Hunter (1984 American TV series)

Hunter
Title card for first three seasons of the show.
Created by	Frank Lupo
Starring	Fred Dryer Stepfanie Kramer Charles Hallahan John Amos Bruce Davison Darlanne Fluegel Lauren Lane Arthur Rosenburg John Shearin Garrett Morris James Whitmore, Jr. Ruby Ramos Perry Cook Richard Beauchamp Courtney Barilla
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	153
Production
Executive producers	Stephen J. Cannell (1984–1985) Roy Huggins (1985–1988) George Geiger (1988–1989) Fred Dryer (1989–1991)
Running time	1 hour
Production company	Stephen J. Cannell Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 18, 1984 – April 26, 1991

Hunter is a police drama television series starring Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter and Stepfanie Kramer as Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1991. However, Kramer left after the sixth season (1990) to pursue other acting and musical opportunities. The seventh season saw Hunter partnered with two different women officers. The titular character, Sgt. Rick Hunter, was a wily, physically imposing, and often rule-breaking homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Created by Frank Lupo, the show in its early episodes played as television's answer to Dirty Harry. Even after the show's violence was toned down during the second season in hopes of boosting ratings, Hunter and McCall still managed to resolve many cases by shooting the perpetrators dead.

The show's executive producer during the first season was Stephen J. Cannell, whose company produced the series. (This was one of the few series made by his company that he did not either create or co-create.)

Show history

Season 1 (1984–1985)

Initially placed in a Friday-night slot against Dallas, the show struggled to find an audience and drew criticism for its often graphic depiction of violence. In the first season, the producers sought to create a hook by giving the main character a catch phrase, "Works for me", which was sometimes used two or three times an episode and was even tacked on to the end of Mike Post and Pete Carpenter's opening theme music. Several early episodes featured montages set to popular songs from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, in a style not unlike the way Miami Vice used music.

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in a 1984 photograph together.

Mid-way through the first season, with ratings showing no sign of improvement, Cannell gave network chief Brandon Tartikoff a private screening of a two-part episode ("The Snow Queen") that had yet to air and asked him to give the show time to find its feet. Tartikoff liked what he saw and put the show on hiatus until a better time slot could be found. Two months later, Hunter returned to the screens on Saturday nights and viewership slowly started to rise. The first season finished in 65th place.

Season 2 (1985–1986)

For its second season, Cannell brought in his mentor, Roy Huggins, best known for his work on Maverick and The Rockford Files, to refine the show. As the new executive producer, Huggins toned down the violence, softened the main character's fractious relationship with his superiors, dropped a backstory concerning Hunter's family ties to the mob, and played up the chemistry between Hunter and McCall. Huggins also moved the show's setting out of the back streets and into the more desirable areas of Los Angeles. Emboldened, Dryer and Kramer frequently toyed with the scripts by ad-libbing, and the Hunter character broke the fourth wall for the first time with an aside to viewers at the end of the two-parter "The Beautiful And The Dead".

Probably the most memorable aspect to the second season was the 2-part episode "Rape and Revenge." The story dealt with a psychopathic foreign diplomat who meets McCall and wants to have a relationship with her. When she says no, he goes crazy and then attacks and rapes her in her home. This two-parter was considered very controversial for its realistic and shocking depiction of a violent rape scene, which was not common in TV shows at the time. Because of the controversial plot and acting, "Rape and Revenge" is one of the most remembered and popular episodes of the series.

Another important aspect to the second season was towards the end of the season (in the episode "The Return of Typhoon Thompson") viewers were first introduced to Hunter and McCall's favorite street informant—the eccentric but humorous Arnold "Sporty" James, played by Garrett Morris.

Viewers also responded to Huggins' changes, and the show's second season ended in 38th place in the Nielsen Ratings. Hunter continued this progress to become a mainstay of NBC's Saturday night schedule.

In syndication the Season 2 intro was replaced by the season 1 intro. The season 2 intro had Rick Hunter entering a women's locker room in one scene, and him and McCall pointing a gun at each other with the bathroom light on in another scene.

Season 3 (1986–1987)

Just before work on the third season began, Dryer threatened to walk out unless his salary, reportedly US$21,000 per episode, was raised and creative changes were made. Cannell hit back with a US$20 million breach-of-contract suit. A compromise was reached, with Dryer reportedly landing a new deal worth US$50,000 per episode. The third season, again helmed by Huggins, saw the arrival of Charles Hallahan as Captain Charlie Devane—who remained Rick Hunter and McCall's captain for the rest of the show, eventually becoming one of the main stars, and even being included in the opening credits of the show; something none of the previous captains in the series had achieved before. In the episode "Shades" (which was the season finale...but aired later in the summer—July 1987) when Hunter went missing, Dee Dee teamed with a somewhat ditzy Columbo-like Detective Kitty O'Hearn (Shelley Taylor Morgan)--who also showed up later during fourth seasons 3-part "City of Passion."

Another remembered episode for 3rd season was "Requiem For Sergeant McCall"—which was a contradiction to a storyline from the beginning of the show. When the show first started in 1984 supposedly McCall's husband (Steven McCall) was killed five years before, in 1979, by a "punk" kid during a routine stop. At that time both Steven and Dee Dee were newly married and starting out as rookie uniform cops. But in 1987, for 3rd season, they created this episode ("Requiem") where now, supposedly still just 5 years before (which now would be around 1982 instead of 1979), Steven was an actual homicide detective (while Dee Dee was still just a rookie) and he was working on a big murder case that ended up getting him killed. In this episode Steven's killer is getting paroled and McCall is doing anything she can to get him back in prison—plus trying to solve the original murder case that her husband died trying to solve five years earlier. This was the show's first season in the top 30, coming in at 25th.

For the third season there was also a strange tie-in with an older detective show -- Hart To Hart, with Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers (1979–1984). In Hunter’s third season opening theme song, during the montage of pics there is a scene out front of a Los Angeles mansion with a Mercedes station wagon, a Rolls Royce, and a Porsche out front. This was a scene-clip from an old episode of Hart To Hart (the Mercedes Station Wagon was actually one of the Hart's cars) that, for some unknown reason, was thrown in for the starting of Hunter. It's even more strange, considering Hart To Hart was an ABC show, while Hunter was an NBC show.

Season 4 (1987–1988)

Huggins retired at the end of the fourth season, which placed 18th in the Nielsen Ratings. A three-part storyline, "City of Passion," teamed Hunter and Dee Dee with Detective Kitty O'Hearn (Shelley Taylor Morgan) and her new partner, Sgt. Brad Navarro, played by Erik Estrada. Together they captured the serial rapist called "Big Foot." Originally the plot of the 3-part "City of Passion" had McCall getting raped again—this time by Big Foot, and she had to deal with the pain and emotions as she did in 2nd season's 2-part "Rape & Revenge." However, Stepfanie Kramer immediately balked at this and argued the rape idea had already been done, and to repeat it, as well as having her character put in a situation to get raped again, was ridiculous. Kramer threatened to walk from the series unless the script was changed. Producers and writers agreed and a compromise was made. Big Foot would attack and "attempt" to rape McCall but she would fight him off before it happened.

Also known as one of the more memorable episodes for fourth season was "The Black Dahlia." The famous unsolved L.A. murder case from 1947 is thrust back into headlines as bones with identical cuts just like the Elizabeth Short (Black Dahlia) murder are discovered under an old building being torn down. Did the killer of the Black Dahlia also murder this woman back in '47? It's discovered the killer is still alive, and when he sees McCall (who does somewhat resemble Elizabeth Short), he thinks the Black Dahlia has come back from the dead to "get" him. He of course goes insane and comes after Dee Dee! Supposedly Hunter and McCall solve the famous murder case 41 years to the day (1947–1988) as the episode aired on the anniversary date of the real-life murder. As a special message at the end states, the real-life case is still open and the real killer has never officially been caught (although in the years since '88 there have been several new theories and evidence supporting them—however none have been definitely proven).

Season 5 (1988–1989)

For the fifth season, George Geiger took on the role of executive producer, having worked in the same capacity on Scarecrow and Mrs. King and as co-executive producer on Miami Vice. In the first four seasons, Hunter and McCall typically worked on cases together, allowing the producers to showcase the chemistry between the actors. But the fifth season increasingly had them working apart, ostensibly to lessen the workload of Dryer and Kramer and to allow richer, more complex stories.

Some of the most memorable episodes of the fifth season was the special 3-parter "City Under Siege"--which had a special intro for each of the 3 parts. It dealt with a psychotic woman and her crazy boyfriend that go around terrorizing people in Los Angeles that the woman felt had "wronged" her in some way—Hunter being one of the intended victims. It also focused on the huge crime spree throughout the city and the pressure the police department was under to get it under control. At the end of the episode there were special statistics that gave the numbers of how much crime was down in L.A. that year. The fifth season placed 17th in the Nielsen ratings.

Season 6 (1989–1990)

By the sixth season, Dryer's growing influence had won him the role of executive producer. Probably the most remembered episode of the sixth season was the episode "Unfinished Business." During this episode the audience suddenly learns that Hunter and McCall had actually once slept together, causing a rift in their working relationship. Fred Dryer stated that this episode was filmed to try and appease fans and the network, who were constantly wanting Hunter and McCall to get together. However, Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer stated they did not want that to happen, because once it did Hunter would become Hart To Hart.

Another memorable episode this season was "Yesterday's Child". In this episode, A Vietnamese man visits Hunter and pleads with him to take on the case of a robbery / murder at an upscale car dealership, of which his son was the main suspect. Over the course of the conversation, Hunter discovers that the 17-year-old suspect was actually his own son. It is revealed that the boy was the product of a relationship Hunter had with a woman while he was in Vietnam.

Also for this season homicide was moved to the more updated Parker Center, instead of their old downtown division building. So instead of jeans and an old sports jacket, a lot of times Hunter was seen in a full suit and tie. However, at the end of the sixth season, which placed in the top 25 of the Nielsen Ratings, Stepfanie Kramer decided to leave the series to pursue a career in music. After six long but "beautiful" years fans were saddened with the season's 2-part finale (another famous 2-part episode "Streetwise"), where McCall was shown marrying an old flame and moving out of Los Angeles.

Season 7 (1990–1991)

For the seventh and final season, the producers moved Hunter and Capt. Devane from divisional homicide to the elite "Metro" unit based at the Parker Center, and NBC shifted the show to 10 p.m. on Wednesdays. A new female co-star, Darlanne Fluegel as Officer Joanne Molenski, was brought in. However, it was reported that she had creative differences/issues with Fred Dryer and halfway through the season she decided she wanted out. So, they decided to have her leave the show by having her character be murdered by a female serial killer in the 2-part episode "Fatal Obsession." Her replacement for the second half of the season was Lauren Lane as Sgt. Chris Novak—supposedly a former girlfriend of Hunter's. Hunter's signature unmarked vehicle, a moss green 1977 Dodge Monaco, was also finally replaced (after an accident with Molenski's cruiser in the season's first episode) by an updated new silver 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria. Hunter was now also back to wearing jeans and a shirt. Also for the first time (barring the sixth season finale) Hunter also made sporadic appearances in uniform.

However, the new partners and changes did little to please fans/viewers after Stepfanie Kramer's departure. Later, it was stated that: "Hunter without his McCall was like trying to drive his old Monaco without any gas...the show just didn't go anywhere." The show's ratings took a nose-dive and after seven popular gun-blasting, fist-smacking, car-chasing years, it was officially cancelled at the end of the season.

Reunions/Revivals

Four years after the original series ended, a reunion NBC TV movie, The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A., saw Dryer and Charles Hallahan reprise their roles as Rick Hunter and Charlie Devane—Hunter had now also been promoted to lieutenant. Airing on NBC on March 6, 1995, the movie ironically seemed to take the Dirty Harry idea as the plot—a psycho wants fame and/or to be noticed and begins terrorizing the city to gain media attention. Along the way he becomes infatuated with attention from Hunter, eventually wanting to kill him. Stepfanie Kramer, pregnant at the time, did not reprise her role as "Dee Dee McCall". The TV-movie co-starred Barry Bostwick, Miguel Ferrer, and John C. McGinley.

Seven years later in November 2002, eleven years after the original series ended, the reunion TV movie Hunter: Return to Justice made its premiere to strong ratings. This time Stepfanie Kramer also returned to her role of "Dee Dee McCall", and the show's setting switched from Los Angeles to San Diego—as Hunter's current L.A. partner is killed in the line of duty. So, Hunter decides to take some time off and go see McCall, who is now living and working as a cop in San Diego. Of course once the "dynamic duo" of Hunter and McCall get together the bullets begin to fly! Also, ironically in this movie McCall is engaged to be married—however tragedy prevents this from happening. The ironic part is, when Kramer left the original series after the sixth season her character supposedly left to get married to an old boyfriend—her last episode ending at her wedding. In this reunion movie McCall's marriage and/or husband from before is never explained or mentioned. It was reported that there was to be a scene explaining how McCall's husband who she married at the end of season 6 had died. During the last scene we learn that Hunter has requested a transfer from L.A. to San Diego so he can now work with McCall again. Charles Hallahan was not able to appear as "Capt. Charlie Devane" again, as he had died from a heart attack five years earlier in 1997. This reunion movie was dedicated to his memory at the end.

Given the success of the TV movie, Cannell, Dryer and NBC attempted to bring back Hunter as a regular series. In the weeks following the April 2003 airing of another TV movie, Hunter: Back in Force—basically the "Pilot" for the new series, the network decided to broadcast three new one-hour episodes of Hunter ("Vaya Sin Dios," "Untouchable," and "Dead Heat"). Another two episodes were filmed (as originally there were to be five episodes aired) but never shown in the U.S, as suddenly NBC decided to cancel the new series. Later Fred Dryer cited "creative difficulties" and budget constraints as the reasons for the new show's unexpected end.

Cast and crew

Main article: List of Hunter characters

Original series

• Fred Dryer ... Det. Sgt. Richard "Rick" Hunter
• Stepfanie Kramer ... Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (1984–1990)
• Darlanne Fluegel ... Off. Joanne Molenski (1990–1991)
• Lauren Lane ... Police Sgt. Chris Novak (1991)
• Michael Cavanaugh ... Capt. Lester D. Cain ("Pilot" Only)
• Arthur Rosenberg ... Capt. Lester D. Cain/Commander Lester D. Cain (1984/1987)
• John Amos ... Capt. Dolan (1984–1985)
• Bruce Davison ... Capt. Wyler/Dep. Chief Wyler (1985–1986/1987)
• Charles Hallahan ... Capt. Charles "Charlie" Devane (1986–1991)
• John Shearin ... Lt. Ambrose Finn (1985–1988)
• James Whitmore, Jr. ... Sgt. Bernie Terwilliger (1984–1986)
• Garrett Morris ... Arnold "Sporty" James (1986–1989)
• Richard Beauchamp ... Carlos (Asst. M.E.) (1985–1987)
• Perry Cook ... Barney Udall (Coroner) (1986–1990)
• Stanley Kamel ... Gov. Agent Brad Wilkes (Occasional) (1987–1988)
• Courtney Barilla ... Allison Novak (1991)

Revival series

• Fred Dryer ... Lt. Richard "Rick" Hunter
• Stepfanie Kramer ... Sgt. Dee Dee McCall
• Mike Gomez ... Capt. Roberto Gallardo
• Michelle Gold ... Off./Det. Cynthia Monetti
• Sid Sham ... Off./Det. Sid Keyes
• Meredyth Hunt ... Det. Krysta Carson (TV Movies Only) (2002–2003)
• Frank Grillo ... Det. Terence Gillette (TV Movies Only) (2002–2003)
• Kenneth Taylor ... Off. Mueller (TV Movies Only) (2002–2003)
• Robert Crow ... Off. Wilcher (TV Movies Only) (2002–2003)
• Alex Mendoza ... Det. Anthony Santiago (Series Episodes Only) (2003)

Episodes

Main article: List of Hunter episodes

DVD releases

Anchor Bay Entertainment released the first three seasons of Hunter on Region 1 DVD between January 2005 and January 2006. Due to poor sales, no further seasons were released through them.

On October 14, 2009, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to several Stephen J. Cannell series including Hunter. They have subsequently re-released the first 4 seasons on DVD.

On July 27, 2010, Mill Creek released Hunter - The Complete Series, a 28-disc collection featuring all 152 episodes of the series.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release Date
The Complete First Season	19	January 19, 2010
The Complete Second Season	23	May 18, 2010
The Complete Series	152	July 27, 2010

Production

Firearms

In the first season and for several subsequent seasons, the pistol that Hunter carries is a Heckler and Koch P9S 9 mm with a muzzle compensator attached. It is also the pistol in the title introduction. McCall used a stainless Beretta 90 in the first season. The Walther PPK that McCall uses is most likely a Walther PPK/S.

During the first two seasons, Hunter used a Desert Eagle in .44 Magnum and McCall used a Walther PPK in .32 ACP.

In several episodes, a Franchi SPAS 12 12 gauge shotgun was kept in the trunk of Hunter's car.

During the second season for a couple of episodes, Rick Hunter used a Smith & Wesson 629 in .44 Magnum (2½" bbl).

During one episode of the second season, Rick Hunter used a .44 Magnum Desert Eagle in stainless steel with an extended barrel.

During seasons 3 and 4, Hunter used an Astra Terminator in .44 Magnum.

During one episode of the fifth season, McCall used a .38 Special S&W Model 60 this time in stainless steel.

During seasons 5 through 7, Hunter used a 9 mm Beretta 92F/FS

During seasons 5 & 6 McCall also used a .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson 629.

Cars

In the "Pilot" TV Movie (1984), Detective Rick Hunter drove a junker blue 1977 Dodge Monaco and a junker 1970 Ford LTD. Because Hunter constantly was getting into wrecks chasing bad guys and would regularly "bust" up any cop car he was given, supposedly the department would only let him drive the complete junkers that would barely run. Once the series started (Fall 1984), during the first season Detective Hunter drove a junker 1972 Chevrolet Impala with a brief view of a 1973 Chevrolet Impala that was painted to look like the 1972, a junker 1971 Chevrolet Nova, an old 1974 Plymouth Satellite, and a junker 1979 Chevrolet Caprice Classic. A 1971 Impala was actually shown exploding to end the episodes with the Chevrolet Impala. Monacos seemed to be the cop car of choice though, as second season saw Hunter occasionally driving a junker multi-side panel colored 1977 Dodge Monaco (jokingly referred to as the "Partridge Family" Monaco), a junker yellow '77 Dodge Monaco, a junker brown '77 Monaco, and an old black '77 Monaco. But the most popular, and famous Monaco was yet to come!

After the show was more "established" and starting with third season and clear on through the first episode of seventh season, Detective Rick Hunter was given to regularly drive a Moss Green 1977 Dodge Monaco. This car was in better condition than the previous Monacos and became Hunter's trademark vehicle—to the point that when it blew up in the third season, it was replaced with an identical one. During the seventh and last season, Detective Hunter got and drove a new Silver 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria.

During the first two seasons, Detective Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) drove a Garnet Red and Silver 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z. Then starting with season three and on through season five, McCall drove a Bright Red 1987 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z (Sometimes though, a "Turbo Z" on this Daytona is also clearly visible). During the sixth season, her final season, she drove a Gold 1990 Dodge Dynasty. (There was an episode during the 4th or 5th season that showed the outside of what was supposedly McCall's house and there was a yellow 1987 Mustang out front. However, McCall is only shown driving it once and then it was never shown again.)

Both Officer Joanne Molenski and Sgt. Chris Novak, during last season, drove a tan/beige 1990 Ford LTD Crown Victoria.

For the revivals/reunion movies and new series: In the first reunion movie, "The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks In L.A.," Hunter drove a Black 1995 Ford LTD Crown Victoria. In "Hunter: Return To Justice" Hunter was visiting McCall in San Diego so he didn't have a regular or personal vehicle shown, but McCall drove a Silver 2002 Mercedes Benz CLK320 Convertible. In "Hunter: Back In Force" and the subsequent new series Hunter drove a Black 2003 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and McCall occasionally drove a Black 2003 Ford Expedition SUV.

Film

In 2009 it was announced that a movie adaptation is in development with a screenplay by Frank Lupo and Fred Dryer, to be directed by Frank Lupo for Columbia Pictures, Overture Films and Warner Bros. Pictures.

In October 2009, it was reported that John Travolta would headline the upcoming adaptation playing Hunter and it was confirmed that Jessica Alba will play Dee Dee McCall. In June 2009, Sony Pictures set a tentative release date of October 15, 2010 for the film. Supposedly filming began in Los Angeles in October 2009. However, no real info can be found concerning this movie. Even other reputable sites such as IMDB do not have anything about a 2010 "Hunter" movie, and nothing about it or the characters of Hunter and McCall are listed or mentioned under Travolta or Alba. So, whether or not this movie really is in production is not really known or definite.

International airings

• In Australia, the show was shown on the regional station GTS/BKN & PRIME.
• In Barbados, the show was shown on CBC TV 8.
• In Brazil, the show was shown on Rede Globo, dubbed in Portuguese.
• In China, the show was dubbed in Standard Chinese and aired on STV. Hunter was one of the first US series to air regularly in China. Although Dryer is still widely recognised in China, his efforts to set a Hunter movie there in the late 1990s did not bear fruit. [1] The Hunter TV series is a favorite of the disgraced former Beijing Mayor Chen Xitong who had quoted the name, character and events of the TV series in various speeches he delivered.
• In Colombia, the series was presented as "El cazador" (Spanish for (the) Hunter). It was broadcast by Producciones JES on Cadena Uno every Saturday night at 21:45, from 1987 to 1991. The final season was never aired in Colombia.
• In Costa Rica, the show was shown on Teletica Canal 7 as "El cazador".
• In Czech Republic, the show was shown on TV Prima.
• In France, the show was shown on TF1 as "Rick Hunter".
• In Germany, the show was shown on Sat.1.
• In Hong Kong, ATV broadcast the show.
• In Indonesia, the show was shown on TVRI.
• In Italy, the show was shown on Rai Due, Rete 4 and Iris.
• In Norway, the show was shown on NRK (in 1986).
• In the Philippines, the show was aired on RPN-9.
• In Sweden, the show was shown on TV4.
• In Turkey, the show was shown on Star TV and Kanal D.
• In the United Kingdom, the first two seasons aired regionally on terrestrial broadcaster ITV, the remainder on satellite channel Sky One.

See also

• Sledge Hammer! A parody show with a similar lead character.

External links

• Hunter at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com