Vote for why you think it jumped
Leslie Stevens quits the show
Shark Bytes
Oh My Gosh!!! I have been telling people about this show for years and NOBODY remembers it! I am so excited to see I am not out of my mind and imagining a show that never happened. I was 12 when it came out and absolutely fell in love with it!!! It was and still is my ALL TIME FAVORITE SHOW...EVER!!!
Remember this series well although it only aired once (?) in the 1970s in Australia. It was fantastic and I wish it came back. Never jumped
Search was a nifty idea, indeed. I think Meredith did seem to phone it in but that was ok, it added to his seeming ire with the agents when they went off the "by the book" mark. I think a new one would be great but I'd leave out the monitored body functions. I'd also have the agents turning the sensors off from time to time.
Show was phenomenal. Even the theme music, available on the 'Sound America' website, is fantastic (wav listed as "Search72"). The 'TV Tome' website covers it also. Despite the fact this show jumped, it is lamented that it can't be accessed now. Why? Because even Bond hasn't gotten this far yet, and the operatives from 'Alias', 'The Agency', and '24' would rather work for this outfit instead. Keep in mind these shows have so far survived the Nielsen shark in part because of ideas that were hatched from 'Search'. Even 'La Femme Nikita', one of the 90's best shows, borrowed from the same.
I totally agree that with your observation that show was wayyyyyyyyy ahead of it time (LOL), and I am doing research on the show, to find out who has the rights to it, since Stevens death in 1998. I have been working on a script for a sequel pilot, for about 7 years, and recently got the urge to try to find out who owns it. Any ideas? I envision a turn of the century version of the show, which has the PROBE units working in teams and still using the latest (and newer) technology to recover missing items (or people). The whole idea of being "wired up" to the internet, GPS, and Blue Tooth technology, etc. etc. makes the whole idea of super-surveillance operatives an awesome and timely one.
For whatever reason, Warner Bros. has kept the series form syndication although it'd be great to see it on Sci-Fi. It really was ahead of its time and the three actors looked very comfortable in their roles. Meredith admitted to being bored when filming this ("phoning it in" he told the AP) but didn't let it show on camera.
Search was an excellent show that ran for one year on NBC. It starred Hugh O'Brian (PROBE1), Tony Franciosa (Omega Probe), and Doug McClure (Standby Probe) as three agents who worked for The Probe Division of World Securities. They rotated on a weekly basis and reported to BC Cameron (Burgess Meredith) at Probe Control. Their cases usually involved finding and/ or protecting some valuable object or person, often with political implications. This show was wayyyyyyyyyyy ahead of it's time when came to computer technology. Much of it, we can do today, but back in 1972, it was pretty far fetched. Each agent had an ear jack implanted in their ear and a miniaturized scanner which looked like a piece a jeweler that would clip on a ring, tie clip, or cuff links. All the information they recieved was transmitted back to Probe Control who had a crew that would assist them in their cases. This show could have been called the six-million dollar man from Uncle. However this show jumped the shark in January 1973 when producer Leslie Stevens left the series after disputing with NBC. The last 8 episodes adopted a less interesting format by concentrating less on the computer technology (the real star of the series) and the futuristic stories were dropped. The Probe Control room on the first 15 episodes was black highlighted by red lights, looking like Houston control and in the last 8 episodes it was all brick room. Very,very, very cool show that was never shown in syndication in the U.S. because it was sold to foreign markets only. Episodes can be found through underground traders.
It's a shame nobody remembers this really cool show which aired during the 1972-1973 season on NBC. It starred Hugh O'brian, Tony Franciosa, and Doug McClure as electronic detectives who were connected to a computer controlled by B.C. Cameron (Burgess Meredith) and his team in the Probe Control room. The three agents rotated being a the star on a weekly basis and their cases usually involved finding some important person or item that had political implications. This was a really cool show that was light years ahead of its time when it came to computer technology they used. The things they did on this show in 1972 are only little ahead of what we can do in 2001. The show was based on a 1972 TV movie called Probe starring Hugh O'brian. The title changed to Search when it became series in the fall of 1972 for legal reasons. This show has never been shown in syndication in the U.S. because it was sold to foreign markets only for syndication. However the show jumped the shark after the first 15 episodes when the producer Leslie Stevens quit the show. The remaining 8 shows adopted a less interesting format by having less focus on the futuristic theme and kind of turned into a standard cop show. The last 8 episodes had a white brick Probe Control room instead the mysterious Black Probe Control room highlighted by red lights. This is one show that deserves a second look.
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