Callahan

High quality spoof of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Callahan being the Indiana Jones-type character. It was very funny and I never understood why it never made it to series. I believe it just aired once during the summer when the networks aired the pilots they rejected for series.

Comparing this lousy 1982 TV pilot to Troma is perhaps a bit harsh, but watching the clunker 40+ years later I was struck by the show's poor production values, exceedingly awful supporting cast, intentionally crummy (read: annoying) music and inept slapstick: it's Troma time. Even worse, throw in a laugh track.

The title (and character) seems stolen from Clint Eastwood's iconic "Dirty Harry", while the Indiana Jones spoofery is inane. Bochner is weak "star" casting - I guess Dack Rambo was unavailable. Jamie Lee Curtis's presence is almost a saving grace: she's beautiful and spunky and a real trouper in such embarrassing circumstances. She even provides the only good moment: her famous "Scream Queen" status is exploited when she's able to shatter glass with an outburst just when sharp glass is needed to escape her and Hart's bonds in captivity.

The crummy sets are ridiculous and the two antagonists beyond bad. John Harkins as a Sidney Greenstreet archvillain is a blank, and Peter Maloney as his bug-eyed henchman is annoying. On to the team that conjured up this pilot: creator Ken Finkleman's claim to fame is writing "Airplane II", but he's responsible for the inept screenplays for mega-flop movies: Madonna in "Who's That Girl" and Peter Bogdanovich's career nadir "Illegally Yours" starring Rob Lowe. Producer/co-writer David Misch gets credit for cable's "Duckman" and little else.

Thank goodness Jamie Lee survived this bump in the road and went on to greatness.

I remember flipping through the channels on a summer evening in the early 1980s when this came on, it was hilarious and I have no idea why they never made it into a series. I only hope that one of the cable networks like Trio will find it and dust it off. Jamie Lee Curtis was great as the woman only looking for a secretarial job that gets dragged into this Indiana Jones type adventure.