I love a good action drama. I do not care the setting I love action dramas. Military dramas like Tour of Duty, Black Sheep Squadron, and Seal Team. I like a good cop show too. Talk about a nice mix of action and drama the cop show does this well. The Shield, Hill Street Blues, and well just listen to the cop show episode for more on that. the thing I like more than these two sub genres is the private eye show. You get all the back story of the cop show and the action of a military drama. The stakes always seem higher and more personal. So, without further ado here are five of my favorite Private Eye shows.

Remington Steele

I sort of remember this one. I did enjoy when I would catch it on, but I was not a regular viewer. It is kind of weird. When I was younger, I really did not understand anything about how television worked. I mean I knew there was a schedule, but I did not really understand much beyond that. plus, when I was younger, I really did not have a set schedule, or at least that is how it felt, so setting up a schedule for my shows was something I would not do until much later in life.

Remington Steel was a private eye show with a feminist twist to it. every other private eye show I have ever seen is a male led, except V.I.P. but that is for another time. What we have, and this all explained in the opening of every episode if I remember correctly, is a young woman has a detective agency, but people are hesitant to hire a woman. Late seventies and early eighties are about the only time this could take place. So, she invents a male boss, the titular Remington Steel. Now all of sudden we have more work than we know what to do with.

Our first case involves rare gems being displayed at a debut for a new car. The client is concerned with the safety of the stones.  He desperately wants to meet our Remington Steel; however, our lead Laura Holt holds him off as long as she can. These gems, and that is how they are referred to not diamonds or rubies but generically gems, are sought after by a criminal organization and a con man. A lot around these stones. I do not remember if it was explained why they were so valuable or important, but I imagine we know all we need to for our story.

First up let’s talk about Laura Holt played by Stephanie Zimbalist who you know from a bunch of tv movies like the Killing Mind, the Hidden Room, and one of my favorite a miniseries Centennial which I first saw part of in eighth grade. Laura is the head detective of the Remington Steel agency and the one who has created the nonexistent Remington Steel. She runs the whole show until Remington Steel shows up.

Remington Steel is a suave and debonair British detective on the trail of these gems. Remington Steel is played by Pierce Brosnan who you most likely know as James Bond as well as the Thomas Crown Affair, Mars Attacks, and Mama Mia. He shows up and reveals to the client, as well as Laura, he is in fact Remington Steel and now we are off to the races. Turns out he is actually a con man and a thief tracking these rare gems across the globe. he does decide to stick around and now we have a real Remington Steel to put out to the clients.

I love Pierce Brosnan, and I love him in this role. I honestly would rather have seen a few episodes of Laura running the show and use Remington very sparingly throughout the series. I mean if we are going to do the whole female empowerment thing why not stick with it? why does she need a man to save her. Always, well not always, felt like this was a bit of a cop out.

The other character we see here is Mildred Krebs who, if I remember, was like an office manager/assistant. She is played by the wonderful Doris Roberts who most will know as Raymond’s mom on everybody loves Raymond, as well as national Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Taking of Pelham 123. Sort of an office mom she runs things around the office and helps out. I believe they bring her in a little later in the series if I am remembering correctly.
if you need to see this it looks like you will have to purchase this one on amazon or iTunes.

Moonlighting

Ah Moonlighting what can you really say about moonlighting. This was right before Bruce Willis would break out in Die Hard so what a great get for the network. The show centered around the Blue Moon Detective Agency and the cases they would work on. This agency was owned by a former model whose business manager fled the country with all of her money leaving only this broke down agency behind.

Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Sheppard, is the model owner who has always been hands off until now. Now you know Cybil Sheppard from a ton of stuff like Last Picture Show, Taxi Driver, and her other show Cybill. She was to bring an element of glamour and refinement to our little detective agency. She was the face of the operation. You can tell she has not worked much before this. Not that modeling is not a hard gig it really is, but she has not spent an evening as a homeless person waiting to snap pictures of a philandering hubby kind of work. She would always but heads with David Addison.

David Addison is the one who has been pushing to keep this agency running. He was the only detective on the books for the show. He is played by a young Bruce Willis. Now what would you know Bruce Willis from? He did a little action movie called Die Hard you may have seen. It has had a few sequels. He was also in this little summer movie called Armageddon about a meteor heading toward the earth. Some unknowns in it as well. Like a Ben Affleck, Steve Buscemi, and Owen Wilson. Obviously, I am kidding here. This show was a hit just prior to Bruce Willis being a hit so this was a pretty good thing.

Now who really ran this operation? Why the wonderful Miss Depesto is who really ran the show. I always loved how she would answer the phone with this long message that was different every call and would always rhyme. Yes, I love Miss Depesto. She was brought to life by Allyce Beasly who you may also know from Stuart Little, Legally Blonde, and Maniac. She just exuded this energy that was so positive it was wonderful. I honestly think we all need to be a little more like Miss Depesto is all I am saying.

Now for me the show does not take form until they bring in Curtis Armstrong. You know him as Booger on Revenge of the Nerds movies. He was also in Risky Business, Supernatural, and Robots and Monster. His character was really sort of shown as an Addison in training. He was always a little disheveled and unshaven. But he was in love with Miss Depesto, so badly. I think they did end up getting together for the last couple of seasons.

I say this is where the show came together for me because this is where the cases got a little more outlandish and crazy. This is clearly a mark in the show. I do not know if they changed the writer’s room or show runner or what, but it did become more comic book like. Meaning that it was not always rooted in reality. I can remember a scene in a mattress warehouse or storage facility, and they were chasing the bad guy and bouncing on the mattresses like trampolines. Yeah, you got to see it.

I was so over the top for this show, and really the character of David Addison, that it was not funny. I am not kidding at like fourteen I wanted a receding hairline like he had. I hoped one day I would have that. I am slowly working on it at now it is starting to get there. I also had a project in freshman English, Momma Higgs for those who remember, where I had to update the language from a portion of Romeo and Juliet. I chose the do dreamers dream speech. Of course, I had to put into the moonlighting phrasing. So, it become the old “do dreamers dream? Do bees be, or are bears bare?” oh yeah, I thought I was awesome. I think only one or two people in the room got the reference, so it fell a little bit flat.

If you like your private eye show with a slower pace and more focused on the relationships of the characters mixed in with the cases, then this is a show for you. if you are looking for it, I hope you find it. I could not find it anywhere. Which is probably for the best. This holds such a happy place for me I would hate to ruin it by seeing it now and having it fall short.

Knight Rider

This is a fun one to make fun of, but many forget this was “must see” tv back in the day. I am talking about the wonderful Knight Rider. Last check it was on Netflix. This was one I watched religiously. This was one we talked about at school on Monday. This was the show. I mean you had a cool guy, Michael Knight, you had a cool car, the Knight Industries Two Thousand, and we are setting right the wrongs, we were fighting bullies plain and simple.

Michael Knight comes to be after Michael Long is betrayed and shot. This is all in the pilot, and very early on,  so no real spoiler here.  Michael Long is saved from death by a secret organization. They give him a new name and some plastic surgery to change his appearance. And now he is a tool for good in the world. Michael Knight is played by the one the only David Hasselhoff who you will know from Bay Watch, and America’s Got Talent for a few seasons. I love the Hoff. I think deep down we all love the Hoff. Yeah, we give him a ribbing but all in all I think we enjoy seeing him. Seems like most of his roles are him poking fun at himself, all the way to the bank. In the beginning of the first episode, we got a stand in actor, but it is Hasselhoff’s voice over him. Which is a nice little detail I did not pick up until I watched here for this. The one thing surgery would not have changed would have been the voice. it’s a small detail but I think it is a good on. Then once he has been shot and surgically altered, to look like a younger version of the head of the foundation, he is Hasselhoff through and though. He seemed to be this sort of eighties amalgam of what a man should be. Yes, he is strong and a veteran, but he is also kind and caring. There was definitely a softer side to Michael Knight.

Edward Mulhare plays Devon Miles; he is the one who seems to be pointing Michael in the direction we need him to go. As it is the eighties, he is this sort of uptight Brit who is always a little disapproving of Michael’s methods regardless of the ending. you will know Mulhare from the Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Von Ryan Express, and episodes of Hunter, Hotel and just about anything else that was on.

We had a tech guru always working on the car. She, yes she, was always in the truck when Michael would pull in.  Patricia McPherson was a woman ahead of her time. She was clearly the lead mechanic working on this tech in the field. They never made a thing out of it. it almost feels like they casted the best actor and it turned out to be a woman. You will know her from episodes of Star trek TNG, Murder She Wrote, and MacGyver.

The car was definitely the draw, at least for fifth grade me. I mean this thing could just drive up a ramp on a moving semi-truck and there would be an entire garage. It was almost like a moving office building. So much room for car, tools, parts and meetings. Most of the guys I would talk to about this show, everyone on the playground on Monday, were into the car as a car; I enjoyed all the tech. this car was self-driving, I mean can they even do that? along with being bullet proof. And let’s not forget the turbo boost. Why is it in the eighties all you needed was a turbo boost to launch your car into the air? No ramp just more speed. I would like to point out that voice of KITT is actually that of Mr. Finney, William Daniels, he is uncredited in the role. I am guessing he did not want to be associated with a talking car or something. I think his voice work on the show was awesome. I honestly felt like this is what that car would sound like. They did a reboot in 08 I think it was a Val Kilmer was the voice. While this was a last-minute change, I think this is the only other voice I would accept as the voiced of KITT.

Magnum PI

Magnum PI was a show I did not watch consistently when I was younger. I did enjoy when I would come across it and I think I even caught a bunch of episodes in reruns on USA or something. Really where I saw it was in reruns on lower tier cable channels. The acting was pretty good. I enjoyed much of the writing as well. For me though I loved the setting. Hawaii is so beautiful. If you ever get a chance to go you should definitely take it. just gorgeous.

We got a group of navy buddies living on the island of Oahu and engaged in various jobs of their own. They all seem to be available whenever magnum calls them. Thomas Magnum is played by Tom Selleck, you know from Blue Bloods, Three Men and Baby/ Little Lady movies, and the series Las Vegas. Thomas is a retired Navy seal who served in Viet Nam. In those days everybody served, and I get it. this was a major war, and we lost a lot of people, some did not come back and many who did come back were never the same. Thomas and his guys were all Seals, which gets played to throughout the run of the show but it primarily there to show brotherhood. Magnum is a private investigator and as it is with most of the cases, he was solving the crimes for the police. Each week someone would get into some trouble, usually a damsel in distress or a worried father searching for his daughter, Thomas would take the obviously loosing case that he was sure would not work out and every week it would then work out. I love stepping back and looking at shows in such basic terms. Why do we tune in every week we already know how all these cases go, even the ones with the double cross?  To solve these cases Thomas would have to rely on his friends.

T. C. is a chopper pilot and now he does tours of the islands. I mean when he is not tracking down cars and boats for Magnum that is. T. C. is played by Roger E. Mosely who you know from Hanging with Mr. Cooper, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, and FCU Fact Checkers Unit. Primarily you know him from Magnum he has also made a cameo in the reboot of that series, which has grown on me over time. T. C. is always available for Thomas and is willing to work and help when he can.

The real miracle worker in this group is Orville, I mean Rick. Rick is played by Larry Manetti who you know from Black Sheep Squadron, which I was shocked to learn was based on an actual group, Battle Star Galactica and several episodes of the Hawaii 5-0 remake, also a pretty good show. Rick has his finger on the pulse of the island and is connected all over. He owns or runs the local bar, and this of course affords him these connections. I can say having run a small bar back in the nineties you’d be surprised how many different types of people you meet in that job. Not a far stretch to think Rick can pick up the phone make a couple of calls and have some answers for you from the underworld. And that is all I will say about that. 

 John Hillerman, who you know from The Last Picture Show, Blazing Saddles, and Chinatown, plays Higgins he runs the estate of Robin Masters. This is where Magnum lives. he is the head of security for Mr. Masters and is always breaking in and trying to steal things as a security check. This puts Higgins and Magnum at odds from the beginning. Now this friendship does blossom over the run of the show and if I remember Higgins becomes a member of the team sort of by the end of the show. Now we never see Robin Masters, author extraordinaire, but there was a story line that Higgins may in fact be Robin, but like I said I did not watch this consistently enough to say how this line turned out.

Rick and TC were usually our first stops with the new case. Thomas would have the case and the sob story but nothing really to go on. He would then contact Rick or TC and then we would have a direction to go to. This show would run like most private eye shows. we all know the formula here. We get the case, we investigate, we determine this is worse than we thought. Then you find the real criminal the police make an arrest. We get a joke about staying on the straight and narrow in the future and then credits. Unless this was a double cross then you get the disappointed look from Thomas because he was hoping it was not a double cross, but it was.

I know it sounds like I did not like this show, but I did. Action dramas are where I live. My only real complaint here is that all these people seem to get lost, taken, or otherwise forced to Hawaii. That is not cheap. Yes, it is an island chain in the pacific and can be a link between the US and Asia but still with what it costs I am surprise shows shoot there never mind the kid napping and hiding on the island. It does make for some wonderful establishing shots. Crystal clear water that allows you to see all the way to the bottom, green trees, and beautiful jungle foliage everywhere, and of course people on the beach enjoying their vacation.

I have been to Hawaii once when I was younger, and it was probably my favorite trip anywhere ever. You cannot believe the beauty that surrounds this place. We stayed on the Island of Maui. When we flew in the runway was out on the water. So, you are looking out the window at the plane getting lower and lower but no land no land no land. You can see the bottom through the water, so you know you got to be close, then BAM runway and you’re on the ground. We took a trip up to the top of mount Haleakala. This is a dormant volcano you can actually camp in the crater; we did not do that. we just drove to the top. We were in Hawaii so shorts tank top and slippers.  Not thinking that when we get to the top at roughly ten thousand feet up it would be a little cooler than when we started. So, at the hotel it is like eighty and beautiful. I swear we got out of the van, and we all were instantly freezing. I bought a sweatshirt, cheap the word Maui printed on it in blue and paid way too much for it, but what else are you going to do? just be cold? Anyway, Hawaii is beautiful and if you cannot get there check out Magnum PI which you can find VUDU for purchase or you can watch it over on freevee. That one is new to me I have never heard of it before.

Burn Notice

This is the one show on this list that is a little different than the others. First of all, there is about twenty years between this and all the other shows on this list. Secondly our lead is a burned spy, and I really think that may be new. Burn Notice is a wonderful show. Essentially, we have a burned spy who is living in Miami, one of my favorite characters in this show is the city, trying to find out who burned him and how to get back into the spy biz. The show even has the classic private eye voice over, but this is not just internal thoughts but more of a class on how to be a spy without the backing of a formal agency to help. I really think this should have been the end of the series. We show our hero finishing his lecture to a class at Langley or wherever. This way we see all the show as if it were one giant flashback. That is just me. I love a good call back and reveal in a finale. I am always hoping for the overall dream or plan not take, you know like the movie Wisdom with Emilio Estevez. I feel like I am always a couple of weeks away from restarting this show.

Our lead character, Michael Westin, is an intelligence operative and has been through much of his military career. Michael Westin is played by Jeffrey Donovan who was on a season of Fargo, currently on Law and Order, and a little bit part in the miniseries the 60’s. I love this and showed in class when I was teaching US history. If you blink you will miss him in that one. Michael gets burned while on mission. I mean he is in the middle of a funds transfer and finds out he has been burned. He must escape and get to safety which of course he does. He awakens to find himself in Miami. This is revealed to him by his IRA ex-girlfriend Fiona Glennanne.

Gabrielle Anwar Plays Fiona. You know her from Once Upon a Time, The Tudors, and a remake of Body Snatchers. Her heavy Irish accent is toned down by the second episode. She is our arms dealer and explosives expert. This woman is ready to fight at the drop of a hat. Really a feminist ideal if you ask me. This character I do not even think of in terms of gender. She is just as smart and tough as the guys on the show, and in some cases tougher and smarter. Fiona has an ongoing love hate relationship with Sam Axe.

Bruce Campbell is absolutely wonderful in everything I have seen him in. yes, all three Evil Dead movies, Briscoe County Junior, and of course the Evil Dead show Ash v. The Evil Dead. I cannot say enough about that show, it is excellent. If you like your horror with over-the-top gore that makes you simultaneously cringe and laugh this is your show. Sam is a former Navy seal whose best days are probably behind him. When we meet him, he is a bit rough? He has let himself go a bit and he is now taking the easy way. He is making a living leaching off of the women he is wooing and also informing on his friend, Michael, to the FBI.

The other major character that we see every episode is Momma Westin, played by Sharon Gless. You know from Cagney and Lacey, as well as the Exorcist show, and Nip Tuck. She is classic mom. Always concerned for her son’s safety and happiness. I love that she still acts like Michael, and the team really, is still a ten-year-old boy. She also forces Michael to reconnect with his little brother in the early seasons. Just your typical mom. I have to say there moments that she reminds me of my mom. I mean that in the best possible way too. She is just looking out for her kid; never mind he is a trained intelligence operative who could start a coup with ten dollars and a paperclip.

There is one character I wish had more of a presence. He seems to come and go through out the series. You will see him for a few episodes then he disappears. I guess Berry the money launderer has to be mobile when he can be. I love this guy. He looks like about a hundred guys I saw growing up in south Florida in the eighties. He nails the part. I have a friend whose wife had Berry, Paul Tei, as an economics professor in college. This would definitely give me pause. If I walked into an econ class to discover a known money launderer was running the class. Obviously, he is just an actor and not actually a money guy to the criminal underworld, but still.

True to the private eye show format we have our case of the week. Always someone who needs help who knows someone we have helped or is a friend of the team or mom. We always have a case every week. Even when the show shifted in the later seasons to being more serialized than episodic, we still got our case of the week. I mean the show was one of the first to utilize a through story. the first few seasons are all about getting out of Miami and back to being a spy. So, there is a constant battle there mixed with the case of the week. Now add in a dash of friends and a pinch of family and you got this show. It feels very real and very lived in. all these actors are excellent and do not even feel like acting. even when Michael goes all Hannibal Smith with the character work. Michael Donovan will never get the credit he deserves for being as good as he is. Yes, these characters do look over the top and out of place initially but as we settle into the case these characters work and is some of the best acting on television. My only criticism here is something any of us who watch a show that is set where we live would have. They do not understand the time it takes to get to places throughout Florida. Florida is long. It takes time to get anywhere. Orlando is literally an hour outside of Orlando. Not to mention the keys take forever to get to. Yet you will hear impossible plans of Lunch in Orlando and a dinner in key largo. All starting form Miami. So we are talking about a four-hour drive to Orlando and then another four back to Miami and a couple of more down to Key Largo. And of course, all this is going to suppose there is no traffic. I hear it, I laugh, I move on. It really does not take away from the story that much. Do not even get me started on the lack heat and humidity. If it is mentioned, it is only for story. other wise no one has frizzy hair or shirts that have been sweat through. If you live in south Florida, you know.

If you like your action dramas this is one you need to see. This one is available on Hulu with a subscription. If you have Hulu check it out. It is pretty good.

There it is my five private eye shows. did I get yours? Let me know on social media with the hashtag that and a dollar podcast. Please check us out at twitter at @thatandadollar. You can also join our Facebook group that and a dollar podcast. You can also find me on Instagram at @a_guy_named_chuck. Also be sure to check out the blog post over at primarilyentertainment.com. if you would like to support this one-man operation, please leave a tip at www.buymeacoffee.com/thatandadollar as always, I am guy /named and that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.