This is the story of three girls, Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett), and Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith), who graduated from the police academy but ended up doing less-than-compelling work in the department. Secretive rich playboy Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe) hires them for his private detective agency. He only communicates with them by voice mostly on the intercom. There is the assistance of John Bosley (David Doyle). Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd) replaces her sister Jill in the second season. Tiffany Welles (Shelley Hack) replaces Sabrina in the fourth season and aspiring model Julie Rogers (Tanya Roberts) replaces her in the fifth and final season.
This was derisively referred to as Jiggle-TV. Other than a few bikini-clad episodes, there isn't actually much jiggling. Only the last season's Hawaiian Angels with its own Lifeguard Angels episode comes closest to Baywatch. If anything, it's model feathered hair TV. The stories are mostly old TV detective procedurals and lacking in any writing excellence. It's of its time and not that compelling. It is good that they do some limited action. For true female empowerment, this would be followed by Cagney & Lacey. This is still very much about the girls' model good looks, their flowing big hair, and their sex appeal. Popular opinion maintains that the show's ratings declined after Farrah's departure. That doesn't really hold true. During the third and fourth season, she would often return as a guest and the ratings only started to slide in the third season. There is no denying that her sex appeal is through the roof and Cheryl Ladd often feels like a light copy which actually fits her younger sister role. The departure of Kate Jackson is often ignored in this conversation. Jill is sex and Kelly is the PTA president. On the other hand, Sabrina is the spice. Unlike the others, she has a bite and a bitterness. She has more depth than her replacements. There's a reason why Kate Jackson would later lead her own TV show. Her sex appeal isn't so overt. She's the supposed smart one but they're all supposed to be smart. Her bitterness gives her an edge which this show misses. She's not a centerfold. Maybe that's why Tanya Roberts' character needed to be damaged and even Jaclyn Smith tries to have a darker past. The show gets flat and repetitive and out of gas. This will never be touted as a high point in television but there is something to the sexiness injection into the standard network fare.
This was derisively referred to as Jiggle-TV. Other than a few bikini-clad episodes, there isn't actually much jiggling. Only the last season's Hawaiian Angels with its own Lifeguard Angels episode comes closest to Baywatch. If anything, it's model feathered hair TV. The stories are mostly old TV detective procedurals and lacking in any writing excellence. It's of its time and not that compelling. It is good that they do some limited action. For true female empowerment, this would be followed by Cagney & Lacey. This is still very much about the girls' model good looks, their flowing big hair, and their sex appeal. Popular opinion maintains that the show's ratings declined after Farrah's departure. That doesn't really hold true. During the third and fourth season, she would often return as a guest and the ratings only started to slide in the third season. There is no denying that her sex appeal is through the roof and Cheryl Ladd often feels like a light copy which actually fits her younger sister role. The departure of Kate Jackson is often ignored in this conversation. Jill is sex and Kelly is the PTA president. On the other hand, Sabrina is the spice. Unlike the others, she has a bite and a bitterness. She has more depth than her replacements. There's a reason why Kate Jackson would later lead her own TV show. Her sex appeal isn't so overt. She's the supposed smart one but they're all supposed to be smart. Her bitterness gives her an edge which this show misses. She's not a centerfold. Maybe that's why Tanya Roberts' character needed to be damaged and even Jaclyn Smith tries to have a darker past. The show gets flat and repetitive and out of gas. This will never be touted as a high point in television but there is something to the sexiness injection into the standard network fare.