Norman Buntz
Created by Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch

Seedy, sleazy, sweaty NORMAN BUNTZ (and nobody does sweaty like Dennis Franz), last seen in the final episode of Hill Street Blues, punching out pompous Chief Daniels, heads for the Hills, Beverly Hills, that is, swimming pools, movie stars, etc., to set himself up as a private detective. And he brought his former informer/buddy/thorn in his side Sid the Snitch along to help him.

The series didn't last long, but it was great while it lasted--a nifty half-hour of comedy, character, and even mystery as these two fish-out-of-water lowlifes took on a series of decidedly minor cases among the rich and privileged of Beverly Hills. Unfortunately, it seemed that audiences weren't ready for a half-hour private eye show, especially a low-key one (there were no car chases or gunplay) that straddled the fence between comedy and drama. NBC wasn't sure how to deal with it either-- jerking it all around the schedule, from November 1987 to January 1988, before finally trying it out as a regular series in March.

One of those shows that "coulda been a contender."

TELEVISION

• BEVERLY HILLS BUNTZ
  (1987-88, NBC)
  12 30-minute episodes
  Created by Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch
  Writers: Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch
  Producers: Jeffrey Lewis and David Milch
  Starring Dennis Franz as NORMAN BUNTZ
  and Peter Jurasik as Sid Thurston
  Also starring Dana-Wheeler-Nicholson, Guy Boyd

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