Search (TV series)
| Search | |
|---|---|
 Search title screen | |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Created by | Leslie Stevens |
| Starring |
Hugh O'Brian Tony Franciosa Doug McClure Burgess Meredith Angel Tompkins Byron Chung Albert Popwell Ginny Golden A. Martinez |
| Theme music composer | Dominic Frontiere |
| Composer(s) | Dominic Frontiere |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 23 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Leslie Stevens |
| Producer(s) |
John Strong Robert H. Justman Anthony Spinner |
| Editor(s) |
Nick Archer Joseph Dervin |
| Cinematography | John M. Stephens |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 13, 1972 – August 29, 1973 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Probe |
Search is an American science fiction series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973.[1] It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe was the name of an existing PBS series. In the UK the series aired on BBC 1 under the title Search Control.
The show was created by Leslie Stevens (The Name of the Game, The Outer Limits), and produced by Leslie Stevens, Robert Justman (Star Trek), John Strong and Tony Spinner. The high concept was described as "science fiction in today's world" and the episodes featured many high-tech elements which are considered common in current science fiction shows.
Preceeded by "Probe" a made for TV Movie starring Hugh O'Brian which served as the pilot for the series.
Premise
The series centered on "World Securities Corporation," an international high-tech private investigation company that employed field operatives—the elite of whom were aided by implanted audio receivers and who carry Scanners, tiny video camera/telemetry units which can be attached to tie clips or other jewelry. The most common method was to wear the Scanner on a ring, enabling it to be discreetly aimed.
Each episode featured one of three primary agents on a particular investigation, which often had political or organized crime elements.
Probe Control
Probe agents reported to V.C.R. Cameron (Burgess Meredith), the "director" of the investigations, who ran Probe Control, a center reminiscent of the NASA Mission Control Center. "Cam" was the leader of the expert team who monitored and provided the agent with intelligence.
On-duty experts included a translator fluent in several languages, and a medical-telemetry specialist.
Early in the series the Probe Control set was placed in a darkened isolated space, alluding to a large-scale operations center. By the middle of the season, the control room was scaled down and relocated to a well-lit but smaller "bunker" room. According to the show's credits, the computer equipment was provided by Control Data Corporation.
The building shown as the headquarters for World Securities Corporation is at 555 California Street in San Francisco, and was once the headquarters building for Bank of America.
Probe hardware
Each field agent is outfitted with a miniature scanner disguised as a piece of jewelry, which can be magnetically attached to special cuff links, tie clips, or pendants. This device continuously monitors the agent's progress, transmitting audio, video, and physical telemetry to Probe Control. These images were stabilized and rotated to permit real-time observation by a team of specialists at Probe Control who analyze the data, consult databases worldwide, and immediately provide information covertly to the field agent via a subcutaneous ear piece implanted in the agent's mastoid process. The agent can respond to Probe Control either audibly or by tapping out code with a dental implant, even when they don't have their scanner operating.
The technology portrayed in the show was twenty to thirty years ahead of its time, and some of the technology was difficult for the viewers to identify with.[2]
Cast
Search was featured in the November 1972 edition of TV Guide, with an illustration of the three actors playing the show's "Probes" on the cover.[3]
- Hugh O'Brian as Hugh Lockwood (Probe One),
- Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco (Omega Probe), handling organized crime assignments
- Doug McClure as Christopher Robin "C.R." Grover (Backup Probe)
- Burgess Meredith as V.C.R. "Cam" Cameron
- Angel Tompkins as Gloria Harding
- Byron Chung as PROBE Control technician Kuroda
- Albert Popwell as Griffin
- Ginny Golden as Miss Keach
- A. Martinez - World Securities Technician
Probe Field Agents
- Hugh Lockwood, Probe One - Lead Operative
- Nick Bianco, Head of Omega division, which specializes in organized-crime cases.
- C.R. Grover, Standby Probe - emergency backup agent.
Probe Control staff
- V.C.R. Cameron, Director of Probe Control Unit 1
- Gloria Harding, Senior Technician monitoring pulse, respiration, and temperature
- Albert Griffin, Linguist and Code-breaker; former chief translator at the United Nations
- Kuroda, telemetry and electronics specialist
- Carlos Lobos, technician
- Amy Murdock, Medical Doctor
- Ginny Keach, Data Specialist
Episode list
| # | Title | Starring | Director | Writer | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | "Probe (pilot)" | Hugh O'Brian | Russ Mayberry | Leslie Stevens | February 11, 1972 | Unknown |
| 1 | "The Murrow Disappearance" | Hugh O'Brian | Russ Mayberry | Leslie Stevens | September 13, 1972 | 166-111 |
| 2 | "One of Our Probes is Missing" | Tony Franciosa | Phillip Leacock | Leslie Stevens | September 20, 1972 | 166-114 |
| 3 | "Short Circuit" | Doug McClure | Allen Reisner | Leslie Stevens | September 27, 1972 | 166-116 |
| 4 | "Moonrock" | Hugh O'Brian | William Wiard | Leslie Stevens | October 4, 1972 | 166-113 |
| 5 | "Live Men Tell Tales" | Tony Franciosa | Marc Daniels | Irving Pearlberg | October 11, 1972 | 166-118 |
| 6 | "Operation Iceman" | Tony Franciosa | Robert Friend | S.S. Schweitzer | October 25, 1972 | 166-115 |
| 7 | "The Bullet" | Hugh O'Brian | William Wiard | Judy Burns | November 1, 1972 | 166-119 |
| 8 | "In Search of Midas" | Doug McClure | Nicholas Colasanto | J. Christoper Strong III & Michael R. Stein | November 8, 1972 | 166-117 |
| 9 | "The Adonis File" | Hugh O'Brian | Joseph Pevney | Jack Turley | November 15, 1972 | 166-120 |
| 10 | "Flight to Nowhere" | Hugh O'Brian | Paul Stanley | Brad Radnitz | November 22, 1972 | 166-122 |
| 11 | "The Gold Machine" | Hugh O'Brian | Russ Mayberry | Leslie Stevens | December 20, 1972 | 166-112 |
| 12 | "Let Us Prey" | Tony Franciosa | Russ Mayberry | Don Balluck | January 3, 1973 | 166-123 |
| 13 | "A Honeymoon to Kill" | Doug McClure | Russ Mayberry | S.S. Schweitzer | January 10, 1973 | 166-124 |
| 14 | "The 24 Carat Hit" | Tony Franciosa | Russ Mayberry | Jack Turley | January 24, 1973 | 166-126 |
| 15 | "Numbered for Death" | Doug McClure | Allen Reisner | S.S. Schweitzer (teleplay), Lou Shaw and S.S. Schweitzer (story) | January 31, 1973 | 166-127 |
| 16 | "Countdown to Panic" | Hugh O'Brian | Jerry Jameson | Judy Burns | February 7, 1973 | 166-128 |
| 17 | "The Clayton Lewis Document" | Tony Franciosa | William Wiard | Norman Hudis | February 14, 1973 | 166-129 |
| 18 | "Goddess of Destruction" | Doug McClure | Jerry Jameson | Irving Pearlberg | February 21, 1973 | 166-130 |
| 19 | "The Mattson Papers" | Tony Franciosa | William Wiard | S.S. Schweitzer and Don Balluck (teleplay), Don Balluck (story) | February 28, 1973 | 166-131 |
| 20 | "Moment of Madness" | Doug McClure | George McGowan | Richard Landau | March 14, 1973 | Unknown |
| 21 | "Ends of the Earth" | Tony Franciosa | Ralph Senensky | Robert C. Dennis | March 21, 1973 | Unknown |
| 22 | "Suffer My Child" | Hugh O'Brian | Russ Mayberry | Norman Hudis | March 28, 1973 | 166-121 |
| 23 | "The Packagers" | Doug McClure | Michael Caffey | Robert C. Dennis | April 11, 1973 | 166-125 |
DVD release
On February 4, 2014, Warner Bros. released Search: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time, via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ "Search Episode Guide". Classic TV Archive. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
- ↑ Search tvparty.com
- ↑ Stephen Hofer, ed., TV Guide: The Official Collectors Guide, Braintree, Mass.: BangZoom Publishers, 2006. ISBN 0-9772927-1-1.
- ↑ Warner Archive Releases 'The Complete Series': Cost, Box, More!
External links
- Search at the Internet Movie Database
- Search at TV.com
- Search at epguides.com
- Search publicity at ProbeControl.com
- World Securities Corporation Fan Site