Jake and the Fatman
Encyclopedia
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad
as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny
as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder
was a spin-off
of this series. Jake and the Fatman play a large role in hip-hop culture because from it, rappers have derived the slang term "Jake" which refers to policemen, federal agents, or police detectives.
during its first season on NBC
. Executive producers Fred Silverman
and Dean Hargrove
decided to use this character as a model for one of the main characters in a new show they were creating for CBS. Penny also guest starred in these episodes, but his character was not on the same side as Conrad's character in the storyline's legal case.
Following the departure of Hargrove, executive producers David Moessinger and Jeri Taylor
were brought on to run the series with Silverman. They also hired J. Michael Straczynski
as story editor and, later, co-producer. Taylor and Moessinger ran the show for two years before finally leaving in a dispute over control over the show.
Guest stars on the series included Robert Culp
, Scott Marlowe
, Leigh McCloskey
, Ed Nelson
, Leo Penn
, Stephen Quadros
, Robert Reed
, Mitch Ryan, and David Soul
.
turned Los Angeles district attorney
. He is teamed with a handsome, happy-go-lucky special investigator named Jake Styles. They often clash due to their different styles and personalities. "Fatman" hardly travels anywhere without his companion Max, his pet bulldog
.
, the show was moved to Hawaii. The second and third seasons and half of the fourth season were filmed in Honolulu. The show then returned to Los Angeles for the remainder of its run.
. In actuality he had suffered from a gastrointestinal virus and was having difficulty regaining the weight he lost. When the show moved back to Los Angeles, it was also suspected that it was on Penny's urging. This was also not true, as the move was CBS's decision.
) has released the first two seasons of Jake and the Fatman on DVD in Region 1.
In Region 2, Dutch Filmworks
has released the first two seasons on DVD in the Netherlands.
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny
Joe Penny
Joseph Edward Penny, Jr., credited as Joe Penny is an actor best known for his role as Nick Ryder on the detective series Riptide from 1984 to 1986 and for his role as Jake Styles in the CBS television series Jake and the Fatman from 1987 to 1992.-Early life:Penny was born in London, England to an...
as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
was a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of this series. Jake and the Fatman play a large role in hip-hop culture because from it, rappers have derived the slang term "Jake" which refers to policemen, federal agents, or police detectives.
Origins
Conrad guest starred as an aging prosecutor in a two-part episode of MatlockMatlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
during its first season on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Executive producers Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
and Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove
Dean Hargrove is an American television producer, writer, and director. He specializes in creating mystery series...
decided to use this character as a model for one of the main characters in a new show they were creating for CBS. Penny also guest starred in these episodes, but his character was not on the same side as Conrad's character in the storyline's legal case.
Following the departure of Hargrove, executive producers David Moessinger and Jeri Taylor
Jeri Taylor
Jeri Taylor is a television scriptwriter and producer who is known for her contributions to the Star Trek series. She is an alumna of Indiana University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.-Star Trek screenwriting:...
were brought on to run the series with Silverman. They also hired J. Michael Straczynski
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski , known professionally as J. Michael Straczynski and informally as Joe Straczynski or JMS, is an American writer and television producer. He works in films, television series, novels, short stories, comic books, and radio dramas. He is a playwright, a former journalist,...
as story editor and, later, co-producer. Taylor and Moessinger ran the show for two years before finally leaving in a dispute over control over the show.
Cast
- William ConradWilliam ConradWilliam Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as District Attorney J. L. "Fatman" McCabe - Joe PennyJoe PennyJoseph Edward Penny, Jr., credited as Joe Penny is an actor best known for his role as Nick Ryder on the detective series Riptide from 1984 to 1986 and for his role as Jake Styles in the CBS television series Jake and the Fatman from 1987 to 1992.-Early life:Penny was born in London, England to an...
as Detective Jake Styles - Alan Campbell as Assistant District Attorney Derek Mitchell
Recurring guest stars
- Lu LeonardLu LeonardLu Leonard was an American actress. She made over 45 film and television appearances between 1956 and 1995...
as Gertrude - Olga Russell as Elisabeth Berkeley-Smythe
- Jack HoganJack HoganJack Hogan is an American actor, born November 25, 1929 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was born Richard Roland Benson, Jr. He is most notable for the role of PFC William G...
as Judge Smithwood - George O'Hanlon Jr as Sergeant Rafferty
- Melody AndersonMelody AndersonMelody Anderson is a Canadian American social worker and public speaker specializing in the impact of addiction on families. She is also known as an actress, with her most high-profile role being Dale Arden in the 1980 adaptation of Flash Gordon. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Anderson started off as...
as Sergeant Neely Capshaw
Guest stars on the series included Robert Culp
Robert Culp
Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...
, Scott Marlowe
Scott Marlowe
Scott Gregory Marlowe was a versatile American actor of film, television, and stage, who was born and died in Los Angeles, California.-Early film career:...
, Leigh McCloskey
Leigh McCloskey
Leigh Joseph McCloskey is an American film and television actor.-Career:McCloskey was classically trained as an actor at the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center, New York. As an actor, he is perhaps most widely known for his role as Mitch Cooper on the CBS soap opera Dallas...
, Ed Nelson
Ed Nelson
Edwin Stafford Nelson is an American actor.Nelson has appeared in numerous television shows, more than fifty motion pictures, and hundreds of stage productions. Until 2005, he was teaching acting and screenwriting in his native New Orleans at two local universities there...
, Leo Penn
Leo Penn
Leo Z. Penn was an American actor and director, and father of musician Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Chris Penn.-Early life:...
, Stephen Quadros
Stephen Quadros
Stephen “The Fight Professor” Quadros , is an American broadcaster specializing in play-by-play, color commentary and interviews for the combat sports genre on cable, pay-per-view and DVD...
, Robert Reed
Robert Reed
Robert Reed was a prolific American character actor of stage, film and television. In his first big break, he played Kenneth Preston on the popular 1960s TV legal drama, The Defenders, alongside E. G. Marshall. But he was best remembered for portraying the father, Mike Brady, on the popular...
, Mitch Ryan, and David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
.
Episodes
Jake and the Fatman had a total of five seasons and 106 episodes that were broadcast on CBS between 1987 and 1992.Characters
J. L. "Fatman" McCabe is a Hawaii-born, tough former HPD officerHonolulu Police Department
The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....
turned Los Angeles district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
. He is teamed with a handsome, happy-go-lucky special investigator named Jake Styles. They often clash due to their different styles and personalities. "Fatman" hardly travels anywhere without his companion Max, his pet bulldog
Bulldog
Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...
.
Setting
The show was set in Los Angeles during the first season. After the end of Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
, the show was moved to Hawaii. The second and third seasons and half of the fourth season were filmed in Honolulu. The show then returned to Los Angeles for the remainder of its run.
Controversy
Joe Penny lost a large amount of weight after the show moved to Hawaii, which led to many rumors about his health, including the possibility that he had AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. In actuality he had suffered from a gastrointestinal virus and was having difficulty regaining the weight he lost. When the show moved back to Los Angeles, it was also suspected that it was on Penny's urging. This was also not true, as the move was CBS's decision.
DVD releases
CBS DVD (distributed by ParamountParamount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
) has released the first two seasons of Jake and the Fatman on DVD in Region 1.
In Region 2, Dutch Filmworks
Dutch FilmWorks
Dutch FilmWorks is a Dutch film distributor founded in 1998, based in Schelluinen, the Netherlands, with an office in Belgium, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films on video and DVD...
has released the first two seasons on DVD in the Netherlands.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Region 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Season One, Volume One | 11 | July 8, 2008 |
| Season One, Volume Two | 12 | December 2, 2008 |
| Season Two | 10 | May 5, 2009 |