This show was the best movie to TV developed series as I can remember. The movie took place in the 60's and it was groundbreaking in the sense of being the first film to ever have a black man in a position of authority. Sidney Poitier was the most influential black actor then and Rod Steiger had the biggest role of his career.
The series was more sanitized. You couldn't really have characters that looked like hillbillies on an 80's show. Therefore, most of the actors were rather good looking and were always impeccably dressed. The blue uniforms had neither stains nor sweat on them after the first season and the townspeople were not the mostly racist bigots you saw in the movie. The transformation was necessary for people to digest the show more easily for 80's audiences and it didn't affect the story lines which were for the most part exciting.
Over the years, Carroll O'Connor's character developed into a grandfatherly figure and Howard Rollins', though arrogant at times, had a sense of humor I think the Sidney Poitier character lacked. The supporting actors were all fine, although I think Hugh O'Connor was too wooden (a shame about his premature death though). The addition of the wife, well played by Anne-Marie Johnson, was well thought out. It gave the producers a chance to have Virgil spar with someone other than Bill and especially Bubba, who developed into an enlightened man too.
Every time you saw this show you felt that you were in the presence of a family unit who cared about each other and that was very comforting and it too helped to digest the rather nasty cases they would be involved in. Even though, almost a decade has passed since the show was canceled, it will always be a fond memory for me.
The series was more sanitized. You couldn't really have characters that looked like hillbillies on an 80's show. Therefore, most of the actors were rather good looking and were always impeccably dressed. The blue uniforms had neither stains nor sweat on them after the first season and the townspeople were not the mostly racist bigots you saw in the movie. The transformation was necessary for people to digest the show more easily for 80's audiences and it didn't affect the story lines which were for the most part exciting.
Over the years, Carroll O'Connor's character developed into a grandfatherly figure and Howard Rollins', though arrogant at times, had a sense of humor I think the Sidney Poitier character lacked. The supporting actors were all fine, although I think Hugh O'Connor was too wooden (a shame about his premature death though). The addition of the wife, well played by Anne-Marie Johnson, was well thought out. It gave the producers a chance to have Virgil spar with someone other than Bill and especially Bubba, who developed into an enlightened man too.
Every time you saw this show you felt that you were in the presence of a family unit who cared about each other and that was very comforting and it too helped to digest the rather nasty cases they would be involved in. Even though, almost a decade has passed since the show was canceled, it will always be a fond memory for me.