Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels
Main title card
Format	Crime drama
Created by	Ivan Goff Ben Roberts
Starring	Farrah Fawcett-Majors Kate Jackson Jaclyn Smith Cheryl Ladd Shelley Hack Tanya Roberts David Doyle
Theme music composer	Jack Elliott Allyn Ferguson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	110 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Aaron Spelling Leonard Goldberg
Running time	48–50 minutes
Production company(s)	Spelling/Goldberg Productions
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	4:3 SDTV 16:9 HDTV
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	September 22, 1976 (1976-09-22) – June 24, 1981 (1981-06-24)

Charlie's Angels is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 1976 to June 1981, producing five seasons and 110 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aaron Spelling.

It plotted the adventures of three females working in a private detective agency in Los Angeles, California, and initially starred Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Jaclyn Smith in the leading roles. David Doyle co-starred as a sidekick to the three women and John Forsythe played the voice of their boss, Charlie. Later additions to the cast included Cheryl Ladd, who entered the series in season two, Shelley Hack in season four, and Tanya Roberts in season five.

Despite mixed reviews from critics and a reputation for merely being "Jiggle TV," the show enjoyed an astonishing popularity with audiences, and was a top ten hit for its first few seasons. Because later cast changes were not well-received and the public's taste changed, the show concluded a five-year run in the spring of 1981. The series continues to have a cult and pop culture following through syndication, DVD releases, and subsequent film remakes.

Premise

Three women, the intelligent Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), the alluring and tomboyish Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), and the sensitive Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith) graduate from the Los Angeles police academy, only to be assigned menial duties such as handling switchboards and directing traffic. Unsatisfied with these roles, they are recruited to work for the Charles Townsend Agency as private investigators. Their boss, Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe), who nicknames them "angels," is never seen full-face. In a few episodes the viewer sees the back of his head and his arms, and he is often surrounded by beautiful women. Charlie assigns cases to the Angels and his liaison, John Bosley (David Doyle), via a speaker phone.

Fawcett-Majors and Jackson eventually left the series during its run. Fawcett-Majors was replaced by Cheryl Ladd as Kris Munroe, Jill's sister and a former police officer from San Francisco in season two. Jackson was replaced by Shelley Hack as Tiffany Welles, a former police officer from Boston in season four. In the fifth and final season, Tanya Roberts replaced Hack as Julie Rogers, a former model. Jaclyn Smith was the only original female cast member to remain with the series during its entire five-year run.

Like other American TV crime shows of the 1970s, Charlie's Angels was generally formatted in the way of a procedural drama. Most episodes followed a regular structure whereby a crime is committed, the Angels are given the case details by Charlie and Bosley at the Townsend office and the trio go undercover, usually involving something skimpy to wear for Kelly and Jill (later Kris). Toward the end of the episode one of them is uncovered and it is a race against time for the others to rescue their friend before she meets some horrible fate. Inevitably, the final scene would be back at the Townsend office with Charlie offering his congratulations for a job well done.

Jiggle TV

The show became known as "Jiggle TV" and "T&A TV" (or "Tits & Ass Television") by critics who believed that the show had no intelligence or substance and that the scantily or provocatively dressed Angels—generally as part of their undercover characters—e.g., roller derby girl, beauty pageant contestant, maid, female prisoner, or just bikini-clad—did so to showcase the figures and/or sexuality of the actresses as a sole means of attracting viewers. Farrah Fawcett-Majors once attributed the show's success to this fact: "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra."^[1]

Conception and casting

The original proposed title for the show was The Alley Cats. Kate Jackson did not have to audition and was immediately selected for one of the roles during the early pre-production stages. She had proven very popular with viewers in another police television drama, The Rookies. Not quite excited by the name of the show, Jackson relayed to producers that the leads should be called "angels" instead of "alley cats". Jackson then came up with the idea that the identity of their boss should remain a mystery, both to the characters and the viewers, and that they should receive their cases over a speakerphone or squawk box. Producers incorporated these ideas into the show, which proved to be very popular. The Angels' boss was originally to be named Harry, but the title Harry's Angels was dropped from consideration as not to conflict with another television series, Harry O.^[2] Producers came up with the name Charlie. Jackson was initially cast as Kelly Garrett, but was more attracted to the role of Sabrina Duncan, and her request to switch roles was granted. Thus, the early part of the pilot focuses heavily on Jaclyn Smith as Kelly Garrett (the role Jackson originally had) as the casting change had been made too late to make further rewrites.

Farrah Fawcett-Majors was the second actress to be selected and, like Jackson, did not have to audition. She had done small acting parts up to this point such as commercials and sitcom appearances. A producer of Charlie's Angels saw the actress in a small role in the film Logan's Run and wanted her to be one of the female leads in the show. A casting call was then put out for the final lead role, and Jaclyn Smith was chosen from among hundreds of actresses. Smith had done limited acting as well up to that point, having appeared in several commercials.

Cast

Main cast
Actress/Actor	Character	Seasons	Year	No. of Episodes	Notes
Kate Jackson	Sabrina Duncan	1–3	1976–1979	69 episodes	Charlie's Angels was created in her favor, and many of her ideas were incorporated into the series.
Farrah Fawcett	Jill Munroe	1	1976–1977	29 episodes	A police graduate from Los Angeles. She left after season one, but returned for a few guest star appearances during seasons 3 and 4 due to contractual obligations.
Jaclyn Smith	Kelly Garrett	1–5	1976–1981	110 episodes	A police graduate from Los Angeles. She was the only "Angel" to remain with the series during its entire five-year run. (Although in late 1980, Smith announced she would be leaving the show; the series was canceled before this could happen.).
Cheryl Ladd	Kris Munroe	2–5	1977–1981	87 episodes	Replaced Farrah Fawcett-Majors (Jill Munroe), as Jill's younger sister, Kris Munroe, a police graduate from San Francisco. Ladd had the second-longest stint of the "Angels" on the series (four seasons), after Jaclyn Smith (five seasons).
Shelley Hack	Tiffany Welles	4	1979–1980	25 episodes	Replaced Kate Jackson (Sabrina Duncan), playing classy Tiffany Welles, a police graduate from Boston.
Tanya Roberts	Julie Rogers	5	1980–1981	16 episodes	Replaced Shelley Hack (Tiffany Welles) in the fifth and final season, playing Julie Rogers, a street-wise model turned detective from The Bronx.
David Doyle	John Bosley	1–5	1976–1981	110 episodes	He works for Charlie and, along with Charlie, provides the Angels with their assignments. On occasion he assists the Angels, and unlike them, he routinely sees and works with Charlie.
John Forsythe (voice)	Charles "Charlie" Townsend	1–5	1976–1981	109 episodes	The owner of the detective agency and the Angels' and Bosley's boss, he was never seen full-face in any episode. His role is primarily the voice over a speakerphone.

Cast changes

Over the course of its five-year-run, Charlie's Angels had a series of highly publicized cast changes. The first of the cast changes took place in the spring of 1977, just after the conclusion of the first season. Pivotal series actress Farrah Fawcett-Majors turned in her resignation just before the season one finale aired on May 4, 1977. She explained to ABC executives that she wished to distance herself from the show and that she longed for a career in films. However, ABC and show producer Aaron Spelling thought the exit of Fawcett-Majors, the show's most valuable asset, would knock the series off balance.

During the 1977 summer hiatus of the series, ABC and Fawcett-Majors entered a legal battle over her contract. At the beginning of the series, all three female leads signed five-year contracts, and the network was insistent that they live up to their commitments. Business partners Leonard Goldberg and Aaron Spelling tried intensively to work out a deal with Fawcett-Majors and her agents. Goldberg and Spelling had arranged for her to make one theatrical film during her summer hiatuses and her choice over subsequent television shows and miniseries. ABC even agreed to raise her previous salary of $5,000 a week to $8,000 a week. But she declined the offers, anyway.

Deciding not to continue negotiations with Fawcett-Majors and her headstrong agents, ABC reluctantly released her from her series contract in the summer of 1977. However, she was assigned to another contract with ABC, stating that since she left her contract four years early that she would return to the series later on in its run for six guest appearances. Fawcett-Majors would return as Jill Munroe on Charlie's Angels for three guest appearances in season three. She again returned for three guest spots in season four, but by this time she had dropped the "Majors" from her name.

Several explanations have been given for the sudden exit of Fawcett-Majors from the series. Some believe that the strain the series caused her took a toll on her marriage to fellow television star Lee Majors, who starred on the fellow ABC series, The Six Million Dollar Man. On the other hand, some television historians stated that she and her agents believed that she was not receiving sufficient respect from ABC. In subsequent interviews about her departure, she explained that she left the show "to do movies" and because she didn't find the show "interesting enough" to stay for five years.

As Fawcett-Majors departed the series, ABC began searching for her replacement. Executives eventually noticed singer-turned-actress Cheryl Ladd and offered her a screen test. Initially, Ladd refused the opportunity for a screen test, but after lobbying from studio executives, she filmed a screen test. Although executives noticed Ladd was inexperienced, they saw promise in her performance and signed her to a four-year contract. In an effort to keep the hype the series had with Fawcett-Majors, Ladd was written in the series as her sister, San Francisco police academy graduate Kris Munroe.

Despite a mixed reception from critics at the beginning of season two in September 1977, Charlie's Angels lost just a small percentage of its season one audience with the introduction of Ladd. There were behind-the-scenes difficulties. Although audiences accepted Ladd and her character, show star Kate Jackson believed the inclusion of Ladd damaged the series considerably. Jackson and Ladd reportedly never got along with one another, and caused a great amount of stress on producers and co-star Jaclyn Smith.

Despite the mutual dislike between Jackson and Ladd, ratings remained steady throughout the third season. With three highly publicized guest appearances from Fawcett-Majors during the season, ratings temporarily reentered the top five. Critical reviews for the series, however, had declined and its public popularity began to wane. Jackson began complaining about the show's diminishing script quality and that the show had switched views. Jackson stated that initially the series focused on "classic detective work," but had become more of a "cop story of the week". Jackson and Ladd continued to quarrel off-screen, so later episodes were written so their characters shared little screen time. In the summer of 1979, Jackson mutually agreed to be released from her ABC contract and left the series.

Casting calls for Jackson's replacement began during the summer of 1979. Several up-and-coming actresses were considered for the upcoming role, including former James Bond franchise actress Barbara Bach, Connie Sellecca, Shari Belafonte, and newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer. Although considered for the part, Bo Derek and Melanie Griffith did not audition. Pfeiffer was a personal favorite with most of the producers, however, her screen test showed her inexperienced acting talents and she was passed over for the part. ABC producers noticed Charlie perfume girl Shelley Hack in an ad and cast her as Jackson's replacement. Hack debuted in the fourth season premiere as Tiffany Welles, an elegant police graduate from Boston. ABC hoped Hack's sophisticated personality would bring an interesting new mystique and intrigue to the series.

However, Hack's performance received disappointing reviews from critics and the series lost 40 percent of its audience during her time on the series. The sudden viewership decline was blamed on Hack and her inexperienced acting. A cameraman for the show said Hack's "Q," or likableness to the audience, was very thin. Television host Johnny Carson said that Charlie's Angels was supposed to be "Jiggle TV," and continued with saying that "When Hack's A is put where her T should be, it still doesn't jiggle." Other critics argued Hack was never given a chance on the series, stating that her part was generally small, and that she seemed to be "fitted into episodes written before her casting".

To revitalize the show and regain popularity, ABC released Hack from her contract in February, 1980. In a People magazine interview, Hack told reporters, "They can say I didn't work out, but it isn't true. What happened was a network war. A business decision was made. Change the timeslot or bring on some new publicity. How to get publicity? A new Angel hunt. Who is the obvious person to replace? I am—the new kid on the block."

During casting calls for Hack's replacement, some two thousand candidates were auditioned. After a series of false commitments, ABC selected model and former dance instructor, Tanya Roberts. Producers hoped Roberts's sexuality would bring back the memory of Farrah Fawcett-Majors from the first season and push the series back to the top. Roberts's hiring was received a great deal of publicity. She was pictured on the cover of People magazine and featured in an article surrounding the series. The article, entitled "Is the Jiggle Up?," asked if Roberts could save Charlie's Angels from cancellation. Executive Brett Garwood stated, "We hope to keep the show going for next year, but nothing's certain."

Roberts debuted in the fifth season premiere as Julie Rogers, a streetwise fighter and model. Although the introduction of Roberts received much hype, the season premiere episodes drew mild ratings. Between November 1980 and June 1981, the series was broadcast in three different timeslots and continued to wane in popularity. Due to declining ratings, ABC cancelled the show in the spring of 1981.

Timeslots and cancellation

During its five-year-run, Charlie's Angels aired on five different timeslots. In season one, from September 22, 1976 to May 4, 1977, the series aired on Wednesday nights at 10:00pm, where it followed Baretta and faced little competition from The Blue Knight of CBS and The Quest of NBC. From September 14, 1977 to May 7, 1980, its second through fourth seasons, the series aired on Wednesday nights at 9:00pm and competed with shows including The Oregon Trail, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, and Diff'rent Strokes.

During its fifth season, the series premiered on Sunday, November 30, 1980 at 8:00pm, where it received tough competition from its fellow networks. After just six episodes, the series began airing on Saturday nights at 8:00pm, where it faced little competition. After another six episodes, the series moved back to Wednesday nights, but this time on an 8:00pm timeslot, where it remained for the remainder of its run. Despite generally receiving mild competition from its rival networks on these timeslots, Charlie's Angels placed 59th out of just 65 shows for the 1980─81 television season. ABC thereby canceled the series after five seasons and 110 episodes.

Notable guest stars

Charlie's Angels played host to a number of well-known faces during its five seasons. Some of those individuals were long-established stars of film and television; others would find considerable fame and recognition many years after appearing in the program. Notable appearances of celebrities (whether famous then or later) include those of:

Jack Albertson Richard Anderson René Auberjonois (twice) Phyllis Avery Jim Backus Scott Baio Gene Barry (twice) Kim Basinger Ed Begley, Jr. Dirk Benedict Barbi Benton Lloyd Bochner Sonny Bono Tom Bosley Barry Bostwick Dr. Joyce Brothers Edd Byrnes David Cassidy Joanna Cassidy Kim Cattrall John Colicos Gary Collins (twice) Stephen Collins Bert Convy Pat Cooper Scatman Crothers Patricia Crowley Jamie Lee Curtis Timothy Dalton[3]

Patti D'Arbanville Robert Davi Sammy Davis, Jr. Bradford Dillman Robert Donner Patrick Duffy Andrew Duggan Robert Englund Antonio Fargas Norman Fell Joe Flynn Rosemary Forsyth Jonathan Frakes Anne Francis (twice) James Gammon Ellen Geer Frank Gorshin Fred Grandy Andy Griffith Dan Haggerty Alan Hale, Jr. David Hedison (twice) Florence Henderson Don Ho Bo Hopkins (twice) Tab Hunter Joyce Jameson Tommy Lee Jones Louis Jourdan Elaine Joyce Casey Kasem

Sally Kirkland (twice) Bernie Kopell Fernando Lamas Audrey Landers Judy Landers (twice) Ted Lange Christopher Lee John Lithgow Gary Lockwood Robert Loggia (twice) Ida Lupino Richard Lynch Carol Lynley Gavin MacLeod Randolph Mantooth Penny Marshall Dean Martin Amanda McBroom Mercedes McCambridge Maureen McCormick Eve McVeagh Denny Miller Ray Milland Read Morgan Vic Morrow (twice) Richard Mulligan Craig T. Nelson France Nguyen Simon Oakland Dan O'Herlihy Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Janis Paige Stacy Peralta Joanna Pettet Jo Ann Pflug Dack Rambo Robert Reed Richard Romanus Cesar Romero Marion Ross Bob Saget Dick Sargent (three times) Tom Selleck James Sikking Phil Silvers Tom Simcox Louise Sorel Barbara Stanwyck Tisha Sterling David Ogden Stiers Christopher Stone Harold J. Stone Lee Terri (four times) Lauren Tewes Robert Urich Barry Van Dyke Dick Van Dyke Lyle Waggoner Anson Williams Jane Wyman

Ratings history

The series proved a runaway hit in the 1976–1977 ratings, finishing at #5 for the season and the three lead actresses were suddenly propelled to stardom (Kate Jackson later commented that the first few months were like being in the eye of a storm). Farrah Fawcett-Majors became hugely popular and was branded a phenomenon. However, the situation off screen was not so happy. The long working hours on set, combined with numerous calls for photo shoots, wardrobe fittings, and promotional interviews, took their toll on the trio. Jackson was especially unhappy as she felt the quality of scripts was declining and the format was now more "cop story of the week" rather than classy undercover drama, which had been the intention with the pilot film.

With the departure of Fawcett-Majors, the series remained in the top five but lost nearly eight hundred thousand viewers. With the return of Fawcett-Majors in the third season (1978–1979), the show's viewership rose but fell out of the top ten. With the absence of Jackson in the show's fourth season, Charlie's Angels fell to #20 for the season with the introduction of Shelley Hack. Trying to regain its success by replacing Hack with Tanya Roberts in the 1980–1981 television season, Charlie's Angels aired on three different time slots and concluded its fifth season in 59th place out of just 65 shows.^[4] Smith, the last remaining original Angel, announced partway through season 5 that she would leave the show. Due to very low ratings, ABC cancelled Charlie's Angels after five seasons and 110 episodes.

Nielsen ratings/Broadcast history

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Charlie's Angels on ABC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times listed are North American Eastern Time.

The highest average rating for the series is in italic text.

Season	Time slot	Premiere	Finale	Rank	Rating
1	Wednesday 10:00 P.M.	September 22, 1976	May 4, 1977	#3	26.0[4]
2	Wednesday 9:00 P.M.	September 14, 1977	May 10, 1978	#4 (tie)	24.4[4]
3		September 13, 1978	May 16, 1979	#9	24.9
4		September 12, 1979	May 7, 1980	#20 (tie)	20.9[4]
5	Sunday 8:00 P.M. (November 30, 1980 – January 11, 1981) Saturday 8:00 P.M. (January 24, 1981 – February 28, 1981) Wednesday 8:00 P.M. (June 3, 1981 – June 24, 1981)	November 30, 1980	June 24, 1981	#59[4]	N/A

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all five seasons of Charlie's Angels on DVD in Region 1, and the first three seasons in Regions 2 and 4. The fifth and final season was released in Region 1 on January 1, 2013.^[5] This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Amazon.com & WBShop.com and only in the US.

On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Charlie's Angels.^[6] On November 7, 2013, it was announced that they will be re-releasing the first season on DVD on January 21, 2014.^[7]

Season	Ep #	Release dates			Notes
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
1	23	May 27, 2003 January 21, 2014 (re-release)	June 23, 2003	September 29, 2010	Includes the 90-minute pilot TV movie.
2	24	April 6, 2004	February 19, 2007	January 13, 2011	The two-hour episodes "Angels in Paradise" and "Angels on Ice" appear as syndicated versions.
3	22	July 4, 2006	April 20, 2009	March 2, 2011	The two-hour episodes "Angels in Vegas" and "Terror on Skis" appear as syndicated versions.
4	25	July 21, 2009	TBA	TBA	The two-hour episode "Love Boat Angels" appears as the syndicated version.
5	16	January 1, 2013	TBA	TBA
Complete Series	110	September 25, 2012	TBA	TBA

Note: Episode count is based on the format in which episodes originally aired. Two-hour episodes are counted as one episode.

Episodes

Spin-off

ABC attempted to create a spin-off for Charlie's Angels in 1980 called Toni's Boys. The show was essentially a gender reversal of Charlie's Angels, and starred Barbara Stanwyck as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow and friend of Charlie's who ran a detective agency. The agency was staffed by three good looking male detectives who took direction from Toni, and solved crimes in a manner similar to the Angels. The show aired as a backdoor pilot during the fourth season of Charlie's Angels, but was not picked up as a regular series for the following season.

Although there was a crossover with Vega$, a pilot episode had already aired, so it was not strictly a spin-off.

Syndication

As of September, 2011, all five seasons of the show can be purchased in the USA on iTunes, and some episodes of the show can be streamed for free in the US on IMDB and Hulu. Minisodes and full episodes available on Crackle. The show previously aired in syndication on various network affiliates and on TV Land, Cloo and ION. Following the death of Farrah Fawcett in June 2009, WGN America aired a week of marathons of the show. As of 2009 the series is still available for syndication to local television stations in the United States. It is currently airing on the U.S. digital broadcast television network Cozi TV.

Other versions

The series has inspired many remakes and reinterpretations throughout the years and in different countries. It has also been featured in various other media.

Revival

Four women were selected to be in a show called Angels '88, which was to serve as an updated version of the show. The show was later named Angels '89 after production delays, but the project was abandoned before notice was taken.^[8] From 1998–1999, Telemundo and Sony produced a show called Ángeles.^[9] The weekly hour format did not catch on with Hispanic viewers, who are accustomed to watching telenovelas nightly and the series was soon canceled. In 2002, a German version of Charlie's Angels, Wilde Engel,^[10] was produced by the German channel RTL. The show was known as Anges de choc in French-speaking countries, and as Three Wild Angels in English-speaking ones.

In 2004, a television movie entitled Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels aired on NBC.

In November 2009, ABC announced that it was considering a television revival of Charlie's Angels, with Josh Friedman handling both writing and executive producing duties, and Drew Barrymore and Leonard Goldberg sharing co-production duties.^[11][12] On May 13, 2011, ABC announced a 13-episode order for the series.^[13][14] However, after only four episodes, ABC canceled the Charlie's Angels reboot.^[15] The rest of the show aired as planned though.

Influences on pop culture and later media

The series inspired Flower Films production company's two films, Charlie's Angels (2000) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), with John Forsythe returning as Charlie. Whereas most movie remakes of 1970s TV shows, like Starsky and Hutch, are actually remakes, the Charlie's Angels films are set in a different time and thus closer to a film revival. The mythology goes that whenever an Angel leaves, she is replaced so there are always three. The second film had more nods to the TV series than the first film, with Jaclyn Smith making a brief cameo as Kelly Garrett.

The series has also inspired more shows and films, including:

• The 1979 film Angels Revenge, featured a similar concept with seven women joining to stop a drug operation. This film was poorly received and viewed by many as little more than a cheap knockoff and was even mocked in a 1995 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
• The animated series Totally Spies!, about three young girls similarly working as undercover agents.
• The Dexter's Laboratory episode "G.I.R.L. Squad" parodied Charlie's Angels.
• Another animated series, Codename: Kids Next Door, featured five ten-year-old children who are undercover agents. This series is notable for its title card, which was inspired by that of Charlie's Angels.
• The syndicated series V.I.P. and She Spies.
• In 2000, the show was remade in India with the title of C.A.T.S. (starring Nafisa Joseph, Kuljeet Randhawa and Malini Sharma produced by Sony Entertainment Television Asia. It gave credit to Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and also to Columbia Pictures.
• In 1987, Saturday Night Live aired an opening sketch entitled, "The New Charlie's Angels." The "new Angels" were Jessica Hahn (whose affair with televangelist Jim Bakker had brought down his ministry), Fawn Hall (secretary to Oliver North during the Iran-Contra Scandal), and Donna Rice (whose alleged affair with former Senator Gary Hart had ended his presidential candidacy). In the sketch, a mysterious man named "Charlie" was directing the "Angels" to cause these scandals, in order to eliminate presidential candidates. Seen from behind, sitting in a chair at an office desk, "Charlie's" face was not revealed, but his Boston accent implied that it was Senator Ted Kennedy. As the sketch ended, "Charlie" gave the "Angels" a new assignment -- "Operation Pineapple," targeting Senator Robert Dole.
• In a season 2 episode of The Golden Girls called "The Nightmare Before Christmas", the girls are being held hostage on Christmas Eve at the grief center where Rose works by a man in a Santa Claus suit:

Blanche: I'm going to act like I am picking up something seductively and then the two sneak up behind him and give him a karate chop.

Dorothy: Blanche, who do we look like, Charlie's Angels?

Blanche: I have been told I bear a striking resemblance to Ms. Cheryl Ladd. OF course, my bosoms are perkier.

Dorothy: Not if you were hanging upside down on a trapeze!

Subsequent Angels

• Connie Bates (1988–1989), played by Claire Yarlett,^[16][17] Angels '89
• Pam Ryan (1988–1989), played by Karen Kopins,^[16] Angels '89
• Trisha Lawrence (1988–1989), played by Sandra Canning,^[16] Angels '89
• Bernie Colter (1988–1989), played by Téa Leoni,^[16] Angels '89
• Adriana Vega (1998–1999), played by Patricia Manterola,^[9][18] Ángeles
• Elena Sanchez (1998–1999), played by Sandra Vidal,^[18] Ángeles
• Gina Navarro (1998–1999), played by Magali Caicedo,^[18] Ángeles
• Natalie Cook (2000–2003), played by Cameron Diaz, Charlie's Angels & Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
• Dylan Sanders (2000–2003), played by Drew Barrymore, Charlie's Angels & Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
• Alex Munday (2000–2003), played by Lucy Liu, Charlie's Angels & Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
• Madison Lee (2003), played by Demi Moore,^[19] Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
• Kate Prince (2011), played by Annie Ilonzeh, Charlie's Angels (2011).^[20]
• Eve French (2011), played by Minka Kelly, Charlie's Angels (2011).^[21]
• Abby Simpson (2011), Played by Rachael Taylor, Charlie's Angels (2011).
• Gloria Martinez (2011), Played by Nadine Velazquez, Charlie's Angels (2011).

Collectible items

During the show's run, a countless variety of collectible items were produced, including two versions of dolls, boardgames, several posters, several sets of trading cards, notebooks, a lunchbox & thermos, Charlie's Angels van, children's beauty products and even record albums.

In the UK, as was common with many popular US programs of the era, a series of tie-in hardcover annuals were published by World International Publishing Ltd, containing stories, comics, photos, puzzles and features on the stars. There are four Charlie's Angels annuals in total.

Even though it was not part of the show, a poster of Farrah Fawcett-Majors sporting a red bathing suit that became the biggest selling poster in history with 12 million copies sold. This poster also helped the burgeoning popularity of the series.

Comics

Two British comic strip versions were produced. The first appeared in the Polystyle publication Target in April 1978, drawn by John Canning. Target was a sister title to the long-running TV Comic aimed at older children and featuring TV action and crime shows of the day. Proving unpopular, it folded in August and merged back into TV Comic where Canning's Angels strip continued until October 1979. The second strip was printed in Junior TV Times Look-in, debuting in November 1979 (as soon as Polystyle's deal expired), written by Angus Allan and drawn by Jim Baikie and Bill Titcombe.

In the on-line comic Erfworld, one side in The Battle for Gobwin Knob hires three glowing, flying female combatants from an unseen "Charlie". One is blond and two are dark-haired. They first appear in silhouette in page 42 of the comic^[22] and in the final frame of page 69,^[23] after dispensing with some "Dwagons" of the opposing side, once again take up the iconic pose of Charlie's Angels. They are referred to as "Charlie's Archons". In Gnosticism, an archon occupies a role similar to the angels of the Old Testament.

Angel's "Proper" Charlies was a British comic strip published in the weekly Jackpot. It first appeared in 1979, drawn by Trevor Metcalfe. Angel was a beautiful teenage girl who was worshiped by three not-so-very-mature boys called the Charlies. Angel's beauty hid a conniving mind, in that she took advantage of the love-struck trio in order to get her own way, such as slipping into parties and concerts and attracting the attention of more suitable boyfriends, while the Charlies ended up bruised and battered as a result of their efforts to impress her (in vain).^[24]

Brelan de dames (Three Queens of a Kind), a Belgian comic strip by artist Renaud Denauw and writer Jean-Luc Vernal, was also about a trio of action women, though in this case they came from various countries and racial backgrounds and, after a short stint in the secret service, became independent operators. Again, one is blond and the others are dark-haired. Their adventures were published in the 1980s in Tintin magazine.^[25]

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Issue #152 has a reference to Charlie's Angels called "Sonic's Angels".

Video games

In July 2003, three Charlie's Angels games were released on three different gaming platforms: Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and the mobile phone. The versions released on both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 were virtually the same and were both titled Charlie's Angels. The version released for the mobile phone was fundamentally toned down to fit the technical restrictions of the platform, and was titled Charlie's Angels: Road Cyclone.

In April 2008, Ojom announced a new Charlie's Angels mobile phone game entitled Charlie's Angels: Hellfire. The game is now available on operator portals across Europe.

See also

• The Doll Squad, a film about another group of shapely female operatives
• Police Woman
• Cagney & Lacey

Notes and references

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlie's Angels.

Wikinews has related news: Prolific television producer Aaron Spelling dies at 83

• Charlie's Angels at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie's Angels at TV.com
• Behind the Camera: The Charlie's Angels Story at the Internet Movie Database
• Full Filming Location Guide & Illustrated Episode Guide

v t e Charlie's Angels Episodes Season 1 2 3 4 5 Films Charlie's Angels Full Throttle Characters Sabrina Duncan Jill Munroe Kelly Garrett Kris Munroe Tiffany Welles Julie Rogers John Bosley Other Charlie's Angels (video game) Asian Charlie's Angels Charlie's Angels (2011 reboot)