Mon 10 Sep 2012
A TV Review by Michael Shonk: DOG AND CAT: Pilot (1977).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[18] Comments
DOG AND CAT. ABC / Paramount / Largo Productions, 1977; 74 minutes. Cast: Lou Antonio, Kim Basinger, Matt Clark, Charles Cioffi, Richard Lynch, Dale Robinette and Janit Baldwin. Created by Walter Hill. Teleplay by Owen Morgan, Henry Rosenbaum and Heywood Gould. Story by Owen Morgan.Executive Producer: Lawrence Gordon. Producer: Robert Singer. Director: Bob Kelljan.
This TV Movie pilot would lead to the ABC series Dog and Cat that would run for six episodes on Saturdays at 10-11 pm from March 5, 1977 through May 14, 1977.
An underage ex-porn star (Janit Baldwin) who has found Jesus wants to help “the pigs†get the man behind her former career. Detective Sergeant Jack Ramsey (Lou Antonio) and his partner Earl (Richard Forbes) meet with her and set up a trap for the bad guy.
While waiting for the bad guy to show up and meet the girl, Ramsey is at a pay phone checking in when a creepy guy (Richard Lynch) enters the diner, exchanges glances with girl, walks up to Earl and shoots him. In the confusion the shooter escapes and the girl disappears.
Ramsey’s boss, Lieutenant Kipling (Matt Clark) arrives at the scene as Earl is being rushed to the hospital, unconscious but still alive. He finds a sad Ramsey sitting on the curb. He reacts as if Ramsey was a hotheaded cop about to go rogue and sends him home to cool down.
At first, I wondered if Antonio was playing the part wrong, focusing on inner emotions rather visually displaying his anger, but then the script has him going home to walk his dog. Ramsey stops at a phone booth to call the hospital to check on his beloved partner. When he learns his partner has died he is emotionally distressed without any visual sides of anger. He takes his dog home and lies down on his couch. Dirty Harry, he ain’t.
The next day the Lieutenant warns Ramsey against going out on his own hunting the killer. Kipling is convinced (for reasons not apparent to us) he should force Ramsey to take two weeks off, but instead gives him a new partner familiar with the skin trade and sends him out to hunt for the killer.
Ramsey is angry to discover his new partner is a young beautiful woman (Kim Basinger). He claims “Dog and Cat” partnerships (male cop/female cop) never work. After some lame sexist dialog, Ramsey gets into her car, a cute VW Bug with a Porsche engine.
While Antonio’s acting seems not to fit the character, Basinger does no better as Officer J. Z. Kane. Basinger looks overwhelmed in this film, her Southern accent keeps going in and out. She isn’t even convincing with the sexy part of her character. This is Kim Basinger here, sexy should be a given.
Of course, the two are like cats and dogs, complete opposite from body parts to taste in music. They constantly argue except when danger threatens then they work as a team, each having the others back.
While looking for the girl, they question the man who had helped the girl get into a Mission and find Jesus. After our favorite Dog and Cat leave, the man is worried Officer Kane will remember him hanging around a porno theatre (she had spent time undercover as the cashier). So he sends his lackey out to “take care of her.â€
Meanwhile, the cop killer named Shirley is also looking for the girl and kills again to cover his trail. Richard Lynch does what he can with his role as plot device, but the writers don’t bother to develop the character.
This script focuses less on making sense and more on its quota of car chases, gunfights, gratuitous women in bikinis, and predictable arguments between the two cops until it’s off to chase the bad guy.
After Ramsey and Kane catch the bad guy behind it all, they then focused on catching the cop killer. And of course, our two cops take the killer on alone without backups because this kind of TV show can never have too many pointless chases and gunfights.
For a TV movie pilot, nothing worked. The story was unbelievable and unnecessarily complex. The writing and acting did not play well together, with the characters behavior inconsistent with the script. There was no chemistry between Antonio and Basinger.
The movie ends with the two discussing their future, as if we cared. He suggests dinner but end the partnership. She agrees, but warns him she will never get involved with a man with a badge. He cancels dinner and both agree to stay partners as cops with no romantic involvement. Reportedly, Ramsey and Kane kept their relationship platonic during the series.
The 1976-77 season ended with ABC the top rated network. Four ABC series finished in the top five and seven in the top ten. ABC’s Dog and Cat finished 50th out of 102 series.
Networks were trying the idea of a third season that started in March. New series would be tested. Some such as Three’s Company, Man from Atlantis, and Eight Is Enough were a success, while most such as Kingston: Confidential (with Raymond Burr), Future Cop (human cop/android cop) and Dog and Cat failed and quickly vanished to be forgot
September 10th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
I had never heard of this one. Obviously I was not paying attention back in 1977. If this had been a pop quiz, I would have failed.
One question. I was trying to find a date for this pilot, but the only one I’ve found so far was on IMDB, which says it aired on 22 July 1977.
Can this be right? I suppose it can, but this is after the series itself was broadcast.
September 10th, 2012 at 8:14 pm
I was a fan of Lou Antonio’s in the mid-’70s, having then watched him most recently in “The Snoop Sisters,” but I barely remember “Dog and Cat.”
I do, though, recall rather fondly another series you mention at the end of this post: “Kingston Confidential,” starring Raymond Burr. I’ve looked around for copies of that show’s pilot and episodes in recent years, but have found neither. I hope, Michael, that you’ll have the chance to write about “Kingston,” too, in the near future.
Cheers,
Jeff
September 10th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
1. Steve, I tried to confirm the air date at TV Tango but they had no record of what was on TV at the time. I suspect it is right. It was not unusual for the networks to show the TV Movie pilot after the series had come and gone, especially during the summer when they were just filling time for smaller audiences.
September 10th, 2012 at 9:07 pm
2. Jeff, I found Lou Antonio acting in this to be good, but felt he was miscast for what the script apparently wanted. Though considering the number of writers for this TV Movie, I wonder if all the writers agreed on what they wanted.
Someday, I will find out why he took his name off the credits for his role in the actual pilot (second episode aired) of REMINGTON STEELE, “Tempered Steele.” I suspect his growing career as a director at the time was the reason.
Sadly, I too have been unable to find any copies of KINGSTON, but I do have an forgotten 1970’s ABC series called MOST DEADLY GAME that I will be reviewing soon.
September 10th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
I will check our not close to infallible but frankly better than everyone else’s database tomorrow for the dates on CAT AND MOUSE.
September 11th, 2012 at 3:59 am
The pilot and short series were shown here around 1978, but this is the first time that I’ve thought of it since then. The main memory that I have of it is getting half way through the pilot and wondering if there was anything better on any of the other channels. There was.
September 11th, 2012 at 9:09 am
This airdate question is a good one that will take someone with a lot of time to solve. There is no mention of the pilot airing on 7/22/77 in TV Guide. I also looked it up in Vincent Terrace’s book on TV pilots, which lists 7/22/77 as the airdate. The NY Times archive was no help.
This is apparently THE Walter Hill, with a long list of film writing, directing, and/or producing credits, including, most recently, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus?
September 11th, 2012 at 10:26 am
Wikipedia is even more confused by the date causing it to get the series dates wrong as well. The DOG AND CAT series episodes dates I list are correct as I confirmed them at more than one source. Something I couldn’t do with the TV movie pilot.
One of the problems with today’s databases such as IMDb is the apparent reliance on sources such as Terrace’s book over the sources of the day such as TV GUIDE. That is why I use the incomplete but helpful TV Tango to confirm episodes air dates.
#6. BRADSTREET, some shows deserve to be forgotten, even before the end credits roll.
#7. David, the fact that Walter Hill gets no writer’s credit is a strong sign that this TV movie went through many changes from idea to TV set. My guess is his idea was a series featuring a team of male and female cops.
Then Owen Morgan did the original script and the other two guys did major rewrites. The script went through too many hands for a strong story or believable characters to survive.
The original idea of dog and cat cops got lost in making the two complete opposites, average looking – beautiful, old – young, etc. Aside from some unconvincing out of character sexist dialog forced in Ramsey’s mouth, the script never focused on the dog and cat idea.
September 11th, 2012 at 12:15 pm
Todd
I wasn’t sure, but I see now that your comment #5 was a stand against “aggressively generic titles” — in your own words — and a cause that’s without question worth fighting for!
Thanks, too, for keeping up your every Tuesday schedule of “Overlooked Films” links, including all of this week’s:
http://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2012/09/tuesdays-overlooked-films-andor-other_11.html
— Steve
September 11th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
One thing I found was that the series was reviewed by Variety on March 9, 1977, and the review mentions that the pilot “still lies on the ABC shelf unaired,” or some words to that effect. So if the pilot aired at all it was burned off after the series.
September 11th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
#10. David, did Variety like the episode they reviewed?
September 12th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
Michael, did anyone like it? Variety called it “workmanlike,” “derivative,” and “harmless.” Was reviewed by “Bok” — aka the late Bob Knight, a very colorful character and a former colleague of mine, during my days at the “trade-industry bible.”
September 12th, 2012 at 3:26 pm
#12. Thanks, David. The most common comment about the series I found was the lack of believability that there was no romantic tension between the two. That Antonio’s character behaved himself around a gorgeous woman.
I understand it was 1977 and they wanted to show men and women could work together as just friends. The problem is the audience wants the romantic tension even if it as tame as Perry Mason and Della Street.
In this movie Basinger’s character could have been played by a man and it would have made little difference to the plot and most of the scenes.
The series must have gotten better to rise to “workmanlike,” and “derivative.” “Harmless” would depend on how ticked you were they screwed up an interesting idea for the time, a woman and man could work together without playing together.
July 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 pm
I was 23 when I saw this show I was very disappointed when it was cancelled. I knew Kim would be big but I really thought this was a good show. Maybe Kim was too hot for the small screen she sure had my attention but her co-star did a good job too and it had a lot of action.
Maybe the powers that be were just too old.
July 3rd, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Don’t forget William this is a review of the pilot TV Movie alone. Maybe you are right about the series. I was 22 and remember nothing about the series or TV Movie until I watched the movie for this review.
But the series lasted only six episodes and was opposite of Carol Burnett Show when CBS owned Saturday night with Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and All in the Family airing that night. It never really got a chance.
August 30th, 2016 at 11:10 pm
I was 20 when this came out. I remember being gobsmacked by how beautiful Kim Basinger was (even as a straight female), and was very disappointed when the show was canceled so quickly. I had the distinct impression that if it had lasted long enough, they were planning to ramp up the (as I interpreted it) subtle romantic undertones between the characters. Now, after nearly 40 years, I may be misremembering this, but it has stayed with me as something with real potential, and I’m sorry it never got the chance to live up to it. Of course it’s also possible it was unmitigated crap and I just liked the romantic subtext, but hey…still a happy memory after all this time.
January 12th, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Do you think it would be possible to upload the entire pilot somehow? If not, perhaps you would be able to point in the right direction to obtain it? :p
Thanks 🙂
January 14th, 2018 at 11:54 pm
You can find a copy of the TV Movie for $24.95 at Robert’s hard to find Videos
https://www.robertsvideos.com