240-Robert
240-Robert | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Created by | Rick Rosner |
Written by | Charlene Bralver Lew Hunter Simon Muntner James Schmerer Anthony Yerkovich |
Directed by | Richard Benedict Phil Bondelli John Florea Bruce Kessler Sigmund Neufeld, Jr. Christian I. Nyby II Sutton Roley Ric Rondell |
Starring | John Bennett Perry Mark Harmon Joanna Cassidy Stephan Burns Pamela Hensley |
Theme music composer | Pete Carpenter Mike Post |
Composers | Mike Post (1.1, 1.3) Pete Carpenter (1.1, 1.3) Ken Heller J. A. C. Redford (1.6, co-composer) Murray MacLeod (1.6) Harry Betts (1.10, 1.13) Mark Snow (2.1, 2.2, 2.3) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Rick Rosner |
Producer | Richard M. Rosenbloom |
Editors | Dann Cahn Mike Renaud Randy Roberts Jack Tucker |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 45–48 minutes |
Production companies | Filmways Television Rosner Television |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | August 28, 1979 March 21, 1981 | –
240-Robert is an American drama series that ran on ABC from 1979 to 1981. The series title is a reference to the call-sign designation for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's search and rescue/paramedic teams.
Synopsis
The series chronicles the missions of "240-Robert", a specialized unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), that utilized four wheel drive vehicles and a helicopter. Most of the assignments were sea/air/land search and rescue operations in the extensive (over 4,000 sq mi (10,000 km2) jurisdiction. The show's creator was Rick Rosner (himself an LASD reserve deputy), who created the hit series CHiPs two years earlier for NBC.
The vehicles used at that time were 1979 Ford Broncos, while the helicopter was a Hughes HA-500C (similar in design to the current MD 500).
The series was based on real life cases encountered by the LASD's Emergency Services Detail. The real life ESD is actually headquartered in East Los Angeles. Rick Rosner took artistic liberty and portrayed the headquarters as a beach-side station. The actual filming location was at a State of California ranger station located at Sycamore Cove in Ventura County, California.
Cast
- Deputy Theodore Roosevelt "Trap" Applegate III (John Bennett Perry)
- Deputy Dwayne "Thib" Thibideaux (Mark Harmon, episodes 1-13)
- Deputy Morgan Wainwright (Joanna Cassidy, episodes 1-13), the unit's helicopter pilot
- Deputy Brett Cueva (Stephen W. Burns, episodes 14-16), who replaced Thib
- Deputy Sandy Harper (Pamela Hensley, episodes 14-16), the new pilot of the unit
Cassidy and Hensley both had an expert female helicopter pilot take over for them in the actual helicopter flight sequences; her identity was unknown as of early February 2013.
Cancellation
Harmon and Cassidy left the series when their contracts expired after the first season. Burns and Hensley were brought in to replace them, but the second season (returning mid-season in early 1981 due to an actor's strike) only lasted like three episodes before ABC cancelled it due to poor ratings.
Episode list
Season 1
- "The Apology"
- "Stuntman"
- "Bathysphere"
- "Models"
- "Acting Sergeant"
- "Bank Job"
- "Out of Sight"
- "Time Bomb"
- "Double Trouble"
- "Poison Air"
- "Earthquake"
- "The Applicant"
- "Oil and Water"
Season 2
- "A Cool Welcome"
- "First Loss"
- "Hostages"
External links
- 1979 American television series debuts
- 1981 American television series endings
- 1970s American television series
- 1980s American television series
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- American drama television series
- English-language television programming
- Police procedural television series
- Television series by MGM Television
- Television shows set in Los Angeles