Midnight Caller

Midnight Caller is an American drama television series created by Richard DiLello, which aired on NBC from October 25, 1988, to May 17, 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio.[1][2]

For other uses, see Midnight Caller (disambiguation).

Midnight Caller
GenreDrama
Created byRichard DiLello
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes61 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locationSan Francisco
Camera setupPanavision Cameras and Lenses
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 25, 1988 (1988-10-25) –
May 17, 1991 (1991-05-17)

Premise

Jack Killian is a former San Francisco police detective who quits the force after he accidentally shot his partner dead in a confrontation with armed criminals. After lapsing into alcoholism, Killian receives an offer from Devon King, the beautiful and wealthy owner-operator of KJCM-FM, to become "The Nighthawk", host of an overnight talk show, taking calls from listeners and acting as a detective solving their problems during the day (the title of Killian's show would later be adopted in real life by talk-show host George Noory on KTRS in St. Louis from 1996 until 2003, when Noory took over from the retiring Art Bell as host of the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast AM). Even though Killian snapped that he doesn't listen to FM radio, he accepted the offer.[3]

Killian's adventures took him frequently back into the realm of police work, where several of his former colleagues were less than happy to see him again. He faced myriad problems, both personal and professional, and was at various points required to come to grips with the nature of his relationships with both his absentee father and his troubled siblings. What he never seemed to come to grips with, however, was his relationship, or lack of one, with Devon. Devon eventually became pregnant in a relationship with another man and sold the station (Kilbourne was simultaneously pregnant in real life). Despite hard-hitting topical episodes dealing with AIDS, capital punishment, and child abuse among other topics, the show lost its audience when it was moved from its original time slot and was cancelled after three seasons.

Killian's radio show sign-off comment was "Good night, America, wherever you are."[4]

Midnight Caller's strength was a combination of well-created stories shaped by realistic and topical characters. The stories also rotated around the main cast, and its well-developed characters allowed the viewers to relate to them. The show's jazz music soundtrack also added to its popularity.

In October 1990, Wendy Kilbourne (Devon King) left the show due to her pregnancy. Lisa Eilbacher (Nicky Molloy) became the new female lead role.[5]

Episodes
Main article: List of Midnight Caller episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
117November 25, 1988 (1988-11-25)May 9, 1989 (1989-05-09)
221September 19, 1989 (1989-09-19)May 22, 1990 (1990-05-22)
323September 28, 1990 (1990-09-28)May 17, 1991 (1991-05-17)

Cast and characters

Production

Title

Series creator Richard DiLello took the title of the series from a song written by Pete Ham for the band Badfinger. DiLello had previously authored The Longest Cocktail Party, a history of the rise and fall of The Beatles' corporation, Apple Corps, and their record label, Apple Records, where Badfinger had originally been signed. The song itself had no relation to the series' subject matter; it had been written by Ham in tribute to a friend of the band who had resorted to working as a high-priced prostitute to pay her bills.

"After It Happened" controversy
Main article: After It Happened

In the 1988 episode "After It Happened", a bisexual man is depicted as an AIDS carrier who deliberately infects heterosexual women. As originally conceived, the man is gunned down in a vigilantism murder by one of the women whom he infects, and a medical team in full Hazmat suit comes to take his body away as Jack Killian comforts the distraught shooter. In the broadcast version, the victim is stopped before she can kill the carrier. Coming in the early years of the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the US at a time when public understanding of the disease was quite low,[7] the proposed episode was immediately criticised as sensationalistic, ignorant of bisexuality, and pseudoscience. Protests were launched by GLAAD, BiNet USA and bialogue, among others.[8] Additionally ACT UP pickets disrupted the show's filming.[9][10] Then-NBC affiliate KRON-TV in San Francisco ran a disclaimer before the show with an AIDS hotline number and aired a half-hour live special, Midnight Caller: The Response, during which activists and public health officials aired their grievances.[11]

Awards and nominations

In 1989, both Kay Lenz and Joe Spano won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, for their performances in the episodes "After It Happened" and "The Execution of John Saringo", respectively.[12][13]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1989Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesPeter BoyleNominated
Joe SpanoWon
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama SeriesKay LenzWon
Outstanding Directing for a Drama SeriesThomas Carter, "Pilot"Nominated
1990Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesBruce WeitzNominated
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama SeriesKay LenzNominated
Outstanding Cinematography for a SeriesBradley B. SixNominated
Outstanding Editing - Single CameraRoger BondelliNominated

International distribution

In the Philippines, the show was broadcast on PTV-4 from 1990 to 1991, and then ABC-5 from 1992 to 1996, with dubbing in Tagalog from 1994. In the UK, it was broadcast by BBC1 from 1989,[14] before later being re-run on ITV in the late '90s,[15] and being re-acquired for broadcast by Forces TV in 2021.[14] In New Zealand, the series was one of the early shows on the then-newly launched TV3, and it was screened in the early 1990s.

It is not currently available on any streaming channel.

References
  1. O'Connor, John J. (November 14, 1989). "Review/Television; 'Midnight Caller' Continues Its AIDS Story". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  2. Cerone, Daniel (November 11, 1989). "Activists Hail 'Midnight Caller' Sequel Episode". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  3. Terry Clifford (October 25, 1988). "'Midnight Caller' Should Hang It Up". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. John J. O'Connor (November 14, 1989). "Review/Television; 'Midnight Caller' Continues Its AIDS Story". Nytimes.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  5. Michael Hill (October 26, 1990). "'Midnight Caller' loses a star but stays strong". Baltimoresun.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  6. Bobbin, Jay (January 2, 1989). "Gary Cole In 'Midnight Caller' Hot Seat". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  7. Easton, Nina J. (December 3, 1988). "'Caller' Clash Reflects TV's Challenge on AIDS". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  8. Easton, Nina J. (October 25, 1988). "Gays Protest 'Midnight Caller' Episode". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  9. Ewtn.com
  10. "The State". The Los Angeles Times. October 23, 1988. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  11. Tropiano, p. 103
  12. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1439. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  13. "Awards and nominations". Emmys.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  14. "Midnight Caller coming soon to Forces TV". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  15. "ITV Central | continuity and break in transmission | 9th September 1998 | Part 2 of 2". YouTube. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
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