September 18, 1983 (1983-09-18) – May 5, 1986 (1986-05-05)
Hardcastle and McCormick is an American actioncrime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick.
During an interview in the early 1980s, producer Stephen J. Cannell referred to the then-upcoming series as Rolling Thunder.
Premise
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Milton C. "Hardcase" Hardcastle is an eccentric judge notorious for being strict with the law in both his duties and towards defendants. Preparing for his retirement, he notices file drawers filled with 200 people who escaped conviction due to legal technicalities. Inspired by his childhood hero the Lone Ranger, Hardcastle desires to make the criminals answer for their crimes.[citation needed]
Mark McCormick is a smart-mouthed, streetwise car thief. He faces a long incarceration for his latest theft, a prototypesports car called the Coyote X, designed by his murdered best friend. Together, the judge and the car thief strike a deal in which Hardcastle helps McCormick catch the murderer and McCormick agrees to work (his conditional parole) as the judge's agent. In addition, McCormick is allowed to keep the Coyote, which proves to be an excellent pursuit vehicle for their needs.[citation needed]
Cast
Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. "Hardcase" Hardcastle
T : Ross Thomas S/T : Richard Christian Matheson & Thomas E. Szollosi
January 14, 1985 (1985-01-14)
37
14
"What's So Funny?"
Tony Mordente
Patrick Hasburgh
January 21, 1985 (1985-01-21)
38
15
"Hardcastle, Hardcastle, Hardcastle and McCormick"
Kim Manners
Lawrence Hertzog
February 4, 1985 (1985-02-04)
39
16
"The Long Ago Girl"
Richard A. Colla
Stephen J. Cannell
February 11, 1985 (1985-02-11)
40
17
"You Don't Hear the One that Gets You"
Tony Mordente
Lawrence Hertzog
February 18, 1985 (1985-02-18)
41
18
"The Birthday Present"
Tony Mordente
Stephen J. Cannell
February 25, 1985 (1985-02-25)
42
19
"Surprise on Seagull Beach"
Michael O'Herilhy
Michael O'Herlihy
March 4, 1985 (1985-03-04)
43
20
"Undercover McCormick"
Les Sheldon
Marianne Clarkson
March 11, 1985 (1985-03-11)
44
21
"The Game You Learn from Your Father"
Kim Manners
Patrick Hasburgh
March 18, 1985 (1985-03-18)
45
22
"Angie's Choice"
Bruce Kessler
Thomas E. Szollosi & Richard Christian Matheson
April 1, 1985 (1985-04-01)
Season 3 (1985–86)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
46
1
"She Ain't Deep, But She Sure Runs Fast"
Tony Mordente
Patrick Hasburgh
September 23, 1985 (1985-09-23)
47
2
"Faster Hearts"
Charles Picerni
Patrick Hasburgh
September 30, 1985 (1985-09-30)
48
3
"The Yankee Clipper"
Sigmund Neufeld, Jr.
Patrick Hasburgh
October 7, 1985 (1985-10-07)
49
4
"Something's Going On on This Train"
Tony Mordente
Lawrence Hertzog
October 14, 1985 (1985-10-14)
50
5
"The Career Breaker"
Kim Manners
Stephen J. Cannell
October 28, 1985 (1985-10-28)
51
6
"Do Not Go Gently"
Bruce Kessler
Patrick Hasburgh
November 4, 1985 (1985-11-04)
52
7
"Games People Play"
Peter Kiwitt
S : Tony Michelman & Scott J. Schneid T : Carol Mendelsohn & Larry Forrester
November 11, 1985 (1985-11-11)
53
8
"Strangle Hold"
Michael Switzer
Marianne Clarkson
November 18, 1985 (1985-11-18)
54
9
"You're Sixteen, You're Beautiful and You're His"
Kim Manners
Lawrence Hertzog
November 25, 1985 (1985-11-25)
55
10
"Mirage a Trois"
Sidney Hayers
Marianne Clarkson
December 2, 1985 (1985-12-02)
56
11
"Conventional Warfare"
Sigmund Newfeld, Jr.
Steven L. Sears & Burt Pearl
December 9, 1985 (1985-12-09)
57
12
"Duet for Two Wind Instruments"
Robert Bralver
Lawrence Hertzog
December 16, 1985 (1985-12-16)
58
13
"If You Could See What I See"
Kim Manners
Carol Mendelsohn
January 6, 1986 (1986-01-06)
59
14
"Hardcastle for Mayor"
Kim Manners
Alan Cassidy
January 13, 1986 (1986-01-13)
60
15
"When I Look Back on All the Things"
Steven Beers
Lawrence Hertzog
February 3, 1986 (1986-02-03)
61
16
"Brother, Can You Spare a Crime?"
James L. Conway
Donald Ross
February 10, 1986 (1986-02-10)
62
17
"Round Up the Old Gang"
Tony Mordente
Stephen Katz
February 17, 1986 (1986-02-17)
63
18
"McCormick's Bar and Grill"
James S. Giritlian
Jeff Ray
February 24, 1986 (1986-02-24)
64
19
"Poker Night"
Michael J. Kane
Marianne Clarkson
March 3, 1986 (1986-03-03)
65
20
"In the Eye of the Beholder"
Daniel Hugh Kelly
Daniel Hugh Kelly
March 17, 1986 (1986-03-17)
66
21
"The Day the Music Died"
Charles Picerni
Tom Blomquist
March 31, 1986 (1986-03-31)
67
22
"A Chip Off the Ol' Milt"
Les Sheldon
Carol Mendelsohn & Marianne Clarkson
May 5, 1986 (1986-05-05)
Production
Development
The series premise was somewhat recycled from a previous Cannell series, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe. It was created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell, serving as the executive producers and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions for ABC.[citation needed]
Music
The opening theme song during season one was "Drive", composed by Mike Post and Stephen Geyer and sung by David Morgan. For the first 12 episodes of season two, the theme song was "Back To Back", also composed by Post and Geyer, but sung by Joey Scarbury (who also sang Post and Geyer's theme for The Greatest American Hero). Public demand,[citation needed] however, resulted in the "Drive" theme being reinstated in episode 13 and kept through season three. Post and Pete Carpenter scored the music for the series.[citation needed]
"Coyote X" or "Cody Coyote"
The car that McCormick drove, the Coyote X, was built from custom molds based on the McLaren M6GT.[1] The original Coyote X was molded, modified and assembled by Mike Fennel and Unique Movie Cars. The nose, windshield, doors, and lower body (minus the ventral intakes) are faithful representations of the McLaren; the cut-down rear deck, however, was a custom component that became a feature on many Manta Montage kits with damaged or removed rear windows. The most noticeable differences between the Coyotes and Mantas are the wheel wells, roll pan height and shape, and the fact that the Coyote has a one-piece front clip that terminates about an inch before and surrounding the windshield.
Most of the cars made for the show were molded and assembled by either Mike Fennel or Unique Movie Cars. Like many kit cars of the time, the car uses a chassis from a Volkswagen Beetle and its engine from a Porsche 914.[2][3] For the second and third seasons, producers used a different Coyote which was based on a DMC DeLorean, as Brian Keith had difficulty getting in and out of the original Coyote.[4]
The season-two and -three Coyote does not resemble the Manta, as the front is larger than the original, making the car resemble a front-engined car. The season-one "Hero" car that was used in the production of Hardcastle and McCormick is owned by a private owner in New York.[citation needed] The stunt/skid car (used in all three seasons) was reconfigured for the Knight Rider 2000television pilot,[5] then consequently turned into Jay Ohrberg's show car "Taz-Mobile".[6] In April 2011, the stunt/skid car was sold and shipped to Dallas, Texas, where it was rebodied back to its former Coyote configuration, retaining as many of the original Coyote pieces as possible (in a private collection).[citation needed] Note: only one season-one "Hero Car" and one "skid/stunt" car were used in all three seasons and several (center seat-mounted, dune buggy-like, see title shot) "jump cars" were used. A season-two and -three (De Lorean body) car appeared briefly on the sixth episode of season five of the sitcomMarried... with Children.[citation needed]
Season-one car owned by a private collector in NY
Season-one Coyote at NJ home in 2008 and now in New York (2019)
Visual Entertainment has released all three seasons of Hardcastle and McCormick on DVD in Region 1(Canada only). VEI also released Hardcastle & McCormick: The Complete Series on DVD on September 3, 2008.[9] As of March 2016, the complete DVD set is available on Amazon.com.
