Created by James Stark and Leonard Stern
According to Ric Meyers in The Armchair Detective (Vol. 19, #1, for those keeping tabs), CAROLE STANWYCK and SYDNEY KOVACK are two “novice private eyes with lots to get off their chests and nothing on their minds.” They teamed up Partners In Crime, a deservedly short-lived and instantly forgettable eighties TV series starring Loni “WKRP” Anderson (as Sydney) and Lynda “Wonder Woman” Carter (as Carole).
Although the male in me must admit those were some impressive chests… a fact the producers figured would help distract viewers from noticing the pre-fab, no-surprise plots, the paper doll acting and ultra-cheesy vibe.
And it wasn’t even good cheese at that.
Carole is the “classy” brunette, a refined, former socialite who lost her fortune and is now making a living as a photographer and a courier (huh?). Meanwhile, Sydney is the allegedly “streetwise” blonde, the jazz-playing, pickpocket daughter of a con artist.
So what if she looked like an over-inflated dollar store Barbie?
The premise is that Raymond Caufield, the private detective they were both married to (at different times) was murdered, and after the two mismatched bombshells successfully teamed up to catch his killer (of course), they decided to keep right on sleuthing (naturally). They take over Caufield’s San Francisco detective agency (as one would), planning to run it themselves. Helping out is Shain, Raymond’s old assistant, and their former mother-in-law, Jeanine.
Alas, the hoped-for hilarity and thrills did not ensue.
TELEVISION
- PARTNERS IN CRIME
(aka “Fifty/Fifty”)
(1984, NBC)
12 60-minute episodes
1 two-hour pilot
Created by James Stark and Leonard Stern
Creative Consultant: Simon Muntner
Writers: Larry Brody, Bill Driskill, Gina Goldman, Janis Hendler, Jeffrey Lane, Harold Livingston, Simon Muntner, Philip Saltzman, Bob Shayne, Robert Van Scoyck
Directors: Kevin Connor, Alan Cooke, Rod Daniel, Charles S. Dubin, Harry Falk, Lee H. Katzin, Guy Magar, Sigmund Neufeld Jr., Allen Reisner, Sutton Roley, James Sheldon, Leonard Stern , Don Weis
Supervising producer: Larry Brody
Starring Loni Anderson as SYDNEY KOVACK
and Lynda Carter as CAROLE STANWYCK
Also starring Eileen Heckart as Jeanine
Walter Olkewicz as Harmon Shain
and Leo Rossi as Lt. Ed Vronsky
Guest stars: Vanessa L. Williams, David Soul, Leigh McCloskey, Bibi Besch, Donna Wilkes, Linden Chiles, David Carradine, John Vernon- “Celebrity” (September 22, 1984)
- “The Hottest Guy in Town” (September 29, 1984)
- “Murder in the Museum” (October 6, 1984)
- “Pilot” (October 13, 1984; 2 hours)
- “Duke” (October 20, 1984)
- “Paddles Up” (October 27, 1984)
- “Is She or Isn’t He?” (November 3, 1984)
- “Fantasyland” (November 24, 1984)
- “The Setup” (December 1, 1984)
- “Fashioned for Murde” (December 8, 1984)
- “The Strangler” (December 15, 1984)
- “Getting in Shape” (December 22, 1984)
- “Double Jeopardy” (December 29, 1984)
Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
