Secret Agent Man (TV series)

Last updated

Secret Agent Man
Genre Spy-fi
Created by
Directed by
Starring
Opening theme"Secret Agent Man" performed by Johnny Rivers
Composer David Bergeaud
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producers
ProducerFlody Suarez
Production locations Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Cinematography Greg Gardiner
Editors
  • Joanne D'Antonio
  • Lynn Leonhard
  • James R. Symons
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network UPN
Release7 March (2000-03-07) 
28 July 2000 (2000-07-28)

Secret Agent Man is an American spy-fi television series that aired on UPN from 7 March to 28 July 2000. The series was created by writer Richard Regen.

Contents

Premise

Secret Agent Man starred Costas Mandylor as Monk, a gallivanting secret agent, who was one of a team of agents that included Holliday, played by Dina Meyer and Davis, played by Dondre Whitfield. The team reported to Brubeck, played by Paul Guilfoyle. The periodically appearing guest villain is the former agent Prima, played by Musetta Vander.

All the lead characters share the last names of jazz musicians: Thelonious Monk, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Louis Prima.

Cast

Main

Notable guest stars

Production

Secret Agent Man was originally scheduled to premiere on UPN in September 1999, but was pushed back to a midseason premiere in August 2000 due to the desire to give the show's producers more time to work on props and special effects. It also did not have a traditional one-hour pilot filmed, and was instead ordered to series by UPN on the strength of just a presentation reel. [1] Only 12 episodes were produced and broadcast before the series was cancelled due to poor ratings.

Theme song

The series used an updated version of the 1960s hit, “Secret Agent Man”, performed by Supreme Beings of Leisure, for its theme song. Because the Johnny Rivers version of this song was used as the theme song for American broadcasts of another television series, the 1960s British TV series, Danger Man (primarily broadcast in the U.S. as Secret Agent ), there were some mistaken impressions that this series was somehow a spin off or remake of the earlier program, but other than the theme song, no connections were made evident.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code [2]
1"From Prima with Love"Perry LangStory by: Alan Eisenstock & Larry Mintz
Teleplay by: Chris Dickie
March 7, 2000 (2000-03-07)107
2"Back to School" Jefery Levy Rick CoppMarch 14, 2000 (2000-03-14)105
3"WhupSumAss"Greg BeemanSandy FrankMarch 21, 2000 (2000-03-21)108
4"Like Father, Like Monk"Paul AbascalAdam SigelMarch 28, 2000 (2000-03-28)111
5"Supernaked"Jefery LevyJoel FieldsApril 4, 2000 (2000-04-04)102
6"The Elders"Craig ZiskElizabeth M. CosinMay 26, 2000 (2000-05-26)112
7"The Face"Sarah Pia AndersonGreg PlagemanJune 2, 2000 (2000-06-02)104
8"Sleepers"Deran SerafianChris DickieJune 9, 2000 (2000-06-09)103
9"Uncle S.A.M."Andy WolkPaul RedfordJuly 7, 2000 (2000-07-07)109
10"Fail-Safe"Bo WelchChris DickieJuly 14, 2000 (2000-07-14)110
11"TKO Henry"Stuart GillardMichael DugganJuly 21, 2000 (2000-07-21)101
12"Breach"James QuinnJoel Fields & Brent V. FriedmanJuly 28, 2000 (2000-07-28)106

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregated score of 0% based on 10 critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: "With stilted acting and genre cliches galore, Secret Agent Man is one spy show that should be disavowed by viewers at all costs." [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Adams Rib</i> 1949 film by George Cukor

Adam's Rib is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars as the third lead in her second credited movie role. Also featured are Tom Ewell, David Wayne, and Jean Hagen. The music was composed by Miklós Rózsa, and the song "Farewell, Amanda" was written by Cole Porter.

<i>Danger Man</i> British TV drama series (1960–1962, 1964–1968)

Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the programme and wrote many of the scripts. Danger Man was financed by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dina Meyer</span> American actress (born 1968)

Dina Meyer is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic.

<i>Miss Match</i> American comedy-drama television series

Miss Match is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jeff Rake and Darren Star and produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Darren Star Productions, and Imagine Television. It aired in the United States on NBC from September 26 to December 15, 2003, including international networks aired in Australia on Seven Network, Arena, and Fox8, and in the United Kingdom on Living, Channel 4, and is on E4. Seventeen episodes of the series were filmed, with eleven aired in the United States. The entire series aired in both the UK and Canada.

<i>The Secret of My Success</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Herbert Ross

The Secret of My Success is a 1987 American comedy film produced and directed by Herbert Ross and starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Slater. The screenplay was written by A.J. Carothers, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. from a story written by Carothers. It was filmed on location in Manhattan.

<i>Bells Are Ringing</i> (film) 1960 film directed by Vincente Minnelli

Bells Are Ringing is a 1960 American romantic comedy-musical film directed by Vincente Minnelli and starring Judy Holliday and Dean Martin. Based on the successful 1956 Broadway production of the same name by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jule Styne, the film focuses on Ella Peterson, based on the life of Mary Printz, who works in the basement office of a telephone answering service.

<i>Legend</i> (TV series) TV series

Legend is a science fiction Western television series that ran on UPN from April 18, 1995, until August 22, 1995, with one final re-airing of the pilot on July 3, 1996. It starred Richard Dean Anderson and John de Lancie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teo Macero</span> American jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer

Attilio Joseph "Teo" Macero was an American jazz record producer, saxophonist, and composer. He was a producer at Columbia Records for twenty years. Macero produced Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Dave Brubeck's Time Out, two of the best-selling and most influential jazz albums of all time. Macero was known for his innovative use of editing and tape manipulation unprecedented in jazz and proving influential on subsequent fusion, experimental rock, electronica, post-punk, no wave, and acid jazz.

<i>Wolf Lake</i> 2001-2002 American television series

Wolf Lake is an American supernatural drama television series that originally aired on CBS from September 19 to October 24, 2001. Nine episodes were produced, but only five aired before the series was canceled by CBS. The full series, including the four unaired episodes, was later picked up and broadcast on UPN in April–May 2002. Wolf Lake depicts a pack of werewolves living in a Seattle suburb.

<i>UC: Undercover</i> 2001 American TV series or program

UC: Undercover is an American procedural drama television series created by Shane Salerno and Don Winslow. The series premiered on the NBC network on September 30, 2001. The series ran for one season of 13 episodes, finishing its run on March 23, 2002. It focused on the secret lives and private demons of an elite Justice Department crime-fighting unit that confronted the United States' deadliest, most untouchable lawbreakers by going undercover to bust them.

Legacy is an American western drama series starring Brett Cullen which aired on UPN for eighteen episodes from 1998 to 1999. The series is set on a Kentucky horse farm soon after the American Civil War. Cullen's character of Ned Logan is the 42-year-old widowed patriarch of the family. The series focuses on domestic and romantic crises, such as the arrival of 17-year-old orphan Jeremy, and Sean Logan's interracial affair with the daughter of a former slave.

Secret Agent Man may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dondré Whitfield</span> American actor (born 1969)

Dondré Terrell Whitfield is an American actor. He began his career appearing in a recurring role as Robert Foreman on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1985–87), before playing Terrence Frye in the ABC Daytime soap opera, All My Children (1991–94). He received three Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series nominations for his performance on All My Children.

<i>Cobra</i> (American TV series) 1993 American TV series or program

Cobra is an American action/adventure television series starring Michael Dudikoff. It ran for one season in syndication from 1993 to 1994.

"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.

<i>Level 9</i> (TV series) American science-fiction television series

Level 9 is an American science-fiction television series created by Michael Connelly and Josh Meyer that was broadcast on UPN from October 27, 2000, until January 26, 2001.

Platinum is an American drama series which aired on UPN from April 14 to May 13, 2003. Created by John Ridley and Sofia Coppola, the series is a family saga that follows two brothers who own and operate a record company.

<i>Under the Hula Moon</i> 1995 American film

Under the Hula Moon is a 1995 American crime comedy film directed by Jeff Celentano and starring Stephen Baldwin, Emily Lloyd, Chris Penn, and Musetta Vander.

"So This Is Love" is a 1948 song composed by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston. It was written for Walt Disney's Cinderella, in which it was performed by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas. It is sung by the characters of Cinderella and Prince Charming as they dance with each other at the ball. Composed in 3
4
time, a secondary title, "The Cinderella Waltz", appears in parentheses next to or beneath the song's main name on many editions of sheet music. Prior to the Hoffman, David, and Livingston trio joining the film, songs for Cinderella were written by Larry Morey and Charles Walcott, with a song entitled "Dancing on a Cloud" intended for the ball scene. However, their songs would be scrapped. The song does not appear in Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation of the film, replaced instead with 19th-century inspired waltzes and polkas written by cinematic composer Patrick Doyle.

<i>Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars</i> 2017 film by Shinji Aramaki

Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars is a 2017 Japanese-American adult animated military science fiction film directed by Shinji Aramaki and Masaru Matsumoto and written by Edward Neumeier. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and the fifth installment of the Starship Troopers film series. It also marks the return of two original actors; Casper Van Dien reprises his role as Johnny Rico from the first and third films and Dina Meyer reprises her role as Dizzy Flores from the first film.

References

  1. Cynthia Littleton (6 August 1999). "UPN's silver lining". Variety . Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  2. From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Secret Agent Man"]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  3. "Secret Agent Man - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 6 November 2023.