Pacific Station (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Pacific Station is a situation comedy
aired in the United States by NBC
as part of its 1991 fall lineup
. The series was created by the team of Barry Fanaro
, Mort Nathan
, Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman
.
), a wisecracking veteran cop who had been assigned to Pacific Station in Venice, California, apparently usually a dumping ground for eccentric and/or incompetent officers. Even more eccentric were the suspects the officers of Pacific Station brought in, as many were from nearby Venice Beach
, a celebratedly off-center locale. The other officers of Pacific Station included Detective Richard Capparelli (Richard Libertini
), fresh from treatment for his psychological problems, Detective Sandy Calloway (Megan Gallagher
), and the brown-nosing Detective Al Burkhardt (Ron Leibman
). In command of this hodgepodge was the recently-promoted, immature, mother-fixated Captain Ken Epstein (Joel Murray
), who had received the place which logic dictated should have gone to Bob. Frequently blustering his way through the station was Deputy Commissioner Hank Bishop (John Hancock
), who never let anyone forget for a moment that he was a deputy commissioner.
Richard Libertini had just recently worked with creators/producers Fanaro, Nathan, Speer & Grossman on NBC's equally short-lived The Fanelli Boys
the previous season.
's long-running hit Barney Miller
, Pacific Station was a ratings
failure, due to competition from ABC's Top 30 show America's Funniest People
and CBS
's Top 10 hit Murder, She Wrote
. It was put on hiatus in October 1991. Brought back in a new time slot in December, it fared no better and was permanently cancelled in January 1992.
' classic R&B hit "Rescue Me
". The sequence began with shots of Venice Beach attractions, followed by the view of a police truck driving into the parking lot of the station as the title appeared on-screen. This proceeded into more videotaped scenes of the show and cast.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
aired in the United States by NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
as part of its 1991 fall lineup
1991-92 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all four United States commercial broadcast television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1991. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with certain exceptions, such as Monday Night Football....
. The series was created by the team of Barry Fanaro
Barry Fanaro
Barry Fanaro is an American Emmy Award-winning television producer and screenwriter. Farano most famously was the co-producer of the television program The Golden Girls....
, Mort Nathan
Mort Nathan
Mort Nathan is an American television producer, screenwriter and film director. Nathan was one of the co-producers and head writers of the classic comedy show the Golden Girls He also has been a respected script doctor on Hollywood films.-External links:...
, Kathy Speer and Terry Grossman
Terry Grossman
Terry Grossman is an American physician, scientist, author. He is involved in fields such as nutritional and anti-aging medicine.Grossman is the founder and medical director of Grossman Wellness Center in Denver, Colorado....
.
Synopsis
Pacific Station centered around Detective Bob Ballard (Robert GuillaumeRobert Guillaume
Robert "Bob" Guillaume is an American stage and television actor, best known for his role as Benson Du Bois on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night...
), a wisecracking veteran cop who had been assigned to Pacific Station in Venice, California, apparently usually a dumping ground for eccentric and/or incompetent officers. Even more eccentric were the suspects the officers of Pacific Station brought in, as many were from nearby Venice Beach
Venice, Los Angeles, California
Venice is a beachfront district on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is known for its canals, beaches and circus-like Ocean Front Walk, a two-and-a-half mile pedestrian-only promenade that features performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors...
, a celebratedly off-center locale. The other officers of Pacific Station included Detective Richard Capparelli (Richard Libertini
Richard Libertini
Richard Libertini is an American stage, film and television actor known for playing numerous character roles and his ability to speak in numerous accents....
), fresh from treatment for his psychological problems, Detective Sandy Calloway (Megan Gallagher
Megan Gallagher
Megan Gallagher is an American actress.Gallagher was born in Reading, Pennsylvania and grew up in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Aileen Gallagher, was a model.Gallagher has largely worked in television and theatre...
), and the brown-nosing Detective Al Burkhardt (Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman
-Career:Leibman was a member of the Compass Players in the late 1950s. He has appeared in many films such as Phar Lap; Where's Poppa?; The Hot Rock; Slaughterhouse-Five; The Super Cops; Up the Academy; Norma Rae; Romantic Comedy; Zorro, The Gay Blade; Garden State; and Rhinestone...
). In command of this hodgepodge was the recently-promoted, immature, mother-fixated Captain Ken Epstein (Joel Murray
Joel Murray
Joel Murray is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Early life:Murray, one of nine children, was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois , the son of Lucille , a mail room clerk, and Edward J. Murray II, a lumber salesman. Murray, along with his siblings, grew up in an Irish...
), who had received the place which logic dictated should have gone to Bob. Frequently blustering his way through the station was Deputy Commissioner Hank Bishop (John Hancock
John Hancock (actor)
John Hancock was an American film and television actor.Born in Hazen, Arkansas, Hancock is possibly best remembered for his role as "Scotty" in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations...
), who never let anyone forget for a moment that he was a deputy commissioner.
Richard Libertini had just recently worked with creators/producers Fanaro, Nathan, Speer & Grossman on NBC's equally short-lived The Fanelli Boys
The Fanelli Boys
The Fanelli Boys is an American sitcom that aired on NBC as part of its 1990-91 prime time schedule. The series was created by the team of Barry Fanaro, Mort Nathan, Kathy Speer, and Terry Grossman, all of whom previously worked on The Golden Girls....
the previous season.
Scheduling
Despite (or perhaps because of) the program's obvious similarities to ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's long-running hit Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker...
, Pacific Station was a ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
failure, due to competition from ABC's Top 30 show America's Funniest People
America's Funniest People
America's Funniest People is an American reality series on ABC that debuted on May 1, 1990 as an hour-long special, and later as a weekly half-hour prime time series from September 8, 1990 to August 28, 1994. It was hosted by Dave Coulier and Arleen Sorkin from 1990 to 1992. Tawny Kitaen replaced...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Top 10 hit Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
. It was put on hiatus in October 1991. Brought back in a new time slot in December, it fared no better and was permanently cancelled in January 1992.
Title Sequence
The opening theme for Pacific Station was an in-house cover of Fontella BassFontella Bass
Fontella Bass is an American soul singer, who is best known for the 1965 R&B hit "Rescue Me", which she also co-wrote.-Early life:...
' classic R&B hit "Rescue Me
Rescue Me (Fontella Bass song)
"Rescue Me" is a song written by Fontella Bass, Raynard Miner and Carl William Smith. In 1965, it was released as a single by Fontella Bass. It would prove the biggest hit of Bass' career, reaching #1 on the R&B charts for four weeks and placing at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
". The sequence began with shots of Venice Beach attractions, followed by the view of a police truck driving into the parking lot of the station as the title appeared on-screen. This proceeded into more videotaped scenes of the show and cast.