''Hunter'' is a 1977 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

tic

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

starring James Franciscus and

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

which centered on the exploits of a pair of undercover counterespionage agents. It aired from February 18 to May 27, 1977, on CBS.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 398.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 488.

Cast

* James Franciscus...James Hunter *

...Marty Shaw * Ralph Bellamy...General Baker

Synopsis

James Hunter worked for an unnamed United States government

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

– referred to merely as "the Agency" – until 1969, when he resigned because he disapproved of the Agencys methods. He retired from the espionage business to run a rare books store in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

. In 1977, General Baker is ordered to recruit six counterespionage agents to form a new covert agency – also unnamed – charged with protecting the United States from a variety of threats whether they arise domestically or abroad. Bakers first choice for the new agency is Hunter. In Bakers new agency, Hunter either works alone or is assigned someone to assist him, all the while continuing to pose as a rare books dealer.A TV Review by Michael Shonk: HUNTER (Pilot and Series; 1977)
/ref> In all but two episodes, Baker assigns another of his agents, Marty Shaw, to assist Hunter. Marty lives in a different part of the United States and is also undercover – as a famous model. She also has her own assignments separate from Hunters. Marty is Hunters lover, and the two share a bed when traveling together on their assignments. As undercover counterespionage agents, they battle in locales across the United States with a wide variety of international foes, ranging from communists to

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

to rogue American agents. The two "K Group" episodes differ from the rest in being flashbacks to the time when Hunter was still with "the Agency" as its chief of operations in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Production

CBS picked up ''Hunter'' in 1976 as a hedge against one of its new shows failing during the 1976–77 season. In the pilot for the show, produced in 1976, James Franciscus was the shows only regular and his James Hunter character was a man framed for crimes he did not commit. Released after eight years in prison, he sets out to clear his name by bringing Ingersoll, the man who framed him, to justice. Along the way he meets and falls for a prostitute, Marty Shaw, portrayed by guest star Linda Evans. Ingersoll evades capture, and the show's producers envisioned that in future episodes Hunter would continue his pursuit of Ingersoll. The pilot never aired, and its entire premise was scrapped. For the weekly series, James Hunter instead became the retired agent who resumes a counterespionage career. Franciscus and Evans had had a good on-screen chemistry in the pilot, so Marty became a regular character as a fellow agent and model instead of a prostitute. The General Baker character also was introduced as their spymaster. Thirteen episodes were produced with this new premise. William Blinn created ''Hunter'' and wrote its pilot, and

David Gerber David Gerber (July 25, 1923 – January 2, 2010) was a television executive producer. His notable work on television included the 1970s TV series '' Police Story'' and '' Police Woman''. Other executive producer credits include '' Jessie'', '' The ...

(at the time president of competing studio

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

) was the shows

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

for Lorimar Productions.

Lee Rich Lee Rich (December 19, 1918 – May 24, 2012) was an American film and television producer, who won the 1973 Outstanding Drama Series Emmy award for ''The Waltons'' as the producer. He is also known as the co-founder and former chairman of ...

and

Philip Capice Philip Capice (June 24, 1931 – December 30, 2009) was an American television producer, most notable as the executive producer of the dramedy ''Eight Is Enough'' and the first nine seasons of the soap opera ''Dallas''. Biography Early life and c ...

produced the pilot and the weekly series. Tom Gries produced and directed the pilot and Christopher Morgan produced the weekly series.

Broadcast history

After the cancellation of the series ''

Executive Suite An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings. Corporate off ...

'' and its last broadcast on February 11, 1977, CBS needed a replacement to fill the void in its schedule. It had bought ''Hunter'' for just such a contingency. ''Hunter'' premiered a week later, on February 18, 1977, and aired on Fridays at 10:00 p.m. through April 22, 1977. After a five-week hiatus, its last original episode was broadcast on Friday, May 27, 1977, also at 10:00 p.m. Four additional episodes never aired.

Episodes

Sourcestvguide.com Hunter Episodes
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

Opening credits for ''Hunter'' (in French) on YouTube
CBS original programming 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American drama television series Espionage television series English-language television shows Television series by Lorimar Television Television shows set in Chicago