Search

A very nice set-up for a series that looked like it was going far. In the pilot (The film 'Probe') the controller, B.C. Cameron (The late Burgess Meredith)warns Probe 1 (Hugh Lockwood, played by Hugh O'Brian) that he should avoid a head-cold as it messes with the electronics. Well I think that the Network got a head cold over this ahead-of-its-time semi-sf spy series. Like another reviewer, I would love to see the series restarted, perhaps someone could persuade a network to buy the rights? Leslie Stephens created several series like this (Invisible Man etc), and it seems a pity to waste such inventiveness.

As to casting, I wouldn't dare to put forward a suggestion, except that, as a Brit, I wouldn't mind them filming an episode or two in the U.K. with a British 'Probe'...

"Search" is a series that failed to find its audience mainly because most of that audience was already in bed (time slot 9 or 10 PM on a school night; it was the first series I got to stay up late for!). It's also a series that could not have existed before the world watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, since the concept of a room full of specialists monitoring and assisting the agent is, of course, based on the room full of specialists in Houston who monitor and assist our astronauts.

Note that Bob Justman (of Star Trek fame) was involved; undoubtedly it was because of Star Trek's influence that the aforementioned room full of specialists included African-Americans, Asian-Americans and women.

All in all, it's a shame it didn't catch on, but then again, most of the audience had to be in bed early on school nights. Incidentally, the pilot film used to show up on local stations every year or so, though not for quite a few years.

I used to watch "Search" all the time. It was as other viewers have said, part Spy, part sci-fi, part drama, and of course, a very watchable show. The Probe headquarters was so advanced, that they could use one of the Probe agent's ring for a camera, recorder, Geiger counter around radiation, and a reviver, if one of the agents was knocked out, on thrown overboard into the Sea(like one of the episodes.) What some viewers have failed to mention, is that Probe agents had a dental implant too, so they could click their teeth and send a signal if they were in trouble, and could not talk. The ear implant was ingenious, and could not be detected by the enemy. However; one episode where a Probe agent was captured by terrorists(or mad scientists)the enemy became aware of the implant and used it to send their signals into it, to cause pain, obedience, and to basically control the agent like a robot. However; Probe found the agent's location, and blocked the signals of the enemy, and even talked to the enemy, warning them, to release their prisoner, of Probe would bombard them with an electronic attack. Is the cool or what? Shows written today don't have this kind of writing, like Search. The Actors were well seasoned, and played their roles very well. Search was best when Probe control room was black with red lights shining down. Burgess Merridith played his part very well as the Head of Probe, and the Agents, Lockwood(Hugh O'Brian), Nic Bianco(Anthony Franciosa)(My favorite agent.) I loved it when Nic would say to the Probe headquarters; "We did it your way first; now we are doing it Nic Bianco's way." Search at times, was along the lines of Star Trek characters too. You could see them going through all the switching, and powering up for each Agent they sent out. Search ran from 1972-1973, but it spawned other shows that came later; like "LeFemme Nikita", movies like "Johnny Neumonic", and of course "24". Search was a pleasant alternative to the other shows available in 1972, on a WED night. Re-runs of the show would be welcome. Some of the episodes would appear very 70s, but in it's time, Search was with the times, if not ahead of the times.

As I recall, this show wasn't given a chance. I know that in the San Francisco Bay Area it was preempted 5 times ( ! ) in it's original run, including for 2 shows on the energy crisis !!

I loved the show, but the best episodes were the one's with Hugh O'Brien and I can still hear Burgess Meredith going practically insane and yelling " Lockwood ! Do you copy ! " and Lockwood ignoring him.

The episodes with Doug McClure, and Franciosa weren't as good.

I had a terrible crush on Angel Tompkins, too.

A guy in Palos Verdes Peninsula was selling copies of the Probe scanner. Wish I still had one but I lost it.

George Senda Martinez, Ca

Search had some of the best elements of the spy genre (handsome persuasive and strong male leads, beautiful women, exotic rich locales, and mysterious missing objects, etc) and of the science fiction genre (an elaborate Mission Control center, computer assisted artificial intelligence information, man/machine embedded implants etc).

The plots where were sometimes not that interesting or hung together well but the relationship of the characters (especially Probe Control irascibly trying to keep the three independent minded agents in line) was fun to watch.

When you consider the ongoing popularity of the spy genre and the enthusiastic support of science fiction series by it's fans the series Search should have been a very good success. It could be that it was just a little ahead of its time. I encourage the TV production community to consider the creation of a new Search series or something along the same lines. The TV audience is more interested in both the spy genre (James Bond, the Bourne series etc) and the science fiction series (Star trek, Star Wars, etc than at any time in the past.