Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Forgotten TV: Snoops (1989)

Tim Reid's post-WKRP in Cincinnati career, after the original series, that is, saw him find steady work. Problem was, save for landing a supporting role on Simon & Simon, Reid wasn't able to duplicate the success he had with WKRP until Sister, Sister in the 90's.

While 1987's Frank's Place was a critics' darling, it didn't generate enough ratings to merit a 2nd season. Undaunted, Reid and his wife, Daphne Maxwell Reid, were given another chance, this time with a hour-long comedy-crime drama, Snoops, once again for CBS. This time, Reid not only starred, but also co-created the series, best described as an urban cross between The Thin Man and Hart to Hart. In this case, Reid played a college professor who moonlighted, along with his wife, as an amateur detective. CBS must've figured that a crime drama about an author-turned-amateur sleuth was a monster hit (Murder, She Wrote), another show about amateur detectives could duplicate the success. I never saw the show, so I wouldn't know, but I'll guess that Reid used what he learned while working on Simon & Simon in developing Snoops. Unfortunately, this series lasted 11 episodes in all, and was a bust.

The Rap Sheet provides the intro, with the theme song sung by the "Genius of Soul", Ray Charles.



John Karlen (ex-Cagney & Lacey) was the exasperated police contact. The irony here was that on Simon, Reid was the titular sleuths' police contact. Tim & Daphne's son, Tim II, played one of the students.

No rating.

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