User Reviews

This series was that rare thing in the 1970s - an original and intelligently constructed mainstream US TV series.

This was due to two factors, the personality and performance of David Janssen (the word unique is grossly over-used, but it truly applied to him), and the way that the character of Harry Orwell was constructed around Janssen's screen persona. The idea of an ex cop taking up private detection was not new, even then, but the details were what made this one special. For example, Harry often travelled by bus, being unable to drive because his car was always hosed. Imagine, Kojak or Jim Rockford doing that? No, neither can I. Harry also had a family history (ex-partner, money problems etc)that we actually saw him dealing with. Very little gloss on Harry's life.

So, an intelligently constructed premise, a great central performer, superb performances from the recurring characters - notably Anthony Zerbe as the acerbic Lt. Trench (replacing Lt. Manny Quinlan half-way through series 1, when the series' location moved from San Diego to LA at the behest of the studio suits). And then, we had some interesting and well written scripts - but yes, there were some clunkers too. Harry O was well directed, very well cut in the styles of the time and oh! - those Foley sounds, loud footsteps in longshots - I love it! The sound on just one of the series one episodes is appalling, but for all the rest, they look and sound great.

Perhaps because it came in at the middle or latter end of the US boom in detective series, Harry O ran for only two seasons. A great shame, it had a lot more potential to realise - and without Janssen it can never be recreated.

2013 UPDATE: The first series is available now as a box set from the Warners online shop!

2014 UPDATE: No longer a rare series! Warners have put out box set of both series now. You can buy on Amazon or direct from WBshop.

Excellent! Just ordered mine!

As someone who grew up with Starsky and Hutch, it might seem odd that I'm also a Harry O fan, but in an era of crap formula shows that were usually split into acts and epilogs it was a standout. There were only two shows of that time that both me and my dad could agree on: Kojak and Harry O; and of the two, I think Harry O was slightly more consistent.

David Janssen carries the world-weary lead with considerable panache, paving the way for later shows such as the Rockford Files, and Anthony Zerbe is an excellent foil as the long-suffering cop-who-secretly-likes-him-but-will-never-say (cf. Joe Santos and James Garner). Played out against the backdrop of San Diego in the 70's, the main thing that stretched belief was the number of gorgeous birds that wrinkled old Harry used to pull. But then, I was in my teens and the hormones enjoyed them...

San Diego private investigator Harry Orwell (David Janssen) is a former cop who retired with a bullet in his back. He is always working on his land-bounded boat called "The Answer". He lives in a house on the beach. His car is always in the shop. He rarely carries a gun. Despite all that, he always ends up in an action scene.

Veteran actor David Janssen is best known as The Fugitive's Dr. Richard Kimble from the previous decade. The character has an inner monologue narration in the style of a hard-boiled detective. TV is moving into a new era of beautiful leads, catchy theme songs, flashy cars, and bigger action. Janssen is a stalwart, but he's not winning any beauty contest. The theme songs are not memorable. Sometimes, he only rides the bus although his crappy car is an Austin-Healey. I love the pilot where he rides a bus teaching me something about surveillance. They obviously know that this needs action. The guy has a bullet in his back. He shouldn't be fighting. Yet he keeps doing it. This got canceled after two seasons. Apparently, the network replaced it with Charlie's Angels. Enough said. Of course, they kept recurring actress Farrah Fawcett and made TV history. Harry O is a well-made show. It's been lost in the mist of TV history as longer-running and flashier shows get the nostalgia. Still, it's great to see many familiar faces doing guest star roles.

The television series,"Harry-O",which ran on ABC-TV from 1974 to 1976,was one of the best detective shows of the decade and for a very good reason. Watching the great David Janssen was a must-see for this would be his second best television series,and the most successful to add as well,his first was the drama series,"The Fugitive",which was on the same network(ABC)from 1963-1967.

The character that David Janssen portrayed is one of television's most memorable private detectives,which made it more engaging by David Janssen's extremely downbeat and weary portrayal of Harry Orwell,a man with very little in life to care about,who nevertheless cares very much. For once,the first person voice narration works in depiction to what is going on with the character in the story and the investigation into some of his cases. In other words,it helped Harry had something to say about the world around him and with good reason. A bullet lodged near his spine has gave this former police officer to seek new employment as a private detective to supplement his disability pension. He is always frequently in pain,it also limits his ability to engage in the usual combat situations when it comes to taking on the baddies. His means of transportation to and from crime scenes is by bus or taxi or on foot. He is a loner who lives in a beach house in San Diego and likes to spend his time re-building his boat "The Answer" in his yard. David Janssen made this character believable and it shows that Harry was understandable and he was someone who you could count on when the chips are down and the odds were against you in a time of crisis. And it shows in the Emmys that this show won including one for David Janssen for Best Actor In A Dramatic Series,and another for Anthony Zerbe for Best Actor In A Supporting Role.

I can recall during the first two seasons that the scripts were magnificent with some of the best writing ever produced for television and righteously so. Also to give credit to the direction as well(from Jerry Thorpe and Richard Lang)was without a doubt first-rate entertainment. It also had some of the most breathtaking photography ever witnessed and this is what made this show stand out from all the other "private eye" shows of the 1970's. And "Harry-O" was one of them. The series began as one of ABC's Movie Of The Week which was a two-hour pilot entitled "Smile,Jenny,You're Dead"(2/3/1973)and on the strength of that one came another titled "Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On",which was another ABC Movie Of The Week(3/11/1974). The series produced 44 episodes on ABC-TV from its premiere episode on September 12,1974 until the final episode of the series on April 29,1976. The guest stars that kept this show in check were first rate and some of the episodes are classics as well. Check out the guest star roster here from Jim Backus,Broderick Crawford,Sal Mineo,Robert Reed,Keye Luke,Martin Sheen,Margot Kidder,Cab Calloway to even Jodie Foster and Maureen "Marsha Brady" McCormick,and Dawn Lyn. This show also had two unknown actresses as well who after their stint who on go to bigger and bigger things(Farrah Fawcett and Loni Anderson). This show made have lasted two years,and when it was cancelled by ABC in the spring of 1976,it was replaced by a travesty of the greatest kind,"Charlie's Angels"(1976-1981). Harry-O's adventures ended too soon after the network executives pulled the plug on a show that was still in the top ten of the Nielsens in its final season.

NOTE: After years out of circulation,the series has returned after a two decade hiatus. The American Life TV Network has brought back the Emmy winning show from the 1970's,so every Monday evening "Harry-O" is broadcast in each episode and to see the great David Janssen is a welcome sight in one of his most famous roles.

I first remember seeing this show in the late '70s on BBC - I was (and am) a big fan of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Harry Orwell was as close to a modern-day version as I could imagine.

Taciturn and laconic, David Janssen's portrayal of the world-weary detective was far above the quality of many other shows of the day, and a marked contrast to one of my other favourites, The Rockford Files, where every week Jim got knocked on the head, argued with Dennis and got in a car chase, although, granted, his car was always in good shape.

The stories were intelligently-written, the supporting cast always first-class (Henry Darrow and Anthony Zerbe providing excellent foils for Janssen), and guest artists either well-established or up-and-coming stars.

'Harry O' is a show that deserves a DVD release - when one considers the availability of more obscure shows it's difficult to understand why it hasn't had its turn.

Like Harry, I'm a patient man, but I'd like to see this show again before I die...

One would think with all the available cable channels and app channels that somebody would realize how good this show is and put it in syndication... God only knows how many lousy shows are in syndication... And as far as I know, nobody is streaming "Harry O"...

I believe that the only way to view the show is to view on DVD. The Season 1 and Season 2 DVD sets can be ordered online.

In 1973 I failed to watch this private eye show. It would take many years of maturity until I rediscovered how great David Janssen's The Fugitive was. It has become one of my all-time favorites. It was excellent on many levels and taking to it's full potential was David Janssen. Given the chance in 2018 to see episodes of Janssen's post fugitive show Harry O was a no-brainer, I was in.

This is a show that fits with the natural on-screen persona of Janssen, not the other way around. Harry O is a retired cop on an early disability. He now spends his days working the occasional private case and living on the beach in San Diego. We don't, at least in the early episodes, know much about Harry's back story because what's important is where he's headed. He's somewhat of a loner, rather cool, but definitely a thinker. He doesn't drive a flashy car, in fact he rarely drives as his is a beater most often in for repairs. There's good elements here to make an interesting character and Janssen is adept at playing one that is layered yet not at all flashy.

Harry is a thinker, not a head knocker. Still he does get in some spots where his thinking put him in a bit of a precarious situation. Janssen, again, is perfect in this persona. Combine this with some fair writing (it's not as sharp or deep as that of The Fugitive) and Harry O is a very watchable and entertaining show. While it doesn't have the deep hook of his previous work, David Janssen gives this show legs. I like location filmed shows and San Diego is a nice backdrop in addition. At the point of the first episode I don't see a story arc like The Fugitive and I must say I think the previous show's episodes building to an arc will be missed. That said, I do recommend Harry O to fans of Janssen and those who like crime shows that don't condescend in bombast.

I only watched it a few times before the end of its run. David Jansen was always a favorite of mine, as a kid, although I was too young to have watched his big show of the 1960's, The Fugitive.

Who knew that Farrah Fawcett's next role would be Charlie's Angels?

Wish it had lasted longer, and Jansen hadn't died so young.

Hey people, check out www.dvdavenue.TV

They claim to be offering the whole series on TV...I haven't yet bought from them so cant say for sure if it's a valid company but it's amazing how they seem to have series no one else does.

Lets' hope it's for real as this was a great show....very much in the Chandler mode from I've seen....certainly jannssen as Harry Orwell is going down some "mean streets" but he himself is not mean, to paraphrase Chandler in "The Simple Art of Murder". Orwell's basic honesty and his interest in other people, along with his wonderfully blase attitude toward next door neighbor and major Hottie Farrah Fawcett, makes his character both complex and likable....

David Janssen as Harry O is certainly the best of all the tv detectives. He is sensitive, charming and totally believable in this part. It surprised me that the show only ran two seasons, because ultimately it was the better of all the shows of the time.

I love the back and forth with Anthony Zerbe as the police detective. The banter is the comic relief in an otherwise bunch of sad stories. Harry has many women and lives on the beach fixing up a deteriorated sailboat. It sort of describes him a man disillusioned with general society he sees. He was married and divorced and possibly still in love with his wife.

Unlike his character in the Fugitive, where Dr. Kimble is always in a jacket, white shirt and necktie, Harry O has a studied careless fashion with open collar and a never tied tie. I think this is the sign of a discontent man looking for a reason that society is so vague.

He says that he can't make love, unless he is a little bit in love, which in the ultimate long run is all you need to know about him as a man. I can't say enough about David Janssen as the quintessential tv star. Too bad there were not many more years to enjoy this likable, adorable man.

This was one of the best shows on television. The writing and the photography was outstanding. David Janssen was one of my very favorite actors and I really miss him. He had "mumbling" down to an art form and his understated style of acting was second to none. Harry-O made me feel good every time I would sit down and watch. Harry Orwell was an everyman's type of guy. You could relate to him. I think it was because you could sense his vulnerability. Episodes did not always end on a happy note and that added some credibility to the character and his profession. Warner Brothers needs to hurry up and release this series to DVD. I would buy the entire series in a heart beat. A classic!!

I came across the show on YouTube and got hooked. I didnt watch it when it originally aired, but I was 11 or 12 at the time. 😃 I recall the various other detective shows from that time period, but not this one. I like David Jansen and he was terrific in the show. His car was not the typical large Ford you saw in other shows. His reminded me of Columbo's car. The supporting cast was great too. The location change added new characters and attractive distractions for Harry. One of those attractive distractions might have been part of the network decision to drop the usual detective shows. The show is underrated and that is probably due to only being on two seasons.

Harry-O was truely one of the greatest shows to ever grace the television medium. It combined superb acting (Janssen, Zerbe-who won an EMMY, Darrow, and guests), writing (Howard Rodman, Robert Dozier and others), direction (Jerry London, Russ Mayberry, Jerry Thorpe) and a brilliantly photographed San Diego and Los Angeles. Janssen took to this role like no others, and made Harry Orwell and understandable and beleivable character, someone you wanted to go out and have a beer with. This show lasted but two short years, (though it did have two pilot movies shown during the 1973/1974 season) and was cancelled in favor of "Charlie's Angels", a travesty of the greatest kind. Without a doubt TV's greatest detective, Harry O's adventures ended far too soon.

Harry O is being rerun on cable channel Good Life on Monday nights at 8:00pm and again at 11:00pm. They are still doing the Lt. Quinlan days. This is as of November 29, 2005. Harr O was a great show (actually, still is). It was David Janssen at his best. His rapport with Anthony Zerbe as Lt. Trench is wonderful. Les Lannom had David/Harry down to a "T". Question: Did Harry ever wear anything other than the tweed sport coat, blue button down shirt, dark tie, and khaki pants - or - the shorts and jacket? And yes, a DVD of the show would be great! The show always had the cream of the crop guest stars from the 70's. Many of the younger ones became stars in their on right. What ever happened to Les "Lester" Lannom and Paul Tulley as Sgt. Roberts?

If ever a series deserved a better fate, it's this one. A quirky, three-dimensional main character, interesting plots and smart dialogue. It should have lasted

years, lasted 44 episodes. Janssen was terrific (better than in The Fugitive, a show where you only had to see the first episode and the last), his supporting players were almost as good and the writing, particularly by creator Howard

Rodman, was a cut above the typical TV fare. Yes, it was just another detective show and it did follow some of the typical cliches, but hey, it also provided a poignancy and adult (not X-rated, but intelligent) point of view rarely seen on the little screen. Hey, Warner Brothers (I think)! Where's the DVD collection?

Only 2 comments so far? That can't be right!

I can't believe how rarely shown this show is, I've only ever caught 2 episodes! But even just 2 episodes were enough to tell that this was a series of quality, in all departments. David Jansen brought something special to every role he played and definitely gives extra depth and believability to the character of Harry O, compared with most other shows of this type. I've always had a soft spot for The Rockford Files and Harry O reminds me of it in some ways, but there seems much more to Harry O that would keep me watching over and over, if only the TV companies would actually show it! All 44 episodes on DVD would be even better of course. Soon Please, come on.

My wife and I watched the show when it first went into syndication. 78-79? We both enjoyed it. I particularly liked the way David Jansen portrayed this character. Smooth and cool. David's smirk really worked portraying Harry. Very low key approach that works. Farrah Fawcett was very low key and actually funny in her roll. Another gem in the show was Anthony Zerbe. The verbal barbs and sparring with 'Harry' were excellent. The original fugitive series was pretty good but over time the plots grew weak and the show seemed to crawl along. I check every now and then to see if 'Harry O' is available anywhere EVEN on VHS! great show!

Vaguely remembered "Harry O" from "back in the day" yet there was something that stuck--why is that? Zerbe's grudging friendship as Lt. Trench was superb of course, he deserved the Emmy (as did Henry Darrow, portraying Lt. Manny Quinlan, who never got it.) Janssen deserved an Emmy more, as leading actor. Harry's character provides the solitary clue to great screen writing: we CARED about the character. Why? So simple, yet so difficult to achieve. The fact he had a bullet near his spine was part of the appeal, but also the fact that he was always hopping on a bus (unheard of in LA/San Diego), he lived on the beach, etc. These details implied a hidden depth and tragic sense to Harry that was very appealing. The voiceovers (narration a la Raymond Chandler) added to the effect and to the appeal. WB can MAKE MONEY doing DVDs of this short-lived series. They will make more than the issue of the series costs them. THAT BEING THE (OBVIOUS) CASE, WHAT IS THE HOLD-UP? (if you'll pardon the expression)

Let's see: A 1970's television show about a womanizing private investigator with attitude who lives by the beach. Sounds like "The Rockford Files," right? Except, instead of handsome, middle-aged Jim Rockford driving a cool car, imagine well-worn, old Harry Orwell driving . . . nothing. That might be why "The Rockford Files" went on to classic status and "Harry-O" fell into oblivion after two seasons.

Fear not, however: The series is currently being rerun on a small network, called The American Life Television Network (http://www.goodtv.com/program.php?programid=HR#). The acting is simply not that good: The guy who plays Lt. Trench (Zerbe) is so over-the-top that he always seems about two seconds from eating the scenery; David Janssen, who plays the P.I. Harry, seems to just be going through the motions. The plots can sometimes be incoherent, and the dialogue . . . well, let the few snippets on this site suffice to show how stupid it could be.

As 1970's kitsch, as a show that's so bad it's good, I actually LIKE "Harry-O" !