Beverly Hills Buntz
{{more citations needed|date=July 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Beverly Hills Buntz.png
| image_size = 265
| genre = Comedy drama
| creator = {{Plainlist|
}}
| developer =
| writer =
| director = Barnet Kellman
| creative_director =
| presenter =
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| judges =
| voices =
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| composer = Mike Post
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 13 (4 unaired)
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer =
| producer =
| editor =
| location =
| cinematography =
| camera = Single-camera
| runtime = 30 minutes
| company = MTM Enterprises
| network = NBC
| first_aired = {{Start date|1987|11|5}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1988|5|20}}
| related = Hill Street Blues
}}
Beverly Hills Buntz is an American comedy-drama television series and a spin-off of the acclaimed police drama Hill Street Blues. Beverly Hills Buntz aired on NBC from November 5, 1987, to May 20, 1988.{{cite web|title=TELEVISION; Is There Life After Death For Failed Series?|author=Meisler, Andy|website=The New York Times |date=May 24, 1992|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/24/arts/television-is-there-life-after-death-for-failed-series.html}}
Overview
The show was a half-hour dramedy, a hybrid between light private eye fare and a sitcom. The main character, Norman Buntz, was previously seen as a morally and ethically questionable cop on Hill Street Blues, which was a dramatic series (this series is one of a handful of examples of a series in one genre, drama, spinning off a series in another: comedy). The series has the character quitting the police force, moving to Beverly Hills, and becoming a private investigator. In a programming experiment, NBC president Brandon Tartikoff announced that this show would be a "designated hitter" and was originally given prize time slots once a month following Cheers and Night Court. The other two "designated hitters" that season were the Bruce Weitz and Nancy Walker sitcom, Mama's Boy, and the second season of the Edward Asner drama The Bronx Zoo (incidentally, each show would be canceled the following year). Eventually, Buntz was scheduled Fridays at 9:30pm between Night Court and Miami Vice in March 1988. Night Court and Buntz were unsuccessful, but Miami Vice gained a fifth season with an improved performance having moved from 9pm back to 10pm.
Three pilots of Buntz were filmed including one by director Hal Ashby.
Thirteen episodes were filmed, of which only nine were broadcast. The first episode was broadcast November 5, 1987 and the last on May 20, 1988. The series starred Dennis Franz as Norman Buntz, and Peter Jurasik as Sid "The Snitch" Thurston. Dana Wheeler-Nicholson joined the cast.
Cast
- Dennis Franz as Norman Buntz
- Peter Jurasik as Sid Thurston
- Dana Wheeler-Nicholson as Rebecca Griswold
Episodes
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{{Episode table |background=#dba0bf|overall=5 |title=19 |director=15 |writer=20 |airdate=16|episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|Title = Pilot
|DirectedBy = Hal Ashby
|WrittenBy = Jeffrey Lewis & David Milch
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1987|11|5}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|Title = Fit to Be Tied
|DirectedBy = John Patterson
|WrittenBy = Peter Silverman
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1987|11|29}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|Title = Sid and Randy
|DirectedBy = John Patterson
|WrittenBy = Jeffrey Lewis
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1987|12|24}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 4
|Title = Duck! L'Orange!
|DirectedBy = Eric Laneuville
|WrittenBy = Jim Kaplan
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|1|27}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 5
|Title = Umbrella in the Water
|DirectedBy = Ray Danton
|WrittenBy =
{{StoryTeleplay|s=Richard Ben-Veniste|t=Peter Silverman}}
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|3|25}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 6
|Title = Brief Encounter
|DirectedBy = Michael Vittes
|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=Jody Taylor|t=Christian Williams}}
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|4|1}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 7
|Title = El Norte by Norte West
|DirectedBy = Eric Laneuville
|WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Christian Williams|s=Christian Williams and John Eisendrath}}
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|4|8}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 8
|Title = Buntz of the Desert
|DirectedBy = Paul Lynch
|WrittenBy = Mark St. Germain
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|4|15}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 9
|Title = A Christmas Carol
|DirectedBy = Gabrielle Beaumont
|WrittenBy = Jeffrey Lewis
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1988|4|22}}
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 10
|Title = Ad Astra Per Peoria
|DirectedBy = Barnet Kellman
|WrittenBy = Jim Macak
|OriginalAirDate = Unaired
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 11
|Title = A Falcone in the Hand
|DirectedBy = Gabrielle Beaumont
|WrittenBy = Christian Williams
|OriginalAirDate = Unaired
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 12
|Title = Cannon-Aid
|DirectedBy = John Patterson
|WrittenBy = Stanley Young
|OriginalAirDate = Unaired
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 13
|Title = Terry and the Pirates
|DirectedBy = John Patterson
|WrittenBy = John Romano
|OriginalAirDate = Unaired
|ShortSummary =
|LineColor = dba0bf
}}
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0092320|Beverly Hills Buntz}}
{{Hill Street Blues}}
{{MTM Enterprises}}
Category:1980s American crime television series
Category:1980s American single-camera sitcoms
Category:1987 American television series debuts
Category:1988 American television series endings
Category:American crime comedy television series
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television shows set in Beverly Hills, California
Category:American television spinoffs
Category:Television series by MTM Enterprises