''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'' is an American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series that ran on

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from September 18, 1979, to May 5, 1981. For its second season the show was renamed ''Lobo''. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8:00p.m. Eastern time. The lead character, Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo, played by Claude Akins, was a spin-off character from ''

B. J. and the Bear ''B.J. and the Bear'' is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB ...

'', which also aired on NBC from 1979-1981.

Synopsis

In fictitious Orly County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, Sheriff Lobo is the lead enforcer of the law — as well as one of its leading offenders. The pilot of ''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'' aired as an episode of ''BJ and the Bear'' titled "Lobo", which set the premise for the show and introduced the main cast of characters that would be involved in the show. The corrupt (but now somewhat reformed) sheriff is assisted in his schemes by Deputy Perkins (

Mills Watson Mills Watson (born William Oscar Watson on July 10, 1940)shockcinemamagazine.com Issue No. 5cover/ref> is an American actor who is probably best known for his comedic portrayal of the law enforcement character Deputy Perkins, first on ''B. J. and ...

), whose buffoonery often upsets and exacerbates the situation. An honest but naive new deputy, Birdwell "Birdie" Hawkins (

Brian Kerwin Brian Kerwin (born October 25, 1949) is an American actor who has starred in feature films, on Broadway, and television series and movies. Life Kerwin was born in Chicago and raised in Flossmoor, Illinois. He has three siblings: Anne, Dennis, a ...

), who is unaware of Lobo's schemes, has joined the force and has become one of Lobo's deputies. Birdie often refers to Lobo as his "Hero" and compares him to

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...

— "a little rough around the edges, but a good lawman." At first this baffles Lobo — to think that someone actually thinks highly of him in any way — but it begins to make Lobo feel proud and boosts his self-esteem. This always annoys and infuriates Deputy Perkins, who usually sneers at Birdie and mutters, "I'm gonna have to get that boy!" Other characters in the show are Perkins' wife (and Lobo's sister) Rose Lobo Perkins (Cydney Crampton); waitress Margaret Ellen (Janet Lynn Curtis); resort owner Sarah Cumberland ( Leann Hunley); bank president and Lobo's former "partner in crime" Harry Cunningham (

Dennis Burkley Dennis Henry Burkley (September 10, 1945 – July 14, 2013) was an American actor. In a career spanning four decades, he appeared in numerous films and television series. He was best known for his role as Theo in Son in Law. Early life Burkley ...

); and district attorney Alexander Waverly (

Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American actor of film and television, who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life With Father'' (1939). He debuted in ...

). The show was an obvious clone of CBS's hit comedy/drama ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...

'', right down to the rural Georgia setting and the shiftiness of its lead character. Lobo — seemingly a cross between Hazzard County's

Boss Hogg Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg, known as Boss Hogg, is a fictional character featured in the American television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. He was the commissioner of Hazzard County, and the county's political boss. Boss Hogg almost always wo ...

and

Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane Rosco Purvis Coltrane is a fictional sheriff character who appeared in the 1975 film '' Moonrunners'', which inspired the creation of the American TV series '' The Dukes of Hazzard'' (and related spin-off films). In ''Moonrunners'', he was played b ...

— was a small-time wheeler-dealer, always looking to make a quick buck. But when serious crime threatened Orly County and its people, Lobo would do his job capably and uphold the law. Unlike Hogg or Coltrane, Lobo was portrayed as an intelligent man and an able police officer. The series premise was overhauled completely as Season 2 began in 1980. The governor of Georgia — impressed by Orly County's low crime rate (because Lobo forgot to send the crime data to the state capitol) — reassigns Lobo and Deputies Perkins and Birdie to his crime-fighting task force, the Special Crimes Action Team (SCAT) in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Lobo now reports to Chief J.C. Carson ( Nicolas Coster). Lobo is forced to contend with his new co-workers, Detectives Peaches (Amy Botwinick) and Brandy ( Tara Buckman). The new format also included

Nell Carter Nell Carter (born Nell Ruth Hardy; September 13, 1948 – January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress. Carter began her career in 1970, singing in the theater, and later crossed over to television. She was best known for her role as Ne ...

(billed as Nell Ruth Carter) as Sgt. Hildy Jones. In a July 1980 interview with ''The New York Times'', NBC president

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

said research showed the show performing well in rural areas but not as well in urban areas. Silverman had a history of preference for urban viewers over rural ones that dated all the way back to 1970. (See the

rural purge The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the ...

for an example). For that reason, it had been decided to move the show from rural Orly County to urban Atlanta. But the series was less successful with the new format, and it was cancelled after the end of its second season. The theme song for the show's first season was sung by Frankie Laine and was written in a western ballad style that depicted Lobo as more of a hero than an offender. During the second season, the theme song was a version of ''

Georgia on My Mind "Georgia on My Mind" is a 1930 song written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell and first recorded that same year by Hoagy Carmichael. However, the song has been most often associated with soul singer Ray Charles, who was a native of the U ...

''.

Cast

* Claude Akins as Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo *

as Deputy Perkins *

as Deputy Birdwell "Birdie" Hawkins * Cydney Crampton as Rose Lobo Perkins * Janet Lynn Curtis as Margaret Ellen * Leann Hunley as Sarah Cumberland *

as Harry Cunningham *

as Sergeant Hildy Jones * Nicolas Coster as Chief J.C. Carson * Amy Botwinick as Peaches * Tara Buckman as Brandy

Episodes

Season 1 (1979–80)

Season 2 (1980–81)

Syndication

The series was syndicated in the early 1980s, as "The B.J./Lobo Show". For syndication, Universal offered the show in two versions, one was the original 60 minute format and the other had episodes cut to fit a half-hour time slot from their original hour versions. What differentiated the half hour episodes from the hour long ones was the inclusion of a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, The 1979 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1970s American comedy television series 1980s American comedy television series American action comedy television series American television spin-offs English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television Television series created by Glen A. Larson Television shows set in Georgia (U.S. state)