Double Jeopardy, known in some markets as Dressed to Kill first aired on 31 January, 1981. Written by series creators Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, the episode puts Operation Duckling into action. It seems the serial rapist they’ve been trying to apprehend since the beginning of the series is still out there, and the precinct…
Tag: january 1981
Hill Street Blues (1981) – Politics as Usual, and Can World War III Be an Attitude?
Series creators Steven Bochco and Micheal Kozoll pen Politics as Usual which first aired on 22 January, 191. The presidential visit is on the horizon, and Howard (James Sikking) is less than thrilled with how Captain Furillo (Daniel J. Travanti) is handling the situation and negotiating peace treaties with the local gangs for the walking…
Hill Street Blues (1981) – Hill Street Station, and Presidential Fever
When I was a teen every time I came across Hill Street Blues I would find myself stopping to watch it, and would even set the VCR to record it (when I remembered to). I always found it interesting in the way that it worked to show the police officers of the Hill Street precinct…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1981) – The Guardians, and Mark of the Saurian
Buck (Gil Gerard) and the crew of the Search have an interesting encounter this week when they become The Guardians. Written by Paul and Margaret Schneider this episode was first broadcast on 29 January, 1981. After a strange encounter with a dying man, who claims to have been waiting for Buck, Hawk (Thom Christopher) and…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1981) – Journey to Oasis
Mark Lenard guest stars in the second feature length instalment of what is Buck Rogers derided second season. Written by Bob Mitchell, this double episode first aired on 22 January, 1981, and sees Buck (Gil Gerard) leading a party – despite the presence of a higher ranking officer, COLONEL Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) in the…
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1981) – Time of the Hawk
So the retooled Buck Rogers launched on 15 January, 1981, with a two hour premiere that was written by Norman Hudis. Fans at the time, and anyone rewatching the series, like me, must have been scratching their head over the nonsensical changes that had been forced onto the series, even as it tried to shoehorn…
M*A*S*H (1981) – Tell It to the Marines, Taking the Fifth, and Operation Friendship
Harry Morgan directs Tell It to the Marines, which first aired on 12 January, 1981, and was written by Hank Bradford. Charles (David Ogden Stiers) takes over as CO while Potter (Morgan) is away, and turns Klinger (Jamie Farr) into his personal attaché, and seems intent on living in a means he’s more accustomed to….
M*A*S*H (1980/1981) – Death Takes a Holiday, A War for All Seasons, and Your Retention Please
Mike Farrell directs this episode that he wrote alongside John Rappaport, and Dennis Koenig from a story by Thad Mumford, Dan Wilcox, and Burt Metcalfe. It aired on 15 December 1980 and was used as that year’s Christmas episode. Farrell knows how to pack his story with emotional impact without being super sappy about it….
Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – The Keeper of Traken
Tom Baker’s penultimate tale as The Doctor was a four-parter written by Johnny Byrne that aired from 31 January to 21 February, 1981. It introduced a new companion, Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) and the return of The Master in the form of Geoffrey Beevers and the Anthony Ainley. The Doctor and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) arrive…
Doctor Who (Tom Baker) – Warriors Gate
This four part story that was written by Steve Gallagher and ran from 3 January to 24 January, 1981 saw, by stories end the departure of Romana (Lalla Ward) as well as K9 from the TARDIS, as the E-Space Trilogy comes to an end. Biroc (David Weston) gets aboard the TARDIS, and steers it…
The Mind Reels 