''Sam'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on the CBS network from March 14 to April 18,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

for six episodes. It told the story of a

Los Angeles police {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Law enforcement in Los Angeles County is conducted by a variety of law enforcement agencies. State agencies *California Highway Patrol * University of California Police Department * California ...

officer, Mike Breen (played by

Mark Harmon Thomas Mark Harmon (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor. He is most famous for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in '' NCIS''. He also appeared in a wide variety of roles since the early 1970s. After spending the majority of ...

), and his specially-trained police dog, Sam, a Labrador Retriever.

Synopsis

In the series, Sam assisted Breen in cases such as rescues, drug smuggling, and bomb threats. Also starring were Len Wayland as Breen's supervisor, Captain Tom Clagett, and Gary Crosby as Captain Gene Cody.

Production notes

''Sam'' was the brainchild of television producer

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday in the ''Dragnet'' franchise, which he created. He was a ...

, whose Mark VII Limited packaged the show for

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...

. Much like Webb's earlier ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the st ...

,'' several incidents per episode were featured. Further, Wayland and Crosby appeared in numerous Mark VII productions previously. James Doherty and Leonard B. Kaufman were the producers; Webb and Paul Donnelly served as executive producers. Only six episodes were broadcast. CBS aired ''Sam'' as a replacement series for the 1977 ''Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes''. ''Sam'' aired opposite ABC's sitcom '' Happy Days''; ''Happy Days'' easily outranked ''Sam'' in the ratings, with '' Project U.F.O.'' (on Sundays) also having better ratings during the season. This would be the last television series to debut that was produced by Jack Webb, who died in 1982. Also, the final television appearance of Vivian Vance was featured in episode #1.6.

Footnotes

References

Classic TV Archive
* Terrace, Vincent
''Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials 1974-1984''
New York: Zoetrope, 1986.

External links

* 1978 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American crime drama television series CBS original programming Television shows about dogs Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department English-language television shows Television series by Mark VII Limited Television series by Universal Television Police dogs in fiction {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub