''Burkes Law'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

television series that aired on CBS during the 1993–94 and 1994–95 television seasons. It was a revival of original ''Burkes Law'' television series, and starred

Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass; June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films '' The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of the Worl ...

as millionaire cop Amos Burke, now deputy chief instead of a captain, and Peter Barton as his son Det. Peter Burke. It was produced by

Spelling Television Spelling Television Inc. was an American television production company that went through several name changes. It was originally called Aaron Spelling Productions, then Spelling Entertainment Inc. and eventually part of Spelling Entertainment Gr ...

Background

The revival of the show, which ran on CBS from 1994 to 1995, was produced by Aaron Spelling's production company. Although the final season of the original series had the character become an agent for the government, the revival

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

this and continued the premise of the first two seasons. In the second incarnation, Burke is now a deputy chief, assisted by his son Peter ( Peter Barton). The two are assisted by Medical Examiner Lily Morgan (Bever-Leigh Banfield), and Burke's Filipino driver Henry ( Danny Kamekona). Burke and Henry raised Peter after the death of his mother when he was young; although they share a close bond, Burke and Peter can butt heads at times, particularly over Peter's impulsiveness. The series shared several running gags with its original incarnation, such as Burke often being the object of much female interest — something passed onto his son — a variant of someone asking why Burke, a millionaire, is a cop, and Burke dispensing wisdom to his son and others in a professional manner, dubbed "Burke's Law". The revival, even more than the original program, was regarded as being largely camp. In a

nostalgic Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word meaning "homecomi ...

touch, many of the guest stars were Barry's peers in 1960s cop shows and spy-fi programs, including

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American actor best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1961–1969). Starting out ...

('' The Avengers'') and

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

('' Mission: Impossible''). Anne Francis appeared reprising the character Honey West (though she was called " Honey Best" for legal reasons).

Cast

as Chief Amos Burke * Peter Barton as Det. Peter Burke * Danny Kamekona as Henry * Bever-Leigh Banfield as Lily Morgan *

Dom DeLuise Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, musician, chef, and author. Known primarily for comedy roles, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows. He is widely ...

as Vinnie Piatte

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1994)

Season 2 (1995)

References

External links

* * {{epguides, BurkesLaw_1994, Burke's Law (1994) 1990s American crime drama television series 1994 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series by Spelling Television American television series reboots American sequel television series American detective television series American English-language television shows CBS crime dramas