| 240-Robert | |
|---|---|
John Bennett Perry, Joanna Cassidy and Mark Harmon |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Rick Rosner |
| Written by | Charlene Bralver Lew Hunter Simon Muntner James Schmerer Anthony Yerkovich |
| Directed by | Richard Benedict Phil Bondelli John Florea Bruce Kessler Sigmund Neufeld, Jr. Christian I. Nyby II Sutton Roley Ric Rondell |
| Starring | John Bennett Perry Mark Harmon Joanna Cassidy Stephan Burns Pamela Hensley |
| Theme music composer | Pete Carpenter Mike Post |
| Composer(s) | Mike Post (1.1, 1.3) Pete Carpenter (1.1, 1.3) Ken Heller J. A. C. Redford (1.6, co-composer) Murray MacLeod (1.6) Harry Betts (1.10, 1.13) Mark Snow (2.1, 2.2, 2.3) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Rick Rosner |
| Producer(s) | Richard M. Rosenbloom |
| Editor(s) | Dann Cahn Mike Renaud Randy Roberts Jack Tucker |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Filmways Television Rosner Television |
| Distributor | Orion Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | August 28, 1979 – March 21, 1981 |
240-Robert is an American drama series that ran on ABC from 1979 to 1981. The series title is a reference to the call-sign designation for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's search and rescue/paramedic teams.
Contents |
The series chronicles the missions of "240-Robert", a specialized unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), that utilized four wheel drive vehicles and a helicopter. Most of the assignments were sea/air/land search and rescue operations in the extensive (over 4,000 sq mi (10,000 km2)) jurisdiction. The show's creator was Rick Rosner (himself an LASD reserve deputy), who created the hit series CHiPs two years earlier for NBC.
The vehicles used at that time were 1979 Ford Broncos, while the helicopter was a Hughes brand, Model HA-500C (similar in design to the current MD 500).
The series was based on real life cases encountered by the LASD's Emergency Services Detail. The real life ESD is actually headquartered in East Los Angeles. Rick Rosner took artistic liberty and portrayed the headquarters as a beach-side station. The actual filming location was at a State of California ranger station located at Sycamore Cove in Ventura County, California.
Harmon and Cassidy left the series when their contracts expired after the first season. Burns and Hensley were brought in to replace them, but the second season (returning mid-season in early 1981 due to an actor's strike) only lasted three episodes before ABC cancelled it due to poor ratings.