Joe Dancer
Created by Les Alexander, Richard Parks and Richard Smith

Hot from the success of his hugely-popular Baretta, Robert Blake had high hopes for his next project, a series of TV movies featuring Blake as Los Angeles private eye JOE DANCER. According to Blake himself, this was going to be the best show ever produced for television. And just to make sure, Blake was also going to executive produce the thing, star in it and generally have a hand in almost every facet of it, to ensure it was a "class act." Ric Meyers in TV Detectives, saw it another way. According to him, Blake was supposed to be "part John Garfield, part Dick Powell and part Humphrey Bogart. As he stood, Dancer was all Robert Blake--and that was just the problem. The Dancer two-hour episode fluctuated between casual brutality, forced humour, and self-concious pathos."

Whatever the reason, only three TV films were ever produced, and Blake's high hopes for a series never materialized.

And dat's de name of dat tune.

TELEVISION

• THE BIG BLACK PILL
  AKA Joe Dancer
  (1981, NBC/Universal)
  Story by Les Alexander, Richard Parks and Richard Smith
  Teleplay by Michael Butler
  Directed by Reza Badiyi
  Executive Producer: Robert Blake
  Starring Robert Blake as JOE DANCER
  Also starring JoBeth Williams, Neva Patterson, Sondra Blake, Wilford Brimley, Veronica Cartwright, Edward Winter, Phillip R. Allen, Stanton Coffin, James Gammon, Eileen Heckart, Kevyn Major Howard, Deborah La Vine, Robert Phillips, Bubba Smith
  .
• THE MONKEY MISSION
  AKA Sweet Wine, an Old Line, One More Time
  (1981, NBC/Universal)
  Two hour episode
  Originally aired: March 23, 1981
  Screenplay by Robert Crais
  Directed by Burt Brinckerhoff
  Starring Robert Blake as JOE DANCER
  Also starring Keena Wynn, Mitchell Ryan, Clive Revill, John Fieldler, Pepe Serna, Sondra Blake, Logan Ramsey, Alan Napier
  .
• THE BIG TRADE
  (1981, NBC/Universal)
  Directed by Reza Badiyi
  Executive Producer: Robert Blake
  Starring Robert Blake as JOE DANCER
  Also starring Veronica Cartwright, Neva Patterson, Eileen Heckart, Carol Wayne
  .
• MURDER ONE, DANCER 0
  (1983, NBC/Universal)
  Directed by Reza Badiyi
  Executive Producer: Robert Blake
  Starring Robert Blake as JOE DANCER
  Also starring Kenneth McMillan, William Prince, Jane Daly, Royal Dano, Sydney Lassick, Sondra Blake, Robin Dearden

UNPRODUCED EPISODES.

• THE WEB OF JERRY G.
  Unproduced 60 minute
  January 5, 1980
  Screenplay by Robert Crais
  .
• A CLEAR CUT CASE OF MURDER
  Unproduced 60 minute
  December 8, 1980.
  Screenplay by Robert Crais

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.

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