Charlie's Angels

This is an enjoyable pilot TV-movie for the famous series. The plot is fairly elaborate, and in fact, it works much like a Mission Impossible episode, but with a totally different emphasis.

At the time this series aired, and for years afterwards, there was a huge amount of blather and tsk-tsking disapproval expressed in the media about this series, because the premise was three beautiful young women as detectives. There were plenty of tougher. Much grittier series around the same time, such as Police Woman with Angie Dickinson, or Hawaii 5-0; lots of shows. Charlie's Angels took a different approach: it didn't try to make the women seem like tough gun-wielding types. They were all attractive; but frankly, so were nearly all the women portrayed in TV series at the time!

Looking at the show now, in 2023, 47 years after this pilot was made, it strikes me as perfectly pleasant, light entertainment. And to me it stands the test of time: I watched it tonight, and it held my interest.

The guest cast are good. One of the actors is a very young Tommy Lee Jones! I thought it looked like him, but I didn't believe it until I saw the credits. That's part of the fun of these old TV series, the surprises you get as you watch them. I look forward to watching all the rest of the episodes on dvd.

Hard to believe now that this middling TV Movie/Pilot, with a needlessly convoluted plot, would spark a phenomenon. Caught this on Starz Mystery Channel on satellite.

Seeing it for the first time in nearly 30 years, a few retrospective thoughts:

1. Interesting that Jaclyn Smith was front and center for the first act since she had the least amount of acting experience going in. Apparently, Kate Jackson (who was promised the lead) switched roles with her. Farrah is the 3rd banana here - history changed that.

2. It isn't surprising that the David Ogden Stiers character was dropped after the pilot. Originally added so that there would be a man who could "bail out" the Angels, he was really too stuffy for the show's fluff. David Doyle hit the notes perfectly.

3. I liked the jazzier sounding "main theme" as played in the movie. The rest of the score is typical 70's TV waka waka electronics.

4. Aside from a brief shot of Jacklyn Smith in a bikini and the requisite "Charlie Girl" snippets, there was little of the cheesy T&A exploitation that the show became known for (particularly in its first season).

And to think that this was hot stuff at the time. sigh.

I loved this show so much as a young girl. The Angels were role models to me. Everyone talks about the show as if it was meaningless and all about jiggling breasts and blowdried hair and perfect teth. Well, to me it represented women who had it all. Perfect looks and brains and courage to fight crime. I'll always love this show.

First there was Police Woman. Two years later, there are a trio of women who are sick and tired doing menial tasks as police women.

To their rescue comes the mysterious Charlie (John Forsythe.) He runs his own assignments where he weeds out nasties.

This mission has Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith) pretending to be Janet, the long lost daughter and the legitimate heiress of a vintner who has also vanished.

Standing in her way is Rachel LeMaire (Diana Muldaur) the stepmother and her squeeze Beau Creel (Bo Hopkins) who fixes things. It looks like he has also fixed Rachel's husband.

Later Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson) shows up as a true heir and then a plan is hatched with Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) to extract money from Rachel and Beau over some undiscovered oil in some swampland.

Along for the ride is Tommy Lee Jones as Aram, an old friend who can't seem to drive his pick up properly. He needed to put on a seat belt on his dog.

Serving as a pilot to the television series. The thin story is stretched. It looks cheap with all that blue screen. The incidental music gets tiring from overuse of the same notes.

The series returned with more glam and two of the main cast showing off more of their assets.

So have no real memory 1st time playing, but think rem re runs as do rem seeing something, think anyway. But the cheesy 70s, there is something about this era, this show, and others from. Well, entertaining this 1st episode, and funny to see whats his name from several movies, one where his partner, whats his name from fresh prince, think right name, goes back in time to well 69 not 70s. Good laugh and well might not be the "never ending move and action and so much, too much more at times over the top with little to no story at times" but well, like some new stuff too.

But this was a fun diversion from today, the slower pace of tv, and even longer running times, like and hr play is anywhere between 47 and 50 maybe 51 mins, today your lucky if it reaches.43 mins in actual show.

Sad though to think so many are no longer here, and ok, was awhile ago, as cant see names of when typing, but the one that was on a poster, maybe all as all were beautiful, well think all are beautiful in some way, and well we are all human, but the one that died from cancer, married to, (or not ?) but he stayed with her till ... he played the characters father who was called bones on well bones, to the one who played Bossley, the original to... think will find and watch the full series.