James Bond-like Spy TV show with camera contact lenses - what was it called?
nospam...@tabi.org
private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
--
Remove "nospam_" from my email address when replying
Timur "too sexy for my code" Tabi, ti...@tabi.org,
http://www.tabi.org
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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David Stinson
>I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
>private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
>he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
>of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
>gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
>main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
>transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>
PROBE aka SEARCH, a short lived movie and series from the 70's. A group of
agents representing a consortium of insrance companies, working out in the
field with a complete team montioring him from the base.
This was remade by Fox a few years ago, with a name that escapes me...
--
David A. Stinson Home E-mail: dsti...@ix.netcomz.com or
Remove the 'z' for mail dast...@zaol.com
Web: http://www.procom.com/~daves/index.html
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starcro1
originally called "Probe," but it's name was changed to "Search." It starred
Hugh O'Brien as Hugh Lockwood, an agent of World Securities, Inc. Lockwood,
a.k.a. Probe One, carried a miniature television camera/satellite uplink
that could fit in a medalion, a tie tac, or a ring. He could communicate
with headquarters via the camera, hearing replies through a
neurally-implanted receiver. In case he lost the camera (which was
frequently) he could tap out Morse code messages with wired dental fillings.
"Search" had three Probes, who alternated adventures. The other Probes
were played by Doug McClure and (I think) Anthony Franciosa.
The late Burgess Meredith played Lockwood's boss Mr. Cameron.
nospam...@tabi.org wrote in message <7732gg$bpc$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
>private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
>he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
>of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
>gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
>main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
>transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>
wlh
Douglas McClure (sp?) joined later.
In article <p8bl2.28$pg.1...@nnrp2.ni.net>, dsti...@ix.netcom.com says...
>
>In article <7732gg$bpc$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, nospam...@tabi.org wrote:
>>I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
>>private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
>>he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
>>of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
>>gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
>>main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
>>transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>>
>
Jenu
>I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
>private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
>he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
>of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
>gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
>main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
>transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>
Sounds like 'Fortune Hunter'. It aired (very) briefly on FOX in 1994 and
starred the late Mark Frankel as the very Bond-like, suave, extremely
good-looking Carleton Dial. IIRC, he had contact lenses that had a camera
through which his contact back at the office could monitor his activities and
help out when needed.
Jen
~*~
(who may very well have the wrong show, but the contact lenses definitely ring
a bell)
Please send any direct replies to Juju...@yahoo.com
lin...@mindspring.com
Hugh O'Brien. Danged if I can recall the title. He was always fighting with the "Main Office"
because he didn't lke being watched all the time through his implants. Which of course
was the very reason for the show. IT got stupid fast.
Karen Kaiser
On Thu, 7 Jan 1999 nospam...@tabi.org wrote:
> I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
> private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
> he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
> of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
> gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
> main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
> transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>
David Johnston
>
> In article <7732gg$bpc$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, nospam...@tabi.org wrote:
> >I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
> >private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
> >he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
> >of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
> >gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
> >main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
> >transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
> >
>
> agents representing a consortium of insrance companies, working out in the
> field with a complete team montioring him from the base.
>
> This was remade by Fox a few years ago, with a name that escapes me...
Herman's Head.
Well...no not really. But those two shows do remind me of each other.
Gharlane of Eddore
>
> I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
> private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
> he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
> of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
> gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
> main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
> transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
>
In <p8bl2.28$pg.1...@nnrp2.ni.net>, dsti...@ix.netcom.com says...
>
> PROBE aka SEARCH, a short lived movie and series from the 70's. A group of
> agents representing a consortium of insrance companies, working out in the
> field with a complete team montioring him from the base.
>
> This was remade by Fox a few years ago, with a name that escapes me...
>
WRONG.
The reference to "short-lived" and "contact lenses" make it clear that
the original query referred specifically to "FORTUNE HUNTER," FOX
network's blatant rip of "PROBE"/"SEARCH." A number of us complained
vociferously about the bald-faced rip of an entire series format as well
as blocks of dialog that appeared to have been lifted directly out of the
"PROBE" movie, but the series basically rolled over and died, apparently
without much legal action even having time to start.
On the earlier series, "PROBE" was the pilot movie; the series title was
"SEARCH" because the network thought "PROBE" sounded "too medical."
( Note there was no problem making a different, non-medical series named
"PROBE" a dozen or so years later. )
In <773lgi$pdd$1...@oak.prod.itd.earthlink.net> wlh_...@juno.com writes:
>
> Hugh O'Brian (sp?) was the original agent.
> Douglas McClure (sp?) joined later.
>
Hugh O'B. was also co-owner of the series, since he'd been very cagey
and clever about investing his earnings from fifties TV series, and
owned quite a lot of oil-bearing real estate. The *three* rotating
agents were H. O'B, Doug McClure, and Anthony Franciosa. Occasionally
they put a fourth, played by Angel Tompkins, into the field. ( Ms.
Tompkins was no more effective as a series star than McClure on the
bottle, or Franciosa in a punch-the-director mood. Note that McClure
got his act together and started enjoying life and working to capacity
in later years, turning in some pretty decent work. However, none of
them really had much to work with, with the scripts that "SEARCH" had
to offer. )
The single reason for watching this series was Burgess Meredith,
since they wrote all the male leads' parts as cutesy little boys.
"FORTUNE HUNTER" was vastly worse, with a small regular cast and one
primary character ( the actor was decent, and later recycled as the
king of the city in "KINDRED: THE EMBRACED" ). Since one of the
"FORTUNE HUNTER" producers had been involved in the creation and
operation of "BRISCO COUNTY, JUNIOR," I had expected far better than
we got, and was aghast to see detail recycling of other people's
material. Pasting a pseudo-Brit accent on the lead was no real help.
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( merge the two " + " characters for 3-D effect. (c) GoE, 1997 )
William December Starr
lin...@austin360.com said:
> There was also a show on with much the same concept about 25 years
> ago and one of the stars was Hugh O'Brien. Danged if I can recall
> the title. He was always fighting with the "Main Office" because he
> didn't lke being watched all the time through his implants. Which
> of course was the very reason for the show. IT got stupid fast.
The show was "Search," and *they* -- the show rotated through three
main characters -- were only watched via a small _external_ device
that combined a television camera, microphone, and other telemetry
into a small, round, mostly flat package that was about half the
diameter of a dime and was typically worn on a ring or attached to
something like a pendant or cufflink. If he didn't want to be
watched, all he had to do was take it off and stuff it into his sock
drawer or something.
The only implant was a tiny radio receiver tucked in behind one ear,
to allow the folks in Mission Control to communicate directly with the
field agent.
-- William December Starr <wds...@crl.com>
William December Starr
ghar...@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (Gharlane of Eddore) said:
> The single reason for watching this series ["Search"] was Burgess
> Meredith, since they wrote all the male leads' parts as cutesy
> little boys.
Right. By the way, was it just me or did Mr. Meredith deserve some
sort of award for being exactly the same age for more decades than
anybody else? I haven't seen "Search" since it was on NBC, but I
remember him as looking about the same then as he did practically up
till his death.
By the way, about "Search..." did it get cancelled and then rescued
sometime during its 23-episode run (thank you, IMDb)? I remember that
about midway through they got a completely different "Mission Control"
room (which was just about the show's only permanent set) for no
stated reason, and in retrospect I've sort of assumed that what
happened was that the old one got scrapped following a cancellation
notice and then a new one -- which was a lot less cool-looking than
the original -- had to be hastily thrown together when the decision
was reversed.
-- William December Starr <wds...@crl.com>
No, nobody said "McDonald's." Now go away.
Mark Jones
William December Starr wrote:
> Right. By the way, was it just me or did Mr. Meredith deserve some
> sort of award for being exactly the same age for more decades than
> anybody else? I haven't seen "Search" since it was on NBC, but I
> remember him as looking about the same then as he did practically up
> till his death.
He's not the only one. There's Dick Clark, of course. But also "Mr.
Atavachron" from an original-series Star Trek episode. He was the
librarian on the world where Spock and McCoy went back in time and met
Mariette Hartley, cave-babe. He also was Mrs. Carlson's surly butler on
WKRP. And he hasn't appeared to change in appearance over the decades
either....
--
Mark Jones
"The most difficult struggle of all is the one within ourselves. Let us
not get accustomed and adjusted to these conditions. The one who adjusts
ceases to discriminate between good and evil. He becomes a slave in body
and soul. Whatever may happen to you, remember always: Don't adjust!
Revolt against the reality!" - Mordechai Anielewicz, Warsaw, 1943
Karen Kaiser
> primary character ( the actor was decent, and later recycled as the
> king of the city in "KINDRED: THE EMBRACED" ). Since one of the
> "FORTUNE HUNTER" producers had been involved in the creation and
> operation of "BRISCO COUNTY, JUNIOR," I had expected far better than
> we got, and was aghast to see detail recycling of other people's
> material. Pasting a pseudo-Brit accent on the lead was no real help.
>
Robert Cook
wrote:
>
(snip)
>He's not the only one. There's Dick Clark, of course. But also "Mr.
>Atavachron" from an original-series Star Trek episode. He was the
>librarian on the world where Spock and McCoy went back in time and met
>Mariette Hartley, cave-babe. He also was Mrs. Carlson's surly butler on
>WKRP. And he hasn't appeared to change in appearance over the decades
>either....
Ian Wolfe. The librarian character's name was "Mr. Atoz". He also
appeared as "Septimus" in the episode "Bread and Circuses".
He WKRP butler character ("Hersh"?) was very amusing: "Ah. Doctor
Fever... You're the man who has caused Madam so much pain and
suffering over the years. Come in! Please, *do* come in!"
While your basic point is correct, when he made a brief cameo as a
forger in the Warren Beatty film 'Dick Tracy', the years were finally
starting to catch up with him, appearance-wise. I haven't seen him in
anything lately; if he's still alive, he must be really getting up
there.
______
Robert M. Cook
Remove the animal to reply via e-mail
jly...@atl.mindspring.com
wds...@crl.com (William December Starr) wrote:
> By the way, about "Search..." did it get cancelled and then rescued
> sometime during its 23-episode run (thank you, IMDb)? I remember that
> about midway through they got a completely different "Mission Control"
> room (which was just about the show's only permanent set) for no
> stated reason, and in retrospect I've sort of assumed that what
> happened was that the old one got scrapped following a cancellation
> notice and then a new one -- which was a lot less cool-looking than
> the original -- had to be hastily thrown together when the decision
> was reversed.
Yes, they changed the control room halfway through the series, but that
was at NBC's instigation, as I remember. They said the set looked too
dark and gloomy or some fool thing like that. The new control room looked
like an operating room; the first was pretty cool, with heads up graphic
displays, etc. They also, as I remember, kicked out most of the control
room staff--an ethnically mixed bunch, as I recall, and almost more fun
to watch than the agent in the field--and replaced them with one or two
model-type supporting actors. The only one who stayed on was Cheryl
Stoppelmoor, later known as Cheryl Ladd.
BTW, O'Brien did the pilot movie, but he, McClure, and Franciosa were all
supposed to "revolve" (those were the days of the NBC MYSTERY MOVIE and FOUR
IN ONE; I guess NBC thought we'd get bored watching the same shows/hero
every week). O'Brien's character was the most popular and did most of the
stories. I remember McClure because of his character's name. He always was
known as "C.R." Grover, and wouldn't tell anyone what the initials meant.
Turned out he was embarrassed--it was revealed in a later ep that they
stood for "Christopher Robin."
Linda
Jim Perine
It was called "Search".
The really good pilot film was called "Probe". And had an A-list cast (for
TV movies least) including John Gielgud and Elke Summer.
The movie and show starred Hugh O'Brien.
Back at the "office" were most prominantly Burgess
Meredeth and the wonderful Angel Tompkins.
Tony Franciosca and Doug McClure were also agents during the series and
rotated with O'Brien.
Halfway through the run of the show, there was a shakeup, most of the
Probe Control cast was changed, except for Meredith and a few others, and
the set was "brightened."
The movie still shows up every once in a while and holds up pretty well.
Terrific theme song.
--
--------------------------------------
per...@dispatch.com = Jim Perine (614.469.6199)
nospam...@tabi.org
all, I watched it on network primetime, and I'm only 29! It may have
been based on Probe/Search or a remake of it, but I know what I saw.
And in this show, the contact lenses were definitely the camera. I
remember scenese were a giant TV screen back at headquarters would show
exactly what he was seeing.
In article <773rpo$rhc$1...@news-2.news.gte.net>,
"starcro1" <star...@gte.net> wrote:
> This was more than a few years ago. More like 30 years ago. The show was
> originally called "Probe," but it's name was changed to "Search." It starred
> Hugh O'Brien as Hugh Lockwood, an agent of World Securities, Inc. Lockwood,
> a.k.a. Probe One, carried a miniature television camera/satellite uplink
> that could fit in a medalion, a tie tac, or a ring. He could communicate
> with headquarters via the camera, hearing replies through a
> neurally-implanted receiver. In case he lost the camera (which was
> frequently) he could tap out Morse code messages with wired dental fillings.
> "Search" had three Probes, who alternated adventures. The other Probes
> were played by Doug McClure and (I think) Anthony Franciosa.
> The late Burgess Meredith played Lockwood's boss Mr. Cameron.
>
> nospam...@tabi.org wrote in message <7732gg$bpc$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> >I remember a few years ago there was the this short-lived TV show about a
> >private spy network. The main character was very James Bond-like, in that
> >he was extremely suave, good-looking, wordly, etc. I can't remember any
> >of the actors on the show, but I do remember it had lots of high-tech
> >gear. One in particular that stood out were the contact lenses that the
> >main character wore. They were fitted with some kind of camera and remote
> >transmitter so that headquarters could see everything that he saw.
> >
> >--
> >Remove "nospam_" from my email address when replying
> >
> >Timur "too sexy for my code" Tabi, ti...@tabi.org,
> >http://www.tabi.org
> >
> >-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
> >http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
>
>
Remove "nospam_" from my email address when replying
Timur "too sexy for my code" Tabi, ti...@tabi.org,
http://www.tabi.org
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
jgmc...@my-dejanews.com
wds...@crl.com (William December Starr) wrote:
> > There was also a show on with much the same concept about 25 years
> > ago and one of the stars was Hugh O'Brien.
> The show was "Search," and *they* -- the show rotated through three
> main characters -- were only watched via a small _external_ device
> that combined a television camera, microphone, and other telemetry
Was that the one with Burgess Merideth at the control center? I thought
that one was only on once in a while as part of the NBC Mystery Movie
rotation(*), but I am really overdrawing the memory bank, here. I loved all
those "gimmick" shows as a kid.
Another great, short-lived gimmick show was the one with Larry Luckinbill
as a secret-agent type with photographic vision and other enhanced mental
faculties. Um, er, "The Delphi Bureau", maybe?
(*) Does anybody have a complete list of *those*? I know they always
appeared (and lasted) in inverse frequency to how much I liked them. Damn
that "McMillan and Wife"!
JGM
jly...@atl.mindspring.com
jgmc...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> Was that the one with Burgess Merideth at the control center? I thought
> that one was only on once in a while as part of the NBC Mystery Movie
> rotation(*), but I am really overdrawing the memory bank, here. I loved all
> those "gimmick" shows as a kid.
No, it was a show of its own right. Only lasted a year.
> Another great, short-lived gimmick show was the one with Larry Luckinbill
> as a secret-agent type with photographic vision and other enhanced mental
> faculties. Um, er, "The Delphi Bureau", maybe?
I think that was it. There were two other shows, too, in rotation with it.
One had Robert Conrad, didn't it?
> (*) Does anybody have a complete list of *those*? I know they always
> appeared (and lasted) in inverse frequency to how much I liked them. Damn
> that "McMillan and Wife"!
Let's see, according to Harry and Wally:
Amy Prentiss
Banacek
Columbo
Cool Million
Faraday and Company
Hec Ramsey
Lanigan's Rabbi
Madigan
McCloud
McCoy
McMillan and Wife/McMillan
Quincy, ME
The Snoop Sisters
Tenafly
I'd completely forgotten QUINCY started out on the mystery movie.
One of my greatest complaints at A&E is when they were regularly showing
the Mystery Movie segments, they seemed to show all of the above, except
the two I really wanted to see, FARADAY and SNOOP SISTERS. I adored
both.
Linda
jsa...@ecn.ab.ca
: No, I'm quite positive it was much more recent than 30 years ago. After
: all, I watched it on network primetime, and I'm only 29! It may have
: been based on Probe/Search or a remake of it, but I know what I saw.
: And in this show, the contact lenses were definitely the camera. I
: remember scenese were a giant TV screen back at headquarters would show
: exactly what he was seeing.
Hmm. I remember "Probe", renamed to "Search", with the little magnetic
camera that attached to a tie clip, with Burgess Meredith and Angel
Tompkins.
But I don't remember the show you're referring to. Of course, it could
have been *very* short-lived.
There was an episode of TNG where Jordy was brainwashed by the Romulans,
and we saw through his VISOR; in The Six Million Dollar Man, Steve Austin
had a bionic eye...but I'm sure these have nothing to do with what you
remember.
John Savard
Cheryl Deering
: Yes, they changed the control room halfway through the series, but that
: was at NBC's instigation, as I remember.
They said the set looked too
: dark and gloomy or some fool thing like that. The new control room looked
: like an operating room; the first was pretty cool, with heads up graphic
: displays, etc. They also, as I remember, kicked out most of the control
: room staff--an ethnically mixed bunch, as I recall, and almost more fun
: to watch than the agent in the field--
I thought something was up with their disappearance. A stupid move--they
were really cool, especially the linguistics guy and the
engineering/lockpicking dude--g!
and replaced them with one or two
: model-type supporting actors. The only one who stayed on was Cheryl
: Stoppelmoor, later known as Cheryl Ladd.
: BTW, O'Brien did the pilot movie, but he, McClure, and Franciosa were all
: supposed to "revolve" (those were the days of the NBC MYSTERY MOVIE and FOUR
: IN ONE; I guess NBC thought we'd get bored watching the same shows/hero
: every week). O'Brien's character was the most popular and did most of the
: stories.
Franciosa's character had potential, but didn't get flashy-enough
stories.
I remember McClure because of his character's name. He always was
: known as "C.R." Grover, and wouldn't tell anyone what the initials meant.
: Turned out he was embarrassed--it was revealed in a later ep that they
: stood for "Christopher Robin."
. . .which was the only thing interesting about his character--he usually
wound up in the weaker tales, to boot--g!
C.
**
jsa...@ecn.ab.ca
: nospam...@tabi.org wrote:
: : No, I'm quite positive it was much more recent than 30 years ago. After
: : all, I watched it on network primetime, and I'm only 29! It may have
: : been based on Probe/Search or a remake of it, but I know what I saw.
: : And in this show, the contact lenses were definitely the camera. I
: : remember scenese were a giant TV screen back at headquarters would show
: : exactly what he was seeing.
: Hmm. I remember "Probe", renamed to "Search", with the little magnetic
: camera that attached to a tie clip, with Burgess Meredith and Angel
: Tompkins.
: But I don't remember the show you're referring to. Of course, it could
: have been *very* short-lived.
Well, I see that someone else did remember it: it was a show named
"Fortune Hunter". Obviously *very* short-lived, as I never saw or heard of
it.
John Savard
Gharlane of Eddore
In <36a01...@ecn.ab.ca> jsa...@ecn.ab.ca () writes:
.......
>
> Hmm. I remember "Probe", renamed to "Search", with the little magnetic
> camera that attached to a tie clip, with Burgess Meredith and Angel
> Tompkins.
> But I don't remember the show you're referring to. Of course, it could
> have been *very* short-lived.
>
.......
I am e-mailing you a copy of this, something I don't normally do, since
your feed doesn't seem to be carrying the responses to this thread to you.
The series has already been identified, in spades, as "FORTUNE HUNTER,"
FOX's briefly-run rip-off of "SEARCH." There were thirteen episodes
made ( that I know of ) but only four or five aired due to rotten ratings
and probably to vociferous complaints about cavalier recycling of other
people's material.
Chances are that it never aired in Canada, which is why you've only
seen "SEARCH." However, as soon as she said "cameras built into
contact lenses, you *should* have been able to realize that she was
discussing something you'd never seen.... *grin*