Friday, June 29, 2007

Secret Agent Television Shows, 1951-2007

SECRET AGENT TELEVISION SHOWS, 1951-2007



SECRET AGENT TELEVISION SHOWS, 1951-2007

By Wesley Britton
Spywise@verizon.net

The list of spy shows below provides basic facts about series discussed in Spy Television (Praeger, 2004) along with updates added after publication of ST. Each item includes network, years of original broadcast, and some, but not all, of the principal actors. Most dates reflect U.S. broadcasts except for series seen exclusively or primarily in England.

Those seeking detailed information and discussions about specific series should consult Spy Television where most of the series below are indexed. It
should be noted that SPY TV discusses a number of made-for TV movies and children's shows which are indexed in the book but are not listed here.

As discussed in Chapter 1 of Spy Television, many series can be considered straight-forward espionage drama while others, such as An American Embassy and
JAG, used enough covert activity to warrant overviews in my first book. Such series are listed below. Others, such as Hogan's Heroes and Hawaii 5-O, which
are mentioned in Spy Television, are not listed here but are indexed in ST.

In 2005, I updated this list to cover shows not discussed in ST but are mentioned in my second book, Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction (2005). A ** indicates these series. These are shows that debuted after the publication of Spy Television as well as miniseries I wasn't aware of when ST was published. In fall 2007, I added series broadcast since the last update. A *** indicates these.

For those interested in seeing some of the older series here, I've added a V (video) or DVD after the listing indicating if the series has been commercially released for American players as of fall 2007. A number of these shows are available for British DVD players, indicated by a B-DVD.

A

Adderly. (CBS) 1986-1988. Winston Rekert.

Adventurer, The. (Syndicated) 1972-1973. Gene Barry, Barry Morse.

Agency, The. (CBS) 2001-2003. Gil Bellows, Ronny Cox, Paige Turco, David Cleanen, Gloria Reuben, Beau Bridges.

Airwolf. (CBS) 1985-1986. Jan-Michael Vincent, Alex Cord, Ernest Borgnine, Deborah Pratt, Jean Bruce Scott. (USA) 1987. Barry Van Dyke, Michele Scarabelli,
Anthony Sherwood, Geraint Wyn Davies.

Alias (ABC) 2001-2006. Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin. DVD

American Dad. (Fox) 2005- . Animated half-hour show. **

American Embassy. (Fox) 2002) Arija Bareikis, David Cubitt.

Amos Burke, Secret Agent. (ABC) Original title: Burke’s Law, 1963-1964. One season in new format, 1965. Gene Barry.

Assignment: Vienna. (ABC) 1972-1973. Robert Conrad. (Discussed in interview with Conrad at this website.)

A-Team, The. (NBC) 1983-1986. George Peppard, Mr. T., Dirk Benedict, Robert Vaughn. (Discussed in interview with Robert Vaughn posted at this website.)

Avengers, The. On British ABC, 1961-1966 starring Patrick Macnee, Ian Hendry, honor Blackman. From 1966-1969, aired both in England and on American ABC
starring Macnee, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson. The New Avengers. (CBS) 1978-1979. Patrick Macnee, Joanna Lumley, Gareth Hunt. V, DVD (Reviews of radio series and New Avengers posted at this website.)

B

Barbary Coast. (ABC) 1975-1976. William Shatner, Doug McClure, Richard Keel.

Baron, The. (ABC) 1966-1967. Steve Forrest, Colin Gordon, Sue Lloyd, Paul Ferris.

Behind Closed Doors. (NBC) 1958-1959. Bruce Gordon.

Biff Baker, U.S.A.(CBS) 1952-1953. Alan Hale Jr.

Bionic Woman. (ABC) 1976-1977. (NBC) 1977-1978. Lindsey Wagner, Richard Anderson. (NBC) 2007- . Michelle Ryanand. ***

Blue Light. (ABC) 1966. Robert Goulet, Christine Carere.

Burn Notice (USA (June 2007-- ). Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless. ***

C

Callan. (U.K. only) 1967-1973. Edward Woodward. B-DVD.

Champions, The. (NBC) 1968. Stuart Damon, William Gaunt, Alexandra Bastedo. B-DVD

Chuck. (NBC) 2007- . Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster. ***

Cliffhangers. (NBC) 1979. Susan Anton, Jeffrey Scott.

Code Name: Foxfire. (NBC) 1985. Joanna Casidy, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Robin Thompson, John McCook.

Code Name: Kids Next Door. (The Cartoon Network) 2003- . Animated series. **

Coronet Blue. (CBS) 1967. Frank Converse. ***

Counterstrike. (USA) 1992-1993. Christopher Plummer, Simon MacCorkindale.

Cover Me: The True Life Story of an FBI Family. (USA) 2000-2001. Robert Dobson, Melora Hardin, Cameron Richardson, Antoinette Picatto, Michael Angarano.

Cover Up. (CBS) 1984-1985. Jennifer O'Neill, John Grik Hexum, Richard Anderson, Anthony Hamilton.

Covert One: The Hades Factor. SeeRobert Ludlum’s Covert One: The Hades Factor.

Cowboy G-Men. (Syndicated) 1952-1953. Russell Hayden, Jackie Coogan.

Crusader. (CBS) 1955-1956. Brian Keith.

D

Danger Man. See Secret Agent.

Dangerous Assignment. (Syndicated) 1951-1952. Brian Donlovy. DVD-- TV Favorites Megapack (Tree Line Prod.)

Delphi Bureau. (ABC) 1972-1973. Lawrence Luckinbill.

Department S. (U.K. only) 1968. Peter Wyngarde, Joel Fabiani, Rosemary Nicholls.

Doorway to Danger (aka Door With No Name). (NBC) 1951-1952. ABC) 1953. Mel Ruick, Roland Winters, Raymond Bramley.

Double Life Of Henry Phyfe, The. (ABC) 1966. Red Buttons.

E

Equalizer, The. (CBS) 1985-1989. Edward Woodward.

E-Ring. (NBC). 2005-2006. Benjamin Bratt, Dennis Hopper, Aunjanue Ellis, Kelsey Oldershaw, Kelly Rutherford.

Espionage. (ABC) 1963-1964. Anthology series with no recurring cast.

Exile, The. (CBS) 1991-1993. Jeffry meek.

F

The Falcon, Adventures of. (Syndicated) 1955. Charles Macgraw.

Family of Spies, A. ? 1989. Three-part miniseries. Powers Booth, Lesley Ann Warren. ** DVD

Five Fingers. (NBC) 1959-1960. David Hedison.

Foreign Intrigue. (NBC, Syndicated) 1951-1955. Jerome Thorn, Helen Davis.

Fortune Hunter. (Fox) 1994. Mark Frankel, John Robert Hoffman, Anne Francis.

Four Just men. (Syndicated) 1959. Dan Daily, Jack hawkins, Richard Conti, Vittoria Di Sica.

G

Game, Set, Match. (PBS) 1988. Ian Holm, Mel Martin. (13 part miniseries on Mystery!) **

Gavilan. (NBC) 1982-1983. Robert urich, Patrick Macnee, Kate Reid.

Gemini Man. (NBC) 1976. Ben Murphy, Catherine Crawford, William Sylvester.

Get Smart. (NBC) 1965-1969. (CBS) 1969-1970. Don Addams, Barbara Feldon, Edward Platt. DVD

Get Smart Returns. (Fox) 1995. Don Addams, Barbara Feldon, Andy Dick.

Girl From U.N.C.L.E. (NBC) 1966-1967. Stephanie Powers, Noel Harrison, Leo G. Carroll.

Grid, The. (TNT) 2004, limited series. Julian Margolis, Dylan McDermott. DVD **

H

Honey West. (ABC) 1965-1966. Anne Francis, John Erickson.

Hong Kong. (ABC) 1960-1961. Rod Taylor, Lloyd Bochner, Jack Krus Chen, Harold Fong.

Hunter. (various series) (CBS) 1952. Barry Nelson. (NBC) 1954. Keith Larsen. (CBS) 1977. James Franciscus, Linda Evans.

I

I Led Three Lives. (Syndicated) 1953-1956. Richard Carlson. (Discussed in "They Were Communists for the FBI" file at this website.)

Inside, The. (Fox) 2005- . Rachel Nichols. **

Invisible Man. (various series) (Syndicated) 1958-1961. (NBC) 1975. David McCalum, Melinda Fee, Craig Stevens. (Sci-Fi Channel) 2000-2002. Vincent Ventresca.

I Spy. (Syndicated) 1956. Anthology series hosted by Raymond Massey. (NBC) 1965-1968. Bill Cosby, Robert Culp. DVD (Discussed in two articles posted at this website.)

It Takes a Thief. (NBC) 1968-1970. Robert Wagner, Malachi Throne.

J

Jack of All Trades. (USA) 2000. Bruce Campbell, Angela Marie Dotchin.

JAG. (ABC) 1995-2005. David James Elliott, Stephen Culp.

Jake 2.o. (UPN) 2003-2004. (Sci-Fi Channel) 2007. Christopher Gorham, Keegan Connor Tracy, Judith Scott. **

Jane Doe. (Hallmark Channel) 2005- . Lea Thompson, Joe Penny. (Rotating TV movie series with other Hallmark Mysteries.) ***

Jericho. (CBS) 1966-1967. Don Francks, Marino Mase, John Leyton. (Soundtrack avail. From Film Score Monthly.)

L

La Femme Nikita. (USA) 1996-2001. Peta Wilson, Eugene R. Galver, Roy Dupuis, Don Francks, Alberta Watson. DVD

M

Macgyver. (ABC) 1985-1992. Richard Dean Anderson.

Mackenzie's Raiders (syndicated) 1958-1959. Richard Carlson. **

Man Called Sloane, A. (NBC) 1979-1980. Robert Conrad. (Discussed in interview with Conrad at this website.)

Man Called X. (Syndicated) 1955-1956. Barry Sullivan.

Man From Interpol, The. (NBC) 1960. John Longdon, Richard Wyler.

Man From U.N.C.L.E. (NBC) 1964-1968. Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll. V, Movie versions on B-DVD. Released in U.S., Nov. 2007. (Various articles on series posted at this website.)

Man in a Suitcase. (Syndicated) 1967-1968. Richard Bradford.

Man of the World. (U.K. only) 1962-1963. Craig Stevens.

Man Who Never Was, The. (ABC) 1967. Robert Lansing, Dana Winter, Alex Davion, Murray Hamilton.

Mask of Janus, The. (U.K. only) 1965. Re-titled Spies, 1966. Dinsdale Landen, Simon Oates.

Masquerade. (ABC) 1983-1984. Rod Taylor, Kristie Alley, Greg Avegin

Matt Helm. (ABC) 1975-1976. Tony Franciosa.

MI5. See Spooks.

Mission: Impossible. (CBS) 1966-1973. Stephen Hill, Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, Peter Lupis. Replacement actors: Leonard Nimoy,
Leslie Ann Warren, Linda Day George, Sam Elliott. (ABC) 1988-1990. Peter Graves, Phil Morris, Thaao Penghlis, Tony Hamilton, Terry Markwell, Jane Pradler.
V, DVD

Mr. and Mrs. Smith. (CBS) 1996. Scott Bakula, Maria Below.

N

New Avengers, The. See The Avengers.

Now and Again. (CBS) 1999-2000. John Goodman, Eric Close, Dennis Haysbert, Margaret Colin, Heather Matarazzo, Gerrit Graham.

O

OSS (ABC) 1957-1958. Lionel Murton, Ron Randell.

P

Paris 7000. (??) 1970. Gene Raymond, George Hamilton. ***

Passport to Danger. (Syndicated) 1954-1956. Caesar Romero.

Pentagon U.S.A. (later Pentagon Confidential) (CBS) 1953. Addison Richards, Larry Fletcher, Edward Bins.

Persuaders, The. (ABC) 1971-1972. Roger Moore, Tony Curtis. DVD (Review posted at this website.)

Prisoner, The. (CBS) 1968-1969. Patrick McGoohan. DVD

Protectors, The. (Syndicated) 1972-1973. Robert Vaughn, Nyree Dawn Porter. DVD (Discussed in review and an interview with Robert Vaughn posted at this website.)

R

“Reilly-Ace of Spies.” (PBS 12-part miniseries on Mystery) 1984. Sam Neill, Jeananne Crowley, Leo McKern. V, DVD

Robert Ludlum’s Covert One: The Hades Factor. (CBS) 2006. Two-part TV miniseries. Stephen Dorff, Mira Sorvino, Blair Underwood. DVD ***

S

Saint, The. (various actors) (Syndicated) 1962-1966. (NBC) 1967-1969. Roger Moore. V, DVD. Return of The Saint. (CBS) 1978. Ian Ogilvy. (Syndicated) 1989-1990.
Simon Dutton.

Sandbaggers, The. (U.K. only) 1978-1979. Roy Marsden, Elizabeth Bennett, Richard Bernon, Ray Lonmen, Diane Keen, Alan Macmaughtan. DVD

Scarecrow and Mrs. King. (CBS) 1983-1987. Bruce Boxleitner, Kate Jackson.

Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, The. (NBC) 1964. Patrick Mcoohan. (3 part miniseries on Wonderful World of Disney). ***

Scarlet Pimpernel, The. (A&E miniseries.) 1999. Richard E. Grant, Elizabeth McGovern. DVD **

Search. (NBC) 1973. Hugh O’Brien, Tony Franciosa, Doug McClure.

Secret Adventures of Jules Verne. (SciFi Channel) 1999-2001. Chris Demetral, Michael Praed, Francesca Hunt, Michel Courtemanche.

Secret Agent. (CBS) 1965-1966. Patrick McGoohan. (Renamed version of British Danger Man which had two series in England.) DVD

Secret Agent Man. (UPN) 1999-2000. Costas Mandylor, Dina Meyer.

Secret Files USA. (Syndicated) 1954-1955. Robert Alda.

Secret Service (U.K. only, children's show) 1969. Combined puppets with live actors. DVD

Sentimental Agent, The. (U.K. only) 1963. Carlos Thompson.

Seven Days. (UPN) 1998-2001. Jonathan LaPaglia, Justina Vial, Don Franklin, Nick Searcy, Alan Scarf.

She Spies. (NBC) 2003-2005. Kristen Miller, Natashia Williams, Natasha Henstridge, Carlos Jacott.

Sierra 9 (U.K. only, children's show) 1963. Max Kirby, David Sumner, Deborah Stanford.

Six Million Dollar Man. (ABC) 1974-1978. Lee Majors, Richard Anderson.

Smiley’s People. (BBC/PBS miniseries) 1982. Alec Guiness. DVD

Soldier of Fortune Inc. (later S.O.F., Special Ops Force) (Syndicated) 1997-1999. Brad Johnson, Tim Abell, Mark A. Shepard, David Selby, Dennis Rodman.

Soldiers of Fortune. (Syndicated) 1955. John Russell, Chic Chandler.

Spies. (See Mask of Janus.) Unrelated series with same title: (CBS( 1987. George Hamilton.

Spies, Lies, and the Superbomb. (National Geographic Channel) Sept. 2007. (Aired as Nuclear Secrets on BBC, Jan. 2007). Three-part docu-drama. ***

Spooks. (UK series beginning in 2002. Retitled MI5 for American broadcast, A&E, 2003-2006) Stephen Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawen, David Oyelowo, Janie
Agutter, Elisa Faulkner. DVD

Spy Game. (ABC) 1997. Linden Ashly, Alison Smith.

Spy Master. (The Learning Channel) 2004, limited series. Reality show with no actors. **

T

Threat Matrix. (ABC) 2003-2004. James Denton, Will Lyman, Kelly Rutherford, Anthony Azizi, Melora Walters, Kurt Caceres, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali. **

Three. (WB) 1998. Jonathan Vance, Amanda Webb, Marcus Miller.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. (BBC/PBS miniseries) 1980. Alec Guiness. DVD

Tom Clancey’s Net Force. (ABC miniseries) 1998. Scott Bakula, Joanna Going, Kris Kristofferson, Brian Dennehy, Judge Reinhold.

Tom Clancey’s Ops Center. (ABC miniseries) 1995. Harry Hamlin, Wilfrod Brimley, John Savage, Rod Steiger, Carl Weathers.

Top Secret. (U.K. only) 1961-1962. William Franklyn, Patrick Cargill, Alan Rothwell.

Totally Spies. (Cartoon Network) 2003- . Animated series. **

21 Beacon St. (NBC) 1959. (ABC) 1959-1960. Dennis Morgan, Joanna Barnes, Brian Kelly, James Mahoney.

24. (Fox) 2001- . Keifer Sutherland, Mia Kirsner, Leslie Hope, Elisha Cuthbert, Dennis Haysbert, Sara Lively. DVD

U

Undercover. (ABC) 1990-1991. Anthony John Denison, Linda Purl.

V

VR5. (Fox) 1995. (Re-broadcast with 3 new episodes, SciFi Channel) 1997. Lori Singer, Michael Easton, David McCallum.

W

Wild Wild West. (CBS) 1965-1970. Robert Conrad, Ross Martin. V, DVD (Discussed in interview with Robert Conrad at this website.)

Wonder Woman. (ABC) 1976-1977. (CBS) 1977-1979. Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner.

World of Giants. (Syndicated) 1959-1960. Marshall Thompson, Arthur Fronz.

X

X-Files. (Fox) 1993-2002. David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish. V, DVD

Z

Zorro, The Adventures of. (ABC) 1957-1959. Guy Williams. ***

16 comments:

B Man said...

Hey there...Im trying to remember the name of a TV series that was broadcast in the 70's ( I believe ). It was a Man From UNCLE kinda show, possibly a British production about an organization based out of GENEVA led by a Mr. Trelevan..I remember they had a huge fountain scene in the opening credits...please help me to remember the name of this series please.

B Man said...

oops...it was Tremane not Trelevan...

the engineer said...

It was called The Champions. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Bastedo

Cush said...

What about Remington Steele?

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Anonymous said...

I really like to watch these type of tv series. I also like your analogy. Thanks.

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Nelson said...

I was watching this days Hawaii Five-0, and it make remember another two series with almost the same concept: one was Pacific Blue the other one it's gaving me trubbles. The TV show is about a spy agency disguise as a bathsuit model agency. Every photograph session was actually an undercover mission. I think the show wasn't pretty good (probably it didn't last beyond one season) but I want to know the name.

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CY-FAIR TUTOR said...

Great compendium ! Caught a typo: Kiefer in "24".
And I wonder about a series I remember from the 70's maybe 80's. It was a spy who wore a button-size camera in his lapel, his code name was Locust or Locut (?).
It introduced for me the terms "telemetry" and other gadgetry. He was always in live comms with a white haired scientific man from a control center, that received the camera feed, and could look up whichever information was relevant for the case and guide the agent.
Do you recall the name of that series ?

Audigit said...

Ok. I got an itch on a show I can't scratch! Early 70's, spy wore a gold pendant/medallion, medallion was a camera/ sensor array/satelite link to a room full of "controllers", and the boss. Solved spy gigs with the help of the medallion! Thank you! Good luck!

CY-FAIR TUTOR said...

@Audigit - we are taking about the same spy with the medallion-camera.

Greer 231 said...

What about Charlie's Angels?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
David W. said...

Maybe the TV show "Search", which aired 1972-1973. The agents had implanted audio communications with the "control room", and were outfitted with tiny cameras on their person.