Spencer's Pilots

Spencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen and developed by Alvin Sapinsley, the series stars Gene Evans.

Spencer's Pilots
GenreAdventure
Created byLarry Rosen
Starring
Theme music composerMorton Stevens
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLarry Rosen
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time48 minutes
Release
Original networkCBS
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseSeptember 17 (1976-09-17) –
November 19, 1976 (1976-11-19)

Synopsis

Evans stars as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation.[1] The other series characters are Christopher Stone as Cass Garrett; Todd Susman as Stan Lewis, Margaret Impert as Linda Dann, the pilot's secretary who is herself a pilot, and Britt Leach as Mickey "Wig" Wiggins, the company mechanic.[2] The pilots are often hired to transport criminals or to engage in more mundane activities, such as crop dusting. One episode involves being stranded in the Mojave Desert; another focuses on a pregnant hitchhiker looking for her husband who is trying to find employment in the oil fields. Still another is about a destitute pilot in need of work. Another segment focuses on the smuggling of illegal aliens. Another topic is the antics of a daredevil stunt pilot played by Bill Bixby.[3]

Among the guest stars on the series were: Bob Crane, Shelley Fabares, Barbara Bel Geddes, Bridget Hanley, Katherine Helmond, Gerald Hiken, David Huddleston, Linda Kelsey, Cameron Mitchell, Richard Mulligan, Pamela Reed, and Pernell Roberts.[3]

Episode list
Nº Title Original air date
1"Pilot"April 9, 1976 (1976-04-09)
2"The Drone"September 17, 1976 (1976-09-17)
3"The Prisoner"September 24, 1976 (1976-09-24)
4"The Code"October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01)
5"The Crop Duster"October 8, 1976 (1976-10-08)
6"The Matchbook"October 15, 1976 (1976-10-15)
7"The Hitchhiker"October 22, 1976 (1976-10-22)
8"The Search"October 29, 1976 (1976-10-29)
9"The Hunted"November 5, 1976 (1976-11-05)
10"The Sailplane"November 12, 1976 (1976-11-12)
11"The Explosives"November 19, 1976 (1976-11-19)

Production notes

Set at Brackett Field, in La Verne, California, Spencer's Pilots was created and produced by Larry Rosen. The executive producers were Bob Sweeney and Edward H. Feldman. The series aired at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fridays opposite the variety show, The Donny and Marie Show on ABC, and Redd Foxx's situation comedy, Sanford and Son on NBC.

At mid-season Spencer's Pilots was replaced in January 1977 on the CBS schedule by Code R, another adventure series set on the beaches of southern California.[4]

References
  1. The Tuscaloosa News (via Associated Press)."Spencer's Pilots' Series Will Have Plenty Of Sky". July 6, 1976. p. 11.
  2. Alex McNeil, Total Television, Penguin Books, 1996, p. 779. ISBN 0-14-024916-8
  3. "Spencer's Pilots Episode Guide". tvguide.com. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  4. Alex McNeil, Total Television, p. 169
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.