That's a wonderful review you posted.
I am surprised that after all these years, I actually remember having
seen this episode. But of course, the details escaped me until I read
your post.
Now I am curious - how can one get hold of some episodes? I would
love to watch a couple!
Connie
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Technically, there were three Probe Control sets. The first one was in the
pilot. The second (which was very similar to the first) was in the first
15 episodes (if the scripts I have are correct.) The third one covered the
final eight episodes.
Leslie Stevens described Control as being dark, like a cockpit, with the
personel's faces lit up from their consoles. We see this in the first and
second control sets. In the second set they used red lights aimed on the
computer equipment to give a sense of darkness (which I don't think they
used on the first set.)
Stevens also wrote that in the background you could see other units working
on other cases. In the pilot I think they went overboard with this idea.
Behind the row of tape banks you can see another unit, and even a free
standing wall, which I think is supposed to be that other unit's main
screen. When shooting across Cameron's left, in the direction of Keach,
you can see yet other people and activity. Where I think it becomes too
much is at the end of the pilot, when Lockwood puts the scanner in his
pocket. In control we are looking diagonally from Cameron to Griffin and
beyond, and in the distance we see yet another unit, which is beyond the
line of the wall, which we know is a waiting room on the other side. The
waiting room is small, so technically it is possible, but then you wonder
how the floor is laid out that the waiting room is in the near center of a
highly secured area? Again, it is possible, but it is a little too much.
In the second set we see nothing behind the row of tape units except some
flashing lights, probably there to break up the monotony of the blackness.
On each end of the row of tape units there are two catycornered consoles
with seats, facing away from us, and usually when the shot would include
these consoles, they would have extras sitting in these places. These
consoles had no flashing lights of any kind, and I suspect their facing
away from us meant they were supposed to be the people working on other
cases, because as far as I know, Cameron never addressed these people.
The first set had reel to reel standing machines that came up to about chin
height on an average person. The second set had (what I think were the
more attractive) reel to reel standing machines that were taller, and more
narrow.
The Probe screen was the same in the first two sets.
With more shooting time and budget, there were more varied shots of control
in the pilot, which included the main screen photographed with the actors
standing in front of it. I only got to see about half of the episodes back
then, and the only episode I know of where they photographed the actors in
front of the screen was Moment Of Madness. In the pilot they did wide
angle from above shots of control, and they had a free-standing wall in
front that you could see the back of which was supposed to be the main
screen. They did similar overhead shots in the second set, but they did
not have a free-standing wall in front to represent the main screen.
The third set was a complete change from the format as Stevens created it.
I have not come across any explanation as to why they did it, or the
thinking that went behind it. The scripts dated November, 1972 and beyond
all use the third set. So at some point within the first two months of the
show airing, either the production staff, or the network, decided to make
this change. (What is very interesting here is that it wasn't too long
after this...maybe even some overlap...where Fred Harpman, who designed the
various Probe sets, created the Newscenter set which NBC used on their
network new sets, as well as on their owned stations news sets...and the
news sets looked very similar in lighting and design...especially the main
screen...to the third Probe set.)
Where the first two sets had two rows of three people set up in front of
the main screen, the third set had one row of three. The consoles were the
same as used in the first two sets: Cameron's three sided console in the
middle, the left sided console to his left, and the right sided console to
his right.
The set was brightly lit, with the walls looking like white brick. This
set was much smaller, with a definite "room" feel. The row of tape
machines behind Cameron were eliminated altogether, and in the background
you would see the front-sided-only consoles that were used in the previous
two sets, scattered around the background, all facing forward. They were
manned, and Cameron would bark orders at them. They even used the
non-descript consoles from the second set in the background. In the
background there were technicians walking back and fourth going to various
machines that were not in any previous sets. There were also new standing
flashing light banks that were not in the previous sets, and which were not
as interesting. They also had a few very short, squat reel to reel
standing machines that were not in the previous sets.
They also made a change to the main screen. In the first two sets, the
screen had rolling numbers to the upper right of the screen. In the third
set, they replaced the numbers with rows of flashing, swirling lights (it
looks like they took out the numbers and stuck the flashing lights up
against the rectangular holes where the numbers had been.) In Moment of
Madness, we can see that the rows of lights below the screen go down to the
floor, like they did on the screen in the first set. With this special
shot in MoM, the screen (not bathed in red like in the first two sets) is a
white wall piece standing against the white brick of the set wall, and does
not look good at all.
It is funny because by changing the set, they had to go and shoot new stock
footage of hands pushing controls, and various shots of the screen, to use
in the episodes. By doing this, they ended up reviving something they did
in the pilot, but that I don't think they did in the first 15 (again I'm
not 100% sure since I have not seen all of the episodes.) In the pilot
they had the head-on shots of the main screen, but they also had angled
shots to show what it looked like from Keach's viewpoint, and Harding's
etc. Watching one of the third set episodes I noticed they had an angle
shot of the screen showing what it looked like from Miss James' position.
They had one closeup shot of the third set screen that back then, and now,
for some reason looked like a miniture, rather then a closeup of a huge
screen with flashing lights and images.
In the first two sets they shot from left to right, and from right to left,
when needed and desired. In the third set they only shot from left to
right, except for some straight on shots of Miss James. I cannot tell if
they used multiple cameras during shooting of the third set, like they
definitly did with the second set. To the best of my knowledge, they did
not shoot right to left (where Harris would be in the foreground and Miss
James in the background.) I suspect this was to eliminate the need to have
a "fourth wall", which required more setup time...and thus more cost.
I suppose there is more to be written, but I probably should do some office
work now...nah.
My permanent address is actingman@...
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Kevin found someone on Ebay auctioning off a scanner replica. I wrote to
him asking about it, and here's his reply:
>From: mwalston@...
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: mailuser set sender to
mwalston@... using -f
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed from queue
/var/spool/mqueue
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed by mailuser with -C
/etc/mail/prodigy.cf
>Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 22:22:51 -0400 (EDT)
>To: actingman-jc@...
>Subject: Re: A scanner?
>
>Hi John,
>
>And here I thought I was the only one who even remembered this show!
>
>This scanner is a replica I made since I also haven't heard of anyone ever
making these things. I work at a Trophy Shop and used the computer driven
engraving table to make the "circuitry face" on a piece of chrome plated
aluminum. I put that inside a copper casing with a magnetic back and
presto, a Scanner--or a really odd refrigerator magnet. (Cam knows when
I'm sneaking Hagen dazs.)
>
>I only have the pilot movie on tape, and I had to get that off my local TV
station. Did Warner Bros. release real videos and are they still available?
>
>
> Mike
>
>
>
My permanent address is actingman@...
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Let's cross our fingers. Here's my reply and the original message.
>To: piperspost@... (James Quinn)
>From: actingman-jc@...
>Subject: Re: WTD: 1972 NBC series Search
>In-Reply-To: <17824-3763D209-19181@...>
>
>We have the two hour pilot under it's two titles "Probe" and "Search", and
we have the following episodes:
>
>Let Us Prey (very good from network 16mm print with original commercials)
>
>and the following fair to poor quality episodes that were taped off of
Armed Forces TV:
>
>Moment Of Madness
>24 Caret Hit
>The Clayton Lewis Document
>The Mattson Papers
>The Packagers
>Flight To Nowhere
>
>If you have any different, then myself and at least two others will be
contacting you. For myself, I might also be interested in the six above if
they are better quality then what I have.
>
>John
>
>At 11:45 AM 6/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
>>I HAVE SEVERAL EPISODES FOR SALE, LET ME KNOW WHICH EPISODES YOU ALREADY
>>HAVE.
>>
>>
My permanent address is actingman@...
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For anyone who's interested.
>From: mwalston@...
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: mailuser set sender to
mwalston@... using -f
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed from queue
/var/spool/mqueue
>X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed by mailuser with -C
/etc/mail/prodigy.cf
>Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 10:54:05 -0400 (EDT)
>To: actingman@...
>Subject: Search TV series Scanner Prop Reproduction
>
>Hi John,
>
>I just wanted you to know that I finished another one of the Scanner props
from Search and placed it on Ebay, if you're still interested.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mike
>
>
>
My permanent address is actingman@...
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John,
I recieved that too. There seems to be a mini bidding-war going on for it. I
don't really care about getting one, but I saved a copy of the scan he made.
Kevin
"I am a camera."
>From: actingman-jc@...
>Reply-To: probe_control@egroups.com
>To: probe_control@egroups.com
>Subject: [probe_control] Search TV series Scanner Prop Reproduction
>Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 22:57:00 -0400
>
>For anyone who's interested.
>
> >From: mwalston@...
> >X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: mailuser set sender to
>mwalston@... using -f
> >X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed from queue
>/var/spool/mqueue
> >X-Authentication-Warning: webd2.iname.net: Processed by mailuser with -C
>/etc/mail/prodigy.cf
> >Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 10:54:05 -0400 (EDT)
> >To: actingman@...
> >Subject: Search TV series Scanner Prop Reproduction
> >
> >Hi John,
> >
> >I just wanted you to know that I finished another one of the Scanner
>props
>from Search and placed it on Ebay, if you're still interested.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Mike
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>My permanent address is actingman@...
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>FreeShop is the #1 place for free and trial offers and great deals!
>Try something new and discover more ways to save!
>http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/381
>
>
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/probe_control
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
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Howdy, SEARCH Fans!
New SEARCH e-groups member Jim Alexander, here! Finding out about this list
started recently when I purchased one of Mike Walston's nice 'Scanner' replicas
off of eBay! Then, I found out from Mike that friends of his were 'into' the
program, as well as trading tapes of the show! I've been fortunate enough to
come into contact with nice people like Bryan Durk, who has shown me that there
is a whole world of people out there who appreciate Leslie Steven's show as much
as I do!
I was 13 when SEARCH premiered. I was crazy about it the first time I saw it.
As many of you did, I used to audio-tape the episodes off the tv! I ordered
some of the scripts, postcards, and film-clip frames from Lincoln Enterprises...
picked up the paperback novelizations, and even drew my own home-made comic
book, based on the adventures of Lockwood and the gang!
I just wanted to say 'hello' to the list, and let everyone know I am out here!
I'm open to any and all e-mail anyone would care to send!
Jim Alexander
Creative Services Director
WEVV-CBS-TV
Evansville, Indiana
jima@...
Jim,
Congradulations! Hey, who's your favorite "probe"? I'm a Lockwood man
myself. The thing I remembered about him -- during the fight scenes he'd
almost always nail someone with this massive kick -- not like a karate
fighter, more like a soccer player! There seems to be a lot of Grover fans
around -- fewer seem to favor Bianco -- I don't know why.
BTW, if you get a chance stop by my SEARCH message board at:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb315284
Regards,
Kevin
>From: jima@...
>Reply-To: probe_control@egroups.com
>To: probe_control@eGroups.com
>Subject: [probe_control] New Member
>Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 16:10:06 -0700
>
>Howdy, SEARCH Fans!
>
>New SEARCH e-groups member Jim Alexander, here! Finding out about this
>list started recently when I purchased one of Mike Walston's nice 'Scanner'
>replicas off of eBay! Then, I found out from Mike that friends of his were
>'into' the program, as well as trading tapes of the show! I've been
>fortunate enough to come into contact with nice people like Bryan Durk, who
>has shown me that there is a whole world of people out there who appreciate
>Leslie Steven's show as much as I do!
>
>I was 13 when SEARCH premiered. I was crazy about it the first time I saw
>it. As many of you did, I used to audio-tape the episodes off the tv! I
>ordered some of the scripts, postcards, and film-clip frames from Lincoln
>Enterprises... picked up the paperback novelizations, and even drew my own
>home-made comic book, based on the adventures of Lockwood and the gang!
>
>I just wanted to say 'hello' to the list, and let everyone know I am out
>here! I'm open to any and all e-mail anyone would care to send!
>
>Jim Alexander
>Creative Services Director
>WEVV-CBS-TV
>Evansville, Indiana
>jima@...
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/probe_control
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>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
>... Congradulations!
------------------------------------
Thanks! Nice to be here, uh... there! NICE TO BE ON BOARD!!!
-----------------------------------
>... Hey, who's your favorite "probe"? I'm a Lockwood man >myself. The thing I
remembered about him -- during the fight >scenes he'd almost always nail
someone with this massive kick -- >not like a karate fighter, more like a soccer
player!
-----------------------------------
Hard to choose. I guess I like all three for different reasons. My favorite
episode has always been "Short Circuit" (with Grover). My best friend was
always a Bianco fan. I guess I always considered myself a Lockwood fan, growing
up... but now that I'm able to see more of the episodes... I can appreciate all
three.
I like Grover's devil-may-care 'surfer' attitude (though he seems like he'd be
the least likely, least responsible candidate Probe Agent, sometimes), and
boyish good-looks.
I like Lockwood's straightforward attitude, and dedication. And after all, he's
the 'first' Probe Agent of all...
But I'm beginning to appreciate Bianco more and more. He seems like more of a
'real-life' person, and less of a TV Action Star/caricature. His past mob
connections make him an interesting individual. He has much more of a
'darker'side than the others.
-----------------------------------
>... There seems to be a lot of Grover fans around -- fewer seem to >favor
Bianco -- I don't know why.
-----------------------------------
Maybe because he IS the darkest, and perhaps least likable of the three???
----------------------------------
>... BTW, if you get a chance stop by my SEARCH message >board...
---------------------------------
LOVE TO!
Thanks for taking the time to write, Kevin! Please do so again in the future!!!
Jim Alexander
jima@...
I am interested in the TV show Search, but can find little or nothing on
it - I have been given your e-mail address by jima@... in hopes of
getting some more info.
Thanks,
Michael
Michael,
Hi, good to hear from you! If you don't mind, I'm going to refer your
question to John (actingman), the gentleman who runs the "Search Mailing
List" and who has much more information about the series than myself. I have
a SEARCH message board that has some information about the basic premise of
the show, the stars, how long it ran, images, and a sound file of the theme
music at:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb315284
Also, John and another member of the list have begun a SEARCH website at:
www.probecontrol.com
So anyway, I'll forward your e-mail to John, and please post on the message
board if you get a chance! BTW, we've been lucky enough to find a few
episodes on video. The copies aren't perfect, but if you're interested I can
put you in touch with the fellow we purchased ours from.
Best Regards,
Kevin
>From: Michael Hearn <hearn@...>
>Reply-To: probe_control@egroups.com
>To: probe_control@egroups.com
>Subject: [probe_control] Search?
>Date: Fri, 03 Sep 1999 10:55:15 -0400
>
>I am interested in the TV show Search, but can find little or nothing on
>it - I have been given your e-mail address by jima@... in hopes of
>getting some more info.
>
>Thanks,
>Michael
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/probe_control
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>
>
______________________________________________________
Just wondering if there's an episode guide somewhere out there?
It's amazing to find that there are others who still remember the
show! IMHO, it certainly deserved more than 23 episodes.
By the way, I guess I am probably in the minority, but I enjoy Bianco
probably the most. Don't know why, but may be as someone has suggested,
he seems to have a darker quality about him.
Hope to see more activity on this list!
Connie
I suspect Bianco is my favorite as well...but of course I look forward
until we all can compare ALL of the episodes.
What kind of list do you want? I can list all of the titles for you. And
I have the descriptions that Lincoln Enterprises listed when they were
selling the scripts. Eventully we will have them posted on the new web
site Bryan is building. And if you've been getting all the scripts I've
sent you, you should have something like half of them now.
I have one more act to go and I will be sending out Live Men Tell Tales.
I am still happy to take requests as to what to scan next.
John
At 09:41 PM 9/3/1999 -0400, you wrote:
> Just wondering if there's an episode guide somewhere out there?
>
> It's amazing to find that there are others who still remember the
>show! IMHO, it certainly deserved more than 23 episodes.
>
> By the way, I guess I am probably in the minority, but I enjoy Bianco
>probably the most. Don't know why, but may be as someone has suggested,
>he seems to have a darker quality about him.
>
> Hope to see more activity on this list!
>
>Connie
My permanent address is actingman@...
I was thiking about the episode title and brief description,
probe-agent featured, etc. May be airdates would be nice too but that's
icing on the cake :)
Having a guide kinda makes it easier to remember the shows.
And the scripts are GREAT! Where did you get them? And the only
reason why I haven't been voicing any preferences as to which ones todo
next is because I really don't know what's available. And besides,
regardless as to which episode it is, I am sure I will enjoy it.
Thanks John - for doing all this!
Connie
..
What kind of list do you want? I can list all of the titles for you.
And
I have the descriptions that Lincoln Enterprises listed when they were
selling the scripts. Eventully we will have them posted on the new web
site Bryan is building. And if you've been getting all the scripts I've
sent you, you should have something like half of them now.
Connie asked where I got the scripts. Gene Roddenberry's company Lincoln
Enterprises (which is still in business at <www.roddenberry.com>) added
Search and Kung Fu to it's catalog of scripts, film clips and other
things. I lost track of the company around 1975...by that time the only
mention of Search was clearance prices...since the show was running nowhere
in the USA. I made sure I got them all...I knew they would fade into time.
Anyway, below are the titles, the writers, and the descriptions from the
Lincoln Enterprises catalog of back then. The (2) next to some of the
titles means it was a second Probe Control set episode. And of course
(scanned) means I've scanned that script and sent it out. If you folks are
missing episodes, let me know. Some of the descriptions are
interesting. For instance "Short Circuit" says "a-bomb", when it was no
such thing...it was a device that caused any electronic device within range
to self-destruct. Also, I don't know if the final title of the Lockwood
episode below was "The Consortium" or "The Adonis File." The script says
Adonis was the final title, but we won't know until we see the
episode. Bryan found a TV Guide teletype item that makes reference to this
episode calling it Consortium...but then again the show was referred to as
Probe for many months before they started refering to it as Search.
PROBE/Leslie Stevens/Two Hour Pilot (scanned)
Lockwood assigned the recovery of 9 European diamonds, stolen in WWII by SS
officer, today alias Harold Streeter, who may not be simply an interested
appraiser, alone.
LIVE MEN TELL TALES/Irv Pearlberg (scanned)
Bianco despatched to ferret out international crime conspiracy - and stop
organized take over throughout the world.
TWENTYFOUR CARAT HIT/Jack Turley (2) (scanned)
Bianco works to locate fellow agent, wounded Ed Bain, engaged in solitary
drive to crush a contraband bullion ring which killed his wife and kidnaped
his daughter.
NUMBERED FOR DEATH/Lou Shaw & S.S. Schweitzer (2)
Grover thinks racing driver's accident a suicide attempt; he learns the
man's Swiss banking records were used against him as part of organized
blackmail syndicate.
HONEYMOON TO KILL/S.S. Schweitzer (scanned)
Grover races against time to find missing heiress-daughter just three days
before a trust in her name will revert to ailing, Milanese magnate father.
SUFFER MY CHILD/Norman Hudis
Lockwood investigates puzzling disappearance of young girl from her
father's estate, to learn she has masterminded her kidnaping; or has she?
LET US PREY/Don Balluck (scanned)
Bianco looks for missing socialite-widow-heiress with vested interest:
she's an old flame; prime suspect, her photo-hound, is dead, with lots of
incriminating shots; is she to blame?
FLIGHT TO NOWHERE/Brad Radnitz (scanned)
Lockwood on a personal case - an old friend, missing with his cargo service
plane, wanted for something more than sentimental value by the widow of its
former owner.
IN SEARCH OF MIDAS/J. Christopher Strong, III & Michael R. Stein
Grover on Las Vegas hunt for "missing" billionaire J.R. Devlin, and learns
there may be more than one.
ONE OF OUR PROBES IS MISSING/Leslie Stevens
Bianco off to London to locate missing PROBE agent and track source of
perfect $100 counterfeit bills to avert world monetary crisis.
THE CONSORTIUM/Jack Turley
A "secretary" to a political personality disappears; Lockwood zeroes in on
the $3 million ransom and finds blackmail, courtesy of 3 wealthy
"contributors" to the campaign.
THE GOLD MACHINE/Leslie Stevens (scanned)
Lockwood searches San Francisco for a long, lost goldmine - the piece to a
mysterious Oriental puzzle.
OPERATION ICEMAN/S.S. Schweitzer (scanned)
An international "hit-man," known as "Iceman," is contracted to kill a U.S.
ambassador to wreck a key world commerce meeting, and Bianco is assigned to
stop him.
THE BULLET/Judy Burns
Lockwood enters Iron Curtain for Scientist's isotope bullet, ironically
becomes 1st candidate for the missing serum antidote.
THE MURROW DISAPPEARANCE/Leslie Stevens
Lockwood tries to locate key Gov't. figure missing under mysterious
circumstances from a Diplomatic Country Club.
SHORT CIRCUIT/Leslie Stevens
Grover makes a deadly countdown search for a brilliant, paranoid scientist
and stops him activating his electronic a-bomb against Probe.
MOONROCK/Leslie Stevens (scanned)
Lockwood on a global hunt for a moonrock pressurized carbon - a softball
sized "diamond" - priceless, if not flawed.
THE CARRIER/Judy Burns (2)
Lockwood attempts to unravel mystery around Aquanaut at secret sea lab, and
how and why his depth Disease was "contracted."
THE MATTSON PAPERS/S.S. Schweitzer (2) (scanned)
Bianco trails a missing sports figure suspected of involvement with an
international crime syndicate.
THE CLAYTON LEWIS DOCUMENT/Norman Hudis (2) (scanned)
Bianco traces a sinister plot masquerading behind beautiful women and the
glamour of our national capitol that threatens the security of the entire
world.
GODDESS OF DESTRUCTION/Irv Pearlberg (2)
Grover is caught up in the intrigue of Hindu ritual while investigating the
theft of a valued statue and the mysterious death of its owner.
MOMENT OF MADNESS/Richard Landau (2) (scanned)
Cameron is abducted by a revenge-maddened former army officer who served
under Cameron during wartime. (Grover)
ENDS OF THE EARTH/Robert C. Dennis (2)
Tale involving a criminal conspiracy that offers unique sanctuary to
wealthy clients from the law. (Bianco)
THE PACKAGERS/Robert C. Dennis
Grover is caught up in a life and death struggle when assigned to find a
missing revolutionary leader who has been accused of plotting the overthrow
of a Middle East country.
My permanent address is actingman@...
What you posted was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks.
I have always wondered why SEARCH never showed up on any reruns.
Granted there's only 23 epiosodes, making syndication out of the
question, but nowadays with SCI-FI and TVLAND, it still boggles the mind
that it has never showed up. After all, SCI-FI showed a lot of
one-season shows also. Just curious ...
Connie
I don't know the reasons why it never ran in the U.S. I once called
Warner Brothers during the 80's, and they told me the show was in their
catalog as "Export Only."
The rule is shows with only one season don't have much syndication life,
but hour dramas sometimes do...they make good weekend shows. The Time
Tunnel only has 30 episodes, but many stations over the years ran it on
Sunday afternoons or evenings...certainly in New York and Baltimore in the
dim past.
At 09:58 PM 9/11/99 -0400, you wrote:
> What you posted was exactly what I was looking for! Thanks.
>
> I have always wondered why SEARCH never showed up on any reruns.
>Granted there's only 23 epiosodes, making syndication out of the
>question, but nowadays with SCI-FI and TVLAND, it still boggles the mind
>that it has never showed up. After all, SCI-FI showed a lot of
>one-season shows also. Just curious ...
>
>Connie
My permanent address is actingman@...
I have an actual promotional picture from 'SEARCH' posted on my message
board. It's of Doug McClure and according to the source, it's from his first
episode. This may or may not be accurate, however.
If anyone wants it for the website or whatever, feel free. I happened upon
it at EBAY.
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb315284
Regards,
Kevin
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Yes - I am a bit behind ;)
I was afraid that I might be disappointed - after all, the show was
just a memory I had. Didn't quite turn out to be the case. The first
episode I saw, Let Us Prey, a Bianco episode, was quite enjoyable. A
number of goofs - but all and all not bad. Besides, I guess I am a
Bianco fan and so this was a good re-introduction to the show.
Anyone else has any other thoughts?
Connie
By an overwhelming lack of demand, I present again my review of the episode
Let Us Prey...mainly cause Connie brought it up. I will at some point do
other reviews...and I encourage everyone else to write anything pro or con
they think of.
********DISPLAY PLEASE***********
Repeating myself, but the last time I saw an hour episode of Search was
NBC's last telecast in August, 1973. Next time I got to see it was when
Let Us Prey arrived in the mail late last year...25 years later.
I was worried that my memories of the show were far better than the show
itself after watching LUP. I had been able to catch some late night
airings of the pilot over the years, so I knew that was good, but I was
wondering what was going on with LUP.
As the folks on the Space: 1999 mailing list have learned to their
annoyment when we did an episode by episode analysis, I write down nits
when watching, and list them. Sometimes I make full paragraphs, sometimes
just angry or funny observations, or whatever.
Here goes: Let Us Prey
I know from the individual film frames I have that they (sometimes?) used
more then one camera when shooting the Probe Control scenes. I have
wondered why they did this...it is expensive because you have to have
multiple equipment setups (rental charges) and multiple crews (salaries,
catering expenses etc.) I've wondered if they did it because they wanted
to: 1. Make sure the Probe scenes only took one day of shooting (or half
a day etc.) 2. They wanted a connected feel between the shots. 3. Who
knows...
This might be part of the reason I wrote "odd camera angles" for the Probe
scenes in the beginning when they are briefing Bianco. They look very
strange to me, but I understand them a little bit knowing there was more
then one camera at work.
Actually I think this episode is full of strange angles, and when I say
strange I mean out of the ordinary angles that don't work, or just strike
me as different, rather then different AND effective. Another example is
that use of the overhead shot looking down in the compound when Bianco is
learning fully the predicament he is in.
Anjennette throws the glass, Richter ducks, and as he is completely bent
over with the rifle pointing at the ground, Bianco is standing right over
him (does he touch him?) and instead of hitting him and taking the gun from
him, Bianco runs out. This just looks dumb. Either Franciosa added that
part about stopping at the guy, or the director did, but it is stupid. It
might have made more sense if Bianco had run straight out. Also, Richter
should not have gone as far over as he did (which he either did because
Diana Hyland is a very good or very bad thrower, or because the director
wanted a very obvious window of escape for Bianco.)
By the way, why is Bianco prowling around at night in a bright white suit?
Yes he looked good in it, but it stretches credibility a bit, and again I
suspect it was a poor judgement made by who knows who on the production
because whatever he wore that night he would be wearing for the rest of the
episode. Wearing that bright white suit while breaking in to a house at
night he might as well have worn a light up tie as well.
This episode takes place over a couple of days at least, and yet there is
no passage of time within Control. What's worse, they use the same closeup
angle of Cameron through much of the episode contributes to the lack of
time passing. They needed different angles to help establish time
movement, (and some beard growth or something on Cameron) and different
angles just to make the episode look better. Because Cameron had so little
to do in this episode, I think they just wanted to get those shots out of
the way, so they shot from one angle. Also, Burgess Meredith had so little
to add to these scenes (because there was little to them) that he ends up
doing the same thing in every scene: Looks urgent, says "Yes Bianco" and
readjusts his microphone.
I thought the characters were very one dimensional stock characters: The
crazy, maniacal rich guy, the emotionless henchman, the flighty floozie who
realizes the error of her ways and helps the hero. I can't decide if Diana
Hyland was good casting or not. I've warmed to her as I've rewatched the
episode, but on my first late 90's viewing, I thought she was miscast.
I'm split on this one: either Bianco should have kept the rifle he takes
away from Richter, or he was right to throw it into the stream.
Look at the script I sent out. I've seen this in many tv scripts, not just
Search ones, where the commercial breaks in the finished episode come at
different times then as indicated in the script. This is true of LUP.
To use an Irwin Allen term, this is a run and jump episode. Lots of
running, chasing, being chased, explosions, etc. Very little use or need
of Probe and it's resources, and a regular plot device (overused) of
cutting the agent off from Control. They also have some equipment logic
gaffs: If they are receiving telemetry from Bianco's earjack, showing that
it is working, then that is a signal they can trace. Also, his earjack
transmits as well as receives? If it does transmit telemetry, then that
cancels my next nit that Danzig can set his earjack to transmit as well as
receive? And what is picking up the sound in his earjack to transmit? And
Why doesn't Bianco transmit on his dental implant as much as possible?
Control should be able to triangulate in on that signal.
If we are looking at the episode from Ter, then we are also seeing the
commercials from back then...which is a whole other discussion in itself.
Okay friends, write to the list and tell me I'm wrong about everything.
After all, that's why they have PCs at work, isn't it?
John
***************END RUN*******************
My permanent address is actingman@...
Here is a list of the scripts I've scanned so far. If you are missing any,
let me know and I will send them out to you. Also available is a press
release from Warner Brothers about Search.
24 Carat Hit
A Honeymoon To Kill
Clayton Lewis
Flight
Gold Machine
Let Us Prey
Live Men
Mattson
Moment
Moonrock
Operation Iceman
Probe (2 hour pilot)
My permanent address is actingman@...
>... I was afraid that I might be disappointed - after all, the show >was just a
memory I had. Didn't quite turn out to be the case. >The first episode I saw,
Let Us Prey, a Bianco episode, was quite >enjoyable. A number of goofs - but all
and all not bad. Besides, I >guess I am a Bianco fan and so this was a good
re-introduction >to the show. Anyone else has any other thoughts?
------------------------------------
I just watched SHORT CIRCUIT again after 25 years or so, and have always found
it (and the GROVER character) to be really enjoyable! It was my favorite
episode at the time when I watched the series as a kid...
Also had a GREAT time with another Grover episode recently (can't remember the
title right now... it's the episode with Barbara Feldon). There's a bar scene
with Doug McClure that's laugh-out-loud funny! 'Surfer' C.R. Grover isn't
necessarily the most 'believable' character in TV detective fiction (I prefer
Bianco's hard-edge), but he's always good for a chuckle!
Jim Alexander
(just returned from his honeymoon-- catching up on e-mail)
jima@...
I suspect this was Grover's second episode. It has some dreadful music
that was used way too much in his first episode (Short Circuit) and Murdock
and Keach are in the control room (when we have all the episodes I may
write a scholarly analysis of the different control room personel...Murdock
and Keach were early ones and they disappeared by the middle of the
series.) Also, the script calls for, but which did not make it to air, a
montage of Grover's beach bum activities, which is a carry over from his
first episode...I think wanting to establish him as a "cool...fun loving
guy"...which really didn't work, and they also stopped doing...although
they did continue with his sometimes reluctant attitude towards the missions.
My random reactions to this episode:
Why is Grover in Probe control during the beginning of this episode? This
is something I've talked about with Bryan in separate conversations. If
he's the Emergency Stand-by Probe, then he is called in at the last moment
and he basically should be put into action right away and be briefed as
things proceed (as they did in Short Circuit.) My feeling has always been
that he should never be seen in Control until either the case is over and
they are summing up, or in the middle of proceedings, or when the emergency
has to deal with Control (such as in Moment Of Madness.) I know the
argument can be made that everyone else is on assignment or on vacation,
but I don't think that entirely pans, because from the various episodes, we
know there are quite a lot of agents employed, and they can't all be
elsewhere, and they have sent Grover on overseas assignments...where they
have agents in place (I think we should assume.)
The script even addresses this issue (although it didn't reach
air.) Barnett says there is no time to bring in a regular agent and brief
him, so they will have to use their Stand-by Agent (and Barnett is a little
reluctant when he is reminded that it is Grover...because "hey! Grover is
such a cool out of control dude!") I don't buy this though...there is no
time to bring in a regular agent and brief him, but there is time to bring
in the Stand-by agent and brief him? Why? Does Grover live a block closer
to the building? If they had aired it the way the script was written, we
would have seen Grover doing his beach lifestyle and having to pull himself
together and get cleaned up and get into Control, where some other agent
might have just had to throw on a shirt and jacket and come in (like one of
their many married agents we have seen in the series.)
Within seconds of her meeting Grover, Kate Dawes (played by Barbara Feldon)
is throwing herself at Grover. I know the format calls for the agents and
the attractive women and all, but it almost seems like a desire to get it
out of the way, rather then legitimately dramatize the reasons why such a
powerful newspaper gossip columnist would go in this direction. I'm also
not to crazy on the whole with how Feldon plays this character...she's too
kittenish throughout...and I don't see any of the independent, aggressive
gossip columnist/journalist in her.
The fight in the bar starts very nicely. It is one long shot with Grover
grabbing Striker and holding him against the bar, the hand reaching into
shot and punching Grover and him flying back and flinging a chair as he
goes. It really looked like Grover got hit, and I just love how he throws
the chair as he goes flying. They obviously spent some time on this shot
and it works.
Grover establishes himself in Vegas to draw attention to himself, and they
do this with a montage of him and Kate gambling over scenes of the
City. This is where they use the dreadful music I mentioned earlier. The
music fits with this scene, and fortunately is not used again until the end
of this episode. You really need to have the episode Short Circuit in mind
to understand why I am pointing this out. In Circuit they used this music
constantly with Grover, again as part of that "hey ain't he a cool rockin'
dude" and it just did not work...and I suspect we will see they didn't do
it again for the rest of the series.
All right. We know that when we see the actors in the back of the limo it
is a set and not really moving. The story says they are suddenly driven in
the wrong direction and on a rough ride where they are tossed back and
forth. However, the car is bouncing so wildly, that it looks like the SS
Minnow on it's fateful 3 hour cruise.
I love Cameron's reaction when they realize Devlin is going to sign the
documents by remote control. Cameron gets up, hits his chair and the whole
tone is just right.
I always think it's funny when Griffin gets intrigued by some code or some
electronic lock, as he does in this episode.
Kevin remarked somewhere that he had forgotten the agent's aversion to guns
in this show. We see this here, when Grover disarms one of the bad guys,
and he empties the gun of it's bullets. That in and of itself is nothing
noteworthy, and make sense to some degree in the scene, but it is more
interesting when seen over the course of the whole show. I've always
wondered if it was some subtle message Leslie Stevens wanted in his series,
or if it was some kind of attempt to deal with reality that these agents
are private citizens, and do not have official police powers.
The fight at the end of the episode simply did not look good. It was very
clumsy, and stillted. It did not work.
I'm not sure about this next one. It's a little confusing. We hear in the
beginning that Probe was hired by the Kane newspaper group. Through out
the episode that he is from the building commissioner's office. At the end
we hear that Devlin hired him. At first I thought it was a continuity
error, then it occurred to me that we are supposed to deduce that Devlin
really owns the newspaper group (as in the rich recluse in Citizen
Kane). Of course I still don't understand how that means the building
commission would go along with all this, unless they were happy to let
Probe do their work for them. I think it's a little too muddy.
I've always liked the computer graphic (the squares going across the
screen) used to transition scenes...which they stopped doing towards the
middle of the series. By that time you only saw that in the opening teaser
and the closing teaser.
Those are my thoughts on the episode. Please tell me what your reactions are.
My permanent address is actingman@...
Since I made references to this episode in my notes on In Search Of Midas,
I thought I would get this written and out.
This was Grover's introductory episode, written by series creator Leslie
Stevens. Grover is supposed to be the "youthful" fun loving reluctant
agent who comes through in the end. They establish this by first showing
Grover riding a horse, surfboarding, and having a beach barbecue with a hot
cutie. All this is fine ( I guess...although it's not something they kept
up during the show's run...thank goodness.) Unfortunatly, they also choose
to write some very 70's "groovy" bubble gum jazz music to play when ever
Grover was in motion. The problem is this music does not fit in with the
rest of the music style of the series...which was one of it's strong points
(although the show had some standard music cues that were somewhat
ordinary.) There were also a few times when we could have had a couple of
shots to show transition, but instead we have Grover running all over the
place, which means we have to have the "groovy" music, and at one point he
stops the action but the action music keeps going...it was very
clumsy. They did not continue it in the series, and instead they continued
with Grover's reluctance, his unorthodox methods, and his ability to
respond and win...which were more interesting qualities to watch.
On the plus side, all of the interactions and scenes with Probe Control
were top notch, and the strong points of the episode as well as the series.
My random thoughts:
There are different conflicting sources as to where World Securities is
located. But in this episode, with the palm trees outside the building,
and the California towns "up the coast", it is clear that it is in Los
Angeles (we have also heard it's in New York or Washington....but I don't
think these locales were mentioned in the episodes.)
Triva note: When they are watching the briefing tapes at the beginning
showing the Mega-Trans package at work, we are seeing three different shots
from the show Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (they had explosions and
sparks aboard the Seaview every epsiode.) Of course, I don't know how a
show produced at Warner Brothers can use stock footage from a show produced
in the 60's at 20th Century Fox.
Nit pick point: When Agent Hiller is spying on Moen and Landis, he is
photographing it (of course) with his scanner. The briefing tape has cuts
from different angles, even though there is only one camera (the scanner)
recording it, so there should only be one angle of eveything that goes on
in the scene.
Grover turns his fishing pole reel next to the scanner so as to fake
interference (so he can get the info he missed). But they show the reel on
the Probe Screen, and yet Cameron is acting like there is real
interference. I suspect that someone in post production decided to add the
reel/screen shot, without realizing it didn't make sense (the screen shot
is not called for in the script.)
Grover can't see what control is seeing in the records, so I think it is
strange when he comments about Moen's daughter (before he sees her) "with a
daughter like that." And if he is refering to her career, then that means
Grover thinks Moen would not want to see a daughter that was out of work?
Grover's whole talk with Lelia under the tree is awful. He is trying to
smile through most of it and it is out of place. The attempt is to be calm
and reassuring and charming...but it doesn't play right. We know he can do
it (see how he does it with Cameron's niece in Moment Of Madness), but I
cannot understand why he is playing it that way here. I wouldn't trust
such a stranger.
There are too many scenes of Grover running around to his groovy music, as
if they had to fill time...even though there is evidence from the script
that they filmed and cut scenes. They just wanted Grover to be cool and in
"action."
A couple of times Grover leaves his scanner hanging, and yet it tips down
and up when it zooms in (the camera operator trying to frame the shot
without appearing to.) This is funny becasue reading the script, Stevens
makes it clear in these shots that the camera work should be stagnant, as
it would be with a real camera frozen in position. (At one point the
correction is necessary, when Grover gets out of the pool and walks to the
scanner, becasue if they didn't tip up slightly, his walking forward to the
scanner would have put his crotch right in closeup.)
Lelia leaves a handkerchief behind with "Swan Hotel" written on it as a
clue for Grover. She says she wrote that instead of "Belmont Hotel"
because she didn't want her father to realize what she was doing and go
somewhere else. Yet he wouldn't have wondered why she was leaving a
message behind anyway? It seems to me there would have been a problem if
he saw it in any case, so she should have just written the correct
name...hoping he wouldn't see it.
Grover comments he is only the back-up agent. Cameron says the
following: "Oh, no. When Arnold Hiller died-in-action. Probe Control is
your back-up! Think of it, Grover. Command Pilot. Millions of dollars
worth of electronic miracles...(and on and on.)" Reading this dialog all
these years I didn't think it made much sense. Hearing Burgess Meredith
deliver it, it still doesn't make much sense.
Grover is shouting over the noise in the underground areas of World
Securities. But he is overdoing it and looks silly.
Dr Barnett orders everything shut off. Grover comments that the blueprints
indicate it would take a half hour to shut down all operations because of
the back-up systems. Grover has not seen any of the blueprints...how does
he know this?
Grover has the Mega-Trans Package. Why is he driving off with it? Why
doesn't he just smash the hell of it? Also, World Securities is in the
city. Yet a quarter of a mile away is the country side? Also, when the
package activates, both cars should go up, like the police car did earlier
in the episode...yet they don't (in fact Grover is still holding the
package and driving when the package activates.)
At the end Grover is with the girl and getting down to the real business,
and instead of the groovy music we hear the Search theme...and it looks and
sounds so much better, and fits the scene and ends the episode
nicely. Except for the scenes mentioned in "Midas", we don't (I believe)
hear the awful "groovy" music again in the series.
My permanent address is actingman@...
I was pleasantly surprised, but surprised, indeed, to discover the
existance of a message board and a web site devoted to [i]Search[/i], a
one-season effort which was a personal favourite, and directly led to a
most treasured personal relationship.
Thanks to my dialogues with John and Brian and their graciousness, I
will be viewing the eleven episodes they have acquired on tape.
However--and this is the thing which inspired my search for
[i]Search[/i] tapes--I recently acquired both a copy of the pilot
movie, [i]Probe[/i], and a copy of the episode "Let Us Prey"--which
arrived at my door to-day, in fact.
This was the first episode of [i]Search[/i] I had viewed in twenty-six
years; so while it held nostalgic interest for me, I have to concur
with John's review that it was a sub-standard episode. Bear in mind,
without the context of having viewed the other episodes yet, I had to
evaluate this episode on a stand-alone basis.
The plotline of "Let Us Prey" confirmed the Fourth Inevitablity of
"Benson's Laws of Action/Adventure Television Shows". To wit, in every
action/adventure show of significant duration, four plotlines will
inevitably manifest:
--One: in at least one episode, the hero will acquire amnesia.
--Two: . . . the hero will be blinded for most of the episode.
--Three: . . . the hero will encounter an exact double of himself.
--Four: . . . the hero will be hunted as prey in a confined setting.
The notion of the protagonist hunted as prey was original only when
Richard Connell wrote "The Most Dangerous Game" back in 1924. Since
then, it has been a plot mainstay in virtually every action show, and
long before "Let Us Prey"'s airdate, it had been done to death. So,
from the get-go, the viewer of this episode knows he is not in for any
surprises, just a different take on an old standard.
As I recall--and as was implied in this episode itself--I believe that
Nick Bianco was a former policeman ( and, I think, of the NYPD), which
made his coercion of Fuentes a logical move; however, it was a
toothless tactic in this case since (A) Bianco was now a private
citizen with no powers of arrest or influence with law enforcement; and
(B) even if he had still been a cop, Bianco had no jurisdiction in
Mexico. If Fuentes had been the shadowy character he was purported to
be, he would have told Bianco to go to Hell when Bianco tried to rattle
his cage. I saw no logical reason for Fuentes to fear Bianco's
threat--except to advance the plotline. Granted, this opinion was
undermined when it was revealed that Fuentes was in collusion with
Danzig; but Bianco should have been more suspicious that Fuentes so
readily caved in to his threat of exposure.
There was a minimal use of the electronic wizardry which was supposed
to be the "hook" of the show, even though there was plenty of
opportunity--such as when Bianco infiltrated the Alvarez estate. Why
wasn't telemetry monitoring for other heartbeats or body heat to let
Bianco know where the guards where? Or to let him know that he was
walking into an ambush in the house? During the scene when Danzig, the
girl, Fuentes, and Richter confronted Bianco in the house and drugged
him, why didn't the scanner send these images back to Probe Control
(thereby revealing Danzig's complicity), which could have notified the
Mexican authorities long before Danzig could have smuggled Bianco to
his Mediterranean island?
This was my greatest problem with this episode, and the series in
general. In the pilot, Cameron and the techs in Probe Control provided
knowledge and information not directly available to the Probe. They
also served as a "greek chorus" of sorts, providing editorial comment.
In other words, Probe Control was something of a "collective"
character, with a distinct personality of its own. However, the series
rarely made use of this asset. Specifically, in "Let Us Prey"--as John
pointed out--Cameron's only purpose seemed to be to provide exposition
for the hero's actions.
One might advance the argument that Danzig had re-wired Bianco's audio
implant receiver and destroyed his scanner, so Probe Control was unable
to aide Bianco. A couple of problems with this: first, isn't the fact
that the Probes are equipped with this technology supposed to be top
secret knowledge? Yes, it might be assumed that, during their romance,
Bianco divulged the existance of his scanner and audio implant to Diana
Hyland's character; and later, she passed this information on to
Danzig. But for Bianco to have revealed this info to the lady during
pillow talk seems highly out of character. It might be more plausible
for Grover, but not a hard-nosed ex-cop like Bianco. The other problem
is that for the bad guy to disable the Probe's equipment is only
believable as a one-time trick. If this were to happen episode after
episode, the viewer quickly loses confidence in the
"ultra-sophistication" of the electronic gadgets, and credibility goes
flying out the window.
I have avoided repeating John's remarks in his review of this episode;
however, I am forced to agree with his criticism of Bianco's escape
from Danzig's lab. If he was that close to Richter, he should have
fought with him and tried to grab the rifle. A rifle is a very clumsy
weapon in close quarters; and Bianco's self-defence training as a cop
should have enabled him to take out Richter and capture the weapon--or
at least, given Bianco the confidence to try.
For that matter, all of the physical conflicts in this episode were
rather limp-wristed. Especially the final struggle between Bianco and
Richter. That Richter should be knocked unconscious by lightly bumping
his head against the cliff face was absurd, but not as absurd as the
idea that Richter--a "trained killer" would reach for the
opossum-playing Bianco. A ten-year-old kid wouldn't have fallen for
that one.
Finally, wasn't it amazing how, after his dunking in the ocean,
Bianco's hair dried back into its razor-cut coiffure? Not to mention
the marvellous permanent-press of his trousers after being soaked by
sea water.
The one point of interest for me in watching this episode was
evaluating Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco from an older perspective. As
a teen-ager, frankly I was predisposed toward the Hugh O'Brian
episodes, and saw the McClure and Franciosa shows as "inferior".
Nearly three decades later, I can be more objective about the three
leads' performances; and already--despite the tepid plot of "Let Us
Prey"--I am already looking at Franciosa's performance more favorably.
I look forward to viewing--and reviewing--the other episodes.
Adam Benson
Don't worry, other episodes do hold up very well. But at the same time it
is interesting to see problems and weaknesses, as well as strengths...so
many years later.
>This was the first episode of [i]Search[/i] I had viewed in twenty-six
>years; so while it held nostalgic interest for me, I have to concur
>with John's review that it was a sub-standard episode. Bear in mind,
>without the context of having viewed the other episodes yet, I had to
>evaluate this episode on a stand-alone basis.
I love this whole section. There is a sometimes fifth plotline, which if
it doesn't show up in the action shows, it most certainly does in
sitcoms...the "Boxing scenario". Even Star Trek: Voyager did one last season.
>The plotline of "Let Us Prey" confirmed the Fourth Inevitablity of
>"Benson's Laws of Action/Adventure Television Shows"....
From series creator Leslie Steven's script One Of Our Probes Is Missing
(the first Bianco episode):
"He was undercover man for the Interstate Crime Commission. He's an
ex-police detective." "He's fought crime all over the world...He knows the
International Underworld from the gutter on down."
I don't remember or know if they ever mentioned a specific police force.
I think the basis of the threat was that Bianco had info he could turn over
to authorities on Fuentes...but looking at the line it IS vague the way it
is written.
>As I recall--and as was implied in this episode itself--I believe that
>Nick Bianco was a former policeman ( and, I think, of the NYPD), which
>made his coercion of Fuentes a logical move; however, it was a
>toothless tactic in this case since...
As we have these discussions, we will often be asking the same
question: "Why isn't the scanner picking up off presence readings? I
think they quickly got away from this because it took away from the
suspense of the agent getting jumped from behind...control could always
warn him. In the pilot Creator Stevens has Lockwood's head get stuffed up
so he can't hear control and get's jumped on the stairway. In Gold
Machine, Stevens has Lockwood lose his hearing in an explosion, which
creates another chance to get jumped. It would have been more of a
challenge to write stories where the agent's had such an advantage, and the
writers would have had to be more clever to work with it, and around
it. On the original Star Trek, they always had their communicators taken
away and/or something would block the transporter.
Bianco's electronics got blocked the second he entered the house, which
answer's part of your question, but then it raises the question as to why
the scanner wasn't picking up the jamming outside.
I also think it took forever for control to determine that there was a
definite problem...and they did nothing (like call the authorities).
>There was a minimal use of the electronic wizardry which was supposed
>to be the "hook" of the show, even though there was plenty of
>opportunity--such as when Bianco infiltrated the Alvarez estate. Why
>wasn't telemetry monitoring for other heartbeats or body heat to let
>Bianco know where the guards where? Or to let him know that he was
>walking into an ambush in the house? During the scene when Danzig, the
>girl, Fuentes, and Richter confronted Bianco in the house and drugged
>him, why didn't the scanner send these images back to Probe Control
>(thereby revealing Danzig's complicity), which could have notified the
>Mexican authorities long before Danzig could have smuggled Bianco to
>his Mediterranean island?
They did drift away from the elements you describe. I think they tried to
get even further away in the last eight episodes (the second Probe
set)...but even then they still would come back to it in certain
sequences. It was a shame of course, because those were the elements that
made the show different, and special. I know Bryan hates the show Seven
Days, but if anyone out there has been watching it, they've been doing
stories that all but ignore the time travel element this season...so that
you could change one or two lines, and the story could be done on any
show...I've often thought they might have been trying to do that to Search
as the show went on...which of course was a mistake.
>This was my greatest problem with this episode, and the series in
>general. In the pilot, Cameron and the techs in Probe Control provided
>knowledge and information not directly available to the Probe. They
>also served as a "greek chorus" of sorts, providing editorial comment.
>In other words, Probe Control was something of a "collective"
>character, with a distinct personality of its own. However, the series
>rarely made use of this asset. Specifically, in "Let Us Prey"--as John
>pointed out--Cameron's only purpose seemed to be to provide exposition
>for the hero's actions.
I've wondered about this myself over the years. At the end of the pilot,
Ullie knew about the scanner, in Goddess Of Destruction the oriental
underground knows to take away Grover's scanner and hit him in the mouth in
just the correct way so he can't use his dental contact. There might be
other examples I can't think of at the moment. Also, how much does a
client get told about Probe's methods? If they are paying all that
money...etc. And, how are these clients communicating with Control? Does
World Securities send a camera man with an obvious two way set up out to
talk to the clients? (Remember, Danzig is facing a camera...which he is
aware of...and is talking to Cameron. There are other episodes where this
is done.) I suspect it wasn't something World Securities went out of it's
way to mention, but at the same time it wasn't secret...although I realize
this isn't a satisfactory explanation.
As for the rest of it, we will see again and again where the scanners get
taken, or the agents refuse to use them, or something like that happens
(there go those transporters again.)
>One might advance the argument that Danzig had re-wired Bianco's audio
>implant receiver and destroyed his scanner, so Probe Control was unable
>to aide Bianco. A couple of problems with this: first, isn't the fact
>that the Probes are equipped with this technology supposed to be top
>secret knowledge? Yes, it might be assumed that, during their romance,
>Bianco divulged the existance of his scanner and audio implant to Diana
>Hyland's character; and later, she passed this information on to
>Danzig. But for Bianco to have revealed this info to the lady during
>pillow talk seems highly out of character. It might be more plausible
>for Grover, but not a hard-nosed ex-cop like Bianco. The other problem
>is that for the bad guy to disable the Probe's equipment is only
>believable as a one-time trick. If this were to happen episode after
>episode, the viewer quickly loses confidence in the
>"ultra-sophistication" of the electronic gadgets, and credibility goes
>flying out the window.
Feel free to repeat
>I have avoided repeating John's remarks in his review of this episode;
>however, I am forced to agree with his criticism of Bianco's escape
>from Danzig's lab. If he was that close to Richter, he should have
>fought with him and tried to grab the rifle. A rifle is a very clumsy
>weapon in close quarters; and Bianco's self-defence training as a cop
>should have enabled him to take out Richter and capture the weapon--or
>at least, given Bianco the confidence to try.
>
>For that matter, all of the physical conflicts in this episode were
>rather limp-wristed. Especially the final struggle between Bianco and
>Richter. That Richter should be knocked unconscious by lightly bumping
>his head against the cliff face was absurd, but not as absurd as the
>idea that Richter--a "trained killer" would reach for the
>opossum-playing Bianco. A ten-year-old kid wouldn't have fallen for
>that one.
>
>Finally, wasn't it amazing how, after his dunking in the ocean,
>Bianco's hair dried back into its razor-cut coiffure? Not to mention
>the marvellous permanent-press of his trousers after being soaked by
>sea water.
>
>The one point of interest for me in watching this episode was
>evaluating Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco from an older perspective. As
>a teen-ager, frankly I was predisposed toward the Hugh O'Brian
>episodes, and saw the McClure and Franciosa shows as "inferior".
>Nearly three decades later, I can be more objective about the three
>leads' performances; and already--despite the tepid plot of "Let Us
>Prey"--I am already looking at Franciosa's performance more favorably.
>
>I look forward to viewing--and reviewing--the other episodes.
>
>Adam Benson
>
>
>
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My permanent address is actingman@...
I very much enjoyed Commander Benson's detailed and insightful analysis of "Let
Us Prey"... AS WELL AS John's feedback on the Commander's comments!
Welcome to the list, Commander Benson!!! Glad to have you on board!
Jim Alexander
jima@...
>... The Trek clips would have to be posted on a hidden site, >since Paramount
has been going around sueing everybody on >the net. We'll see.
--------------------------------------
You're quite right, John. They pretty much started that practice a year or two
ago. Litigious, ain't they?
--------------------------------------
>... After seeing Murrow I'll have to add to my treatise becasue >there are even
more differences. You can go to egroups.com >and go to the probe_contorl list
and read the past messages, >which includes the set treatise.
-------------------------------------
You are correct, sir! Thanks for the reminder!
-------------------------------------
>The entire crew kept changing (or at least the women were) >during the first 15
episodes. Cameron was the only holdover to >the new set.
-------------------------------------
Hmmmmmm. I wonder if there's any connection between having a 'new set' and
having a 'new crew'?
-------------------------------------
>... PROBE Programed Retrieval Operations...the last two letters >being top
secret. That's from the pilot. The novel doesn't even >have the scene where
that's stated, so it doesn't cover it.
-------------------------------------
Hmmmmmm. The MOONROCK novelization doesn't cover it, either? Seems like in a
lot of the TV novelizations of the time (U.N.C.L.E. included) certain
'explanations' were often included for readers of the books, that were never (or
almost never) mentioned in the actual TV shows.
--------------------------------------
>... By the way, there's no such thing as S.E.A.R.C.H.
--------------------------------------
I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. When I typed that, I was referring to my
mentioning to Leslie Stevens my amateurish comic book, NOT the TV show.
-------------------------------------
>... TV Guide used to say things like "SEARCH headquarters" or
>"SEARCH is hired to..." but that was always wrong. Search was >the final name
of the show, but it had no other significance >except part of the Probe
division's job description was "the >search and recovery of that which was
missing." And that was >when it was called "Probe".
-------------------------------------
Yes sir. Understood. I agree
But do I recall the phrase 'Search Division' being used once or twice, in kind
of a throwaway capacity?
-------------------------------------
>... By the way, as I type this, it occures to me that these >discussions can,
and maybe should, take place on the mailing >list, to share with all, and to
encourage the others to join in.
--------------------------------------
So...?
DISCUSS!! :)
Jim Alexander
jima@...
----------------------------------------------------
> >... I am now scanning my Classic Trek slides, and I have some
> >third season title slides that when I got them were deep blue. The >lettering
> now looks white.
> -------------------------------------
> Ahhhhhhhhh! A 'classic Trek' fan!!! Something ELSE we have in common! Let
me
> know if/where I can see those scans!!! I'd love to see'em!!!
> --------------------------------------
> Ah! Understood!
>
> I do NOT have any Film Clip Frames of that set.
>
> And what IS the main difference(s) between the 'pilot' set, and the set in the
> first few episodes...??? I remember you differentiating between the two of
> those.
> -----------------------------------
> Did the entire 'crew' change with the move to the new set? Did any 'old' cast
> members survive the transition? Griffin? Miss Keach? Kuroda?
>
> If memory serves, we had an all-new 'team' on the all-new 'set' (besides
> Cameron, of course).
>
> Oh, and lastly... what DOES 'Probe' stand for? I remember Lockwood telling
> Ullie the meaning for the first three letters, but he never gets to the last
> three...
>
> Does the novelization shed any light on that???
>
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