Space Age
Crime Story
October 01, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
david@davidkrell.com
In the 1980’s, an NBC show about cops had it all.
A new look.
Story arcs that existed over several episodes.
And the elevation of lesser known actors into household name status.
Hill Street Blues? No.
Miami Vice? No.
Crime Story.
Michael Mann’s production of a Chicago cop and his mobster prey only lasted two seasons from 1986-1988.
But it was a terrific two years.
Set in the early 1960’s, Crime Story followed the exploits of Chicago Police Department Lt. Mike Torello and his squad at MCU or Major Crimes Unit. Their mission is to take down mobster Ray Luca.
When Luca moves his base of operations to Las Vegas, Torello and team follows, only to trade in their Chicago police badges to work for the feds.
At the end of the first season, Ray Luca and his addlebrained sidekick, Paulie Taglia, escape to the desert where they find themselves in the middle of nuclear testing. Because they survive, the federal government gives them immunity from prosecution and increases the difficulty of Torello’s job.
The medical information learned from their survival is simply invaluable during the Cold War and immunity from prosecution is the government’s compensation.
Crime Story was created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. It starred Dennis Farina as Mike Torello. In a perfect example of art imitating life, Adamson and Farina worked for the Chicago Police Department before their show business careers. John Santucci played Paulie Taglia. Santucci was a thief in Chicago in his previous career. Adamson and Farina knew Santucci from their Chicago days. They arrested him!
Anthony Denison played Ray Luca. He went to the other side of law enforcement during a brief stint on Wiseguy when he replaced Ken Wahl. Denison played a former FBI agent drawn back into the fight against crime.
A reading of the list of guest stars on Crime Story is impressive.
Kevin Spacey. David Caruso. Julia Roberts. Ving Rhames. Gary Sinise. David Hyde-Pierce. Billy Zane. Laura San Giacomo. Dennis Haysbert.
Regular and recurring actors on Crime Story will also be familiar.
Before he was Corky’s dad on Life Goes On, Bill Smitrovich was Detective Danny Krycheck.
Before he was a single dad looking for a chance at true love on Once and Again, Billy Campbell was Detective Joey Indelli.
And before he sold out sports arenas, comedian Andrew Dice Clay was Max Goldman, a savvy partner of Ray Luca.
Del Shannon’s Runaway was the show’s theme song. It set the tone perfectly for the series. An upbeat tune balanced by somber words.
Crime Story paid great attention to style, setting, and detail. It captured the viewer. In Chicago, Torello and his squad often regrouped at a bar called the Orbit Room, a nod to the fascination inspired by the Space Age of the 1960’s.
In one episode, Torello and the guys talk about the Chicago Bears. He says that Ditka is the best player on the team. It was essentially a wink to the viewer. Mike Ditka played for the Bears in the 1960’s and coached the team during the mid-1980’s, the period of the show’s broadcast history.
Cars with fins. Suits with thin ties. Men with hats. All details of another era. But Crime Story recaptured them in an old-fashioned good guy vs. bad guy story line.
Crime Story ended with a cliffhanger. The principal characters airborne in a pilotless plane. Maybe one day, a tv-movie will tie up loose ends. And we will find out the ultimate destiny of Torello and Luca. Until then, you can create your own Crime Story ending.
Underdog
August 11, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!
That's the motto of America's Canine Crusader.
With speed of lightning and roar of thunder, Underdog sprung onto the pop culture scene in 1964 on NBC.
He made a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of baby boomers who grew up cheering him in his adventures.
Mega-star Tom Hanks proved Underdog's enduring popularity into the 1990's by recanting the theme song word-for-word on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
In addition, Friends mentioned the Underdog balloon, a Thanksgiving Day Parade staple. The occasion was a story line focused on the holiday.
And in 2008, Underdog reached the big screen in a live-action feature film of the same name.
Only a year after his television debut, Underdog made his inaugural Thanksgiving Parade appearance with a special showcase following the parade.
In a shrewd cross-promotion, NBC aired the parade from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern on Thanksgiving Day -- November 25, 1965. A thirty-minute Underdog show followed from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm. The name of the episode is No Thanksgiving.
No Thanksgiving features Underdog squaring off against Simon Barsinister.
The evil scientist wants to use a time machine to cancel the first and all subsequent Thanksgivings so he can stop the current parade and capture the entire city.
Underdog's name has great appeal because everyone has felt like an underdog at one time or another.
Indeed, character names were descriptive.
Riff Raff is a stogie-smoking bad buy whose name tells us he is nothing more than a common hood.
Simon Barsinister's name certainly sends a message that the character's scientific knowledge will not be used to help society.
Sweet Polly Purebred's name tells us that she is the ideal dog.
The mutual devotion between this rather perky television news reporter and her champion reinforces a romantic match made in doggie heaven.
After all, every hero needs a damsel in distress.
Underdog valiantly fights evildoers, changing immediately from his identity as Shoeshine Boy whenever he saw trouble on the horizon. Each episode put Underdog in a seemingly impossible situation to overcome. But he always emerged the victor.
Shrinking Water -- Simon Barsinister wants to become the biggest man in the world.
Vacuum Gun -- Simon Barsinister captures crooks to build his own criminal army.
Safe Waif -- Underdog's focus is a young boy who gets locked in a bank vault.
Riffraffville -- Underdog fights Riff Raff when the villain leaves the city to take over the west. The story culminates in an old-fashioned showdown in a western town.
From Hopeless to Helpless -- Riff Raff uses an Underdog lookalike to commit crimes.
Tricky Trap By Tap Tap -- A sequel to From Hopeless to Helpless showing what happens to Underdog's lookalike, Tap Tap, when he tries to disguise himself as the Canine Crusader again.
Because Underdog originally appeared during the Space Age of the 1960's, space themes fit naturally in some episodes.
Underdog vs. Overcat -- Underdog fights the toughest alien in the galaxy -- Overcat.
The Flying Sorcerers -- Aliens force Sweet Polly Purebred to bake for them, but she falls into the giant mixer.
david@davidkrell.com
There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!
That's the motto of America's Canine Crusader.
With speed of lightning and roar of thunder, Underdog sprung onto the pop culture scene in 1964 on NBC.
He made a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of baby boomers who grew up cheering him in his adventures.
Mega-star Tom Hanks proved Underdog's enduring popularity into the 1990's by recanting the theme song word-for-word on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
In addition, Friends mentioned the Underdog balloon, a Thanksgiving Day Parade staple. The occasion was a story line focused on the holiday.
And in 2008, Underdog reached the big screen in a live-action feature film of the same name.
Only a year after his television debut, Underdog made his inaugural Thanksgiving Parade appearance with a special showcase following the parade.
In a shrewd cross-promotion, NBC aired the parade from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern on Thanksgiving Day -- November 25, 1965. A thirty-minute Underdog show followed from 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm. The name of the episode is No Thanksgiving.
No Thanksgiving features Underdog squaring off against Simon Barsinister.
The evil scientist wants to use a time machine to cancel the first and all subsequent Thanksgivings so he can stop the current parade and capture the entire city.
Underdog's name has great appeal because everyone has felt like an underdog at one time or another.
Indeed, character names were descriptive.
Riff Raff is a stogie-smoking bad buy whose name tells us he is nothing more than a common hood.
Simon Barsinister's name certainly sends a message that the character's scientific knowledge will not be used to help society.
Sweet Polly Purebred's name tells us that she is the ideal dog.
The mutual devotion between this rather perky television news reporter and her champion reinforces a romantic match made in doggie heaven.
After all, every hero needs a damsel in distress.
Underdog valiantly fights evildoers, changing immediately from his identity as Shoeshine Boy whenever he saw trouble on the horizon. Each episode put Underdog in a seemingly impossible situation to overcome. But he always emerged the victor.
Shrinking Water -- Simon Barsinister wants to become the biggest man in the world.
Vacuum Gun -- Simon Barsinister captures crooks to build his own criminal army.
Safe Waif -- Underdog's focus is a young boy who gets locked in a bank vault.
Riffraffville -- Underdog fights Riff Raff when the villain leaves the city to take over the west. The story culminates in an old-fashioned showdown in a western town.
From Hopeless to Helpless -- Riff Raff uses an Underdog lookalike to commit crimes.
Tricky Trap By Tap Tap -- A sequel to From Hopeless to Helpless showing what happens to Underdog's lookalike, Tap Tap, when he tries to disguise himself as the Canine Crusader again.
Because Underdog originally appeared during the Space Age of the 1960's, space themes fit naturally in some episodes.
Underdog vs. Overcat -- Underdog fights the toughest alien in the galaxy -- Overcat.
The Flying Sorcerers -- Aliens force Sweet Polly Purebred to bake for them, but she falls into the giant mixer.