Plot vanished when show switched networks
You have questions, many from the entertainment vault. I have some answers.
Q: We recently acquired DVDs of the complete JAG. Season 1 ended with Harm being arrested for murder in an episode called Skeleton Crew. Season 2 opened with Harm investigating the theft of the Declaration of Independence. No explanation was given for his being back at work, or of the actual murderer. Is there a resolution to Skeleton Crew?
A: No. Heroes & Icons, which carries JAG repeats, explains on its website that Skeleton Crew was meant to be the first-season finale on NBC. The network decided to cancel the show before that episode aired, and so chose not to air a cliffhanger that would remain hanging. But then CBS picked up the show. Because it was starting fresh, that network neither aired Skeleton Crew nor completed the story. H&I notes that JAG did use parts of Skeleton Crew in flashbacks in a later episode, Death Watch, but the complete Crew remained in limbo until the series became available in syndicated reruns and DVDs. As a result, when the show’s repeats air in order, H&I says, it “jumps from a cliffhanger to … the cliff disappearing completely.”
Q: Back in the ’70s, over the summer they would often air unsold pilots. I vaguely remember a Dirty Harry-style cop show called Hardcase, which seemed to be a lot more violent than most of the other shows of the era. I can’t remember anything else about it or who starred in it. I’ve never met anyone else who knows what I’m talking about! Tell me that I’m not crazy.
A: You are not crazy. In the ‘80s there was indeed a pilot called Hardcase starring Beau Kayser as tough cop Harding Casey, with Mickey Rourke as the villain. Said one review: “The trouble with Hardcase is it’s too darn hard. Mr. Kayser speaks in a Clint Eastwood teeth-clenched whisper, and he’s just too derivatively stony. Even the convict, played by Mr. Rourke at his most menacingly greasy, is an exaggeratedly rotten apple.” Of course, Rourke still managed to have a career. So did Beau Kazer (as his name was more often spelled), especially as Brock Reynolds on The Young and the Restless. He died in 2014.
Q: In an episode of The Virginian, I saw a talented actor named Peter Deuel. Can you tell me anything about him?
A: The actor, also known as Peter Duel, was a well-liked, handsome actor who worked often in TV, including as a regular on the comedies Love on a Rooftop (196667) and, with Sally Field, Gidget (1965-66). He seemed ready for a breakthrough with the Western Alias Smith and Jones in 1971. (He was Smith, Ben Murphy was Jones. Field also appeared.) But he reportedly was troubled and had a drinking problem, and in December 1971 he died by suicide. He was 31 years old. Alias Smith and Jones kept going by recasting Deuel’s role, but it did not last long. Still, Deuel has a devoted following keeping his memory alive online.