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Charlie's Angels, as originally conceived, was a pretty
radical idea. At a time when TV was saturated with male
detective shows, Charlie's Angels took most of the cop-show
clichés and turned them inside out. The heroes were
three women (Kate Jackson as Sabrina Duncan, Farrah
Fawcett as Jill Munroe and Jaclyn Smith as Kelly
Garrett) who were as tough and clever as they were
beautiful. They did all the legwork and nailed the bad
guys themselves, without needing a traditional leading
man to "save them" at the end. In fact, the only male on
the team, Bosley, was basically their secretary.
Although he sometimes helped out in the field, he mostly
stayed behind and took care of the paperwork.
The series began its life as a wildly successful
television movie in the spring of 1976. The show
returned that fall as a regular series, premiering on
September 22 on ABC. Prolific producer Aaron Spelling
infused the show with his usual style: fashionable
clothing, a highly attractive cast, and interesting plotlines. Not all of his shows turned
out to be classics, but Spelling had a flair for turning
out this kind of escapist fare. Charlie's Angels was an
instant success
finishing in fifth place in
the Nielsen's its first year and the three actresses
became overnight household names.
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 Charlie's Angels Pilot (Mar. 21, 1976)
“Once upon a time, there were three little girls
who went to the police academy…” They were
assigned such hazardous duties as writing
traffic tickets and playing crossing guard. When
enterprising tycoon Charlie Townsend realized
their talents were being utterly wasted, he
hired them as private detectives. The only
catch: because Charlie insisted on never being
seen, the "Angels" as he called them, never knew
what their benefactor/employer looked like. In
the series pilot that launched one of the
biggest hits of the 1970s, a wine heiress asks
the angels to help her prove her father was
murdered by the man who now runs the family
business. The Angels go undercover in their
first case together at the vineyard to solve the
mystery.
LeMaire's second wife, Rachel, will inherit the
estate if the body doesn't turn up within a certain
amount of time. Jill, Sabrina and Kelly assume character
roles from a dowdy secretary and wealthy heiress to a
blackmailer. Upon its initial airing, the pilot drew a
54 share in the Nielsen ratings, which translates into
over half of all television sets in the country in use
that night were tuned in. The pilot ranked 3rd among all
tele films for the year and when it was re-aired on
September 14, 1976, it ranked 4th. This is the only
episode in which David Ogden Stiers appears. When the
series was picked up later that year, his character of
Scott Woodville was cut.
Guest cast: David Ogden Stiers (Scott Woodville), Tommy Lee Jones (Aram Kolegian), Bo Hopkins (Beau Creel),
Diana Muldaur
(Rachel LeMaire), Grant
Owens (Wilder), John Lehne (Henry Bancroft), Ron Stein
(Hicks), Russ Grieve (Sheriff Hopkins)
Writer: Ben Roberts, Ivan Goff
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
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 1.
Hellride (Sept. 22, 1976)
A stock car mechanic suspects murder when his
beautiful driver, Suzy Lemson, is forced to the
outside of the track, loses control of her car
and loses her life. Charlie bets on the Angels
to track down Suzy's enemies. "Bloody" Mary,
Suzy's chief track competitor, so-called for her
questionable racing tactics,, and Kale, her
overly amorous grease-monkey boyfriend, have
obviously caused the fatal crash. But Mary and
Kale are merely pawns of a track promoter and
his brainy partner plotting a half million
dollar heist. Stock cars take to the streets
with Sabrina at the wheel in a race against time
and "Bloody" Mary to prevent a major robbery.
One week after a repeat airing of the series
pilot captured a 47 share, Charlie's Angels
blasted its way into the Top Ten with
"Hellride." The fast-paced premiere, again commandeered nearly 50%
of all TV-watching households (much to the
chagrin of the reviewers who unanimously panned
the episode). The show's massive audience
actually increased over the course of the season
due large in part, ironically to a national
media fascination with Angels that resulted in
countless articles, including cover stories in
Time, People and TV Guide. From the hairdos,
gowns and bikinis the actresses wore each week
to their names of their pet dogs, no topic was
unreported, no analysis unexplored. But no
matter how you sliced it, the success of the
show came down to one thing. As David Doyle put
it, "Charlie's Angels ain't Hamlet, but it sure
is entertaining."
Guest Cast:
Don Gordon (Gene Wells), Mayf Nutter (Eddie Dirko),
Kurt Grayson (Ted Kale), John Dennis Johnston (Jerry
Adams), Jenny O'Hara (Bloody Mary Barrows), Ric
Mancini (Poker Player), Norma Connolly (Mrs. Lemson), Rosane Covy
(Suzy Lemson)
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
Director: Richard Lang
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 2.
The Mexican Connection (Sept. 29, 1976)
The Angels are commissioned by Dan Mason, a
small craft pilot to crack a heroin smuggling
ring. It seems the ring is slipping the
contraband onto his craft while he’s making runs
over the Mexican-American border. Sabrina
operates undercover as a stewardess, working
with Dan’s colleague Jim Taylor. Jill
and Kelly go undercover at the estate of drug
Kingpin Bartone who is Dan’s boss. It is
discovered that Bartone is in competition with a
shadowy operator named Escobar and is desperate
to maintain his connection in Los Angeles. Jill
lures Bartone into the United States where he is
apprehended by narcotics agents and Jim Taylor
is also arrested when the Angels discover he is
the mysterious smuggler Escobar. This is the
only episode that Farrah Fawcett appears wearing
a swimsuit.
Guest Cast:
Cesare Danova (Frank Bartone), Edward Power (Jim
Taylor), Joe Burke (Nick Doyle), Arnold Soboloff (Steiner), Robert Tafur (Col.
Morales), Alex Tinne (Peasant)
Writer: Jack V. Fogarty
Director: Allen Baron |
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 3. Night of
the Strangler (Oct. 13, 1976)
The Angels investigate the strangulation death of Dana
Cameron, a model who was having an affair with her
employer, Kevin St. Clair. Kelly and Jill get modeling
work at St. Clair's agency, due in large part to Kelly's
strong resemblance to Dana. Sabrina cons her way into a
job as a photo stylist. St. Clair is considered the
prime suspect, until his estranged wife is strangled
while he is with Kelly. Suspicion then falls on Jesse
Woodman, a public relations official with a previous
conviction for aggravated assault; but another
(non-fatal) attack occurs while Woodman is dining with
Jill. Sabrina arranges a date with photographer/porn
director Alec Witt, and finds a photograph of the three
victims with exes drawn over their faces. Kelly arrives
to help her fend off an attack from the overzealous
Witt.
Guest Cast: Richard
Mulligan (Kevin St. Clair), Dean Santoro (Jesse
Woodman), William Beckley (Alec Witt), Alex Henteloff
(Heinz Brandon), Rosemary Forsyth (Michelle St. Clair),
Jaclyn Smith (Dana Cameron), Elizabeth Robinson (Candy)
Writer: Pat Fiedler
Director: Richard Lang
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 4.
Angels in Chains (Oct. 20, 1976)
The Angels may have been knockouts, but they
were also very smart - a fact often
overlooked amidst the hoopla over the show when
it first aired. As beautiful as they were to
behold, our heroines were after all, trained
professionals who could think their way out of
dangerous situations without panicking. That was
the original concept of the series, and that's
certainly the premise behind "Angels in chains,"
in which the Angels probe corruption inside a
woman's prison.
Sabrina, Jill and Kelly soon discover a link
between the mysterious disappearance of a young
inmate and the secret prostitution ring run by
the crooked warden and her equally corrupt
sheriff. Perhaps the most famous episode of the
entire show run. All the best clichés of
women-behind-bars flicks are here - the
sadistic, decidedly butch female matron (played
with lascivious sneer by Mary Woronov), the fat,
sleazy sheriff (David
Huddleston) and his bumbling deputy, and the
obligatory shower and hose down scene.
Best line - Kelly to the matron: "How long has
it been since you've been sprayed?" This one
really sent Time Magazine into a bluenosed fit.
Though Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith were
already getting most of the press coverage and
endorsement offers, the credibility of Kate
Jackson was more integral to the series' success
than every teasing glimpse down Farrah's
unbuttoned prison shirt. In addition to the
Angels, there were more girlwatching
opportunities provided by a young Kim Basinger
as another prisoner and "The Love Boat's" Lauren
Tewes as a client. This episode was later
novelized by Ballantine Books.
Guest Cast: David
Huddleston (Sheriff Clint), Anthony James (Karl Stern), Christina Hart
(Billie), Mary Woronov (Maxine),
Kim Basinger (Linda Oliver), Neva Patterson (Warden
Sorenson),, Brooke Tucker (Fran), Lauren Tewes (Christine Hunter), Brian Cutler
(Deputy Dan Winston),
James E. Brodhead (Harold)
Writer: Robert Earll
Director: Phil Bondelli |
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 5.
Target: Angels (Oct. 27, 1976)
"Target: Angels" is one the few episodes to
offer a brief glimpse at the Angels' personal
life. Jill couches girls' basketball, Sabrina
dates her ex-husband. We also learn Kelly was
raised in an orphanage. Looking back, Farrah
Fawcett believes the series could have
explored the characters even further. "Our
characters were the same in every show, and we
were never able to change that," she told
People. "Once I went to Aaron and Len and asked
them to explore the possibilities of these girls
as friends on a deeper level. They said, "We
have a show. It works. We are not changing it."
Their reasoning: the fantasy element of Angels
had much to do with its Top Ten status, so
why tamper with success? This episode reunites
Dark Shadows alumni Kate Jackson and Thayer
David, and Fawcett with Magnum, PI's Tom Selleck
(they both appeared in Myra Breckinridge).
Guest Cast:
John Horn (Harry Wardlow), Tom Selleck [(Dr. Alan
Samuelson), Michael Bell (Bill Duncan), David Healy (Miles Cavendish), John Agar
(Col. Blaylock), Irene Tedrow (Sister Anne), Thayer David
(Ronald Meeker)
Writer: David Levinson
Director: Richard Lang
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 6. The Killing Kind (Nov. 3, 1976)
Charlie’s Angels invade a health resort in an
episode later novelized by Ballantine Books. The
death of an investigative journalist leads the
detectives to Paul Terranova, a
man who’s not above killing to protect the
secrets of his past. Director Dick Benedict
quickly learned what set Charlie’s Angels apart
from other action/adventure series. “In this
show I got all kinds of locations, cars going
off mountains, people in water, under water, on
rafts, on boats, and all anybody asks me is ‘How
do the girls look?”, he told TV Guide. “A girl
is supposed to be underwater two hours, and she
pops up and every hair is still supposed to be
in place”. Realistic? Probably not. Then again,
if you ask Aaron Spelling, that’s precisely the
point. “Charlie’s Angels was exactly what it set
out to be: light, escapist entertainment”, he
said. “It was a glamorous, upbeat and colorful
fantasy”.
Guest Cast: Robert Loggia (Paul Terranova),
Joseph Ruskin (Koslo), Hugh Gillin (Harvey Sunday), Frank Maxwell
(Fitzgerald), Judson
Pratt (Dr. William Dignam)
Writer: Rick Husky
Director: Richard Benedict |
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 7.
To Kill an Angel (Nov. 10, 1976)
Kelly takes an abandoned boy, who suffers with
an emotional problem of withdrawal from reality,
to an amusement park. There, the boy witnesses a
murder. One culprit drops his gun and the child
retrieves it and fires playfully at Kelly. The
female detective falls wounded and the boy runs
away in fright. Meanwhile, hit-men try to find
the boy and eliminate him as a witness. At the
hospital, Kelly suddenly realizes where the boy
might be and rushes to save him. Consequently,
the hit-men are arrested and the autistic child
is reunited with his mother.
Guest Cast: Robert Donner (Korbin),
Craig Ludwin (Masters), John Zaremba (Dr. Stafford), Lee
Bryant (Gail Francis), Dennis Dimster (Skip)
Writer: Rick Husky
Director: Phil Bondelli
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 8. Lady
Killer (Nov. 24, 1976)
The Angels are commissioned by a key-club baron
to investigate the murder of his centerfolds.
The empire of Tony Mann, a Hugh Hefner-type, is
threatened by the murders and labor problems
that seem to be arranged by a rival publisher.
Sabrina discovers Dave Erhard, Tony’s partner,
is part of the scheme. When Kelly and Sabrina
find the club waitress foreman, Paula, is the
actual murderer she tries to kill Jill, who is
posing as a potential centerfold. Paula is
barely stopped in time by Sabrina and Kelly.
Guest Cast: Hugh O'Brian
(Tony Mann), Alan Fudge (Dave Erhard), Richard Foronji
(Danny Auletta), Jan Shutan (Paula), Bob Basso (Victor
Burrell)
Writer: Sue Milburn
Director: George McCowan
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 9. Bullseye (Dec. 1, 1976)
Following the death of a young WAC, the Angels
infiltrate an Army training base and discover a
peculiar drug operation masterminded by the
company doctor (Robert Pine of CHiPs) and a
sadistic training sergeant (L.Q. Jones). As part
of their investigation, Kelly and Jill
impersonate recruits, while Sabrina poses as a
nurse. Kate Jackson looks perfectly at home in
hospital whites, as well she should immediately
prior to Charlie's Angels, she starred as Nurse
Jill Danko for four seasons on The Rookies. This
episode also reflects a subtle change in
philosophy from the early-season shows. Whereas
initially the Angels seemed to follow Charlie's
instructions "like a bunch of robots" (as
produces Barney Rosenzweig once put it),
as the season progressed they became more
involved in the key decisions of each case.
We see this clearly in "Bullseye," particularly
in the scene in which Sabrina takes charge in order to
assure Jill's safety.
Guest Cast: L.Q. Jones (Sgt. Billings), Robert Pine
(Dr. Canlon), Marla
Pennington (Pvt. Jenny Warren), Peter Leeds (Gen.
Greene), Kelly Sanders (Trainee), Erin O'Rielly (Mary Jo Walker), Helen Lockwood
(Sally Miller), Nora
Marlowe (Cicely)
Writer: Jeff Myrow
Director: Daniel Haller |
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 10.
Consenting Adults (Dec. 8, 1976)
The detectives must rescue a hapless antiques
dealer in an episode better known amongst Angels
aficionados as “the skateboard show”. Clifton
Cunningham has exquisite taste, but terrible
judgment: he doesn’t realize that Tracy, the
pretty coed he met through the dating service
Consenting Adults, is really a con artist who’s
arranged to have his store of priceless antiques
robbed during their latest afternoon liaison.
Strangely enough, what worries Cunningham the
most is a missing ceramic frog an
ordinary-looking item that, unbeknownst to Tracy
and her accomplices, hides a fortune in African
diamonds he was smuggling into the country on
behalf of a sadistic racketeer named Bialy. When
Bialy kidnaps Cunningham, Charlie’s Angels
spring into action. This
segment features an exciting chase sequence filmed in
L.A.’s Griffith Park, in which Jill uses her
skateboard-riding expertise to flee a homicidal henchman
driving an ice-cream truck. Guest stars include Laurette
Spang (Battlestar Galactica) and G.W Bailey (M*A*S*H*).
Guest Cast: Audrey Christie
(Maggie Cunningham), Laurette Spang (Tracy Martel), Alan
Manson (Bialy), Dick Dinman (Clifton Cunningham), George
Sperdakos (Duran), Ward Wood (Cooley), G.W. Bailey (Mumford)
Writer: Les Carter
Director: George McCowan
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 11.
The Séance (Dec. 15, 1976)
In this episode the Angels come to the aid of a
widow in distress. Kelly and Jill get more than
they bargained for when they investigate Madame
Dorian, a spiritualist whom they suspect is
bilking Grace Rodeheaver of
her late's husband fortune. As part of the plan,
Kelly impersonates an oil heiress, but she is
soon unmasked by Dorian's nefarious associate
Terence. Upon hypnotizing Kelly, Terence
discovers an episode from her childhood
involving Beamish, the abusive matron who ran
the orphanage where Kelly was raised. Realizing this
incident still terrifies Kelly, Terence
convinces the mesmerized Angel that Jill is
Beamish and that "Beamish" must be killed. As
first conceived, Kelly was the angel with a
rough childhood.
She was also
originally supposed to be a former prostitute, but that
notion was dropped at Jaclyn Smiths request after Smith
cited objections from her deeply religious family. This is the
first episode to be produced by Barney Rosenzweig, who
would later win two Emmy Awards for producing Cagney &
Lacey, another action series with female protagonists.
Guest Cast: Rene
Auberjonois (Terrence), Carole Cook (Madame Dorian),
George Wyner (La Plante), Kathryn Fuller (Putty), Nancy
Cameron (Miss Ohio), Gertrude Flynn (Grace Rodeheaver),
Tonya Crowe (Young Kelly)
Writer: Robert C. Dennis, Edward J. Lakso
Director: George Brooks
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 12.
Angels on Wheels (Dec. 22, 1976)
Though the tragic death of L.A Tornadoes roller
derby star Karen Jason during an arena match is
officially ruled an accident, her sister Barbara
thinks otherwise and hires the Angels to
investigate. Jill impersonates Barbara and wins
a spot on the team in order to look into the
matter from the inside. Charlie’s Angels tweaks
itself in as scene in which Kelly, posing as
writer for a Playgirl-like magazine, pumps a
muscleman for information. When Kelly suggests
the man might be centerfold material, he snorts,
“You Gloria Steinem-types are all alike. Just
because a guy’s put together right, you think he
doesn’t have brain in his head!” The whole idea
behind Charlie’s Angels, as we saw in the pilot,
was that these women were smart as well as
beautiful something the critics of the show
often overlooked.
Guest Cast: Dick Sargent
(Hugh Morris) , Dirk Benedict (()), Andra Akers (Jessica
Farmer), Nate Esformes (Toby Rizzo), Kres Mersky ("Bad
Betty" King), Taylor Larcher (Jeremy Carr), Steve Sandor
(Red Loomis)
Writer: Charles Sailor, Jack V. Fogarty, Rick Husky
Director: Richard Benedict
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 13.
Angel Trap (Jan. 5, 1977)
The deaths of four former U.S. Army intelligence
agents all appear to be the work of a renowned
European mercenary known only as "Jericho." The
Angels quickly ascertain the hit-man's identity,
and are poised to strike whenever he makes his
next move. But the debonair Jericho proves to be
much cooler than anticipated. In order to force
his hand, the Angels use Jill to bait a trap.
Jericho is deftly portrayed by Fernando Lamas,
who delivers a performance filled with nuances
that suggest there's more to the cold-blooded
killer than meets the eye. Lamas particularly
shines in his scenes with Farrah Fawcett, his
co-star in Murder on Flight 502, the 1975
Spelling/Goldberg TV-movie (also directed by
George McCowan) that led directly to Fawcett's
role on Charlie's Angels. Also,
pay attention to the photography of the younger Jericho
that appears throughout the episode. You'll notice the
striking resemblance between Lamas and his real-life
son, actor Lorenzo Lamas.
Guest Cast: Fernando Lamas
(Jericho), Phyllis Avery (Janine Manchand), John Larch (Kamden), James Jansen
(Desk Clerk), Ken Del
Conte (Bartender), Roy West (Officer Cohen)
Writer: Ed Lakso
Director: George McCowan
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 14.
The Big Tap-Out (Jan. 12, 1977)
Charlie's Angels become Charlie's Grifters in an
episode written by Brian McKay (McCabe and Mrs.
Miller). A frustrated police detective hires our
heroines to help him and nab Roy David, an
elusive safecracker with a peculiar quirk - he
only steals to finance his compulsive gambling
habit. The Angels plot an elaborate sting
designed to make David "tap out" of cash so that
he'll have to attempt another heist. Joel
Rosenzweig, producer Barneys Rosenzweig's
brother, guest stars in an episode that takes
the series back to its roots. ABC originally
wanted Charlie's Angels to be a show about
sophisticated grifters - much like The Rogues, a
1964 series starring David Niven. Indeed, the
pilot established the Angels as clever con
artists who relied more on their wits that their
feminine wiles.
Though
that concept took a back seat to action and adventure by
the time Angels went to series, it was never completely
abandoned, as we see in "Tap-Out," "Dancing in the Dark'
and other episodes.
Guest Cast: Richard Romanos
(Roy David), John L. Fox (Ben McMasters), Tony Giorgio
(Blackjack Dealer), Bert
Remsen (Pinky Tibbs), Norman Bartold (Mr. Platt),
Jerry Ayres (First Policeman), Joel Rosenzweig (Second Policeman)
Writer: Brian McKay
Director: Georg Stanford Brown
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 15.
Angels on a String (Jan. 19, 1977)
Charlie rewards the Angels with three days, paid
R&R, but our heroines soon find themselves
embroiled in political intrigue in “Angels on a
String”, another episode adapted by Max
Franklin as a paperback for Ballantine Books.
Acclaimed actor/singer/guitarist Theodore Bikel
guest-stars as Peter Wycinski, a Polish diplomat
who’s staying at the same resort where Sabrina,
Jill and Kelly are vacationing. When Wycinski is
kidnapped, the Angels try to rescue him.
Shortly after this episode first aired, a
nationwide survey asked over 14,000 junior and senior
high-school students to name their personal hero. Only
one national or world leader finished in the top 20:
President Jimmy Carter, in 16th place.
The No 1 choice was, you guessed it, Farrah
Fawcett-Majors, who by this time had long since dwarfed
her Angels co-stars in fan mail and media attention. The
so-called “Farrah phenomenon” would have a dramatic
impact on the series before the year was out.
Guest Cast: Theodore Bikel
(Prof. Peter Wycinski), Gary Wood (Paul), Charles Cyphers (Haller), Jude Farese (Karl), Albert Paulsen (Rabitch),
Jason Wingreen (Assistant Secretary of State), Nancy
Steen (Mary)
Writer: Ed Lakso
Director: Larry Doheny
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 16.
Dirty Business (Feb. 2, 1977)
Sabrina, Jill and Kelly have a reluctant client
on their hands in an episode helmed by versatile
actor/director Bill Bixby (The Magician, The
Incredible Hulk). Two masked men set fire to
Martin Goodman's film processing company.
Marvin's doting mother asks the Angels to
intervene, but Marvin doesn't want their help
he's afraid they might discover the
illegal pornographic film business he's
also running on the side. When an attempt is
made on Jill's life, Marvin finally comes clean,
and helps the Angels discover an important clue
that leads them to the arsonists. The
enterprising Marvin is portrayed by Warren
Berlinger, who played a lot of adolescents and
naive youngsters in many films of the 50s and
60s. "Dirty Business" also features the shows
trademark "two-handed pistol stance." Look
for it in the sequence where Jill narrowly escapes death
in an underground parking garage.
Guest Cast: Alan Feinstein (Paul Baylor), John Calvin
(Sgt. Danner), Sidney Clute (Lembeck), Eda Reiss
Mesin (Esther Goldman), Warren Berlinger (Marvin
Goldman), Bruce M. Fischer (Tolchuk), Delores Dorn (Mrs.
Evers)
Writer: Ed Lakso
Director: Bill Bixby
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 17.
The Vegas Connection (Feb. 9, 1977)
A man hires the Angels after his wife is caught
stealing money from his safe. Sabrina trails
Mrs. Mallin to the Poker Palace, and discovers
that she has been purposely losing on a regular
basis. She loses a bundle of money, but the
other players each make deposits of only $1000.
Mrs. Mallin and the other players each have a
connection to the Versailles Hotel, a Las Vegas
casino. She finally admits that she sought work
as a chorus line dancer at the facility years
ago, but a job never opened up. She became so
desperate that she let Cass Harper talk her into
spending the night with one of the high rollers
for money. Someone took pictures of the
encounter and has been blackmailing her for
years. Kelly
auditions for a spot as a dancer, and learns that Harper
routinely uses young women as part of a plot to
blackmail wealthy patrons. (Mrs. Mallin was targeted
because she happened to end up marrying a rich man.)
Jill must fend off an attack from one of Harper's
accomplices, who recognizes her from the Poker Palace.
Guest Cast: Sharon Weber (Leora),
Jack Green (Doorman), Blackie Dammett (Freddy), Suzanne
Hunt (Avril), Cliff Carnell (Zip), Sy Kramer (Mal
Proctor), Michael Stearns (Sid Carver), Michael Callan
(Cass Harper), Brooke Bundy (Elsbeth), Ned Wilson
(George Mallin), Walter Matthews (Max), Carla Borelli
(Tina)
Writer: John D.F. Black
Director: George McCowan
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 18.
Terror on Ward One (Feb. 16, 1977)
In this episode Jill and Kelly play nurse as the
Angels try to snare a rapist who's been preying
on student nurse at a local hospital. As usual,
there is no shortage of suspects, including a
pill-popping chief surgeon, a lovesick intern,
and a cantankerous old man. Jack Bannon (Lou
Grant) guest stars in an episode that aired just
a few weeks before Henry Mancini's
rendition of The Theme from Charlie's Angels
made its debut on the Billboard charts.
Though
the record got a lot of air play on radio stations
throughout the country during the spring of 1977, it
never quite matched the phenomenal success of the
TV series. The Theme from Charlie's Angels would spend
nine weeks on the charts, and eventually peak at No. 45.
Guest Cast: Sally Carter Ihnat
(Nurse Farragut), Jack Bannon (Dr. Ted Danworth), Michael McGreavey
(Ted
Blain), Fran Ryan (Nurse Fager), Arch Johnson (George Halvorsen), Robert Lipton
(Quincy)
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
Director: Bob Kelljan
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 19. Dancing
in the Dark (Feb. 23, 1977)
Jill does the Hustle, Bosley does the Bump, and
the Angels rope another mark in 'Dancing in the
Dark." This time, their target is Alexander Cruz
(John van Dreeken), the urbane owner of a dance
studio who uses his handsome instructor (Dennis
Cole) to charm - then blackmail - wealthy widow
Laura Clusak out of $10,000. To cheat the
cheaters and recover Laura's money, Jill poses
as a disco dancer, Sabrina a neurotic waif, and
Kelly a photographer. Guest star Dennis Cole
began dating Jaclyn Smith shortly after making
this episode, they would eventually become
husband and wife for three years. This episode
also highlights an aspect of Jill's character
that's often overlooked. Besides being the most
naturally athletic of the trio, Jill is also a
walking encyclopedia of sports information and
trivia who impresses Laura with her
knowledge of her husbands Hall of Fame basketball
career. "Dancing in the Dark" was written by Les Carter,
who also wrote the famous "skateboard" show "Consenting
Adults".
Guest Cast: John van Dreeken (Alexander Cruz), Logan
Ramsey (Schaffer Goodhew), Jean Allison (Laura Clusak), Benny Baker
(Murphy Murphy), Dennis Cole (Tony Bordinay)
Writer: Les Carter
Director: Cliff Bole
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 20.
I will be Remembered (Mar. 9, 1977)
Film legend Gloria Gibson (Ida Lupino) has
fallen on hard times since the death of her
husband, but she believes a key role in a remake
of one of her classic films will pave the way
for a triumphant comeback. Someone, however,
seems determined to prevent that from happening,
and Gloria enlists the Angels to find out why.
This episode is marked by the inspired casting
of Lupino, a bonafide legend herself, first as
an independent filmmaker in the 40s and
50s, then as one of the prominent female
directors in television.
Lupino's association with Aaron Spelling dated
back to Spellings formative years on Four Star
Playhouse.
Her longtime husband Howard Duff had on
occasional role on Kate Jackson's mid-1980s
series Scarecrow and Mrs. King and would guest
star on Angels himself later on. Lupino
also starred in The Letters, a 1973 TV-movie produced by
Spelling/Goldberg which also featured John Forsythe, the
voice of Charlie.
Guest Cast: Ida Lupino (Gloria Gibson), Peter MacLean
(Frank Ross), Alfred Ryder (Barkley), Jan Peters (Galbraith), Wynn Irwin
(Barney), Louie Guss (Lunchie), Richard Libertini (Ed), Aharon Ipalé
(Marinelli)
Writer: Melvin Levy
Director: Nicholas Sgarro
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 21. Angels
at Sea (Mar. 23, 1977)
The owner of a cruise line hires the Angels to determine
who is responsible for a series of accidents during the
voyages, including the death of a honeymooning couple.
The Angels receive a threatening note before they have
even boarded the ship. A crew member is murdered during
the cruise, and Bosley is knocked out and stripped naked
after a phony "man overboard" warning. The killer locks
Kelly into a passageway and turns on the steam valve;
but she is able escape through a panel in the ceiling.
Bosley, Jill
and Sabrina announce that Kelly is dead, and ask the
passengers to submit to fingerprinting so that their
prints may be compared to those supposedly left on the
steam valve. The killer takes the bait; and Kelly
catches Harry Dana, the ship's comedian, wiping the
valve clean. The Angels capture him, only to learn that
he has planted three sophisticated bombs somewhere on
the ship. The deranged Dana explains that he developed
psychic abilities after a car accident a few years ago,
and blames his boss for his inability to obtain funding
to begin a research center. He finally reveals the
location of the bombs. A member of the bomb squad
communicates with the Angels via radio and helps them
work on the devices, which they are ultimately able to
throw overboard.
Guest Cast: Frank Gorshin (Harry Dana), David Watson
(Tom Lavin), Harold J. Stone (John Strauss), Katie
Hopkins Zerby (Jerian), Michael Irving (Jack Armetage),
Meg Wyllie (Mrs. Gow)
Writer: John D.F. Black
Director: Allen Baron
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 22.
The Blue Angels (May 4, 1977)
The Angels rejoin the police department in a
story directed by actor Georg Stanford Brown,
Kate Jackson's co-star on The Rookies. In order
to investigate possible police corruption within
the local massage parlor industry, Sabrina goes
undercover as a vice officer, while Kelly
impersonates a cadet. Meanwhile, Jill poses as a
masseuse. This episode also features Michael
Bell (reprising his role as Sabrina's ex-husband
Bill), Dirk Benedict (The A-Team), and veteran
screen heavy Ed Lauter (The Longest Yard). "The
Blue Angels" also marks Farrah Fawcett's final
appearance as a series regular. Shortly before
this episode aired, Fawcett announced her
decision not to return to Charlie's Angels in
order to pursue a movie career.
Producers Spelling and Goldberg balked, citing the fact
Fawcett's contract on the show still had two years to
run. The ensuing dispute attracted national media
attention, and would lead to a major change in cast
finally being resolved in 1978.
Guest Cast: Dirk Benedict (John Barton), Tom Ligon
(Miller), Timothy Carey (Burt), Michael Bell (Bill
Duncan), Joanna Kerns (Natalie Sands), Paul Larsen (Cap. Rogers), Ed Lauter
(Lt. Howard "Doc" Fine)
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
Director: Georg Stanford Brown |
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