Stingray (1985) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Richard A. Colla

Writers:

Stephen J. Cannell (creator)
Stephen J. Cannell (teleplay)

Release Date:

14 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Plot:

A district attorney is kidnapped by a criminal who then has a deranged doctor do something to him that leaves him with the mind of a child...

Plot Keywords:

Favor | Car | Corvette | Undercover

Cast

Nick Mancuso	...	Ray
Susan Blakely	...	Evelyn Decter
Robyn Douglass	...	Assistant D.A. Daphne Delgado
Gregory Sierra	...	Anthony 'Tony' Mendosa
Michael Fairman	...	Ned Rosenberg, M.D.
Lee Richardson	...	Dr. Ernst Decter
Wendell Wright	...	Fast Freddy
Joe Penternia	...	Chief Deputy D.A. Eduardo Cantero
John Aprea	...	Peter Shefland
Fern Fitzgerald	...	Marcia Finch
Greg Monaghan	...	Norm
Thomas Payne	...	Cundo Rio
Ellen Geer	...	Sybil Rosenberg
Ramón Franco
Anne Wyndham

Runtime:

Germany:90 min | USA:120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Stephen J. Cannell Productions

Trivia:

As a tie-in for this show, Monogram Models made a plastic kit of the Black Corvette the main character drove. Unfortunately shortly after the kit's release the show was canceled, so the kit was re-released as Item #2724 '65 Corvette Street Machine. While the box changed you can still build a replica of the car from this show with this kit.

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Stingray" (1986)

Soundtrack:

Easy Lover

Stingray, starring Nick Mancuso

Caution: some spoilers, of necessity.... I cannot praise the "Stingray" pilot (1985, NBC) highly enough. Ditto the first season of this show (which was canceled, then brought back, albeit with episodes that I don't feel lived up to the surprisingly cool writing of the pilot or the first season episodes). My recommendation: see it however you can. I, myself--for my own use/collection--would love to obtain an UNCUT pilot of this pilot in pristine condition. Regrettably, the pilot--when shown in two parts during season one--cut a couple of minutes from the TV movie. When we first see Mancuso's character, he's talking to a waitress about her missing daughter when the D.A. Investigator approaches the table. The waitress passes "Stingray" a photo of both the missing girl and her dog, giving a response of "She's one heck of a cute kid", and promises to help. Later in the pilot, he does. Let's understate it: "Stingray" was way to good for television, and should have been a movie series. Even CineFantastique magazine gave rave reviews to the show, and they normally restricted themselves to fantasy and SF shows... There must be SOMEONE out there with a pristine, uncut copy of the pilot as origionally aired on NBC, July 14, 1985...If so, please contact [e-mail].