Midnight Caller
{{Short description|Television show}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Midnight Caller.jpg
| genre = Drama
| creator = Richard DiLello
| starring = {{Plainlist|
}}
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| composer = {{Plainlist|
- Ross Levinson
- Brad Fiedel
}}
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 3
| num_episodes = 61
| list_episodes = List of Midnight Caller episodes
| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|
- Robert Singer
- Robert Butler (season 1)
}}
| producer =
| location = San Francisco
| cinematography =
| editor =
| camera = Panavision Cameras and Lenses
| runtime = 60 minutes
| company = {{Plainlist|
- December 3rd Productions
- Gangbuster Films Inc. (season 1)
- Lorimar Television
}}
| budget =
| network = NBC
| first_aired = {{Start date|1988|10|25}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1991|5|10}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tvtango.com/listings/1991/05/10|title=TV Listings for May 10, 1991|access-date=December 10, 2023|publisher=TV Tango}}
}}
Midnight Caller is an American drama television series created by Richard DiLello, which aired on NBC from October 25, 1988, to May 10, 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio.{{cite news|title= Review/Television; 'Midnight Caller' Continues Its AIDS Story|work= The New York Times|date=November 14, 1989|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/14/arts/review-television-midnight-caller-continues-its-aids-story.html|access-date=2010-10-24|first=John J.|last=O'Connor}}{{cite news|title= Activists Hail 'Midnight Caller' Sequel Episode|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=November 11, 1989|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-11-11-ca-1098-story.html|access-date=2010-10-24|first=Daniel|last=Cerone}}
Premise
Jack Killian is a former San Francisco police detective who quits the force after he accidentally shot his partner dead in a confrontation with armed criminals. After lapsing into alcoholism, Killian receives an offer from Devon King, the beautiful and wealthy owner-operator of KJCM-FM, to become "The Nighthawk", host of an overnight talk show, taking calls from listeners and acting as a detective solving their problems during the day (the title of Killian's show would later be adopted in real life by talk-show host George Noory on KTRS in St. Louis from 1996 until 2003, when Noory took over from the retiring Art Bell as host of the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast AM).
Even though Killian snapped that he doesn't listen to FM radio, he accepted the offer.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-10-25-8802100710-story.html|title='Midnight Caller' Should Hang It Up|work=Chicago Tribune|date=25 October 1988|author=Terry Clifford|access-date=20 April 2020}}
Killian's adventures took him frequently back into the realm of police work, where several of his former colleagues were less than happy to see him again. He faced myriad problems, both personal and professional, and was at various points required to come to grips with the nature of his relationships with his absentee father, his troubled siblings, and Devon.
Devon eventually became pregnant in a relationship with another man and sold the station (Kilbourne was simultaneously pregnant in real life). Episodes dealt with AIDS, capital punishment, and child abuse among other topics. The show lost viewers when it was moved from its original time slot and was cancelled after three seasons.
Most episodes ended with Killian monologuing to listeners, recapping the episode and lessons learned. Killian's radio show sign-off comment was "Good night, America, wherever you are."{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/14/arts/review-television-midnight-caller-continues-its-aids-story.html|title=Review/Television; 'Midnight Caller' Continues Its AIDS Story|website=The New York Times|date=14 November 1989|author=John J. O'Connor|access-date=20 April 2020}}
The show's jazz music soundtrack added to its popularity. Rick Braun wrote the theme tune for the series.
In October 1990, Wendy Kilbourne (Devon King) left the show due to her pregnancy. Lisa Eilbacher (Nicky Molloy) became the new female lead role.{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1990-10-26-1990299195-story.html|title='Midnight Caller' loses a star but stays strong|website=Baltimoresun.com|date=26 October 1990|author=Michael Hill|access-date=20 April 2020}}
Episodes
{{Main|List of Midnight Caller episodes}}
{{:List of Midnight Caller episodes}}
Cast and characters
- Gary Cole as Jack Killian{{cite news |first=Jay|last=Bobbin |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1989/01/02/gary-cole-in-midnight-caller-hot-seat/ |title=Gary Cole In 'Midnight Caller' Hot Seat|work=Orlando Sentinel |date=January 2, 1989 |access-date=2017-06-21}}
- Wendy Kilbourne as Devon King
- Dennis Dun as Billy Po
- Mykelti Williamson as Deacon Bridges
- Arthur Taxier as Lt. Carl Zymak
- Lisa Eilbacher as Nicky Molloy
Production
=Title=
Series creator Richard DiLello took the title of the series from a song written by Pete Ham for the band Badfinger. DiLello had previously authored The Longest Cocktail Party, a history of the rise and fall of The Beatles' corporation, Apple Corps, and their record label, Apple Records, where Badfinger had originally been signed. The song itself had no relation to the series' subject matter; it had been written by Ham in tribute to a friend of the band who had resorted to working as a high-priced prostitute to pay her bills.
=Production=
The series was filmed on location in San Francisco. Interior shots were done at a studio complex in the city, while exterior shots happened on location.
=Theme song=
The series theme, as performed by Rick Braun, has become a popular mainstay on Smooth Jazz radio stations.
="After It Happened" controversy=
{{Main|After It Happened}}
In the 1988 episode "After It Happened", a bisexual man is depicted as an AIDS carrier who deliberately infects heterosexual women. As originally conceived, the man is gunned down in a vigilantism murder by one of the women whom he infects, and a medical team in full Hazmat suit comes to take his body away as Jack Killian comforts the distraught shooter. In the broadcast version, the victim is stopped before she can kill the carrier. Coming in the early years of the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the US at a time when public understanding of the disease was quite low,{{cite news|title= 'Caller' Clash Reflects TV's Challenge on AIDS|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=December 3, 1988|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-03-ca-866-story.html|access-date=2010-10-24|first=Nina J.|last=Easton}} the proposed episode was immediately criticised as sensationalistic, ignorant of bisexuality, and pseudoscience. Protests were launched by GLAAD, BiNet USA and bialogue, among others.{{cite news|title= Gays Protest 'Midnight Caller' Episode|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=October 25, 1988|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-25-ca-271-story.html|access-date=2010-10-24|first=Nina J.|last=Easton}} Additionally ACT UP pickets disrupted the show's filming.[http://www.ewtn.com/library/BUSINESS/ANTRADEV.HTM Ewtn.com]{{cite news|title= The State|work= The Los Angeles Times|date=October 23, 1988|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-23-mn-380-story.html|access-date=2010-10-24}} Then-NBC affiliate KRON-TV in San Francisco ran a disclaimer before the show with an AIDS hotline number and aired a half-hour live special, Midnight Caller: The Response, during which activists and public health officials aired their grievances.Tropiano, p. 103
Awards and nominations
In 1989, both Kay Lenz and Joe Spano won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for their performances in the episodes "After It Happened" and "The Execution of John Saringo", respectively.{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|year=2003|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0-345-45542-8|pages=1439}}{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/midnight-caller|title=Awards and nominations|website=Emmys.com|access-date=20 April 2020}}
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Nominated work ! Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=4|1989 | rowspan=8|Primetime Emmy Awards | rowspan=2|Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Boyle | {{nom}} |
| Joe Spano | {{won}} | |||
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Kay Lenz | {{won}} | ||
| Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Thomas Carter, "Pilot" | {{nom}} | ||
| rowspan=4|1990 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Bruce Weitz | {{nom}} | |
| Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Kay Lenz | {{nom}} | ||
| Outstanding Cinematography for a Series | Bradley B. Six | {{nom}} | ||
| Outstanding Editing - Single Camera | Roger Bondelli | {{nom}} |
International distribution
In the Philippines, the show was broadcast on PTV-4 from 1990 to 1991, and then ABC-5 from 1992 to 1996, with dubbing in Tagalog from 1994. In the UK, it was broadcast by BBC1 from 1989,{{cite web |title=Midnight Caller coming soon to Forces TV |url=https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2407469/midnight-caller-coming-soon-to-forces-tv |website=Digital Spy |date=April 20, 2021 |access-date=20 December 2021}} before later being re-run on ITV in the late '90s,{{cite web |title=ITV Central
It is not currently available on any streaming channel.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0094510|title=Midnight Caller}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100203061706/http://midnightcaller.garycole.net/ Midnight Caller cast and episode guide] at The Gary Cole Archives
Category:1980s American drama television series
Category:1990s American drama television series
Category:1988 American television series debuts
Category:1991 American television series endings
Category:American detective television series
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series about radio
Category:Television series by Lorimar Television