{"id":27075,"date":"2016-11-16T11:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=27075"},"modified":"2016-11-16T11:05:44","modified_gmt":"2016-11-16T16:05:44","slug":"david-janssen-as-harry-o","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=27075","title":{"rendered":"’70s Flashback: Remembering David Janssen as “Harry O”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"David<\/a>Guest blogger Rick29 writes:<\/p>\n

The DVD set includes the first of two pilot films, Such Dust as Dreams Are Made Of<\/em>, which was broadcast in 1973. Martin Sheen<\/a> co-stars as a former criminal who wants to hire Harry to find his ex-girlfriend and a former accomplice (Sal Mineo<\/a>). Orwell has a personal interest in the case because, four years earlier, Sheen and Mineo were the culprits in a drugstore robbery that left Harry’s partner dead and a bullet in Harry’s spine. Forced to retire from the police department, Harry lives on his disability pension aboard his boat The Answer. Will Geer<\/a> appears in a supporting role as a medical examiner who provides an in-depth explanation on how to make heroin. It’s unlikely Geer would have been a regular had a TV series resulted–he was still playing Grandpa on The Waltons<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A second pilot movie (not included in the DVD set), Smile Jenny, You’re Dead<\/em><\/a> (featuring a 12-year-old\u00a0Jodie Foster) appeared the following year. Its ratings success convinced ABC to pick up the series. Harry O<\/em> premiered in September 1974 on Thursday nights at 10.\u00a0 The show’s only other regular was Henry Darrow<\/a> (The High Chapparal), who played Detective Lieutenant Manny Quinlan. Harry now lived in a beachfront cottage, working occasionally on his boat (still called The Answer). As he explained in one of his trademark voiceovers: “A lot of cases I won’t take. I don’t have to.”<\/p>\n

With his car frequently being repaired, Harry takes a lot of buses–which has its advantages when being followed (“It’s hard to tail someone on a bus”). The first half of season 1 makes excellent use of its San Diego locale, highlighting both the flavor of the inner city and the stunning beaches. Even Harry emphasizes the importance of his surroundings: “You see, baseball teams win more games in their own ballpark. Now, San Diego is my ballpark. And if you name a street, I can close my eyes and tell you where the traffic lights are…that also applies to bus stops.”<\/p>\n

The guest stars included a bevy of newcomers and familiar faces to classic TV fans: Kurt Russell<\/a>; Linda Evans<\/a> (between The Big Valley<\/em> and Dynasty<\/em>); Leif Erickson <\/a>(also from The High Chapparal<\/em>); Stefanie Powers<\/a>; Broderick Crawford<\/a>; Anne Archer<\/a>; Craig Stevens<\/a> (Peter Gunn); Carol Rossen<\/a> (a frequent guest star with Janssen on The Fugitive<\/em>); and even Cab Calloway<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite modest success in its time slot, Harry O<\/em> underwent signficant midseason changes. The location sadly switched from San Diego to Santa Monica and Farrah Fawcett<\/a> had a recurring role as Harry’s neighbor and sometime girlfriend Sue (whose Great Dane Grover wasn’t a fan of Harry’s). Anthony Zerbe<\/a> replaced Henry Darrow as another police detective, although Darrow returned to give his character closure in “Elegy for a Cop,” the next-to-last episode of the first season. The opening credits were tweaked, too, and even the theme music transitioned from a bluesy arrangement to a more uptempo one.<\/p>\n

Although Zerbe won a supporting actor Emmy for his performance in 1976, the changes had little impact on the series’ popularity. Viewers watched Harry O<\/em> to see Janssen, who remained a fan favorite from his days as man-on-the-run Richard Kimble in the TV classic The Fugitive<\/em> (1963-67). As Harry, Janssen replaces Kimble’s subtle intensity with a laid-back, cynical persona (though he still occasionally flashes his trademark quick smile, with one side of the mouth turned up). One senses that Harry’s casual style and humorous quips hide a darker past.<\/p>\n

Still, some of the best episodes were the more lighthearted ones, such as “Gertrude,” with guest star Julie Sommars <\/a>as a young woman whose only clue to her brother’s disappearance is a single shoe. The first season also introduced the character of Lester Hodges (Les Lannom<\/a>), a young man who aspires to be a criminologist after meeting Harry. Lester appears in four episodes over the two seasons, with the last one–“Lester Hodges and Dr. Fong”–serving as a pilot for a spin-off series co-starring Keye Luke<\/a> that never materialized.\"Harry<\/a><\/p>\n

Harry O<\/em> faced an uphill challenge finding a regular audience amid a landscape cluttered with popular TV detectives (e.g., <\/a>The Rockford Files<\/em>, Cannon<\/em>, Starsky and Hutch<\/em>, Hawaii Five-O<\/em>, Kojak<\/em>, and Baretta<\/em>). ABC cancelled Harry O<\/em> after just two seasons. Though its demise came far too early, at least it didn’t suffer the fate of overstaying its welcome. We’re left with a quirky, entertaining detective series with a character perfectly matched to its star. It’d also be nice if someone would release the only season of television’s other seldom-seen, quirky private eye series: The Outsider<\/em> (1968-69) starring Darren McGavin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rick29 is a film reference book author and a regular contributor at the Classic Film & TV Caf\u00e9 <\/em>, on Facebook<\/a><\/em> and Twitter<\/a>. <\/em>He\u2019s a big fan of MovieFanFare, too, of course!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger Rick29 writes: The DVD set includes the first of two pilot films, Such Dust as Dreams Are Made Of, which was broadcast in 1973. Martin Sheen co-stars as a former criminal who wants to hire Harry to find…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9691,"featured_media":27076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1787,1510],"coauthors":[3819],"class_list":["post-27075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-articles","tag-1970s-tv-shows","tag-tv-shows"],"yoast_head":"\nDavid Janssen as "Harry O": DVD Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Harry O the 1970s TV crime drama starring David Janssen is reviewed. Harry-O also featured Martin Sheen, & Farrah Fawcett. 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