Blacke's Magic
Blacke's Magic is an American crime drama television series that aired for 13 episodes on NBC, from January 5 to May 7, 1986. Reruns later aired during the fall of 1988, to fill scheduling gaps caused by the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.
| Blacke's Magic | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Richard Levinson William Link |
| Developed by | Peter S. Fischer |
| Directed by | John Llewellyn Moxey |
| Starring | Hal Linden Harry Morgan Mark Shera |
| Theme music composer | David Bell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Peter S. Fischer |
| Producers | Douglas Benton Cliff Gould Lee Sheldon |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production company | Universal Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 5 – May 7, 1986 |
Plot
Hal Linden stars as magician Alexander Blacke who, with some help from his con-man father Leonard (Harry Morgan), solves mysteries that get in the way of his performances. The series aired for a total of thirteen episodes and featured crimes that tested logic against seemingly magical crimes. The stories were not so much whodunits as "how-he-do-its," for Alex Blacke often had to turn detective to solve the mysteries.
Cast
Main
- Hal Linden as Alexander Blacke
- Harry Morgan as Leonard Blacke
Recurring
- R.J. Adams as Art Baer
- Claudia Christian as Laurie Blacke
- Pippin Ingalls as Jill
- Mark Shera as Lt. Ted Byrnes
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 | "Breathing Room" | John Llewellyn Moxey | Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson & William Link | January 5, 1986 | |
| Series pilot: Two hour pilot: Magician Alexander Blacke decides to retire after a near-death experience; however, when an old friend of his is mysteriously murdered during a magic trick – he was somehow shot while sealed in a coffin underwater – Alex and his father Leonard investigate and help the police to figure it out. | |||||
| 3 | "Ten Tons of Trouble" | Allen Reisner | Lee Sheldon | January 8, 1986 | |
| When a statue disappears in a matters of moments, Alex is asked to investigate. And when Alex learns that the chief of security is being held accountable, he tries to solve it and clear the man's name. | |||||
| 4 | "Knave of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts" | Unknown | Lee Sheldon | January 15, 1986 | |
| Alex refuses an offer from a strange man to test the impenetrability of his vault, instead concocting a plan for Leonard to carry out when he leaves town. Leonard reports a break-in to the police, and when they open up the vault they find that it contains the stranger's body. Leonard is arrested and bailed out by Alex when he returns, and they then go on the run in search of the truth. | |||||
| 5 | "The Revenge of the Esperanza" | Unknown | Lee Sheldon | January 22, 1986 | |
| Some marine biologists are looking for a lost wreck. They find it but as soon as they do, it floats up and goes away. | |||||
| 6 | "Death Goes to the Movies" | Michael A. Hoey | Peter S. Fischer & Lee Sheldon | January 29, 1986 | |
| While Alex is playing plot-advisor for a movie in the making, the movie's producer is suddenly killed. | |||||
| 7 | "Vanishing Act" | Walter Grauman | Lee Sheldon | February 12, 1986 | |
| Alex and Leonard are stranded in the small town of Cryerville, California and use their magic skills to prevent a group of visitors from perpetrating an elaborate hoax. | |||||
| 8 | "Prisoner of Paradise" | Unknown | Lee Sheldon | February 19, 1986 | |
| Victor Kroeger, a man who had swindled a lot of people out of $122M and had been on the run for 18 years, is finally caught, and Alex is asked to help bring him back to the US from San Marcos. Kroeger is kept in a guarded room atop a tower, but later in the evening he's found dead at the bottom of the tower, and the room is still locked from the inside. What happened? | |||||
| 9 | "Address Unknown" | Allen Reisner | Lee Sheldon | February 26, 1986 | |
| Alex's former assistant comes to Alex for help when her ex-husband approaches her for help about corruption in a defense contract he's been working on. When Alex goes to meet the contact, someone shoots at him, and when he goes to take the police to the street where he met the contact, the street itself has gone missing. | |||||
| 10 | "Forced Landing" | Paul Lynch | Lee Sheldon | March 5, 1986 | |
| An old friend of Alex and Leonard has been robbed of a toy prototype by a rival and his toy company is in danger, so the boys must scam their way into saving the prototype. | |||||
| 11 | "Last Flight from Moscow" | Unknown | Lee Sheldon | March 12, 1986 | |
| Alex runs into a familiar lowlife who's being hunted, so he and Leonard must cooperate with demands but plan to retrieve the possession. | |||||
| 12 | "A Friendly Game of Showdown" | Michael A. Hoey | Lee Sheldon | March 19, 1986 | |
| Alex finds himself requested to rule an auction selling the original, unpublished script made by Edgar Allan Poe. | |||||
| 13 | "It's a Jungle Out There" | Unknown | Lee Sheldon & Aubrey Solomon | April 2, 1986 | |
| Alex and Leonard find a U.S. diplomat being blackmailed by a Monte Carlo casino owner involving in selling technological secrets, so they come to the diplomat's aid. | |||||
| 14 | "Wax Poetic" | Allen Reisner | Lee Sheldon | May 7, 1986 | |
| A Poe manuscript is purloined to Alex's apartment during an auction. | |||||
Reception
Awards
- Primetime Emmy Awards 1986 - Nominated - Outstanding Cinematography for a Series -Terry K. Meade - For episode "Prisoner of Paradise".
- Edgar Allan Poe Awards 1987 - Nominated - Best Television Episode - Lee Sheldon (writer) - For episode "Wax Poetic".
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