broader' ;-)?
Hey, which episode made it into the top ten, Nielsonwise, in that last season?
And you, oops, was it Cheri, or Owl, mentioned that the first episode hit the ground running--too true. Instant chemistry. (Maybe too instant, in that they didn't really take any time to develop the relationship over the next couple of episodes, it just was) But I also think the last episode was outstanding, maybe my favorite. So many canceled shows slink off into the night. This one went out with a real coda.
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Post by lmlewis on Jan 31, 2006 17:04:29 GMT -5
Oh, dear me, fox paws, it was Barb who started the thread. Short term memory failure and didn't realize I could scroll down and review the thread while in the midst of composition. Don't worry; I'll get the hang of it.
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Post by owlcroft on Jan 31, 2006 17:37:33 GMT -5
After all these years, it's tough to remember, but I think it may have been "You're Sixteen" or "Conventional Warfare". They definitely hadn't gotten to the last few by then. Sorry, you'd think I'd remember that. Well, maybe you wouldn't.
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Post by lmlewis on Jan 31, 2006 18:03:18 GMT -5
Yes, Owl, I would think you'd remember it, just like I expect Cheri to remember how to spell every guest character's name. ;-)
I, on the other hand, forget the titles of the episodes, and when I see them abbreviated, go into these wierd mental spasms as I try to figure out what the heck the letters stand for. It's pitiful.
But I hope it wasn't 'Sixteen'; gosh, that's on my least-favorite episode list. But, you know, probably episodes do well that follow good episodes. And 'Sixteen' followed 'Stranglehold'.
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Post by kslmoran on Feb 2, 2006 23:05:09 GMT -5
LML, I do the same things with the abbreviated titles.
Rolling Thunder was one of the few eps I actually had on tape for the last 15 or so years. Gotta say one of my favorite parts is the court scene. Mark is just so darn fresh mouthed, but hysterical. Especially when he pokes fun at his own lawyer. And the line "And Uncle Zeke is still up in Saugus picking lettuce..." Love it every time.
I also had "Chip..." on tape as well. If I had no other eps, I'm glad I had those. The beginning and end. And it did end well. You knew everything was going to be great for those two guys. Of course, now, thanks to my good friends, I have them all to enjoy, whenever I want. Thanks, friends. Karie
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screamllc
Speed Demon
I just wanted to make sure somebody was there to see the wind didn't blow my tracks out of the sand.
Posts: 113
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Post by screamllc on Feb 2, 2006 23:49:28 GMT -5
And the line "And Uncle Zeke is still up in Saugus picking lettuce..." Love it every time. Karie, that line cracks me up, too. And lest we forget the rest... "...and, you're still about the biggest donkey in America!" My poor brother got called a "big donkey" for years because of that line!
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joni
Grease Monkey
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Post by joni on Feb 5, 2006 20:38:35 GMT -5
I loved that whole court scene also! Much more interesting than the Judge's we have here. I'd probably gotten thrown out of the courtroom for contempt because I would have had to have laughed.
We did have a judge send the sheriff and County Commissioners to jail (for about 2 hours) over a couple of parking spaces. They were wanting a ramp into the Sheriffs office which would take up parking used by the Mag office. The judge ordered work to stop. It did, then they figured how to not bother the parking spaces and continued work. The judge on his lunch hour road by to see the area in question -- he saw work going on -- so he put them in jail for contempt!
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Post by jeanne on Feb 12, 2006 15:08:44 GMT -5
Hello, How did you hear BK was burned up by them cancelling Hardcastle And McCormick?
Jeanne
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Post by owlcroft on Feb 12, 2006 15:41:56 GMT -5
Hello, How did you hear BK was burned up by them cancelling Hardcastle And McCormick? Jeanne Welcome, Jeanne. Well, I got it at the time from an article in the newspapers. He was steamed at the network for running it after Monday Night football because no one knew exactly when the game would end, so fans of the show were missing it. Also, he apparently realled enjoyed doing the show and didn't want it to end. Later on, last year in fact, Cynthia Shannon posted a remembrance on another board about BK and his wife appearing on a morning program in San Francisco. Cyndy had started a movement to reverse the cancellation and had been asked to be there in the audience and be interviewed. BK made it abundantly clear in the interview that he wasn't happy about it being dumped by ABC and wanted it to continue. There, a long-winded answer to a short question!
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Liz
Speed Demon
Such special moments...
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Post by Liz on Mar 6, 2006 19:26:39 GMT -5
The guys were really pleased that the series was moving toward a relationship series with some humor rather than the usual chase series. You can see that change happening, particularly during the third season.
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Post by theyankeeclipper on Jul 9, 2006 10:46:33 GMT -5
Well it was also a gradual progression. If you sit down and watch Seasons 1 through Season 3 all the way, you can see the gradual progression. Season 1 was all action, ala "The A-Team". Season 2 toned down the action and toned up the crime drama and character development, and to me was the best balance of both, that's why it's my favorite. By Season 3, alot of the action stuff was completely gone by this point, most episodes focused on crime drama and the characters. This is probably the reason they semi-killed the Coyote in "When I Look Back On All The Things". Although the car returned in the last few episodes, I think had there been a 4th Season, the car's place would be perminately changed to be nothing more than the equivalent of Magnum's Ferrari on "Magnum, p.i.".
As for "Rolling Thunder", unless my mind changes, to this day the pilot movie is still my favorite episode of the series. It's stellar! Great action, great character stories, terrific movie. It's not only my favorite pilot, but to me is also the best pilot for a TV series i've ever seen. Most shows usually have bad pilots, they although a good show is there, it takes some building to make it that from the foundation laid in the pilot. "H&McC" hit it out of the ball park from the first episode. "Airwolf" & "Miami Vice" also had really good pilot films.
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