Another listener suggestion led us to the world of super-rich (but benign super-rich) Jonathan and Jennifer Hart. "What Murder?" was an interesting installment that found Jonathan getting a nasty case of amnesia. Some questionable decisions ensued, and murder was somehow one of the least appalling. Unfortunately, this show kicked off a season-long trend of shows being pulled from streaming right after we get to them!
Anonymous Batty insider says: "I think the guys liked this series a lot more than they expected, but will that translate into Battys? I don't know. It does seem that they were able to separate the show from the controversy in Robert Wagner's life. Prime Video yanked the series soon after they talked about it, and it's been around but not in complete on-demand form. Is it out of mind? The fact that Rick went on about that Halloween episode a few months ago is a good sign. Hart to Hart could score well in some of the early categories like Non-Human and Hair. If it does, maybe it builds some momentum even though it is not an obvious favorite in anything."
Yesterday I discussed a few Halloween-related TV episodes I watched from shows we covered in our most recent season. While both are enjoyable, "Night Terrors" from the first season of Hart to Hart is a real gem. It's an example of the show at its best, the kind of episode that makes you appreciate how much fun it can be.
Jonathan and Jennifer head to a house party--a haunted house party, that is, because their wacky friends have invited folks to a quirky dinner. It becomes evident how quirky when dinner is served, and then everyone is urged to go on a scavenger hunt in the confines of the roomy, spooky, and allegedly ghostly mansion.
I like that "Night Terrors" shows all sides of the campy series. At first it looks like it will be totally jokey, and there are some great moments when Jonathan is in top form with his quips. I don't mean his lines are that funny, but it's the way he delivers them--breezy, confident, but treating everything as a lark. When another guest says he knows he has seen Jonathan somewhere and suggests maybe the athletic club, Jonathan says he usually does his workouts AT HOME. When he utters this, he smirks and looks right at Jennifer, and the whole moment is glorious.
Yet when the hunt begins and the stakes increase, there is some genuine peril, and everyone involved takes things with appropriate seriousness (I mean, it's still Hart to Hart). The dialogue is sharp, and the script shows is really clever. There are twists and turns and some vivid performances by guest actors like Barney Martin and other familiar faces.
"Night Terrors" is not only a fine Halloween episode, it's one of the best episodes I have seen yet of Hart to Hart. I recommend seeing it even outside of the season.
One of the interesting things about Hart to hart is the strong chemistry the two leads shared on screen even while they were devoted to other people. When you see these clips, check out the comments and see how many people believe that Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers were actually a romantic couple. Isn't it nice to think that a man and a woman, even if potentially compatible as lovers, can be "just" friends?
The quality is a little rough, but you see a mutual affection and comfort in clips like this vintage Good Morning America clip from our Hart playlist:
To me, this clip is a classic example of their chemistry even though the two are promoting another property. This is from 1983's James Bond: The First 21 Years, a special that appeared on ITV and showcased the likes of then-Prez Ronald Reagan! ABC in 1983 was the network home of the 007 films and of course of Hart to Hart. It's one of my favorite types of celebrity clips: When performers are in character despite appearing as themselves.
On this week's podcast, Mike rattles off some of the seemingly endless branches of Hart Industries, which has interests in mining, toys, finance...With the caveat that I have not seen every episode of Hart to hart, nor anything close to it, and that I may well be missing references to these areas of the company, here are my picks for divisions I wish the company had:
1) Hart Heartworks: Let's get it out of the way first: A division devoted to manufacturing and developing components for artificial hearts would be a dream for Jonathan Wagner because it would enable pun opportunities every single day.
2) Hart Colonics: Let's get this one out of the way, too: Can't you imagine Jonathan grinning just before a commercial break and telling Jennifer, "Well, our problems are behind us now"?
3) Hart Inkworks: The Harts open a series of seedy tattoo parlors across the region. Why? "Diversifcation," of course. When shady happenings are reported at the flagship, Jennifer has to go undercover and request a giant back tattoo of Jonathan. We find out that Max already has several--not all of Jonathan.
4) Hart Sports Enterprises: A company to organize the professional sports franchises the Harts own. Since I am making this list based on what I wish I could see on the show, I say give the Harts a Major League Baseball franchise circa 1982 or so. I don't mean have Jonathan buy one, I mean I want him to already own one but just mention it in passing because it's needed for a plot that week.
And to up the ante, have the Harts worried about a drug smuggling ring involving the clubhouse and the team mascot, and have them go undercover to ferret out the details. Naturally you have Jennifer be a hotshot "free agent from nowhere" and Jonathan the mascot.
5) Hart Back Alleys: This underexplored part of the company is responsible for creating noirish backdrops that give the Harts opportunities to don trenchcoats and talk like Bogart and Bacall.
*Special thanks again to our friend Maureen for inspiring this episode!
*Hart to Hart aired on ABC for 5 seasons and 110 episodes (1979-1984), then 8 TV movies on NBC and The Family Channel (1993-1996).
*Here is the video playlist for this episode! Click below to see promos, interviews, commercials, music, and more!
And remember, you can always visit our official YouTube page for all of our past podcasts and episode-specific playlists for each one!
*FX aired the show from its launch in 1994 until removing it in 1998.
*The episode with the Cary Grant impersonation is "Harts and Palms," a third-season effort in which they go to Hawaii.
*Switch aired on CBS from 1975-1978 and co-starred Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert. The Glen A. Larson program was accused of ripping off The Rockford Files by none other than James Garner.
*It Takes a Thief also starred Wagner and was on ABC for 3 seasons, 1968-1970. Not only was it inspired by the Cary Grant/Alfred Hitchcock To Catch a Thief, but Wagner asked Grant for advice on how to play the lead role.
*Lionel Stander's casting in Hart to hart was a return to the States after being blacklisted and spending many years overseas.
*Aaron Spelling's book is A Prime-Time Life.
*At the time Hart to Hart debuted, Cary Grant was 75, Wagner was 49, and Powers was just about to turn 37. (Since we mention her on the pod, Bette Davis was 71.)
*The episode "What Murder?" was the second episode of the second season, premiering Tuesday, November 18, 1980, on ABC at 10:00 P.M. EST.
*The 1980 Jukebox Awards were taped November 2 in Chicago and aired on NBC November 18. We have a few clips in this week's video playlist.
*The Trial of Billy Jack was the third film in the series, opening in 1974 at number one despite negative reviews.
*Dick Powell, whose house was used for exterior shots of the Hart compound, was a singer and actor who became a mogul and hired a young Aaron Spelling!
*Magic Johnson played center for the Lakers in Game 5 of the 1980 NBA Finals, scoring 42 in a 123-107 win over the Sixers on May 16.
*The episode with Jonathan's exact double is Season 3 Episode 5, "Murder Up Their Sleeve." Stefanie Powers' "rare dual role" episode is much better--Season 2 Episode 3, "This Lady Is Murder."
*"Cruise at Your Own Risk" is the 22nd episode of Season 1.
*One thing we didn't get to in a packed episode: The villain's wife/doctor, the one with the "stash" of pills, is played by Susan Nimoy, the widow of Leonard.
*Tom Mankewicz's memoir, My Life as a Mankewicz, is available where books are sold and also as an ebook! He developed Sidney Sheldon's old concept and turned it into Hart to Hart for Spelling and Goldberg, then got his first chance to direct with the pilot. Maybe in his book, unlike Spelling, he writes for more than a few pages about the show!
(Note: We are aware of the circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood's tragic death, but we chose not to get into it on the podcast. Wagner was named a person of interest in 2018, but it is an "open, unsolved case," according to investigators. After the retirement of the detective who classified Wagner as such, it appears safe to say the 93-year-old Wagner will not be charged.)
In a "Rear Windowesque" moment, Jonathan Hart witnesses a possible mur-DAH. Then in his rush to stop it, he collides with a moped and gets...AMNESIA. Sure, he remembers how to hail a cab, how to dress to the nines, how to live a life of luxury, but he doesn't remember his wife Jennifer, his loyal aide-de-camp Max, his dog Freeway, or the mur-DAH. How will this calamity affect the Harts' marriage, Max's access to sporting events, and Freeway's access to the couch? Will they solve the mur-DAH? Will Jonathan have to collide with another moped to cure his AMNESIA? Plus, what do Rick and Mike think of this latest and most famous TV entry in the married couple solving mysteries subgenre? Find out!
