Um Cientista Genial

I remember this show fondly... it's one of my all-time favourites. I still have the entire series on Beta (recorded off-air during a bad thunderstorm, but what can you do?) I agree with the other posters about it probably being "too smart" to be successful, but I think it was further harmed by the writers' strike that year. The network kept repeating the only 7 episodes (I assume) because there was nothing else in the can. By the time the dispute was resolved, the damage of endless repeats had been done. Too bad. I was in high school when the series debuted, and I loved the fact that the show made me look things up. It really made me want to understand the topics being featured. (And it was a lot harder to look things up back then... no internet!)

Probe was one of the best sci-fi shows I have ever seen and coming from me, that's high praise because I'am not easy to please. The acting was wonderful. My main beef is that it was done away with so soon. My other problem is that it is only shown ,like, once every three or four years!

Although I haven't seen this series since it debuted, I remember it as good thought-provoking, interesting, and humorous TV. My sister and I were fans of Parker Stevenson going back to the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew series of late 70's fame and, hence, why we were initially drawn to this show.

In retrospect, this show may have been somewhat ahead of its time -- as issues explored in it (scientific exploration of paranormal, seemingly unexplainable phenomena) later would become the basis for the Fox hit, The X-Files. In Probe, Parker Stevenson played a similarly quirky but brilliant character role later immortalized by David Duchovny's portrayal of the Fox Mulder character in X-Files. Stevenson's character was more quirky and less conventional though - falling more into the eccentric genius type of character. Likewise, similar to the X-Files, the secretary who worked with the main character on cases provided the role of the surprised/amazed skeptic -- the perfect foil for Stevenson's odd antics and bizarre theories.

Unfortunately, the show was put up against The Cosby Show (which was at the height of its popularity at the time) and therefore had no chance to gain an audience. Having debuted on an established network (not sure just which one) with no reason to gamble on such a concept (as Fox later did), the show died a quick death. Unfortunate.

I would be interested to see any of these episodes again because I wonder what my impressions of it would be now.

By proving that the average TV viewer isn't smart enough to get a show like this. This, and other shows like it that depend on sheer intellectual ability, sharp thinking, and complexity never survive on American television. This series proves that. Asimov was an absolute Genius, and almost all of his products were light-years above the quality necessary for commercial success. No flash, no high-tech machine or vehicle, no stupid gimmicks, no buffoonery, no T & A, and nothing but sheer brain candy. You have to be smart to get a show like this.

What a shame that programs which require audiences to be intelligent never make it. Asimov created a series that had nothing more than a smart main character, who used his wits and abilities to move through the world. The series itself only lasted for seven episodes.

This was one of an annoying number of shows I liked as a kid that were each run for a season and then promptly cancelled. I liked shows that varied from the norm, especially ones about eccentric geniuses. But I guess it was just too smart (or weird) to be popular. People prefer shows about inept housewives, bigots, idiots stranded on islands, barrooms, rotten families, and just about anybody who makes everyone else look smarter by comparison.