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Search (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Search is an American
science fiction
series that aired on Wednesday nights on NBC
at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe
. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe was the name of an existing PBS
series. In the UK the series aired on BBC 1 under the title Search Control.
The show was created by Leslie Stevens
(The Name of the Game
, The Outer Limits
), and produced by Robert Justman (Star Trek
). The high concept was described as "science fiction in today's world" and the episodes featured many high-tech elements which are considered common in current science fiction shows.
units which can be attached to tie clips or other jewelry. The most common method was to wear the Scanner on a ring, enabling it to be discreetly aimed.
Each episode featured one of three primary agents on a particular investigation, which often had political or organized crime elements.
), the "director" of the investigations, who ran Probe Control, a center patterned on the NASA
Mission Control Center
. "Cam" was the leader of the expert team who monitored and provided the agent with intelligence.
On-duty experts included a computer hacker, a translator fluent in several languages, and a doctor. Additional experts might be called in as needed.
Early in the series the Probe Control set was placed in a darkened isolated space, alluding to a large scale operations center. By the middle of the season, the control room was scaled down and relocated to a well-lit but smaller "bunker" room. According to the show's credits, the computer equipment was provided by Control Data Corporation
.
The building shown as the headquarters for World Securities Corporation is currently the headquarters for Bank Of America in San Francisco.
. The agent can respond to Probe Control either audibly or by tapping out code with a dental implant, even when they don't have their scanner operating.
The technology portrayed in the show was twenty to thirty years ahead of its time, and some of the technology was difficult for the viewers to identify with.
, with an illustration of the three actors playing the show's "Probes" on the cover.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series that aired on Wednesday nights 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...
at 10 pm ET, from September 1972 to August 1973. It ran for 23 episodes, not including the two-hour pilot film originally titled Probe
Probe (1972 TV pilot)
Not to be confused with Probe Probe was a 2 hour TV pilot movie created by Leslie Stevens that first aired on February 21, 1972 on NBC. Probe was the pilot for the science fiction detective series Search starring Hugh O'Brian as Hugh Lockwood, a high-tech private eye designated “Probe One”...
. When picked up for series production, the title had to be changed because Probe was the name of an existing PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series. In the UK the series aired on BBC 1 under the title Search Control.
The show was created by Leslie Stevens
Leslie Stevens
Leslie Clark Stevens III was the creator of the cult TV series The Outer Limits and director of the cult horror film Incubus , starring William Shatner. He wrote an early work of New Age philosophy, Est: The Steersman Handbook .-Early life and career:Leslie Stevens was born in Washington, D.C...
(The Name of the Game
The Name of the Game (TV series)
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
, The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
), and produced by Robert Justman (Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
). The high concept was described as "science fiction in today's world" and the episodes featured many high-tech elements which are considered common in current science fiction shows.
Premise
The series centered on "World Securities Corporation," an international high-tech private investigation company that employed field operatives—the elite of whom were aided by implanted audio receivers and who carry Scanners, tiny video camera/telemetryTelemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
units which can be attached to tie clips or other jewelry. The most common method was to wear the Scanner on a ring, enabling it to be discreetly aimed.
Each episode featured one of three primary agents on a particular investigation, which often had political or organized crime elements.
Probe Control
Probe agents reported to V.C. Cameron (Burgess MeredithBurgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
), the "director" of the investigations, who ran Probe Control, a center patterned on the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Mission Control Center
Mission Control Center
A mission control center is an entity that manages aerospace vehicle flights, usually from the point of lift-off until the landing or the end of the mission. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the...
. "Cam" was the leader of the expert team who monitored and provided the agent with intelligence.
On-duty experts included a computer hacker, a translator fluent in several languages, and a doctor. Additional experts might be called in as needed.
Early in the series the Probe Control set was placed in a darkened isolated space, alluding to a large scale operations center. By the middle of the season, the control room was scaled down and relocated to a well-lit but smaller "bunker" room. According to the show's credits, the computer equipment was provided by Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation
Control Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
.
The building shown as the headquarters for World Securities Corporation is currently the headquarters for Bank Of America in San Francisco.
Probe hardware
Each field agent is outfitted with a miniature scanner disguised as a piece of jewelry, which can be magnetically attached to special cuff links, tie clips, or pendants. This device continuously monitors the agent's progress, transmitting audio, video, and physical telemetry to Probe Control. These images were stabilized and rotated to permit real-time observation by a team of specialists at Probe Control who analyze the data, consult databases worldwide, and immediately provide information covertly to the field agent via a subcutaneous ear piece implanted in the agent's mastoid processMastoid process
The mastoid process is a conical prominence projecting from the undersurface of the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. It is located just behind the external acoustic meatus, and lateral to the styloid process...
. The agent can respond to Probe Control either audibly or by tapping out code with a dental implant, even when they don't have their scanner operating.
The technology portrayed in the show was twenty to thirty years ahead of its time, and some of the technology was difficult for the viewers to identify with.
Cast
Search was featured in the November 1972 edition of TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, with an illustration of the three actors playing the show's "Probes" on the cover.
- Hugh O'BrianHugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
as Hugh Lockwood (Probe One), - Tony Franciosa as Nick Bianco (Omega Probe), handling organized crime assignments
- Doug McClureDoug McClureDouglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
as Christopher Robin "C.R." Grover (Backup Probe) - Burgess MeredithBurgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
as V.C.R. "Cam" Cameron - Angel TompkinsAngel TompkinsAngel Tompkins is an American actress and Golden Globe nominee, who appeared in several films and television shows.-Career:...
as Gloria Harding - Byron ChungByron ChungByron Chung is a Korean actor who has guest-starred in several television series and mainstream film. Some of his notable roles include appearances in television shows such as Temperatures Rising, The Streets of San Francisco, The Fantastic Journey, four episodes of Baa Baa Black Sheep, The...
as PROBE Control technician Kuroda - Albert PopwellAlbert PopwellAlbert Popwell, , was an African American actor in television and films from the late 1960s. Born in New York City, Popwell started as a professional dancer before taking up a career in acting...
as Griffin - Ginny Golden as Miss Keach
- A. Martinez - World Securities Technician
Probe Field Agents
- Hugh Lockwood, Probe One - Lead Operative
- Nick Bianco, Head of Omega division, which specializes in organized-crime cases.
- C.R. Grover, Standby Probe - emergency backup agent.
Probe Control staff
- V.C.R. Cameron, Director of Probe Control Unit 1
- Gloria Harding, Senior Technician monitoring pulse, respiration, and temperature
- Albert Griffin, Linguist and Code-breaker; former chief translator at the United Nations
- Kuroda, telemetry and electronics specialist
- Carlos Lobos, technician
- Amy Murdock, Medical Doctor
- Ginny Keach, Data Specialist
Episode list
| # | |Starring | |Writer | |Production code |
|---|
External links
- Search publicity at ProbeControl.com
- World Securities Corporation Fan Site