''Dog and Cat'' is an American television series that aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time in 1977.

Premise

Sgt. Jack Ramsey (

Lou Antonio Louis Antonio (born January 23, 1934) is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films ''Cool Hand Luke'' and '' America America''. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, '' Dog and Cat'', and '' Makin' It''. E ...

), an undercover detective with the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

, teams up with a partner named J.Z. Kane (

Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a ...

). Together they form a relationship based on friendship and trust (completely platonic) that leads them to capture many of L.A.'s criminals. Lieutenant Arthur Kipling ( Matt Clark) is their boss. "Dog and Cat" is a slang term used by police officers to denote a male-female partnership. The show is especially remembered for the car that Kim Basinger used in the series: a souped-up

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...

with a Porsche engine.

Production history

Lawrence Gordon pitched the show to ABC, who bought it. He took it to Paramount, who produced it. The show was one of the first supervised by

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...

when he was at ABC. It replaced ''Most Wanted'' which moved to Monday night.

Reception

Critical

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described one of the earliest episodes, "Live Bait", about a rapist, as "a particularly repulsive tale" and thought the male lead was a rip-off of ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'' and the female lead too obviously inspired by ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

''. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' said Antonio does "a nice, grumpy job" and Basinger was "a little saltier than

Angie Dickinson Angie Dickinson (born Angeline Brown; September 30, 1931) is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many Anthology series#Television, anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough rol ...

's Pepper" but liked the fact it was not overly violent and "had a sense of humour. It could be around in the fall".

Ratings

The first episode after the pilot was meant to be "Live Bait" (directed by Steve Stern, written by Rudolph Borchert), about a rapist. However it was changed to be about a corrupt cop. It got a 40% rating and was the 23rd most watched show of the week.

Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School ...

reported that Walter Hill's original pilot script inspired

Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...

to write ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...

''.

Credits

Directed by: * Bob Kelljan Writing credits (in alphabetical order) * Heywood Gould * Tom Greene * Walter Hill * William Keys * Owen Morgan (also story) * Henry Rosenbaum Credited cast * Lou Antonio as Jack Ramsey *

as Officer J.Z. Kane * Matt Clark as Lt. Arthur Kipling * Charles Cioffi as Ralph Travan *

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included '' Scarecrow'', '' The Seven-Ups'' (both 1973), '' God Told Me To'' (1976), '' ...

as Shirley * Dale Robinette as Nicholas Evans * Janit Baldwin as Roeanne Lee Peters * Geoffrey Scott as David Storey * Lesley Woods as Velma * Matt Bennett as Gonzo * Walt Davis as Trog * Dick Wesson as Zink Kauffen The rest of cast listed alphabetically: * Lynn Borden as Mavis * Richard Forbes as Earl Seagram * James Hall as Frank * Dianne Kay as Connie *

Frank McRae Frank McRae (March 18, 1941 – April 29, 2021) was an American film and television actor and a professional football player. Early life McRae was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a double major ...

as Morgue Attendant * Catherane Skillen * Jim Storm as Change Maker * Ken Sylk as Doty *

Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 27, 1947) is an American director and actress. She is known for her role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series ''Hill Street Blues''. Early life Thomas was born Betty Lucille Nienhaus ...

as Waitress

Episode guide

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0075949, Dog and Cat
''Dog and Cat''
at CTVA
Review of pilot
1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American crime television series Television series by CBS Studios American Broadcasting Company television dramas Television series about the Los Angeles Police Department Television shows set in Los Angeles