Search (1972–1973) User Reviews (22)

reasons to recreate the Search TV series

[chambers1378 · 9/10 · 14 March 2011]

Search had some of the best elements of the spy genre (handsome persuasive and strong male leads, beautiful women, exotic rich locales, and mysterious missing objects, etc) and of the science fiction genre (an elaborate Mission Control center, computer assisted artificial intelligence information, man/machine embedded implants etc).

The plots where were sometimes not that interesting or hung together well but the relationship of the characters (especially Probe Control irascibly trying to keep the three independent minded agents in line) was fun to watch.

When you consider the ongoing popularity of the spy genre and the enthusiastic support of science fiction series by it's fans the series Search should have been a very good success. It could be that it was just a little ahead of its time. I encourage the TV production community to consider the creation of a new Search series or something along the same lines. The TV audience is more interested in both the spy genre (James Bond, the Bourne series etc) and the science fiction series (Star trek, Star Wars, etc than at any time in the past.

Search pre-empted too much, maybe why it failed

[Falkenberg2006 · 8/10 · 23 September 2007]

As I recall, this show wasn't given a chance. I know that in the San Francisco Bay Area it was preempted 5 times ( ! ) in it's original run, including for 2 shows on the energy crisis !!

I loved the show, but the best episodes were the one's with Hugh O'Brien and I can still hear Burgess Meredith going practically insane and yelling " Lockwood ! Do you copy ! " and Lockwood ignoring him.

The episodes with Doug McClure, and Franciosa weren't as good.

I had a terrible crush on Angel Tompkins, too.

A guy in Palos Verdes Peninsula was selling copies of the Probe scanner. Wish I still had one but I lost it.

George Senda Martinez, Ca

Great action show with a hook.

[dobberx · 9/10 · 14 July 2018]

The hook was the tech. Tiny cameras, tiny transmitters and dental implants for coded info. A wicked cool "mission control" room. Three known actors in rotation - all with previous film and tv success. Would love to a reboot. Maybe have a more diverse team? How about a team of four? A woman; a young, impulsive guy; a middle-aged, veteran man and.......? They can appear alone or in any combination.

This show is a candidate for resurrection

[DeweyQ · 13 April 2004]

This was one of the great shows that didn't last.

The teamwork shown by the group working behind the scenes was perhaps too "upbeat" for people. You didn't watch the show expecting the good guys to fail, but instead tried to guess which specialist or gadget would get them out of a jam this time.

I don't remember how good the writing and dialog was, but I clearly remember Burgess Meredith's character as a very compelling influence in the "control room". I would love this show to return to the air or come out on DVD, but I suppose it has been gone for so long that any chance of that happening is pretty low.

In any case, it is good to see the show immortalized to some extent by being listed properly here (I searched for "Search" a long time ago and couldn't find it).

I loved the theme music!

[murasakiotto · 10/10 · 10 August 2006]

As a brat raised in LA during the mid 60s, I was mad about UNCLE, I Spy, The Avengers, THE Cat, all the good old TV spy and action shows. Returning to Japan in '68 was a big culture change, especially the dull and boring TV shows (not much change in 2006, even worse). It was around '73 that one of the network here aired 5 or 6 episodes of Search. It was called Purobu Sousa Shirei (Probe Criminal Investigations Command). It was dubbed in Japanese (no bilingual TV at that time), and I can't remember any story, but the brilliant titleback and the superb theme music is something that I wish to see and hear again. One scene I recall is a bird's eye view of an orange Nissan Z car driven by one of the Probe agent. I thought it was so cool! Oh, and did I mention Angel Tompkins, she was so beautiful! It seems difficult to see this series even in the USA now, but I am sure that there are thousands of "hidden Search fans" in the world. I will definitely buy the whole series if sold on DVD.

Search series

[boeingco · 10/10 · 21 October 2007]

I was a kid when I saw Search and it was fantastic. I dreamed I worked for World Security. Hugh O'Brian...Doug McClure and Anthony Franciosa were handsome, interesting and excellent investigators. World Security headquarters were outstanding, plenty of new technology. Burguess Meredith (Cameron) was a serious boss but also funny. Clothes of actors were casual but elegant. adventures and different situations worldwide were interesting ,,, plenty of mystery and action. Intro music was really wonderful. I would like to know if I could get it, by somewhere -I meant-. Hope soon, very soon, we could see those TV episodes in DVD. I'll be the very first client, I'll really do that purchase But please do the 12 episodes. In did Search is one of my favorites TV shows

Search - pilot name was originally Probe

[ruready · 10/10 · 19 July 2009]

I agree with the poster James-L. This was an awesome show, some great actors. Burgess Meredith as B. C. Cameron was awesome. I think he was a great actor and was so impressive in this show. There were some very fine actors in this show Hugh O'brian as Hugh Lockwood was the best in this show (aka "Wyatt Earp" another of my fave shows). Doug McClure and Tony Franciosa were awesome as well. This was truly a great great show. And I am so sorry it didn't last. Yes us old timers have seen a lot of TV and movies this show was so great I was so wanting it to make it at the time. The Man From UNCLE, I Spy, The Avengers, THE Cat, were all great TV spy and action shows. Search was so great with all the "cool tools" and great spy stuff.

Maybe someday someone will create a new revised "Probe". But alas it was one of many fine shows that didn't last because of network popularity. There were many great lineups on all the 3 major networks then NBC, CBS, and ABC. This show is in my top ten list and besides "Star Trek" is my very all time favorite.

Latching on to the superspy genre, this excellent series failed to peak in popularity

[Deusvolt · 9/10 · 30 November 2007]

As the superspy genre on TV degenerated into cartoony comedy as the later episodes of Man from Uncle did, this series' updated spook gadgetry such as the use of remote viewing with telemetry analysis and diagnosis via rings and tie clips worn by the Probe agents. The whole premise however became prosaic and cheesy with the arrival shows like the Bionic Man/Woman with over the top gadgetry that practically turned the characters into robots.

Probe was the title of the pilot episode which starred Hugh O'Brian as the field agent. Retitled as Search for the series, each episode had him, Doug McClure and Tony Franciosca on a round robin basis reminiscent of The Four Just Men of '50s vintage.

O'Brian plays the cool, handsome ladykiller and perfect secret agent to the hilt while Doug Mclure portrays the vulnerable and consequently more sympathetic spook complete with various gaffes and goofs. Tony Franciosca channels it like a Mickey Spillane school of hard knocks private eye with a liberal sprinkling of the inimitable Franciosca humor.

But the absolutely coolest thing on this show for me is the theme music. Couldn't find a track of it so I would actually turn off the radio when driving to play it in my head ---- tuhtuhrahrahrahrah - tararah- rah-rah. Great! Caught the theme recently on You Tube and there are two very similar versions, one for Probe and the more refined one for Search.

Great Concept for the time

[whotobe · 9/10 · 20 May 2009]

I vividly remember watching this show every week. For the time the technology was pretty amazing. We were still using a good old rotary dial phone back then and no one even heard of a personal computer or miniature wireless surveillance cameras. That was even more technology than they used on Star Trek! Burgess Merideth was wonderful working in "Cameron Probe Control" and Doug McClure was probably my favorite agent. Today, technology has exceeded the tools used in this program but it would be great to see it brought back in a present day form using the technology we have now. If this program ever re-appears in some media format, I would love to see it again.

A SERIES AHEAD OF ITS TIME

[asalerno10 · 8/10 · 9 October 2022]

This 1972-1973 series did not have the ratings success it deserved because it was at least two decades ahead of its time. We can see many of the elements that are seen and used here today in productions such as the Mission Impossible saga starring Tom Cruise or in the latest installments of James Bond, obviously being a television product its budget was low, but the ideas they were already. The series has three rotating leads, Hugh O Brian, Doug McClure, and Tony Franciosa. All of them are agents belonging to a sophisticated organization called PROBE, whose base of operations is commanded by Burgess Meredith and they provide their agents with all kinds of gadgets so that they can fulfill their missions, the agents have a grafted microchip that allows them to be monitored by the operations center. Its missions consist of finding and rescuing from kidnapped people to valuable objects, in Argentina the series was called Operation Rescue, due to the theme of the missions that its agents had to carry out. Perhaps one of the weakest points of the show is the lack of more action scenes which makes it a bit slow, but the scripts are creative and intelligent. A series that deserves a remake.

Super Cool TV Series of the 70s'

[waverman45 · 3/10 · 6 September 2007]

I was in high school when "Search" ran and thought it was the coolest show around! It was way ahead of it's time. I'd love to see it re imagined and with the right cast and writing could be an excellent series. Burgess Meredith was perfect as Cameron, his speech patterns owed to classical theater training. And let's not forget the music, some of the best TV music around. There's a spot on the web where you can see low quality episodes but i'd still like to see a DVD set of the series. www. probe control.com has tons of info on the series. As for a film version, if they can make "Underdog" they can make this! As long as they stay true to the original it would be a way cool movie! Lets get a letter writing campaign started!!!

Probe Control computer center assists agents on dangerous recovery missions

[hrcooley · 27 September 2005]

I learned of this show even before it aired on NBC back in 1972 (prepublicity), and decided I liked it even before seeing it. One thing that I thought was really cool was how Probe Control communicated to the agents via an implanted audio pickup through radio telescope communications. Of course, Burgess Meredith was essentially the show stealer every time; not many other actors could give an engaging performance sitting at a computer panel. He had this funny way of adjusting his micro headset and almost punching his console when flustered. I managed to record many episodes onto a handy cassette machine. A couple of years ago a local TV station rebroadcast the pilot episode, co-starring John Gielgud (sp?), and I caught the whole thing on VHS. When they decided to cancel the series, I was actually put out enough to send in a letter of protest. (Well, it was a perfect show for a 12-year-old boy). After all, it had cool effects, mostly involving things that could be seen in other parts of the spectrum, picked up by the agents' ring-bound scanners.

A one-season wonder that missed its audience

[JamesL-4 · 5 December 2000]

"Search" is a series that failed to find its audience mainly because most of that audience was already in bed (time slot 9 or 10 PM on a school night; it was the first series I got to stay up late for!). It's also a series that could not have existed before the world watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, since the concept of a room full of specialists monitoring and assisting the agent is, of course, based on the room full of specialists in Houston who monitor and assist our astronauts.

Note that Bob Justman (of Star Trek fame) was involved; undoubtedly it was because of Star Trek's influence that the aforementioned room full of specialists included African-Americans, Asian-Americans and women.

All in all, it's a shame it didn't catch on, but then again, most of the audience had to be in bed early on school nights. Incidentally, the pilot film used to show up on local stations every year or so, though not for quite a few years.

The network got a head cold on this one

[annabelle-1 · 10 August 2001]

A very nice set-up for a series that looked like it was going far. In the pilot (The film 'Probe') the controller, B.C. Cameron (The late Burgess Meredith)warns Probe 1 (Hugh Lockwood, played by Hugh O'Brian) that he should avoid a head-cold as it messes with the electronics. Well I think that the Network got a head cold over this ahead-of-its-time semi-sf spy series. Like another reviewer, I would love to see the series restarted, perhaps someone could persuade a network to buy the rights? Leslie Stephens created several series like this (Invisible Man etc), and it seems a pity to waste such inventiveness.

As to casting, I wouldn't dare to put forward a suggestion, except that, as a Brit, I wouldn't mind them filming an episode or two in the U.K. with a British 'Probe'...

Search, a great show with high-tech gadgets for 1972

[jhjr243 · 23 April 2006]

I used to watch "Search" all the time. It was as other viewers have said, part Spy, part sci-fi, part drama, and of course, a very watchable show. The Probe headquarters was so advanced, that they could use one of the Probe agent's ring for a camera, recorder, Geiger counter around radiation, and a reviver, if one of the agents was knocked out, on thrown overboard into the Sea(like one of the episodes.) What some viewers have failed to mention, is that Probe agents had a dental implant too, so they could click their teeth and send a signal if they were in trouble, and could not talk. The ear implant was ingenious, and could not be detected by the enemy. However; one episode where a Probe agent was captured by terrorists(or mad scientists)the enemy became aware of the implant and used it to send their signals into it, to cause pain, obedience, and to basically control the agent like a robot. However; Probe found the agent's location, and blocked the signals of the enemy, and even talked to the enemy, warning them, to release their prisoner, of Probe would bombard them with an electronic attack. Is the cool or what? Shows written today don't have this kind of writing, like Search. The Actors were well seasoned, and played their roles very well. Search was best when Probe control room was black with red lights shining down. Burgess Merridith played his part very well as the Head of Probe, and the Agents, Lockwood(Hugh O'Brian), Nic Bianco(Anthony Franciosa)(My favorite agent.) I loved it when Nic would say to the Probe headquarters; "We did it your way first; now we are doing it Nic Bianco's way." Search at times, was along the lines of Star Trek characters too. You could see them going through all the switching, and powering up for each Agent they sent out. Search ran from 1972-1973, but it spawned other shows that came later; like "LeFemme Nikita", movies like "Johnny Neumonic", and of course "24". Search was a pleasant alternative to the other shows available in 1972, on a WED night. Re-runs of the show would be welcome. Some of the episodes would appear very 70s, but in it's time, Search was with the times, if not ahead of the times.

My all-time favorite show

[sp27343 · 9 March 2001]

Its a shame quality, well written and intelligent shows like SEARCH don't last. Without a doubt, and to this day, it is my alltime fav show. I think it was just too far ahead of its time. I think the show could be done today, but I think the producers would be to tempted to put "pretty boys" as the agents, instead of older, more cerebral actors. I think I would cast Anthony Zerbe as V.C. Cameron, Steven Weber as C.R. Grover, Ted Danson as Lockwood (yes I think Ted could handle a semi-dramatic role), and Eric Roberts as Nick Bianco. It would be one cool show....IF...the writing was of an intelligent quality. The original show, as well as the pilot movie were awesome!!!

How many things?

[Observer-2 · 20 January 2003]

Whilst the premise of "Search" was interesting, indeed somewhat foreshadowing "The Six Million Dollar Man" by a couple of years, i.e., people with bio-electronic enhancements, the very premise of it limited the show to running out of steam, ultimately. After all, how many things can you search for? Jewels, people, renegade SEARCH-systems scientists, etcetera? Eventually the plot becomes formula, which becomes dull. If they could have done more character development, or given the cast a better chance to act off each other, it might have lasted longer. Still, what was done was done well, until it got boring. Wouldn't mind seeing it in reruns again, though no doubt some things would seem somewhat dated, over thirty years later. Still, it is nice to remember when this show was "cool."

I LOVED this show when I was a kid!

[jim-1942 · 13 March 2008]

I don't remember a single plot from this series, so don't expect any spoilers! I was a big computer geek long before the personal computer (never mind the Internet) so this show got me where I lived. I haven't seen it in many, many years, so I have no idea what I'd think of it today. Obviously the technology would seem quaint, at best, but I recall the stories as being quite good. I'm afraid I'd laugh too much at their computers though (has anyone seen "Colossus: The Forbin Project" lately?) "Search" is definitely a candidate for a modern-day make-over though! It's "Mission: Impossible" tailor-made for the Internet Age...instead of a team that goes into a situation, a single person does...supported by a team somewhere else who have the world's information and expertise at their fingertips. The only question is, in this day and age, would the viewers be amazed at what the "agents" can do with the help of their geeky behind-the-scenes comrades, or would they just think "Big deal...anybody could do that stuff these days!"

Burgess speaking

[sevenspot · 21 July 2004]

I remember watching this show when I was a kid.

I really liked it back then, but the one thing I remember about it was Burgess Merideth's speech pattern. He had this way of over enunciating everything.

To this day I can remember him saying "beeeee caaaareful LLLockwooooooddd".

I also remember the female controller. She was the one who was always flirting with the agents.

I can almost remember the music too, sort of like the old jewel heist music I think (but I could be confusing it with something else)

"Search" was truly a lead into the future

[short_blondie50 · 12 January 2007]

"Search" changed my life. How? you ask? I thought it was so cool and gave me an interest in computers. Back in the 1970's middle class families had never even heard of computers, at least mine hadn't. At that point in my life, I was in need of a job and chose to try out the field of computers. Of course, back then, it was the BIG main frames. Now just about everyone has a laptop or PC. The actors were the greatest and I, like most of you, liked Burgess, Hugh, Doug and Tony. I always wondered why it was taken off the air. It was so interesting to me to watch Burgess sitting in front of his computer monitor, directing the agent that was in the field for that episode. Watching the tapes whirling around and the lights flashing and then all the amazing things that the agent could do with the touch of a button. It has been so long ago that I really am foggy as to what really happened in most of the shows but it changed my life forever. Didn't Hugh wear a necklace around his neck that he could talk to Burgess through? I really wish that they would re-run all the episodes so that I could tape them all.

Just Okay Back Then and Still Just Okay

[StuOz · 5 May 2022]

An advanced computer base of 1972 can track down and view an agent during his missions.

With the likes of Leslie Stevens (Outer Limits Original Series) and Burgess Meredith (Batman, Twilight Zone Original Series) involved in this, Search should have turned out better than it did. Not a bad series but nothing special.

The futuristic looking command centre set is the most memorable thing about the series. Granted, the opening few episodes are fine, but after a short while the viewer wants something more - and we don't get it.

I probably liked it more in my youth. Years later Meredith was asked about the series in an interview and responded with "Search? Search was a nothing" His comment seemed a bit strong but compared to Batman - totally true!

"Search" Agents?

[alan_leigh · 6 November 2006]

I seem to recall that there were THREE agents of Probe in "Search, or "Search Control", (as it was called here in the UK) and not just the two mentioned here already?

Hugh O'Brien and Anthony Franciosa have both been included in several previous comments, but wasn't there a third agent who was played by Doug McLure, (the name of whom escapes me.)

Am I correct in this, or is it just a warped memory and I'm confusing the actors concerned with another programme completely?

I was about twelve years old at the time "Search Control" was first broadcast and I remember being totally enthralled by the sophistication and creative ingenuity of the technology involved.

For me, Burgess Meredith stole the show completely each week, but it was Hugh O'Brien who was the most interesting of the three agents, and three actors who played them.

The show was absolutely fantastic and well ahead of it's time!!!