Pilot
- Episode aired Mar 17, 1973
- 1h 10m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
134
YOUR RATING
A magician is asked by the mother of a plane-crash victim to check into a possible conspiracy; he discovers that the plane crash was staged.A magician is asked by the mother of a plane-crash victim to check into a possible conspiracy; he discovers that the plane crash was staged.A magician is asked by the mother of a plane-crash victim to check into a possible conspiracy; he discovers that the plane crash was staged.
Julian Christopher
- Jerry Wallace
- (as Jim Watkins)
Hollis Irving
- Lorraine Ellis
- (as Holly Irving)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn this pilot, the magician's name is Tony Dorian. Due to a conflict with a namesake real life magician, the protagonist's name was changed to Tony Blake for the remainder of the series.
- GoofsLulu declares that Max is on the phone with "La Nouvelle Monde", a newspaper in Paris. That is an error. "Monde" ("world", in French) is actually a masculine word, so the correct fictitious title should have been "Le Nouveau Monde". (One of the most famous newspapers in France is "Le Monde". The other two are "Le Figaro" and "Le Parisien".)
- Quotes
Max Pomeroy: If anyone can find Mary Rose, and I love that name, Tony can.
- ConnectionsReferences The Count of Monte Cristo (1934)
Featured review
A fairly good pilot
This is a pretty good pilot episode, which I just watched on dvd for the first time. Its biggest asset is, of course, the charming, handsome and sympathetic Bill Bixby. If you really like Bill Bixby, as I do, you are going to enjoy this much more than if you are just so-so on him.
Good things about the pilot: Bill's magician character is someone you like, and for magic fans, you get to see some of that. Having Bill live on a big private jet, which he can afford because he inherited a large fortune, provides an interesting and colorful angle. On the downside, it's so unusual and over-the-top, it does introduce a note of some unreality to the show. It's one of those series concept points, you just have to accept and not question it, if you want to enjoy the show.
Another plus: the music is really, really good! Very mysterious and evocative, fitting well to the subject matter.
Guest casting, for this pilot and then for the 21 episodes that followed is strong: we see many of the best actors and actresses of the 1970's. Probably because Bill was so handsome, and had sex appeal, we get a good number of very attractive women guest stars on the series run, who include: France Nuyen; Susan Oliver; Yvonne Craig; Leslie Parrish; Carol Lynley, in a 2-parter; Brooke Bundy; Lynda Day George; Katherine Justice; Marianna Hill; Jessica Walter, and others.
The main drawbacks I see to the pilot, are the pacing which is on the slow side, and the inherent limitations of Bill having to carry all the action aspects of the story. He's a magician who likes to help people in trouble, not a secret agent in the Mission Impossible way; he's not a private detective or a police detective, so no guns for Bill. He has several associates who help him out with getting background information, and those performers are fine.
I'm looking forward to watching the 21 regular episodes of this series. I have a feeling that the slower-type pacing seen in this pilot is going to be present throughout the series, but we'll see. Recommended especially for Bill Bixby fans.
Good things about the pilot: Bill's magician character is someone you like, and for magic fans, you get to see some of that. Having Bill live on a big private jet, which he can afford because he inherited a large fortune, provides an interesting and colorful angle. On the downside, it's so unusual and over-the-top, it does introduce a note of some unreality to the show. It's one of those series concept points, you just have to accept and not question it, if you want to enjoy the show.
Another plus: the music is really, really good! Very mysterious and evocative, fitting well to the subject matter.
Guest casting, for this pilot and then for the 21 episodes that followed is strong: we see many of the best actors and actresses of the 1970's. Probably because Bill was so handsome, and had sex appeal, we get a good number of very attractive women guest stars on the series run, who include: France Nuyen; Susan Oliver; Yvonne Craig; Leslie Parrish; Carol Lynley, in a 2-parter; Brooke Bundy; Lynda Day George; Katherine Justice; Marianna Hill; Jessica Walter, and others.
The main drawbacks I see to the pilot, are the pacing which is on the slow side, and the inherent limitations of Bill having to carry all the action aspects of the story. He's a magician who likes to help people in trouble, not a secret agent in the Mission Impossible way; he's not a private detective or a police detective, so no guns for Bill. He has several associates who help him out with getting background information, and those performers are fine.
I'm looking forward to watching the 21 regular episodes of this series. I have a feeling that the slower-type pacing seen in this pilot is going to be present throughout the series, but we'll see. Recommended especially for Bill Bixby fans.
helpful•00
- shakspryn
- Nov 11, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Filming locations
- Seneca Street between 3rd Ave and 2nd Ave, Seattle, Washington, USA(Tony/Anthony spins his Corvette around to stop and confront Adams, who's been chasing him.)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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