Vote for why you think it jumped
Cast overhaul
Never Jumped
Day One
Shark Bytes
Well . . as a nine year old I just ate this program up. I had all my toy cars and helicopter in front of the TV with me. I re-enacted all the chase scenes during the commercials. But now? Come on, how those cars got past the California Emissions testing is beyond me. And what fiscally-minded Mayor would allow such money to be spent every week (every week!) pursuing a couple of dead-beat dads or insurance fraud artists. I mean, jeez, sending four cars and a helicopter out . . salaries and gas (not to mention damage to Police property, private property and the sheer terror on pedestrians) Actually, come to think of it .. .seems like every time I turn on the L.A. news now . . . Chase has become a reality show . . . wow. Chase really was the blueprint for TV future.
When the network replaced three of the original six actors with two considerably less talented people. Chase was up until then the coolest cop show on the air, and given the 70's were saturated with cop shows, that's saying a lot. The premise was soooo awesome: a semi-renegade police captain named Chase Reddick (Mitchell Ryan) is approached by a fed-up police chief named Frank Dawson (Albert Reed) and asked to head up a secret squad of elite cops to take on the toughest cases--the bottom of the barrel ones. Reddick agrees to start up a team and is given access to every section of police officers to select from. He chooses a narcotics/dog handler named Sgt. Sam MacCraye (Wayne Maunder) and his German Shepherd "Fuzz", a chopper pilot named Norm Hamilton (Reid Smith), an ex-stockcar racer named Steve Baker (Michael G. Richardson), and a motorcycle cop named Fred Sing (Brian Fong). The guys are asked to join a no-glory organization and not everyone jumps joyfully on the bandwagon--Baker originally wasn't enthused. However, a few cases later, the team is really tight and some of the tension evaporates, to be replaced by some good-natured kidding. MacCraye was definitely the eye candy, but none of the others was ugly, and all of them were darn good actors. For about a year, things were rosy, then the network had some sort of writers' strike or something. (This same strike did in The Magician.) The three younger cops were scrapped, to be replaced by the lackluster pair Ed Rice (Gary Crosby) and Tom Wilson (Graig Gardner). Oh, it fell straight into the shark tank after that. NBC must have thought that nobody would care about the departure of Smith, Richardson and Fong, but they must have been sniffin' some serious airplane glue when they axed those three. (Maunder was utterly gorgeous, but even he couldn't carry the show basically solo.) The network screwed this fine program over with the lame replacements--I can't even recall which of them flew the chopper, may have been Rice but it's all a blur. Such a shame! If only NBC hadn't dicked around with this show's original cast and winning formula of good writing and crisp production, Chase might well have stayed on the air for a big chunk of years. This was simultaneously one of 70's television's finest hours and worst disappointments. If only Chase would come back in reruns . . . !
I loved this show!!! But I remember it was opposite something really popular (Archie Bunker maybe) I watched it because it co-starred the really handsome Wayne Maunder who had co-starred on the western Lancer. NBC never gave this action show a real chance.
The original format had a police Captain ( Mitchell Ryan, now in Dharma and Greg) heading a special unit that only took on the bottom of the barrel cases. It had 3 other team members, all unknown actors then now, I think. Each had a special talent, they were as follows, motorcycle, helicopter, and a wheel man. It jumped when they tried to add more to show. Another primary actor as a lieutenant and his K-9, and other more recognizable actors. It had potential without that. To a kid it was great!
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