T.H.E. Cat is an American action drama that aired during the 1966-1967 television season on NBC, co-sponsored by R.J. Reynolds and Lever Brothers. The series was created by Harry Julian Fink, the creator of Dirty Harry .
Robert Loggia starred as the title character, Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat. T. H. E. Cat is a forerunner of television characters such as The Equalizer, who skirt the edges of the law and bring skills from earlier careers on behalf of those needing more help than the police can offer.
The series preceded the 1968-1970 ABC television series It Takes a Thief, which was also about a cat burglar who used his skills for good.
The Outsider was the story of David Ross, a go-it-alone private investigator who's always where the action is. Darren McGavin played Ross, a man living in an off-beat, always-dangerous world. The series aired for one season on NBC and was a precursor of sorts to The Rockford Files in that it featured a loner private detective who had previously done time in prison for a crime he didn't commit and who never quite fit into a rapidly changing environment.
Faraday & Company is an American crime drama series that aired in the 1973-1974 season. It starred Dan Dailey as Frank Faraday, a private investigator falsely accused of murdering his partner who returns to Los Angeles after 28 years of imprisonment, and James Naughton as Steve, his son who is also a private investigator.
British ITV sitcom starring John Thaw and Bob Hoskins as two friends in a love triangle.
Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.
Going Straight is a BBC sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set.
It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest.
Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid. Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst.
Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.
Sword Of Justice is an American action-adventure television series that aired on NBC for one season during 1978 and 1979. The series was considered a mix of The Saint, It Takes a Thief, and The Rockford Files.
Kaz is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 10, 1978 to April 22, 1979.
Report to Murphy is an American situation comedy television series starring Michael Keaton that premiered on CBS on April 5, 1982.
The Bounder is a British sitcom which ran from 16 April 1982 to 28 October 1983, made by Yorkshire Television. The series starred Peter Bowles as Howard Booth, an ex-convict who served two years in jail. He lives with Trevor Mountjoy who's his brother in law, and his wife Mary Rosalind Ayres. The latter left after Series one in 1982. It also starred Isla Blair as the next door widowed neighbour, Laura Miles. This series was created by Eric Chappell.
Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983 through 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick. The series premise was somewhat recycled from a previous Cannell series, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe.
An unorthodox trio of female government agents perform secret missions for the brother of the president of the United States.
Me and Mrs. C is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from June 21, 1986 to July 4, 1987. The series stars Peg Murray as Mrs. Conklin, a money-strapped widow who, in order to avoid moving in with her son, decides to take a boarder into her picture-postcard suburban home, and Misha McK as Gerri Kilgore, the young black female boarder with a criminal record.
Gabriel's Fire is an American television series that ran on ABC in the USA in 1990–1991. A revamped version of the series, entitled Pros and Cons, aired briefly the following season.
Palace Guard is the story of a reformed jewel thief and cat burglar, Tommy Logan, who, after serving three years in prison, is released on parole and accepts an offer to become the head of security for the posh Palace Hotel chain. There were two reasons for this somewhat unusual job offer. One was that Logan had previously enjoyed great success in stealing from the high-class clientele of the Palace chain, and hence it was thought that he'd understand how to prevent others from doing so. And the other was that Tommy was the illegitimate son of the chain's owner, Arturo Taft, though Taft did not reveal this to Logan. The show centered primarily around the working relationship between Logan and his new boss, Christy Cooper, the hotel chain's Vice-President of Public Relations. In each episode, Logan and Cooper travelled to a hotel in a different city where Logan would help avert some disaster using quirky and questionable methods, leaving Cooper to sweep up the fallout.
South Beach was an American action/adventure series that aired on NBC during the summer of 1993. The series was created by Dick Wolf and Robert DeLaurentis and starred Yancy Butler, who had been the lead actress a year earlier in another failed Wolf/DeLaurentis series, Mann & Machine.
Set in South Beach, Florida, the Modesty Blaise-inspired storyline had Butler playing Kate Patrick, a thief who, along with her partner Vernon, is given the choice of going to jail or working for a government agency run by a man named Roberts. The series saw Kate and Vernon take on various missions for Roberts, which usually called on the duo to make use of their skills as thieves. The series also co-starred Patti D'Arbanville. The first episode guest-starred the British actor, Christopher Bowen as Dimitriev.
Seven episodes were produced of this series, but only six were aired.
Johnny Bago is a short-lived television series that aired in the summer of 1993. It stars Peter Dobson as ex-con Johnny Tenuti who, after being set up a second time, travels across America in a Winnebago under the name Johnny Bago to escape mobsters, cops and his former wife/parole officer.
Pointman is a TV movie pilot and TV series on the Prime Time Entertainment Network in 1994 to 1995. The premise is the main character is framed and convicted of fraud while he was an investment banker. Eventually cleared, Constantine 'Connie' Harper helps others while running a coastal resort.
Kenny Conway is a petty criminal from a family of petty criminals, who, after a recent spell in prison, has decided to go straight.
After two years in jail, Connie Drego returns home to the motel she owns and which her oldest daughter Madeline kept open in her absence.