In the Heat of the Night

I watch this show every chance I get. Acting is superb by all. I have no complaints with any aspect of this show. Opening music is sensual and delicious, and sets the stage for some good old southern intrigue, mystery and once in awhile romance.

Most pleasant is the way they throw you off the track, always keep you guessing as to ..who done it.. There is some racial tension-- although not to offensive.. It is usually resolved in a satisfactory manner..... A gentle reminder to us all to be fair and open-minded. No nudity or profanity, a nice change from todays stuff. A must watch....

Though most will forever remember O'Conner for his Emmy-winning turn as "Archie Bunker" in the classic "All in the Family," his last television role on the long-running "In the Heat of the Night" was still equally as memorable. Inspired by the Oscar-winning film, starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier, the show dealt with the police force of the mythical town of Sparta, Missisippi, headed by Chief Bill Gillespie with transplanted Philedelphian Virgil Tibbs, new and black to a force that was unprepared for such a high-ranking black. Though the first couple of episodes dealt with the adjustments that had to made with the new man on the force, the racial tension in the department was soon eliminated as both The Chief and Tibbs, along with other policemen (the superb Alan Artry as "Bubba," David Hart as the down-home, tea-drinking "Parker," Geoffrey Horne" and Hugh O'Conner as the young cops, "Sweet" and "Lonnie Jameson," respectively) came to respect and trust each other.

Many of the shows dealt with timely topics as A.I.D.S., spousal abuse, rape, and corrupt politicians. One of the series' most powerful episodes is "A Trip Upstate," wherein Chief Gillespie is asked to attend the execution of a criminal (guest star Paul Benjamin) that he caught years before. The riveting execution is quite detailed and the dialog-less performances by O'Conner and Benjamin are Emmy-worthy. The eye contact between the two actors is unbelievably intense. Whether one is pro or con on the topic of capital punishment, this particular installment should have some effect, one way or the other.

ITHOTN is my second favorite hour long TV series( right behind the Rockford files 1974-80.) The first season,while well acted and produced isn't as good as season two and three. The episodes filmed in Hammond Louisiana recapture the atmosphere of the motion picture with its run down buildings and the racist behavior of " Bill Gillespie". The stories just don't measure up, with the exception of " Road Kill" One of the entire series best episodes!.The four Joe Don Baker episodes (while Carroll O' Connor was recuperating from heart surgery) are among my favorites. "15 forever " is unsettling in its depiction of teenagers killed by a drunk driver.( Spartas district attorney! ) " The pig woman of Sparta" is funny and atmospheric. "Lady bug,lady bug"is dark and brutal."Vengeance" and "Sparta Gold" are two of Alan Autrys best. Scott Brian Higgs is hilarious as the eccentric "Randy Calhoun", a recurring character on the show.Lois Nettleton is very good as Bill Gillespies love interest and her shady past is revealed in the excellent "Aka Kelly Kay". I was so impressed with the series that we traveled through Covington Georgia on our way to Florida a few years ago. We saw a lot of the filming locations and toured the ITHOTN/ Dukes of Hazzard museum. Carroll O' Connor was totally believable as "Bill Gillespie", Howard Rollins upstaged the entire cast, bringing more depth to the "Virgil Tibbs" character than Sidney Poitier did in the '67 film. Hugh O' Connor who obviously wasn't a trained actor,actually grew into his "Jameson" role and was good enough to carry several episodes by himself! The last season was wearing pretty thin but had a very good run with some truly memorable stories. RIP Carroll,Hugh and Howard.

This was without a doubt one of the best TV shows to ever depict the South the way it needed to be shown during the latter part of late 80's and continue into the mid-90's. This was in fact a worthy successor to the 1967 Oscar winning film of the same title. Its extremely rare these days to find a film-to-TV spin off that actually works on its own formula(the last show to accomplished such a feat and excel was MASH),and it does just that. It has an originality of its own--and it is sometimes quirky(since this set in the fictional Southern town of Sparta,and sometimes it can be downright eccentric)in the way that ordinary people act under circumstances in extraordinary situations. But in point,it taught us about the racial prejudices and as well as real life situations courtesy of its teacher and executive producer of the series....CARROLL O'CONNOR. It shows how racial problems can be solved,and also shows us that for one how drugs and drinking as well as abuse can tear a family apart and how to deal with those issues(several episodes consisted of the subject dealt with this brilliantly,including one scene where suicide was a major factor). It shows how a police force was very concerned with the community and what made it so good was that they were were not so caring but they knew what the community and its people were going through in a time of crisis. In other words,the police cared what was going on regardless of came about. Also,to make this statement....Carroll O'Connor is the ONLY actor in Hollywood who spoke out about the abuse of drugs in the community(he stepped out of character in one episode to speak about that which brought me to tears),and his show dealt with that exceptionally well. As the show made the switched from NBC to CBS in 1993,the show stayed focus on issues,but it also was the first to show an interracial marriage between characters. At its best it showed the all out emotions of the human condition,but its still is a beautifully produced show. Kudos to the late Howard Rollins,and Carroll O'Connor. R.I.P.

It's extremely rare these days to find a film-to-tv spin-off that actually works (anybody remember 'Working Girl'?) but this 'Heat' is a worthy exception. It also has a strong, original slant of it's own -- the quirky (and, since this is the fictional South, sometimes downright eccentric) ways that ordinary people behave in extraordinary situations. Of course, in lazier moments this can sometimes mean genre cliches. And as the years go on it becomes increasingly difficult -- due to a series of well-publicized internal troubles -- to find ALL the stars together in the same episode. But at its best, the show has some powerful things to say about the human condition...and at its worst, it's still a beautifully produced hour spent with some very likable characters.