I was a teen when my favorite TV show had its fall premiere in 1963 with this five part episode. I hated it and, without warning, the total revamp of the series. All my favorite characters were gone, without explanation, and suddenly Stu Bailey no longer worked at 77 Sunset Strip....despite the show's name. All they kept was EZ, Jr. and the show name, and they changed Bailey's personality significantly from an easy-going PI who got along well with the police, to a terse PI who maintained the typical film-noir antagonism with the cops.
I felt totally betrayed by the show's producers and there was no way I was prepared to accept this "abomination", so I stopped watching and was not surprised when I heard it was canceled in mid-season. Watching these episodes now fifty years later, as an older adult, they actually were fairly well done if you're a fan of the film-noir style, a hard-bitten detective slinging along solo and taking on all comers.
On its own, this five-part season opener and the subsequent episodes hold up well...as a totally separate show. My opinion is that Jack Webb and William Conrad shot themselves, and the show, in the foot by trying to hold onto the show's audience by keeping same name. If they had changed the name of the show, say to "Stu Bailey, PI", and opened the first episode with some explanation as to why the dramatic change, it might have worked better and held an adult audience. As it was, us kids back then could not accept it...we wanted our Kookie!
I felt totally betrayed by the show's producers and there was no way I was prepared to accept this "abomination", so I stopped watching and was not surprised when I heard it was canceled in mid-season. Watching these episodes now fifty years later, as an older adult, they actually were fairly well done if you're a fan of the film-noir style, a hard-bitten detective slinging along solo and taking on all comers.
On its own, this five-part season opener and the subsequent episodes hold up well...as a totally separate show. My opinion is that Jack Webb and William Conrad shot themselves, and the show, in the foot by trying to hold onto the show's audience by keeping same name. If they had changed the name of the show, say to "Stu Bailey, PI", and opened the first episode with some explanation as to why the dramatic change, it might have worked better and held an adult audience. As it was, us kids back then could not accept it...we wanted our Kookie!