Dan August

Great short-lived series. Reynolds in another cop show after Hawk, but this time in color, with more cast members and under a Quinn Martin format (Prologue, Acts 1 to 4, Epilogue). Social topics of the day (student unrest, race relations, changing morals) were woven into the episodes and Burt with his stunts; what more can you ask for?

I always enjoyed Burt Reynolds film and TV career but after purchasing this DVD TV series and watching it again some fifty (50) years later I would have to say that the story lines were almost all similar and for todays standards, pretty stale. Most of the episodes focused on a murder of a rich affluent person(s) in the tony neighborhoods of Santa Luisa, California, and Lt. Dan August (Burt Reynolds) and his dower looking sidekick Sgt. Charles Wilentz (Norman Fell) who continually chases after Dan August like a lap dog, whilst Dan is running down his suspects and usually gang tackling them in mid air.

To the series credit, it does attempt to bring to the forefront some racial injustices, homosexuality and social injustices, but good old Dan always figures out by the end of each episode whose the bad guy(s) and who the victims are that deserve our sympathy and/or respect.

There were some cameo appearances by some very young and upcoming superstars such as Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Jan-Michael Vincent, Joan Van-Ark, Martin Sheen, Donna Mills, David Soul and Larry Hagman, and with a bevy of veteran actors far too many to name.

The TV series theme music is a period piece that brings us back down memory lane for the 1970's Quinn Martin productions, nothing more, nothing less.

I am glad that I watched this memorable TV series once again some five (5) decades later just to watch Burt Reynolds in his TV prime before he went on to film stardom, but sadly it is not something I would watch a third time. Anyone interested in purchasing a slightly used DVD copy of the 1970 Dan August TV series?

I give the series a so so grade of 6 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Dan August starred Burt Reynolds as a homicide detective working cases in a fictional California town. The opening scene usually depicted a murder being committed by a concealed figure, and the episode would eventually reveal the killer. Despite a solid supporting cast and thoughtful episodes centered on topical issues like prejudice, workers' rights and military desertion, the show was never really given a chance, ending its run after only 26 episodes.

Many television executives cannot exactly be accused of being visionaries, and it's obvious they didn't know what they had in Dan August, which was at least on par with many of the other similarly-themed shows of the time. Ironically, the impetuous, short-sighted decision to cancel the series led to great success for three of its principal characters: Both Richard Anderson and Norman Fell, two solid character actors would each later co-star in highly successful television series The Six Million Dollar Man and Three's Company respectively. And of course Burt Reynolds went on to box office superstardom in the 1970s and later returned to television, winning an Emmy for the show Evening Shade. Producer Quinn Martin didn't miss a beat and continued his track record of successful series, conceiving Cannon, Barnaby Jones and The Streets of San Francisco throughout the decade. Nonetheless, one can't help but wonder what a little patience could have meant for the trajectory of Dan August.

From the opening notes of its musical theme to the last moment of its (standard QM) epilogue "Dan August" provided energetic entertainment. The opening credits alone provided more action than most of the other shows on TV at the time. The supporting cast was superb. Richard Anderson made a great boss. Those who found Norman Fell an unlikely casting choice as a cop probably never saw him as "Detective Meyer Meyer" on 87th Precinct". He was sound , steady back-up for Burt Reynolds's volatile, hyperkinetic style. I miss the days when they used to rebroadcast this series as a summer replacement! Watching Reynolds sliding across floors and rolling over car hoods after bad guys was a hoot! Every week he could be counted on to leap off a tall building onto his prey!

Pretty cool old show. Neat vintage footage. Reynolds is a little stiff but he had yet to grow into his thing. Even Norman Fell is different to see in this role, my biggest memory of him was threes company where he was a laugh. Good story lines, typical drama from the 1970s. No humor at all in it. Neat to see a lot of the bit characters that kept popping up into the late 1970s and 1980s. It seek to get better as it goes along. Unusual format with the different 'acts'. I'm a old car lover so it's cool to see all of the old rides. It's too bad they reformat the screen to wide-screen on these old shows, would be better in the original format.