O'Hara, U.S. Treasury

Last updated
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury.png
Genre Crime drama
Created byJames E. Moser
Jack Webb
Written byFletcher Beaumont
Richard Carlson
James Doherty
Jackson Gillis
Herman Groves
Robert I. Holt
William P. McGivern
Dick Morgan
James E. Moser
Tony Patino
Herb Purdum
Gilbert Ralston
Bill Rega
Hank Searls
Jack Turley
Dan Ullman
David H. Vowell
Directed byAlan Crosland, Jr.
Lawrence Dobkin
Sam Freedle
Daniel Haller
Paul Krasny
Paul Landres
Gerald Mayer
Dick Moder
James Neilson
Allen Reisner
Ron Winston
Starring David Janssen
Theme music composer Ray Heindorf
William Lava
Composers Fred Steiner
William Lava
Sidney Fine
Dave Brubeck
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes22 + Pilot
Production
Executive producerJack Webb
ProducerLeonard B. Kaufman
CinematographyFred Mandl
Running time60 minutes
Production companies Mark VII Limited
David Janssen Enterprises Inc.
Universal Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseSeptember 17, 1971 (1971-09-17) 
March 10, 1972 (1972-03-10)

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (on-screen title is O'Hara, United States Treasury) was an American television crime drama starring David Janssen and broadcast by CBS during the 1971-72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited packaged the program for Universal Television. Webb and longtime colleague James E. Moser created the show; Leonard B. Kaufman was the producer. The series was produced with the full approval and cooperation of the United States Department of the Treasury. [1]

Contents

Synopsis

O'Hara, U.S. Treasury starred Janssen (whose company co-produced the show with Mark VII) as the title character, Treasury Agent Jim O'Hara. A county sheriff from Nebraska whose wife and child died in a fire, O'Hara cut all ties with his past life. He takes the Treasury Enforcement Agent exam and puts in an application with the United States Department of the Treasury, Secret Service. He is offered a position as a Special Agent with the Customs Service. He accepts the offer. He is assigned to a Customs office on the U.S.-Mexico border. His first case requires him to go undercover to break up a large narcotics smuggling organization. His abilities as an undercover agent become apparent to his bosses.

As a "T-Man," O'Hara was available to any of the various law enforcement agencies then part of the Department, all of which cooperated in this positive portrayal of their various organizations, much in the manner of the Los Angeles Police Department with Webb's Dragnet and Adam-12. These included the Secret Service, the Intelligence Unit of the Internal Revenue Service, the then-Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of IRS, and the then-Customs Bureau.

O'Hara sometimes worked undercover. Janssen was the series' only regular, as he was given a different assignment at the start of each weekly episode.

Guest stars in the series' brief run included: Bruce Bennett, Godfrey Cambridge, Paul Comi, William Conrad, Yvonne Craig, Gary Crosby, Will Geer, Frank Gorshin, Alan Hale, Jr., Martha Hyer, Marilyn Maxwell, Ricardo Montalbán, Judy Pace, Leslie Parrish, Larry Pennell, Brock Peters, Charles Knox Robinson, Marion Ross, Don Stroud, George Takei, Jessica Tandy, Angel Tompkins, Lindsay Wagner, Betty White, Joseph Wiseman, Lana Wood, and Dana Wynter.

O'Hara marked the first Mark VII show to run a full hour in length; all of Webb's previous efforts (excepting the TV-movie pilot for Dragnet 1967) ran in half-hour episodes. It was also one of the few he did not package for NBC. The show failed to compete in the Nielsen ratings against ABC's The Partridge Family and Room 222 and ended after one season, ranking 48th out of 78 shows with an average 17.1 rating. [2] Reruns were later shown on the A&E Network in the 1990s and on Retro Television Network in the 2000s. [3]

According to Brandon Tartikoff, when Fred Silverman was the head of programming at CBS and considering whether or not to renew O'Hara, he met with a representative of the Treasury Department, who told him, "There are those of us down in Washington who like the idea of a weekly prime-time showcase. So if the show gets cancelled, we're gonna do what we've gotta do." Silverman didn't take the Treasury representative seriously, but according to Tartikoff, after the show was cancelled, "about a dozen top CBS executives on both coasts had their income taxes audited the following year." [4]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
TBA"Operation: Cobra"Jack WebbJames E. MoserApril 2, 1971 (1971-04-02)
1"Operation: Big Store"Gerald MayerStory by: Gilbert Ralston
Teleplay by: Gilbert Ralston & Robert I. Holt
September 17, 1971 (1971-09-17)
2"Operation: Bandera"Allen Reisner William P. McGivern September 24, 1971 (1971-09-24)
3"Operation: Stolen Bonds"Sam FreedleFletcher BeaumontOctober 1, 1971 (1971-10-01)
4"Operation: Bribery"Allen ReisnerRobert I. HoltOctober 8, 1971 (1971-10-08)
5"Operation: Time-Fuse" Lawrence Dobkin William P. McGivernOctober 15, 1971 (1971-10-15)
6"Operation: Offset"Richard ModerHank Searls & Richard CarlsonOctober 22, 1971 (1971-10-22)
7"Operation: Heroin"James NeilsonDavid H. VowellOctober 29, 1971 (1971-10-29)
8"Operation: Spread"Alan Crosland, Jr.Richard CarlsonNovember 5, 1971 (1971-11-05)
9"Operation: Deadhead"Paul KrasnyJack TurleyNovember 12, 1971 (1971-11-12)
10"Operation: Hijack"Sam FreedleHerman GrovesNovember 26, 1971 (1971-11-26)
11"Operation: Crystal Springs"Alan Crosland, Jr.Gilbert RalstonDecember 3, 1971 (1971-12-03)
12"Operation: Payoff" Daniel Haller Herb PurdumDecember 10, 1971 (1971-12-10)
13"Operation: Moonshine"Paul LandresJames Moser & Robert I. HoltDecember 17, 1971 (1971-12-17)
14"Operation: XW-1"Ron WinstonWilliam P. McGivernJanuary 7, 1972 (1972-01-07)
15"Operation: Lady Luck"Sam FreedleBill RegaJanuary 14, 1972 (1972-01-14)
16"Operation: Deathwatch"James NeilsonJackson Gillis & Robert I. HoltJanuary 21, 1972 (1972-01-21)
17"Operation: White Fire"Alan Crosland, Jr.David H. VowellJanuary 28, 1972 (1972-01-28)
18"Operation: Dorais"Lawrence DobkinRichard CarlsonFebruary 4, 1972 (1972-02-04)
19"Operation: Rake-Off"Sam FreedleJames DohertyFebruary 11, 1972 (1972-02-11)
20"Operation: Mr. Felix"Alan Crosland, Jr.Tony PatinoFebruary 18, 1972 (1972-02-18)
21"Operation: Good Citizen"Dick ModerDick MorganMarch 3, 1972 (1972-03-03)
22"Operation: Smoke Screen"James NeilsonDan UllmanMarch 10, 1972 (1972-03-10)

Award nomination

YearAwardResultCategory
1972 Golden Globe Award NominatedBest TV Show - Drama

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Janssen</span> American actor (1931–1980)

David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967). Janssen also had the title roles in three other series: Richard Diamond, Private Detective; O'Hara, U.S. Treasury; and Harry O.

<i>Dragnet</i> (franchise) Radio, television, and film series, mostly about LAPD detective Joe Friday

Dragnet is an American media franchise created by actor and producer Jack Webb, following Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Joe Friday and his partners as they conduct by-the-book police work and solve crimes in Los Angeles. Originating as a radio drama on NBC in 1949, Dragnet has been adapted into several successful television shows and films, though the franchise's popularity has reduced since Webb's death in 1982. Its name is derived from the police term "dragnet", a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Webb</span> American actor, producer, director, and writer (1920–1982)

John Randolph Webb was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, most famous for his role as Joe Friday in the Dragnet franchise, which he created. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Tartikoff</span> American television executive (1949–1997)

Brandon Tartikoff was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several hit series: Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Law & Order, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, The Golden Girls, Wings, Miami Vice, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Saved by the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, St. Elsewhere, and Night Court.

The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agencies as the protagonists, as contrasted with other genres that focus on non-police investigators such as private investigators.

<i>Adam-12</i> American police procedural television series, 1968–1975

Adam-12 is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb and produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol Los Angeles in their police cruiser, assigned the call sign "1-Adam-12". Adam-12 stars Martin Milner and Kent McCord, with several recurring co-stars, the most frequent being William Boyett and Gary Crosby. The series ran over seven seasons from September 21, 1968, until May 20, 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Milner</span> American actor (1931–2015)

Martin Sam Milner was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: Route 66, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and Adam-12, which aired on NBC from 1968 to 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Silverman</span> American television executive (1937–2020)

Fred Silverman was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, All in the Family (1971–1979), The Waltons (1972–1981), and Charlie's Angels (1976–1981), as well as the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), Roots (1977), and Shōgun (1980). For his success in programming such successful shows, Time magazine declared him "The Man with the Golden Gut" in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark VII Limited</span> Production company of actor and filmmaker Jack Webb

Mark VII Limited was the production company of actor and filmmaker Jack Webb, and was active from 1951 to his death in 1982. Many of its series were produced in association with Universal Television; most of them aired on the NBC television network in the United States.

<i>The D.A.</i> (1971 TV series) American TV series or program

The D.A. is an American half-hour legal drama that aired Fridays at 8:00-8:30 pm on NBC for the 1971-72 season. It ran from September 17, 1971 to January 7, 1972 and was replaced by Sanford and Son the following week. The show was packaged by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited for Universal Television and is not to be confused with a show Webb produced in 1959 with a similar name, The D.A.'s Man, which starred John Compton in the lead role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Silverman</span> American media executive (born 1970)

Benjamin Noah Silverman is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate.

Beggars and Choosers is an American comedy-drama television series broadcast by Showtime. Developed by Peter Lefcourt and Brandon Tartikoff, the series was a comedic, behind-the-scenes look at network television. Its 42 episodes aired between June 19, 1999, and February 6, 2001.

Robert A. Cinader was an American television producer best known for his work on two NBC series packaged by actor/producer Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited, Adam-12 and Emergency! The latter show in particular was widely credited by observers as one of the most important efforts to promote the widespread adoption of paramedic services by fire departments and hospitals in the U.S.

<i>Chase</i> (1973 TV series) American TV series or program

Chase is an American crime drama television series that aired on the NBC network from September 11, 1973, to April 10, 1974. The show was a production of Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited for Universal Television and marked the first show created by Stephen J. Cannell, who later became known for creating and/or producing his own programs, including NBC's The A-Team. Jack Webb directed the pilot, which aired March 24, 1973.

NCIS: Los Angeles is an American action crime drama television series combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009. The series follows the exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments. NCIS: Los Angeles is the first spin-off of the successful series NCIS and the second series in the NCIS franchise. The series concluded on May 21, 2023, making it the second series in the NCIS franchise to end.

Sam is an American crime drama television series that aired on the CBS network from March 14 to April 18, 1978 for six episodes. It told the story of a Los Angeles police officer, Mike Breen, and his specially-trained police dog, Sam, a Labrador Retriever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stacy Harris</span> Actor (1918–1973)

Stacy Harris was an American actor with hundreds of film and television appearances. His name is sometimes found misspelled Stacey Harris.

Escape is an American anthology series that aired on the NBC network from February 11 to April 1, 1973. The show was a production of Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited for Universal Television. It aired on Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. Eastern, following the NBC Mystery Movie.

<i>The Hogan Family</i> American television series

The Hogan Family is an American sitcom television series that began airing on NBC on March 1, 1986, and finished its run on CBS on July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It was produced in association with Lorimar Productions (1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–1988), and Lorimar Television (1988–1991).

<i>FBI</i> (TV series) 2018 American crime drama television series

FBI is an American crime drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk that airs on CBS, where it premiered on September 25, 2018. The series is produced by Wolf Entertainment, CBS Studios, and Universal Television, with Dick Wolf, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski, and Turk serving as executive producers.

References

  1. "O'Hara, U.S. Treasury series regulars and episode guide". Ultimate 70s. 27 January 2014.
  2. "The TV Ratings Guide: 1971-72 Ratings History".
  3. http://www. myretrotv.com/shows.html
  4. Tartikoff, Brandon; Leerhsen, Charles (1992). The Last Great Ride. New York: Turtle Bay Books. p. 27. ISBN   039458709X.