Squadra Speciale Most Wanted

I still don't know what possessed me to look it up, but I luckily happened upon the fact that Amazon was offering the complete series DVD of Most Wanted for sale! I instantly snatched it up, and have been happily watching this long-ago, single-season, hidden Quinn Martin gem ever since! To be completely honest, I'd buy ANY DVD that had the Quinn Martin name attached to it, but I had a special fondness for this short-lived series! Typical of QM shows, Most Wanted had terrific guest stars, and well-written, though admittedly formulaic, stories! Robert Stack was very good as the series star, Jo Ann Harris was gorgeous, sexy and compelling in her role, and the late Shelly Novack, just one year before his death, was hugely entertaining in a star-making way, which unfortunately never happened for him! God, I loved Most Wanted! I am incredibly grateful that Amazon was able to put it out there for purchase!

I remember this series from the Seventies as it was Robert Stack's third television series after The Untouchables and The Name of the Game. It was good, but did not get renewed after one season. That's a pity because it was never given a real chance to find its audience.

Mayor Hari Rhodes of Los Angeles creates an elite squad within the LAPD to apprehend the most dangerous criminals headed by Robert Stack and assisted by Shelley Novack and JoAnn Harris. Rhodes's character was based on real life Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

There was such a squad with the LAPD and it was disbanded later on when it got to thinking it was a law unto itself. That was dealt with in the Lou Diamond Phillips, Scott Glenn film Extreme Justice. That was long after this series was canceled.

No chance of it being revived with the sudden tragic death of Shelley Novack the following year. Robert Stack later did Elliot Ness for a TV film based on his Untouchables character, but no call to revive Captain Linc Evers.

I do remember Jo Ann Harris though, she was one beautiful and sexy woman. I'll bet she still is.

I'm glad I'm the first to review and remember Most Wanted. A good cop show that never got a chance to find its audience.