Watching the detectives

My earliest memory of TV, aside from Captain Kangaroo and Tom Terrific, is of the opening credits to "Hawaiian Eye"--between the singers shrieking "Hawaiian Eyyyyyyyy-Ai!!" and the gigantic and spooky looking Tiki god shown on screen, it scared the shit out of me every time I saw it, which probably wasn't all that often since it was on awfully late (10:00, I imagine). But it made a strong impression on me, and when I saw an episode (on the American Life cable channel) for the first time in 40 years, that opening still made me jumpy. But now what I appreciate most about that opening is the shot of the incredibly taut and chiseled body of the young and shirtless Robert Conrad, who plays one of the detectives of the title agency.



Back in the late 50's, Warner Brothers Television had a string of detective shows which, like the current-day franchises "CSI" and "Law & Order," all shared a similar set-up: two or three men, at least one young and handsome, and one a bit more mature and handsome, ran a private eye agency in some relatively exotic American city. "Bourbon Street Beat" was in New Orleans, "Surfside 6" was in Miami Beach, "77 Sunset Strip" in Los Angeles, and "Eye" in Honolulu. There was always lots of local color, though except for an occasional exterior, the episodes were shot in the WB Burbank studio. The supporting cast usually had a lovely lady and a colorful comic relief guy, and there was a nightclub nearby where at least one song was performed by a singer or a jazz combo. The stories were frequently taken from older screenplays or novels owned by Warners (and the music was usually part of the Warners holdings as well--"77 Sunset Strip" in particular gave Cole Porter's catalog a workout).

All four of these shows are currently airing on Monday nights on American Life, but only "Eye" and "77" are part of our regular viewing schedule. I got sucked into these shows by the beefcake--Conrad on "Eye" and Roger Smith in "77"--but I keep watching them because they really are entertaining. The predictable, cliche-ridden plots are barely worth following, but in addition to the fun supporting players, mid-level stars on the way down (or up) were often guests: some I've noticed so far include Mary Tyler Moore, Adam West, George Takei, Nancy Kulp, Neil Hamilton, Fay Wray, Victor Buono, Bert Convy, and Marilyn Maxwell. I'll write more on the individual shows later, but I'll close today by wondering why, when you can get entire seasons of "Wonder Woman," "Sky King" and "21 Jump Street" (for God's sake!!) on DVD, you can't get these classic shows.