Warner Archive Instant Weekend Binge: 'Search'

Each Friday, we highlight a binge-worthy show currently available on Warner Instant Archive. This week, it's the forgotten TV series "Search," which aired Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC from September 1972 through August 1973.

The sci-fi oriented series starred 1970s TV stalwarts Hugh O'Brian, Tony Franciosa and Doug McClure as three agents for the World Securities Corporation, a high-tech private investigations firm. The gimmick was that each agent was outfitted with a "scanner," a video camera/telemetry unit that was small enough to be attached to a ring or coat button. The video was sent back to Probe Central, a high-tech control room run by Probe Control Director V.C.R. Cameron (Burgess Meredith).

Given the passage of a few decades, the tech used in the show is pretty laughable. And while the leads are solid actors, the episodes tend to play out in that very over-emphasized dramatic style popular in 1970s broadcast television dramas. But there are a number of reasons to watch the show. It was created by Leslie Stevens (The Name of the Game, The Outer Limits), and produced by Stevens and Robert Justman (Star Trek). Both men were very good at their craft and the show is an early example of the slick high-tech style common in current science fiction TV shows.

It's worth noting that Stevens and Justman were forced from the show by NBC after the first 15 episodes. Reportedly, the problem was that the network learned Justman was putting together a project for a rival network, a practice that was frowned upon in the 1970s. They were replaced by story editor Anthony Spinner ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E") who made some changes to the show in an effort to save it. The show was airing opposite powerhouse "Cannon" and the network apparently felt "Search" was too "out-there" for the audience.

The show also featured some helpfully goofball plots, ranging from a deranged former North Korean P.O.W. to someone who has stolen a cache of moon rocks encrusted with diamonds. You'll also see a few familiar guest stars show up, including Barbara Feldon, Patrick O'Neal, Dabney Coleman, A. Martinez, Mary Frann, Michael Conrad and Cheryl Ladd (credited as Cheryl Stoppelmoor.)

Warner Instant Archive currently offers up the entire series for streaming, with a couple of caveats. The original two-hour pilot isn't included (which was originally called "Probe.") And for some odd reason, one episode is missing (#22, "Suffer My Child"). Still, those are minor quibbles.

Let's make no mistake. "Search" is a goofball and sometimes campy show. But if you're a fan of old sci-fi TV shows, then you'll love this series. Especially since it's one that has rarely been seen by audiences since its original airings. For whatever reason, Warner Brothers had classified the show as "for export only" soon after it was cancelled. So while the show has aired around the world intermittently in the decades since, only the pilot had been seen in the U.S. until the complete series box set was released earlier this year.

Enjoy the weekend.