''Today's FBI'' is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

television series, an updated and revamped version of the earlier series ''

The F.B.I. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

'' Like the original program, this series is based on actual cases from the files of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, and the F.B.I. was involved in the making of the show. Unlike the original series, which ran for nine seasons, this show ran for only 18 episodes (following a

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

) on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, during the 1981–82 season.

Cast

Mike Connors Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series ''Mannix'' from 1967 to 1975, a role which earne ...

as Ben Slater, a veteran "G-Man" who is the chief and mentor of an elite unit of agents. * Joseph Cali as Nick Frazier, the one "ethnic" member of the team, a young and determined agent. * Carol Potter as Maggie Clinton, the one female member. * Rick Hill as Al Gordean, a "country boy" and strongman of the group, is often partnered with Nick. *

Harold Sylvester Harold Sylvester (born February 10, 1949) is an American film and television actor. Early life and education Sylvester was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a graduate of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School and Tulane University. Turnin ...

as Dwayne Thompson, the one African American on the show; he often acts as the member who keeps the others focused.

Episode list

Reception

The series suffered from low ratings as a result of direct competition from CBS's Top 20 hits '' Archie Bunker's Place'' and '' One Day at a Time'' and was cancelled after only 18 episodes. According to Michele Malach of

Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a Public university, public Liberal arts education, liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 ma ...

, the series attempted a more positive portrayal of the FBI by using diverse characters and a "fallacious assumption that its audience still viewed special agents as 'us' rather than 'them'," in contrast to federal agents with "a rigid, dogmatic, inhumane bureaucracy" depicted in later media, like ''

Point Break ''Point Break'' is a 1991 American action crime film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term " point break", wher ...

'', '' Betrayed'', and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

''. Viewers "did not buy either the image or he series" prompting a cancellation. Richard Gib Powers called it "pointless and a cover-up fthe FBI villainy

References

External links

* * 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings Television series by Sony Pictures Television 1980s American crime drama television series American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Television series about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Television shows set in Los Angeles {{US-tv-prog-stub