Hunter (1977)

Debuting February 18, 1977. CBS, 10/9pm Central

Hunter was a one-hour drama starring James Franciscus as James Hunter and Linda Evans as Marty Shaw, with the series depicting them as undercover counterespionage agents. Created by William Blinn (The Interns, The Rookies, Starsky & Hutch) and produced by David Gerber for Lorimar. A mid-season show replacing Executive Suite on the Friday night schedule against Quincy, M.E. and The ABC Friday Night Movie.

James Hunter was a former agent who resigned from “the Agency” in 1969 due to disapproval of their methods and ran a rare bookstore in Santa Barbara. Recruited by General Baker, Hunter returns to form a new covert agency tasked with protecting the U.S. from various threats. In most episodes, Hunter is assisted by fellow agent/lover Marty Shaw, who works undercover as a famous model. Together, they fight international foes such as communists, organized crime, and rogue American agents. Instead of a traditional theme song, the backstory is explained in a 45-second expository opening.

A 54-minute pilot episode which never aired established Hunter as a man who had spent eight years in prison for crimes he did not commit, intent on finding the Agency man who framed him and clear his name. This backstory was dropped for the series, but the unaired pilot was released on VHS home video years later. The show featured your typical TV car chases, fights, and gunplay. Reviews reveal a complete lack of your usual spy thriller trappings such as gadgets, sporty cars, or exotic locations, leaving a rather average series.

A half season of 13 episodes was produced, but it was taken off the air after only airing nine, leaving four unaired. The show aired in several countries and a bootleg DVD floats around…several episodes including that unaired pilot are easily found with a Google search.