''The Silent Force'' is a 1970–1971

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police drama The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

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about three

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undercover agents who fight

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally tho ...

starring Ed Nelson, Percy Rodriguez, and Lynda Day. It aired from September 21, 1970, to January 11, 1971.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 754.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 932.

Cast

* Ed Nelson...Ward Fuller * Percy Rodriguez...Jason Hart * Lynda Day...Amelia Cole

Synopsis

Ward Fuller, Jason Hart, and Amelia Cole make up the Silent Force, a team of U.S. government agents assigned to work undercover to infiltrate

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. Their various operations involve them with companies and individuals victimized by or taking part in organized crime.Classic Television Archive The Silent Force
/ref> Each episode of ''The Silent Force'' opens with this narrative: "'If you do not, on a national scale, attack organized criminals with weapons and techniques as effective as their own, they will destroy us'... Robert F. Kennedy. An attack has been mounted from Washington; an undercover team of federal agents is the spearhead of that attack: The Silent Force."

Production

Luther Davis Luther Berryhill Davis (August 29, 1916 – July 29, 2008) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Early life an education Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1934 and received a bachelor of ...

created ''The Silent Force'', and

Walter Grauman Walter E. Grauman (March 17, 1922 – March 20, 2015) was an American director of stage shows, films and television shows. Early life Grauman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jacob and Irene Grauman, both children of German immigrants who ...

was its

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

. Grauman and Philip Barry, Jr.

produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

the show.IMDb The Silent Force Cast and Crew
/ref> Episode directors included

Arnold Laven Arnold Laven (February 3, 1922 – September 13, 2009) was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a ...

George McCowan George McCowan (June 27, 1927 – November 1, 1995) was a Canadian film and television director in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. McCowan began his career working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He worked as an actor and director fo ...

, and

Gene Nelson Gene Nelson (born Leander Eugene Berg; March 24, 1920 – September 16, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director. Biography Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he and his family moved to Seattle when he was ...

. Writers included Davis,

John Meredyth Lucas John Meredyth Lucas (May 1, 1919 – October 19, 2002) was an American writer, director and producer, primarily for television. Career Son of screenwriter Bess Meredyth and writer/director Wilfred Lucas, and the adopted son of director Michae ...

, Mark Rodgers, Donald S. Sanford, Jack Turley and the team of James D. Buchanan and Ronald Austin. Aaron Spelling Productions produced the show and Dominic Frontiere composed its music. ''The Silent Force'' bore similarities to the hit CBS series '' Mission: Impossible''. Coincidentally, Lynda Day (billed as Lynda Day George after her 1970 marriage to actor

Christopher George Christopher John George (Greek: Χριστόφορος Γεωργίου; February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series ''The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Gol ...

) joined the cast of ''Mission: Impossible'' in 1971 after the cancellation of ''The Silent Force'', and both Percy Rodriguez and Ed Nelson made guest appearances on the series (Rodriguez in season four's "Chico" and Nelson in season seven's "The Western"). A "novelization" of the series, also entitled ''The Silent Force'' and written by Harry Goddard, was published in 1971.

Broadcast history

''The Silent Force'' premiered on ABC on September 21, 1970. It was cancelled after the broadcast of its fifteenth episode on January 11, 1971. It aired on Monday at 8:30 p.m. throughout its run.

Episodes

Sourcesepiguides.com The Silent Force
/ref>

Notes

References

External links

*
1970 ABC promo for ''The Silent Force'' on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silent Force (TV series), The American Broadcasting Company original programming 1970 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings 1970s American crime drama television series English-language television shows Television shows set in California Television series by CBS Studios