Tenafly (TV series)

Tenafly
GenreDrama
Written byRichard Levinson
William Link
Directed byRichard Colla
StarringJames McEachin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Running time90 mins.
Production companyUniversal Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseOctober 10, 1973 (1973-10-10) –
January 2, 1974 (1974-01-02)
Related
The NBC Mystery Movie

Tenafly is a crime-drama series starring James McEachin that was part of The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie wheel for the 1973-74 season.[1] It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of popular mystery television shows such as Columbo and Murder, She Wrote.[2] It was one of the first television series that season to feature an African-American character as the protagonist (the other being Shaft starring Richard Roundtree).[3] Due to low ratings, NBC removed Tenafly from the wheel when it moved the mid-week Mystery Movie block to Tuesdays in January 1974 (the Mystery Movie block itself would only air on Sundays starting in the 1974-75 season).[1]

Overview

The show was set in Los Angeles and starred James McEachin as Harry Tenafly, a former cop who left the department for a better paying job at a large private investigation agency, Hightower Investigations, Inc. Unlike many TV private eyes of the era, Harry Tenafly was a happily married, middle-class, suburban family man; he preferred to avoid car chases and gunfights and used brains over brawn in solving his cases. Though he left the force for the private sector to avoid the dangers inherent in police work, trouble nonetheless seemed to find Tenafly.

Cast

Actor Role
James McEachin Harry Tenafly
Lillian Lehman Ruth Tenafly
Paul Jackson Herb Tenafly
David Huddleston Lieutenant Sam Church
Rosanna Huffman Lorrie

Episodes

Nº Title Directed by: Written by: Air date
0"Pilot"Richard A. CollaRichard Levinson & William LinkFebruary 12, 1973 (1973-02-12)
Private investigator Harry Tenafly (James McEachin) investigates two separate cases: the disappearance of his uncle and the murder of the wife of a caustic radio talk show host (Ed Nelson).
1"Joyride to Nowhere"Robert DayBooker Bradshaw & David P. LewisOctober 10, 1973 (1973-10-10)
2"The Cash and Carry Caper"UnknownUnknownOctober 31, 1973 (1973-10-31)
3"The Window That Wasn't"UnknownUnknownDecember 5, 1973 (1973-12-05)
Tenafly attempts to find out whether a young girl is telling the truth after she claims to have witnessed a murder.
4"Man Running"UnknownUnknownJanuary 2, 1974 (1974-01-02)
A parking attendant uses his job to duplicate keys to houses he later robs.

References

  1. ^ a b Hyatt, Wesley (2003). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland p. 222. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9.
  2. ^ O'Connor, John J. (February 14, 1973). "TV: Tensfly[sic], Black Detective, Arrives". The New York Times. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Gazzar, Brenda (December 9, 2012). "Actor, Korean War veteran James McEachin soldiers on for veterans". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved September 23, 2018.


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