Adderly

Last updated
Adderly
Created by Elliott Baker, based on his novel Pocock & Pitt
Starring Winston Rekert
Dixie Seatle
Jonathan Welsh
Ken Pogue
Country of originCanada
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes44
Production
Production location Toronto
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesGlobal Television Network
JayGee Productions
Robert Cooper Productions
Release
Original network Global (Canada)
CBS (USA)
Original releaseSeptember 24, 1986 (1986-09-24) 
March 9, 1988 (1988-03-09)

Adderly is a Canadian television adventure-drama series which aired from 1986 to 1988. It was broadcast on both Canadian TV and on CBS in the United States. It starred Vancouver-born Winston Rekert as "charming and witty V.H. Adderly," an operative working for an obscure government intelligence agency. [1]

Contents

Background

Adderly was based on series creator Elliott Baker's novel, Pocock & Pitt.

Cast

Occasional:

Plot

V.H. Adderly (Rekert) is a secret agent for an organization known as the I.S.I (International Security and Intelligence). Before the series begins, an enemy agent, Victor Barinov, crushes Adderly's left hand with a medieval mace during an interrogation in East Germany. Adderly loses the use of the hand, and since he is no longer considered useful as an active agent, he is reassigned to the I.S.I.'s tiny Department of Miscellaneous Affairs, located in a small basement office. This is meant to be a sort of "good service" reward for Adderly, as his supposedly cushy Miscellaneous Affairs job is mostly concerned with mundane in-house administrative paperwork. During the series, Adderly consistently finds ways to use his vague, non-specific status as a representative of "Miscellaneous Affairs" to actively investigate anything the I.S.I. has overlooked, and regularly goes above and beyond his mundane duties to uncover and neutralize dread plots that the larger organization has failed to investigate. [2]

Miscellaneous Affairs is officially run by Melville Greenspan (Welsh), a man fastidiously devoted to bureaucracy and unwilling to allow Adderly the freedom to pursue his outside interests. The only other departmental staff member is Mona Ellerby (Seatle), Greenspan's over-qualified secretary who is addicted to adventure and romance novels. Greenspan's superior is Major Jonathan B. Clack (Pogue), who is in charge of the I.S.I. as a whole, and is responsible for Adderly's reassignment from active field operations to Miscellaneous Affairs.

Through the course of the 44-episode run, Adderly repeatedly demonstrates his ability to perform the duties of an active field agent, even saving the life of Major Clack himself. This only confirms to Clack that Adderly is an important asset at his current post. It is implied[ citation needed ] that Clack may have created the Department of Miscellaneous Affairs to allow Adderly the freedom and flexibility to pursue various cases which the I.S.I. couldn't normally handle.

Episode guide

Season 1 (1986–87)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Hit-Man Complex" Don McBrearty Elliott BakerSeptember 24, 1986 (1986-09-24)
22"Mailman"Gilbert ShiltonRobert ArnottOctober 1, 1986 (1986-10-01)
33"Critical Mass" Paul Shapiro Aubrey SolomonOctober 8, 1986 (1986-10-08)
44"A Change of Mind"Joseph L. ScanlanLen Janson & Chuck MenvilleOctober 15, 1986 (1986-10-15)
55"Backfire"Gilbert ShiltonAlfred HarrisOctober 22, 1986 (1986-10-22)
66"Rich Kid"Randy BradshawElliott BakerOctober 29, 1986 (1986-10-29)
77"Capture the Flag"Charles DennisCharles DennisNovember 5, 1986 (1986-11-05)
88"Nina Who?"Timothy BondCarl BinderNovember 12, 1986 (1986-11-12)
99"The Dancing Lesson"William CorcoranElliott BakerNovember 19, 1986 (1986-11-19)
1010"Adderly with Eggroll"Peter RoweTony SheerNovember 26, 1986 (1986-11-26)
1111"Brotherly Love"Bruce PittmanJaron SummersDecember 3, 1986 (1986-12-03)
1212"Secrets of the Sun"William CorcoranJim OsborneJanuary 7, 1987 (1987-01-07)
1313"A Matter of Discretion"F. Harvey FrostJudith ThompsonJanuary 14, 1987 (1987-01-14)
1414"Nemesis"Timothy BondCarl BinderFebruary 4, 1987 (1987-02-04)
1515"Year of the Tiger"Alan SimmondsJim HenshawFebruary 11, 1987 (1987-02-11)
1616"Who Do, Voodoo"William CorcoranKen GassFebruary 18, 1987 (1987-02-18)
1717"Miscellaneous News"Timothy BondGuy Mullally & Gregor HutchisonFebruary 25, 1987 (1987-02-25)
1818"Tiers of Interment"George BloomfieldCarl BinderMarch 4, 1987 (1987-03-04)
1919"Running Backward"Stefan ScainiStory by: Carol Bolt & Carl Binder
Teleplay by: Carl Binder
April 8, 1987 (1987-04-08)
2020"Class of '87"Timothy BondDon MankiewiczApril 29, 1987 (1987-04-29)
2121"Mirror Man"Jorge MontesiJim HenshawMay 13, 1987 (1987-05-13)
2222"A Far, Far Better Thing"Rene BonnierePeter Lauterman & Angelo SteaMay 27, 1987 (1987-05-27)

Season 2 (1987–88)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
231"Speed of Light"George BloomfieldGlenn NormanAugust 7, 1987 (1987-08-07)
242"Run to Darkness"Jorge MontesiJim HenshawAugust 14, 1987 (1987-08-14)
253"Eye in the Sky"Joseph L. ScanlanCarl BinderAugust 21, 1987 (1987-08-21)
264"To Better Days"Joseph L. ScanlanJohnny Segura & Alan ZweigAugust 28, 1987 (1987-08-28)
275"Blood Feud"George BloomfieldJim HenshawSeptember 4, 1987 (1987-09-04)
286"The Perils of Mona"Timothy BondCarl BinderSeptember 11, 1987 (1987-09-11)
297"Midnight in Morocco"George BloomfieldDenis Gibson & Kevin ScanlonSeptember 30, 1987 (1987-09-30)
308"The Bridge" Don McBrearty Peter Lauterman & Angelo SteaOctober 7, 1987 (1987-10-07)
319"Headhunter"Don McBreartyJim HenshawOctober 14, 1987 (1987-10-14)
3210"Code Name: Chipmunk"Stefan ScainiPeter HaynesOctober 28, 1987 (1987-10-28)
3311"Spymaster"Bruce PittmanDavid ColeNovember 11, 1987 (1987-11-11)
3412"Requiem"George BloomfieldCarl BinderNovember 18, 1987 (1987-11-18)
3513"Horse Cents"George BloomfieldJerome McCannNovember 25, 1987 (1987-11-25)
3614"Debbie Does Dishes"Bruce PittmanDouglas RodgerDecember 2, 1987 (1987-12-02)
3715"The Man Who Didn't Know Too Much"John BellCarl BinderDecember 9, 1987 (1987-12-09)
3816"Deathwatch"George BloomfieldJim HenshawDecember 23, 1987 (1987-12-23)
3917"Covert Agenda"George BloomfieldLyle SlackJanuary 20, 1988 (1988-01-20)
4018"The Game"UnknownUnknownFebruary 10, 1988 (1988-02-10)
4119"Adventures in Babysitting"UnknownUnknownFebruary 17, 1988 (1988-02-17)
4220"The Interrogation"UnknownUnknownFebruary 24, 1988 (1988-02-24)
4321"See How They Die"UnknownUnknownMarch 2, 1988 (1988-03-02)
4422"Point of No Return"UnknownUnknownMarch 9, 1988 (1988-03-09)

Broadcast history

Adderly aired from September 1986 through May 1987 (its first season) in the 11:30pm CBS Late Night slot on the CBS network. For the second season (beginning in August 1987), the show's popularity prompted CBS to run episodes in prime time, but there was little promotion and the show didn't do well in the ratings. CBS moved the show back to the 11:30pm time slot in September 1987 where it remained until the series ended. [3] Canadian broadcasts of the series did not commence until January 1987.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pogues</span> British punk band

The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in King's Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning "kiss my arse". The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, recording several hit albums and singles. MacGowan left the band in 1991 owing to drinking problems, but the band continued – first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals – before breaking up in 1996. The Pogues re-formed in late 2001, and played regularly across the UK and Ireland and on the US East Coast, until dissolving again in 2014. The group did not record any new material during this second incarnation.

<i>The Man from U.N.C.L.E.</i> 1960s American television spy drama series

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. The series premiered on September 22, 1964, completing its run on January 15, 1968. The program led the spy-fiction craze on television, and by 1966 there were nearly a dozen imitators. Several episodes were successfully released to theaters as B movies or double features. There was also a spin-off series, The Girl from U.N.C.L.E., novel and comic book series, and merchandising.

<i>Murder, She Wrote</i> American crime drama television series

Murder, She Wrote is an American cosy mystery crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series focuses on the life of Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer and amateur detective, who becomes involved in solving murders that take place in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, across the United States, and abroad. The program ran for 12 seasons from September 30, 1984, to May 19, 1996, for a total of 264 episodes and included amongst its recurring cast Tom Bosley, William Windom and Ron Masak, as well as a vast array of guest cast members including Michael Horton, Keith Michell and Julie Adams.

Galaxy High School (ギャラクシー・ハイスクール) is a science fiction animated series that premiered on September 13, 1986 on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6, 1986. The series was created by Chris Columbus and featured music and a theme song composed by Don Felder. The series was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest.

<i>Whos the Boss?</i> American television sitcom (1984–1992)

Who's the Boss? is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, which aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992. Produced by Hunter-Cohan Productions in association with Embassy Television and Columbia Pictures Television, the series stars Tony Danza as Tony Micelli, a former Major League Baseball athlete who strives to raise his adorable daughter, Samantha Micelli, who is portrayed by actress Alyssa Milano, outside of the hectic nature of New York City and relocates her to Fairfield, Connecticut, where he works as a live-in housekeeper for a beautiful single advertising executive named Angela Bower, who is portrayed by actress Judith Light. The series' cast also includes Katherine Helmond as Angela's mother, Mona Robinson, and Danny Pintauro as Angela's young son, Jonathan Bower.

<i>The Danny Thomas Show</i> American sitcom

The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom that ran from 1953 to 1957 on ABC and from 1957 to 1964 on CBS. Starring Danny Thomas as a successful night club entertainer, the show focused on his relationship with his family, yet went through a number of significant changes in cast and characters during the course of its run. Episodes regularly featured music by Thomas, guest stars and occasionally other cast members as part of the plot.

<i>My Sister Sam</i> American sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer (1986–1988)

My Sister Sam is an American television sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer that aired on CBS from October 6, 1986, to April 12, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Moore</span> American entertainer, comedian, and game show host (1915–1993)

Garry Moore was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS network starting in radio in 1937. Beginning in 1949 and through the mid-1970s, Moore was a television host on several variety and game shows.

<i>Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous</i> American reality television series

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous is an American television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes, socialites and magnates.

<i>Numbers</i> (TV series) American crime drama television series (2005–2010)

Numbers is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his brother Charlie Eppes, a college mathematics professor and prodigy, who helps Don solve crimes for the FBI. Brothers Ridley and Tony Scott produced Numbers; its production companies are the Scott brothers' Scott Free Productions and CBS Television Studios.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1985 TV series) Television series (1985-1989)

The Twilight Zone is an anthology television series which was constructed from September 27, 1985 to April 15, 1989. It is the first of three revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series, and like the original it featured a variety of speculative fiction, commonly containing characters from a seemingly normal world stumbling into paranormal circumstances. Unlike the original, however, most episodes contained multiple self-contained stories instead of just one. The voice-over narrations were still present, but were not a regular feature as they were in the original series; some episodes had only an opening narration, some had only a closing narration, and some had no narration at all. The multi-segment format liberated the series from the usual time constraints of episodic television, allowing stories ranging in length from 8-minutes to 40-minute mini-movies. The series ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Pogue</span> Technology writer, journalist and commentator (born 1963)

David Welch Pogue is an American technology and science writer and TV presenter. He is an Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning and author of the "Crowdwise" column in The New York Times Smarter Living section.

<i>Night Heat</i> Canadian police crime television series

Night Heat is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. Night Heat was the first Canadian original drama series that was also aired on a United States television network during its original broadcast. It was also the first original, first-run drama series to be aired during a late night time slot on a television network in the United States.

Diamonds is a French and Canadian-produced television series, which aired from September 22, 1987, to 1989. The show starred Nicholas Campbell as Mike Devitt and Peggy Smithhart as Christina Towne, former actors who had met and married while playing private investigators on a TV series called Two of Diamonds, and continued to work together as real private investigators after both their divorce and the cancellation of their show.

<i>December Bride</i> Television series

December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959. It was adapted from the original CBS radio network series of the same name that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Rekert</span> Canadian actor

Winston Houghton Rekert was a Canadian actor. He was best known for starring in the television series Adderly and Neon Rider.

<i>Click and Clacks As the Wrench Turns</i> American TV series or program

Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns is an adult animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons and airs on PBS. The series follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop, Car Talk Plaza. It stars Tom (Click) and Ray Magliozzi (Clack), also known as the Tappet Brothers, from National Public Radio's Car Talk. The show was the first primetime animated series for a general audience to be produced and aired by PBS.

<i>Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior</i> 2011 American television series

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior is an American police procedural drama starring Forest Whitaker and Janeane Garofalo that aired on CBS. The show debuted on February 16, 2011, as a spin-off of another series, Criminal Minds, aired on the same network, and is the second show in the Criminal Minds franchise. This edition's profiling team also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) in Quantico, Virginia. In an April 2010 episode of Criminal Minds, during the show's fifth season, the original team met the new team and worked with them to find a San Francisco serial killer, with the episode serving as the new series' backdoor pilot.

<i>Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders</i> American police procedural television series

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is an American police procedural television series created by Erica Messer that aired on CBS from March 16, 2016, to May 17, 2017. The show is produced by The Mark Gordon Company in association with CBS Television Studios and ABC Studios. The production is a spin-off from original series, Criminal Minds, airing on the same network, and is the third series in the Criminal Minds franchise. Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders follows an elite team of FBI agents of the fictional International Response Team (IRT) tasked with solving cases that involve American citizens on international soil.

References

  1. Eirik Knutzen. "Manual Labor Finally Paid Off for Rekert." Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 2, 1987, p. TV2.
  2. Terrace, Vincent (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007 (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN   978-0-7864-3305-6.
  3. Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN   978-0-345-49773-4.