Danger Theatre

THE SEARCHER is absolutely one of the true lost treasures of all time - hilarious stories , and Dietrich Bader is nothing short of a comic genius - it is amazing that this potential cult classic hasn't found its way onto DVD yet ,as i know my copies are hardly watchable , but i do , over and over - don't know how you would ever get to see this today , i as believe it was of FOX early in its lifetime , but if you get a chance do not miss it - if you have never seen it at all , i would describe it almost as SUPER DAVE MEETS THE GREATEST American HERO MEETS POLICE SQUAD in spoofs of such classics as SILENCE OF THE LAMBS AND GORILLA'S IN THE MIST - ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT ! and if you know how to get this , SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD !

This show was not on for long - only a handful of episodes before being pulled; but we did get it in the UK, on BBC2, out of hours. It was a collection of 2 or 3 short themed comedy sketches crammed into twenty-five minutes.

Tropical Punch saw Adam West and co. as Hawaiin - or possibly Floridian, I can't remember - detectives, hot on the trail of a variety of small time crooks. For West, at least, it was kind of a reprise of his old Batman character but as a modern day detective. This and other skits were forgettable, but...

The Searcher, starring Diedrich Bader was pure slapstick gold. Bader played a leather clad biker-investigator with a heart of gold - a kind of one man A-team without all the guns etc. He was incredibly accident prone; the writers seemingly intent on having him really injured in any unlikely and painful way whenever possible; but like cartoon violence he was always OK and so it was dead funny.

Now, if only there was somewhere I could get these episodes to watch again - any suggestions anybody?

It appears that only British and Irish TV picked up on this one, even if it was shown at 1 am.

Too ridiculous to go into any depth, other than 'The Searcher' was a masterpiece, and the Magnum/Hawaii Five-0 mickey-take with Adam West was in the Jean Claude Van Damme territory of being so bobbins it was funny

I am so glad to have finally found the name of this show. I have been trying to figure it out for years. For a while I thought I had dreamed it up or something because NObody knew what I was talking about. When this show came out, it was my replacement for "Sledghammer" which had been canceled years earlier I think. Then when Danger Theatre was canceled, my childhood was ruined. It was then that I realized that everything good was apparently not popular. There are a few clips on YouTube! Check them out, they bring back memories. AND, one of the people hosting the clips has the 2 DVD set of the series for sale. I don't think I can list his website on here per the guidelines. I am going to order the series and cannot wait to watch it again.

Although I remember the Robert Vaughn intros, what really stayed with me - to the point that years later I find myself trying to quote it - was The Searcher.

The Searcher could hear his own theme music (hmmm - catchy tune!) and had sound effects when he kicked, punched and jumped on his motorbike. He walked around saying things like "I search for things. I am.... The Searcher!" (whcih means the comedy was in the delivery and you had to be there!)

And no matter how many safes they pushed off tall buildings they never seemed to quite hit him. Slight but beautifully formed comedy.