Jake and the Fatman

I saw this serie for William Conrad performance. and, sure, for his dog. and the resemblace between them. in same measure, for the inspired architecture of each episode. and, sure, for the humor. because it remains more than a great crime serie. but one of the most energetic shows, and good example of the build of contrast in the portrait of lead characters.

This is probably the only other character besides Frank Cannon that William Conrad will always be associated with (other than his portrayal of Matt Dillon on the radio version of Gunsmoke). This was a good mixture of action and humor and the chemistry between William Conrad, Joe Penny and Alan Campbell was what made it so fun. Also, the best years of the show was when the locale was switched from Los Angeles to Honolulu. This seemed to add a little something to the show. Unfortunately, they had to move the show back to L.A. and that seemed to take the edge off the show. However, this show still will be one of the most underrated shows of the late-1980's.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that this show was (co?)produced by Fred Silverman,who also created and produced the highly successful "Matlock" on rival nets NBC and ABC. This inhabitant of the CBS midweek scheduling(usually Tuesdays if memory serves)seems like as much a sort of photo negative of the earlier offering starring Andy Griffith,where instead of a defense attorney fighting to exonerate a wrongly accused yet highly viable suspect,a sly,pro-active prosecuting attorney--in this case,portly J.L.McCabe(the late,great William Conrad)--battles to find who the real guilty culprit in in cases that seem cut-and-dried in another direction. To his aid are a handsome,seemingly 'Devil may care' private investigator(and ex-cop)named Jake Stiles(the handsome,now 'Where Are They Now?' material Joe Penny) and the loyal assistant attorney Derek Mitchell(Alan Campbell).

While I cannot profess to be a loyal fan of the show,I watched it with some regularity through the first two seasons or so and was reasonably impressed with how the show(for its day)could deconstruct a "Now you see it,now you don't" type of murder mystery that was similar to the show about the crafty,blue suited Atlanta defense attorney. The combination of the veteran bluster of Mr. Conrad and the seemingly feckless charm of Mr.Penny was able to fill up an hour capably. Even though this show had a solid five year run(that was almost cut down after season one),it's pretty tough to find re-runs of this. If you can,and you feel like this kind of easy-to-digest,late eighties entertainment is your cup of tea,then check this out.

Jake & The Fatman was a great experience for me, to participate in many episodes as an extra gave me the opportunity to meet so many talented actors and make many new friends. I truly enjoyed the times that I was asked to be part of all episodes of this great show, I truly enjoyed very much and learned a lot about the TV industry...and the experience led me to more participation in other TV shows shot in Hawaii! Jake & The Fatman was an exciting and wonderful experience for many of us...meeting, socializin and just being next to so many great actors, actresses, and fellow extras were unique moments to treasure Looking forwards to more TV shows in the Future!! Thank you for the Opportunity to have been part of TV history in Hawaii Rolando Sanchez

Why was this series cancelled? With the exception of Hunter, it was probably the best detective show since William Conrad starred in Cannon. Conrad played the eccentric district attorney, J. L. McCabe, with his ever-present dog Max to the hilt, and Joe Penny played detective Jake Styles just as well. The interplay of McCabe's and Styles's personalities added much to the mix.