Hardball (1989 TV series)
Hardball is an American crime drama television series that ran on NBC from September 21, 1989 to June 29, 1990, during the 1989–90 television schedule.
| Hardball | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action Crime drama |
| Created by | Robert Palm |
| Written by | Paul Bernbaum Chris Bunch Allan Cole Frank Lupo Robert Palm Burt Pearl |
| Directed by | Rob Bowman James Darren Francis Delia David Hemmings Bruce Kessler Guy Magar Larry Shaw Virgil W. Vogel |
| Starring | John Ashton Richard Tyson |
| Theme music composer | Sylvester Levay Eddie Money |
| Opening theme | "Roll Over It" performed by Eddie Money |
| Composer | Sylvester Levay |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | John Ashley Frank Lupo |
| Producer | Paul Bernbaum |
| Cinematography | Rick Bota |
| Editors | Nathaniel Burr Smidt David Ramirez |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production companies | Columbia Pictures Television NBC Productions |
| Distributor | Columbia TriStar Domestic Television (2001) Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | September 21, 1989 – June 29, 1990 |
Synopsis
Hardball is a variation of the buddy cop genre that focused on two plainclothes L.A. cops, Charlie "C.B." Battles (John Ashton) and Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski (Richard Tyson). Battles is a 45-year-old hard-nosed veteran officer who is forced to take a desk job or retire. Battles is soon assigned a new partner, the 25-year-old hotshot Kaczierowski who follows his own set of rules when dealing with criminals. The pair are soon at odds over their respective methods of law enforcement.
NBC President Brandon Tartikoff saw this series as inspired by the Lethal Weapon films and Battles was patterned after Pete Rose.
Cast
- John Ashton as Charlie "C.B." Battles
- Richard Tyson as Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski
- John Pappas as Pappas
- Barney McFadden as Ballantine
Production notes
The series was created by Robert Palm and executive produced by John Ashley and Frank Lupo.[1]
Theme song
The series' theme song "Roll It Over", was written by Sylvester Levay, Mark Spiro, and Eddie Money. Money also performed the tune.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Till Death Do Us Part" | David Hemmings | Frank Lupo | September 21, 1989 |
| 2 | "The Silver Scream" | Larry Shaw | Story by : Burt Pearl Teleplay by : Burt Pearl & Paul Bernbaum | September 28, 1989 |
| 3 | "The One Armed Bandit" | Guy Magar | Paul Bernbaum | October 13, 1989 |
| 4 | "Which Witch Is Which?" | TBA | TBA | October 27, 1989 |
| 5 | "The Cleveland Indian" | David Hemmings | Story by : Burt Pearl Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum | November 3, 1989 |
| 6 | "The Fighting 52nd" | David Hemmings | Paul Bernbaum | November 10, 1989 |
| 7 | "Time Bomb" | TBA | TBA | November 17, 1989 |
| 8 | "Trying to Make a Living, and Doing the Best I Can" | TBA | TBA | November 24, 1989 |
| 9 | "The Out of Towner" | TBA | TBA | December 1, 1989 |
| 10 | "The Cool Katt" | TBA | TBA | April 20, 1990 |
| 11 | "The Angel of Death" | TBA | TBA | April 27, 1990 |
| 12 | "A Killer Date" | David Hemmings | Paul Bernbaum | May 4, 1990 |
| 13 | "A Death in the Family" | TBA | TBA | May 11, 1990 |
| 14 | "Sex, Cops, and Videotape" | TBA | TBA | May 18, 1990 |
| 15 | "Wedding Bell Blues" | TBA | TBA | June 1, 1990 |
| 16 | "Prescription for Murder" | TBA | TBA | June 8, 1990 |
| 17 | "Every Dog Has His Day" | TBA | TBA | June 22, 1990 |
| 18 | "The Hunt for Honus Wagner" | TBA | TBA | June 29, 1990 |
References
- Vagg, Stephen (December 2019). "A Hell of a Life: The Nine Lives of John Ashley". Diabolique Magazine.