Wed 25 Sep 2013
A TV Review by Michael Shonk: THE DEVLIN CONNECTION “Ring of Kings, Ring of Thieves†(1982).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV mysteries[11] Comments
“Ring of Kings, Ring of Thieves†From The Devlin Connection, 27 November 1982. NBC/Jerry Thorpe Production and Mammoth Films in association with Universal Television. Cast: Rock Hudson as Brian Devlin, Jack Scalia as Nick Corsello and Louis Giambalvo as Lt. Earl Borden. Guest Cast: Emory Bass, Stepfanie Kramer. Written by Rudolph Borchert. Directed by Jeff Bleckner. Created by John Wilder. Executive producer: Jerry Thorpe.
YOUTUBE SPECIAL: As with any YouTube.com link watch it before it disappears.
Brian Devlin was a successful PI who retired and now is the Director of the Cultural Arts Center in Los Angeles. One day Brian is visited by the son he never knew he had, Nick Corsello. Nick wants Brian’s help starting his own PI agency. Brian finds occasionally helping Nick is a good way for Dad and son to get to know each other.
The series began October 2, 1982, and aired Saturday at 10-11pm on NBC. Opposite on ABC was FANTASY ISLAND and the last hour of the CBS SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES.
I avoided this series when it was first on because of the cast, especially Scalia, but found this episode an entertaining spoof. While the episode was a typical 80’s TV mystery with believability issues, from the opening scene you get the sense that the show knew it and was having fun as mindless entertainment.
In “Ring of Kings, Ring of Thieves†Devlin finds himself the center of attention after he buys a gift at a jewelry store, so he hires Nick to check out those following him.
The opening is missing from the episode so a link to the series opening (from unknown episode) is here.
RECOMMENDED READING
The Rap Sheet: http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2010/09/killed-in-ratings-devlin-connection.html
September 25th, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Not that I’d been actively looking, but I’d about given up on seeing an episode of this series again. Very amusing so far, about 20 minutes in. Thanks, Michael!
Now on to see the second half.
September 25th, 2013 at 11:57 pm
I was surprised by the talent behind the series, Jerry Thorpe (HARRY O), John Wilder (SPENSER FOR HIRE), Cliff Gould (STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO), Peter Lefcourt (Emmy award winner for CAGNEY & LACEY), HARRY O’s Howard Rodman as Henri Simoun (SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, Rudolph Borchert (THE ROCKFORD FILES), Jeff Bleckner (Emmy winner for HILL STREET BLUES), etc.
September 26th, 2013 at 10:48 am
Quality tells, doesn’t it? This particular episodes sucked me in from the get-go. Some series, particularly present-day ones, just aren’t meant for me, but THE DEVLIN CONNECTION (based on this sample of size one) is right on target.
October 11th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Bleckner is one of those guys whose career really spans three different generations of TV — the three-network hegemony, the creative revolution of the eighties led by Hill Street Blues, and right up through today, as he is still active, directing network shows like Castle and basic-cable shows like Franklin & Bash. I guess you could argue that his sensibility hasn’t changed all that much, in terms of the shows he works on. I imagine he got hired at HSB because of his Universal connection, which Bochco shared.
October 11th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
4. David, it shows the understandable bias the TV academy has to great TV equals great writers. I have viewed some brilliant directing done on some of TV’s weakest programs go ignored in favor of work done on TV’s better shows.
Sort of like winning the MVP in sports, you are more likely to be noticed on a winning team.
I admire the range and invisibility of most TV directors. They exist to tell the story, no matter what kind, rather than be the story such as some like Hitchcock. I am not saying Bleckner is better than Hitchcock. I am saying that Hitchcock could not survive in the background-story comes first-world of television weekly series. Though I might sit through a CASTLE episode directed by Hitchcock.
January 29th, 2016 at 10:55 pm
Oh, is there any chance at all that you could re-upload this? I’ve been dying to check The Devlin Connection (it sadly never aired on my country), and I’m so mad that YouTube took down the video. If it was out on DVD, sure, I’d get the reasoning — but it certainly isn’t. And probably never will be, either 🙁
January 30th, 2016 at 2:08 pm
Annette, sorry neither I or Steve (who runs this site) have anything to do with the video or YouTube.
I use video here to give readers a chance to see for themselves what I am writing about. Sadly most don’t last long before being taken down.
There are collectors who sell old TV shows. You might try sell.com or ioffer.
There are clips of the show at YouTube to sample.
I understand the copyright owner protecting its rights but it is such a waste of entertainment and the creative work of talented people to have such shows buried in some studio library and lost to the public.
June 16th, 2020 at 2:59 pm
Hi Michael,
I ran across this review and although I missed this show the first time around when it was originally broadcast on NBC-TV but have since thanks to a close friend on the US West Coast finally gotten the opportunity to watch 12 of the 13 episodes on 38 year old VHS tapes she gave me that surprisingly still played and had not degraded as I suspected they might have. They were all from the original network airings. The only episode not included was episode 13 Jennifer (guest star Julie Sommars) which was apparently never aired since the series was cancelled due to low ratings. It did however air during the 90’s when TV Land ran all 13 episodes of the series. For the official record # 12 Erica was the last aired NBC-TV episode.
I found one of the sets obtainable in the collectors market that had all 13 episodes but they were from TV Land; this particular set included # 13 Jennifer. So now with these tapes which I’m transferring to DVD before they go bad (inevitable, they’ve been on borrowed time as it is) I now have the best of both worlds. The quality is good considering how old it is now and it isn’t perfect–signs of tape wear/age mainly–but it’s better than nothing. At least on the VHS the teaser (previews) for the most part (except for recordings starting late) are intact; on TV Land’s version they were edited. Fortunately I have an old VCR to play them on while I’m putting them on DVD which is easier than the DVD recorders VHS units.
I liked this show mainly because of the late Rock Hudson and it was his last starring role in a TV series. Also because of his most well-known series McMillan & Wife which I have complete from retail. In its own right, The Devlin Connection was actually quite good in many aspects; I personally enjoyed the father-son relationship between Brian and Nick and their working together solving Nick’s cases with Brian giving him the benefit of his intelligence agent and private detective experience. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it’s been made out to be in past in my opinion. And Rock and Jack appear to have enjoyed their on-screen time together and their characters play off each other very well. Granted, when they met they got off to a rocky start as evidenced in the pilot episode Claudine # 10–shown later in the run when the show had a slightly different format and Nick worked out of a Vietnam vet buddy’s nightclub in the last 4 episodes, apparently filmed first but delayed because of Hudson’s then heart surgery which ultimately hurt the series in the long run–but as the show progressed, they got closer and their interaction improved with far less conflict than they had in Claudine. By the way, for the uninformed who aren’t familiar with the show, Nick in episodes 1-9 was a racquetball pro at a health club when he wasn’t taking clients in his private investigator business.
It was really a shame that The Devlin Connection didn’t make it, especially with all the talent behind it both actors, producers, creator and writers alike. Between its competition of Fantasy Island on ABC-TV and the CBS-TV Saturday night movie it didn’t have a chance of surviving to a second season. Just as well since Rock Hudson’s health deteriorated starting in 1984 with the condition that dominated news during those days. He could not have continued it under the circumstances anyway but I must honestly admit, the series did have potential that was never realized but given time it might have been a winner.
As Viacom filmed the series, I would imagine that the rights currently are held by CBS-Viacom (which also owns Paramount) if the show is still under copyright and hasn’t fallen in public domain (sometimes these old TV shows are neglected by their original sources and they let the copyright lapse/don’t renew it leaving it wide open to anyone who wants it). Chances of an official legal DVD release at this point since DVD’s are on the decline I would guess are absolutely zero. So collectors are the only hope anyone who’s interested in the series today has to see it. Thanks for reading.
June 16th, 2020 at 3:10 pm
Just a brief footnote: The Devlin Connection from a historical standpoint (TV series-wise at least) serves as a nice conclusion to Rock Hudson’s starring TV series career and not necessarily a winner or nearly as successful as his most well known series McMillan & Wife, it was still a good show that deserved better. Mr. Hudson despite his comments that he was relieved when the show was cancelled and there wasn’t enough comedy in it/didn’t have spark ought to be proud of it (were he still with us of course) and that some do remember it some nearly 4 decades later.
June 19th, 2020 at 7:00 pm
I wanted to make a correction: not that it really matters now but The Devlin Connection’s last episode # 13 Jennifer was indeed aired originally on NBC-TV contrary to what I previously stated in comment number 8. Both it and episode # 12 Erica were broadcast in a 2 hour block dated December 25, 1982, an official “swan song” for the series as the network had cancelled it due to low ratings. With Fantasy Island on ABC-TV and the Saturday night movie on CBS-TV (second hour), no wonder….
Not even Rock Hudson could save it under those circumstances.
June 21st, 2020 at 1:07 am
Not much I can add to your great comments Jim Smallwood, but I will try anyway.
The writing was better than the average TV series of the time but the premise was weak. Unknown son enters rich dad’s life has been done and doesn’t make the characters likable in the beginning when the audience decides what series to watch versus the other channels.
The cost of the season’s delay and Hudson’s failing health made it difficult for anyone involved to make a profit (I wonder how hard it was to find an insurance company willing to cover Hudson). With Hudson’s failing health meant more scenes would have to feature Jack Scalica, a ham who for reasons unknown, starred in countless failed series.
Critics at the time were not impressed labeling the series MCMILLAN AND SON.
I do wonder if Hudson could carry a series even with perfect health. MCMILLAN AND WIFE did not last long without the real star Susan Saint James.