Cannon (1971-76)

[Chris109]

You never asked me, but I couldn't get into Ironside, though I did manage to track down all 8 seasons of the show (only the first four were released in North America).

I actually got a domain name for an Ironside site (now abandoned) and reviewed a few shows which are archived here:

https://mjq.net/ironside/

Why did I give up? I think Ironside's personality was too abrasive to put up with for 8 years of episodes.

I also reviewed a couple of episodes of Harry O, a series notorious for a lack of direction and executive meddling.

https://mjq.net/harryo/

Benny Hill as Ironside


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8BHWvyofX8

[Chris109]

Benny Hill as Cannon and others


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMId43b-fWA

[Pahonu]

You never asked me, but I couldn't get into Ironside, though I did manage to track down all 8 seasons of the show (only the first four were released in North America).

I actually got a domain name for an Ironside site (now abandoned) and reviewed a few shows which are archived here:

https://mjq.net/ironside/

Why did I give up? I think Ironside's personality was too abrasive to put up with for 8 years of episodes.

I also reviewed a couple of episodes of Harry O, a series notorious for a lack of direction and executive meddling.

https://mjq.net/harryo/

Hey Mr. Mike, I so wish you could have reviewed the first half of season one before the executive meddling started. These are some of my favorite episodes!

[Pahonu]

Benny Hill as Cannon and others


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMId43b-fWA

Enjoyed that, thanks!

[Little Garwood]

I never cared for Ironside because I never liked Raymond Burr. However, Mr. Mike had an amusing bit in one of his episode reviews. It was something about Ironside admonishing Babs Anderson for cleaning out his coffee pot because she had washed away the pot's "seasoning."

As for Cannon, S1 has its first...well, not clunker, but my least-regarded episode so far: The Nowhere Man. Fritz "Rogosh" Weaver and a poison gas plot. What a waste of Robert Webber, who looks slightly-less anachronistically clean cut than I'm used to seeing him. I rate it a 6/10.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I will always associate Fritz Weaver as Rogosh from S1 of Mission: Impossible and as the guy who acted Selleck off the screen in the MPI pilot.

I don't know... I think Selleck held his own against Imre Rogosh in the MPI pilot.

[Little Garwood]

I've got five episodes to go in season one. Other than a few episodes I've rated 5 stars out of 10, Cannon season one has been a great experience. I remain impressed by the high level of guest stars, and the fact that William Conrad was, if one forgives the expression, a "larger than life" presence that he didn't require a supporting cast is testament to the show's high quality. I'm disappointed but not surprised the show isn't as well remembered as other, inferior shows.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

       
"House of Cards" from Season 5 was on last night on MeTV.
I had never seen this 1976 episode before so I was chuffed at being able to view it.
I am sad to report this was a rare Cannon misfire. (Cannon. Misfire. Yuck yuck.)

The opening scene has  Bonanza star Pernell Roberts, sans his toupee and with a beard, playing a crooked financial officer named Cleary.
He is being chewed out over a missing 3 million dollars by his boss Dabney Coleman, who is later suspected of murdering the now missing Cleary.
Cannon and a woman reporter investigate, she being urged on by her editor boss Phil Denton. 

Any sentient human being tuning in could readily see that editor Denton was actually the missing Cleary, now clean shaven and with a wig,
sporting Pernell Robert's unmistakable deep voice that was familiar to untold millions of Bonanza viewers around the globe.
It's insulting that the director/make up department thought this beyond lame disguise would fool anyone.
So lame it could have been the hands down 1976 winner of the "Clark Kent's Eyeglasses As Disguise Award".

So there went all the mystery and dramatic tension in one fell swoop. You could tune out right there.
There was one good scene where Cannon snatches the toupee off Robert's head, it would have been striking if the cat wasn't already out of the bag.
Indeed, Robert's lousy toupee looked like it was fashioned from fur Sylvester the Cat had shed.

The ending is a mess as well, a speeding pickup going at least 80 with two hoods in it comes roaring down a deserted road to where Cannon is stopped.
The passenger side hood starts shooting his pistol out the window straight on at Cannon from quite a ways away, the odds of him hitting even a big target like Cannon astronomical.
Cannon grabs a shotgun from the car of the crooked cop he had knocked out and fires at the truck that is still far beyond the weapon's effective range.
 The shot up truck runs off the road into a ditch, turning upside down. Scratch two hoods, cue happy ending.

[Little Garwood]

I scanned over your post, Dobie, but since I am averse to spoilers, I didn't read all of it. I won't be getting to season 5 for years. I liked tour Cannon joke, though!

I'm a big Pernell Roberts fan, and I look forward to his appearance, for better or worse.

Stories not making sense or just plain bad stories mean very little to me though I completely understand being annoyed with bad writing. There's an episode of The Big Valley called "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" that will induce an incandescent rage in any conscious viewer of that episode.

I am more interested in characters and the "time capsule" quality shows and films are with all the things the shows communicate, sometimes unintentionally. I'm having a blast watching the washed-out, smoggy California as seen on Cannon. The 1971-75 era in particular fascinates me, and that is the very period in which Cannon was made.

So the bottom line is: whether good, bad, or ugly, I get more out of watching an early-to-mid-70s series (or any other era) than the average viewer.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Stories not making sense or just plain bad stories mean very little to me though I completely understand being annoyed with bad writing. There's an episode of The Big Valley called "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" that will induce an incandescent rage in any conscious viewer of that episode.

Hey, I remember this episode! With Arthur O'Connell guest starring as Jubal Tanner. It's not among my favorites (more on the average side) but I'm just curious what about it might produce any kind of rage.

P.S. THE BIG VALLEY is my second favorite TV western after BONANZA.

[Little Garwood]

Hey, I remember this episode! With Arthur O'Connell guest starring as Jubal Tanner. It's not among my favorites (more on the average side) but I'm just curious what about it might produce any kind of rage.

P.S. THE BIG VALLEY is my second favorite TV western after BONANZA.

Bonanza is my all-time favorite western, so you're in elite company.

Jubal Tanner comes to claim land promised to him by the late Barkley patriarch, Tom. However, a dam is supposed to be built on the land and Nick Barkley refuses to give Tanner the land. Tanner is subsequently killed by local landowners who'd benefit from said dam. At episode's end, Tanner's son is reassured by Victoria--who wanted Tanner to have the land--and totally changes her position when she tells Tanner's grandson that the dam Jubal died to prevent being built will be named The Jubal Tanner Memorial Dam!!! Augh!!!

Furthermore, the wonderful rapport between Victoria Barkley and Jubal Tanner makes that ending all the more shameful because Victoria is the one who mentions naming the dam after Jubal Tanner. This betrays that bond with the single worst example of "wrap-it-up-quickly" and cringe-inducing--no, make that rage-inducing pap ever committed to celluloid.

Probably.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I scanned over your post, Dobie, but since I am averse to spoilers, I didn't read all of it. I won't be getting to season 5 for years. I liked tour Cannon joke, though!

I'm a big Pernell Roberts fan, and I look forward to his appearance, for better or worse.

Stories not making sense or just plain bad stories mean very little to me though I completely understand being annoyed with bad writing. There's an episode of The Big Valley called "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" that will induce an incandescent rage in any conscious viewer of that episode.

I am more interested in characters and the "time capsule" quality shows and films are with all the things the shows communicate, sometimes unintentionally. I'm having a blast watching the washed-out, smoggy California as seen on Cannon. The 1971-75 era in particular fascinates me, and that is the very period in which Cannon was made.

So the bottom line is: whether good, bad, or ugly, I get more out of watching an early-to-mid-70s series (or any other era) than the average viewer.

Hi Little Garwood,

"I am more interested in characters and the "time capsule" quality shows and films are with all the things the shows communicate, sometimes unintentionally"

You put into words exactly how I feel about late 1950's/early 1960's series, such as Route 66, Naked City, Hawaiian Eye and 77 Sunset Strip.
I guess because I lived in the 1970's the series from then aren't quite as impactful in the sense you are writing about, for me. I see a average car like a 1972 Impala
on Cannon, I shrug, but when I see a 1962 Impala on Route 66 I think "cool, look at that".
Route 66 is literally a time capsule of a now vanished America, every episode filmed on the road(though not necessarily on Rt. 66). Locals were used in
minor parts, and whatever the nature of the local culture, landscape, industry, it was worked into the script.

[Pahonu]

I scanned over your post, Dobie, but since I am averse to spoilers, I didn't read all of it. I won't be getting to season 5 for years. I liked tour Cannon joke, though!

I'm a big Pernell Roberts fan, and I look forward to his appearance, for better or worse.

Stories not making sense or just plain bad stories mean very little to me though I completely understand being annoyed with bad writing. There's an episode of The Big Valley called "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" that will induce an incandescent rage in any conscious viewer of that episode.

I am more interested in characters and the "time capsule" quality shows and films are with all the things the shows communicate, sometimes unintentionally. I'm having a blast watching the washed-out, smoggy California as seen on Cannon. The 1971-75 era in particular fascinates me, and that is the very period in which Cannon was made.

So the bottom line is: whether good, bad, or ugly, I get more out of watching an early-to-mid-70s series (or any other era) than the average viewer.

Route 66 is literally a time capsule of a now vanished America, every episode filmed on the road(though not necessarily on Rt. 66). Locals were used in
minor parts, and whatever the nature of the local culture, landscape, industry, it was worked into the script.

I haven’t seen many, but I just watched an episode of Route 66 that was filmed in and around Malibu. It was cool to see the area back then. It also had a young Jack Lord as a jazz trumpeter at a club. There aren’t many jazz clubs left and none in Malibu that I know of.

The 70’s are the time capsule for me personally because for the early part of the decade I was very young and have only fleeting memories, if any, so it fills in many of the details. By the late 70’s I have lots of memories and the nostalgia kicks in. Plus I grew up in LA so I recognize so many places that they filmed.

Then there’s The Streets of San Francisco. We had close family friends who lived in the Bay Area, and I mean right in the city, in the Russian Hill neighborhood in a cool old Victorian house. We used to go stay with them every summer for a week when I was a kid and explore all the neighborhoods. Whenever I watch the show, I recognize so many places and have fond memories of being there around the same time period. They still would have been filming it when I visited as a young boy. My wife and I go there a lot even now, though our friends no longer live right in the city.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Hey, I remember this episode! With Arthur O'Connell guest starring as Jubal Tanner. It's not among my favorites (more on the average side) but I'm just curious what about it might produce any kind of rage.

P.S. THE BIG VALLEY is my second favorite TV western after BONANZA.

Bonanza is my all-time favorite western, so you're in elite company.

Jubal Tanner comes to claim land promised to him by the late Barkley patriarch, Tom. However, a dam is supposed to be built on the land and Nick Barkley refuses to give Tanner the land. Tanner is subsequently killed by local landowners who'd benefit from said dam. At episode's end, Tanner's son is reassured by Victoria--who wanted Tanner to have the land--and totally changes her position when she tells Tanner's grandson that the dam Jubal died to prevent being built will be named The Jubal Tanner Memorial Dam!!! Augh!!!

Furthermore, the wonderful rapport between Victoria Barkley and Jubal Tanner makes that ending all the more shameful because Victoria is the one who mentions naming the dam after Jubal Tanner. This betrays that bond with the single worst example of "wrap-it-up-quickly" and cringe-inducing--no, make that rage-inducing pap ever committed to celluloid.

Probably.

Ah ok, gotcha. Seems like they were trying to stop the building of the dam but with Jubal dead there was no point in resisting. Might as well go ahead and build that damn dam! And let's stick Jubal's name on it while we're at it. I see how that might be in poor taste but I guess the reasoning is that building a dam is a good thing and if you can have your name on it then I guess that's quite an honor. Kinda like if there was a guy named... oh I don't know... let's just call him Jubal Hoover and Jubal doesn't want a dam built but then he's killed and the dam is built anyway and now it's called the Hoover Dam. See?

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I scanned over your post, Dobie, but since I am averse to spoilers, I didn't read all of it. I won't be getting to season 5 for years. I liked tour Cannon joke, though!

I'm a big Pernell Roberts fan, and I look forward to his appearance, for better or worse.

Stories not making sense or just plain bad stories mean very little to me though I completely understand being annoyed with bad writing. There's an episode of The Big Valley called "The Odyssey of Jubal Tanner" that will induce an incandescent rage in any conscious viewer of that episode.

I am more interested in characters and the "time capsule" quality shows and films are with all the things the shows communicate, sometimes unintentionally. I'm having a blast watching the washed-out, smoggy California as seen on Cannon. The 1971-75 era in particular fascinates me, and that is the very period in which Cannon was made.

So the bottom line is: whether good, bad, or ugly, I get more out of watching an early-to-mid-70s series (or any other era) than the average viewer.

Route 66 is literally a time capsule of a now vanished America, every episode filmed on the road(though not necessarily on Rt. 66). Locals were used in
minor parts, and whatever the nature of the local culture, landscape, industry, it was worked into the script.

I haven’t seen many, but I just watched an episode of Route 66 that was filmed in and around Malibu. It was cool to see the area back then. It also had a young Jack Lord as a jazz trumpeter at a club. There aren’t many jazz clubs left and none in Malibu that I know of.

The 70’s are the time capsule for me personally because for the early part of the decade I was very young and have only fleeting memories, if any, so it fills in many of the details. By the late 70’s I have lots of memories and the nostalgia kicks in. Plus I grew up in LA so I recognize so many places that they filmed.

Then there’s The Streets of San Francisco. We had close family friends who lived in the Bay Area, and I mean right in the city, in the Russian Hill neighborhood in a cool old Victorian house. We used to go stay with them every summer for a week when I was a kid and explore all the neighborhoods. Whenever I watch the show, I recognize so many places and have fond memories of being there around the same time period. They still would have been filming it when I visited as a young boy. My wife and I go there a lot even now, though our friends no longer live right in the city.

Pahonu,
I always enjoy your recollections, especially the benefits of living in California for a TV/Movie aficionado. I am sooo envious.
Now you Golden Bear State locals may roll your eyes at touristas like me that go on the Universal back lot tour but it was one of the most fun things I have ever done.
Rolling past the Leave It To Beaver house, then the downtown used in so many Universal shows/movies - Back To The Future - then on to the set for the
town in Murder She Wrote that they claimed was once the setting for McHales Navy(I corrected them, it was only used in a few episodes of McHales Navy
as New Caledonia).
The European Town area was just the same then - 1988 - as it was for Run For Your Life, some Rockfords, etc.
In fact I was struck by struck by how much of ADAM-12 and Dragnet was actually filmed on these streets, they especially used one of the 3 identical "Munster Mansion"
houses over and over.
I think it was on Magnum Mania, there was a lively back and forth on weather the spooky mansion used in The Ghost & Mr. Chicken was the same as The Munsters home,
the one on Psycho and as Jimmy Stewart's house in Harvey. Turns out it was such an effective design/look they built three, one was razed, the remaining 2 still
causing confusion as to which is which.
Anyway Pahonu, I hope in the future you will share more of your Hollywood experiences, if you are a mind to.

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How to impress a first date with your wine knowledge courtesy of James Thurber -
"It's a naive domestic blend without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by it's presumption."