Here we are introduced to Tony Petrocelli in a made for TV movie. This is the pilot of a 70's detective show. Here he finds himself defending a woman whose husband has been found dead after being struck in the head and thrown over an upstairs railing. There are some bad guys who get in the way and the story is adequate. The charm of this show is that Tony presents and alternate case to the jury each time and allows them to mull over it. It has a decent cast.
4 Reviews
Kick-starting a series in a fantastic way.
mark.waltz8 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The two season drama series "Petrocelli" may not have the length of the earlier "Perry Mason" or the later "L.A. Law" but for those who watched it during its run have not forgotten it. This pilot movie indicates why it got the green light to be brought back weekly, and if what is on screen here refects the writing of the series, this could have easily have run longer with the excellent performances of leads Barry Newman and Susan Howard, playing his wife several seasons before she went onto her long running role on "Dallas".
Petrocelli's first case involves wealthy widow Stefanie Powers (pre-"Hart to Hart"), accused of killing husband Jon Cypher by pushing him over a balcony. The case is big news and even causes Newman and Howard to be stalked, resulting in tragedy. Witnesses reveal that the late husband was involved in several affairs and seemed to be lying to various mistresses. The standard cheating husband angle is a bit more complicated, so there are some great twists and turns. Highly worth seeing with great tension and fascinating characters.
Petrocelli's first case involves wealthy widow Stefanie Powers (pre-"Hart to Hart"), accused of killing husband Jon Cypher by pushing him over a balcony. The case is big news and even causes Newman and Howard to be stalked, resulting in tragedy. Witnesses reveal that the late husband was involved in several affairs and seemed to be lying to various mistresses. The standard cheating husband angle is a bit more complicated, so there are some great twists and turns. Highly worth seeing with great tension and fascinating characters.
It makes me want to watch more!
planktonrules21 February 2020
Although I grew up in the mid-1960s, I rarely ever watched detective shows...although they were very popular through the 60s and 70s. I just was too young to appreciate them...and recently I've made up for this by binging various cop and detective shows...most of which I love (such as "Hawaii Five-O", "Mannix" and "Columbo"). A few I wasn't impressed by ("McCloud") but for the most part, I think these shows are far better than most stuff you see today. So, when I saw that YouTube had the pilot episode of "Petrocelli" I was excited to see it.
I noticed in the pilot that the show was not quite like the "Perry Mason" TV series in that the leading man (Barry Newman) is a lawyer but he occasionally dabbles into investigating a bit outside the courtroom. I am not sure if this will be the case in the rest of the shows...but it was so in the pilot.
Tony Petrocelli is an enigma...and in many ways the opposite of McCloud...a Marshall who came from New Mexico to inexplicably work in New York City. Here, Petrocelli is a Harvard-educated lawyer who surprisingly moves to Arizona to practice criminal law. Today this might be seen as usual, but back in the 1970s, Arizona was a far more rural state...a place filled with deserts, cowboys and little else. So his moving there is definitely NOT the norm!
The case he's working on in the pilot involves the murder of a man and his pretty wife (Stephanie Powers) is accused of the killing. However, Petrocelli works hard to use the same evidence to present a far different motive and far different killer. Will this work? And, will he live to see this case through (well, considering it's the pilot...I think it's not a spoiler to say he does)?
The acting and writing were quite good here. What I also appreciated was the vagueness of the ending. His client probably was innocent...then, possibly she wasn't. It's a vagueness that I think made the show more interesting and it definitely left me wanting more.
I noticed in the pilot that the show was not quite like the "Perry Mason" TV series in that the leading man (Barry Newman) is a lawyer but he occasionally dabbles into investigating a bit outside the courtroom. I am not sure if this will be the case in the rest of the shows...but it was so in the pilot.
Tony Petrocelli is an enigma...and in many ways the opposite of McCloud...a Marshall who came from New Mexico to inexplicably work in New York City. Here, Petrocelli is a Harvard-educated lawyer who surprisingly moves to Arizona to practice criminal law. Today this might be seen as usual, but back in the 1970s, Arizona was a far more rural state...a place filled with deserts, cowboys and little else. So his moving there is definitely NOT the norm!
The case he's working on in the pilot involves the murder of a man and his pretty wife (Stephanie Powers) is accused of the killing. However, Petrocelli works hard to use the same evidence to present a far different motive and far different killer. Will this work? And, will he live to see this case through (well, considering it's the pilot...I think it's not a spoiler to say he does)?
The acting and writing were quite good here. What I also appreciated was the vagueness of the ending. His client probably was innocent...then, possibly she wasn't. It's a vagueness that I think made the show more interesting and it definitely left me wanting more.
Great pilot episode, with sensational performances
drfernandogil1 May 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Great pilot episode, with sensational performances, especially from Barry Newman and the beautiful Joanna Cameron in her role as stewardess Thelma Latimer.
There are overwhelmed characters and many issues of infidelity, which occurred between the couple's friends of the couple (The Hannigans) and their clumsy friends (the Kenedisis). - Apparently, the deceased had previously had relations with the woman Jenny Kenedisis, from which his husband found out in court from his wife. The deceased had also been unfaithful to the accused, by having relations with Telma Lattimer, who shamelessly confessed it in her testimony.-
Beautiful woman Joanna Cameron, a shame she passed away.- She really played evil and cheeky here, along with her partner DD Franklin (Luke Askew). Extortionist, prostitute and shameless... yet she is charming.
In all the movies someone tries to kill Petrocelli, so I took the scene where he is taken off the road as usual, although it was something very serious and unforgivable.
We are getting to know the characters. However, from this episode, only the main trio (Petrocelli, Maggi, Pete) would continue in the series.
The way Petrocelli discovers the crime is fantastic!
There are overwhelmed characters and many issues of infidelity, which occurred between the couple's friends of the couple (The Hannigans) and their clumsy friends (the Kenedisis). - Apparently, the deceased had previously had relations with the woman Jenny Kenedisis, from which his husband found out in court from his wife. The deceased had also been unfaithful to the accused, by having relations with Telma Lattimer, who shamelessly confessed it in her testimony.-
Beautiful woman Joanna Cameron, a shame she passed away.- She really played evil and cheeky here, along with her partner DD Franklin (Luke Askew). Extortionist, prostitute and shameless... yet she is charming.
In all the movies someone tries to kill Petrocelli, so I took the scene where he is taken off the road as usual, although it was something very serious and unforgivable.
We are getting to know the characters. However, from this episode, only the main trio (Petrocelli, Maggi, Pete) would continue in the series.
The way Petrocelli discovers the crime is fantastic!
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