Review of Stingray

It had been years since I first watched this show on its original run but it recently popped up on a few "on demand" channels. Back in the mid-1980s, the networks are what doomed this show with a constant moving of time slots (I believe it began on NBC then it was picked up for late night on CBS). The final nail in its coffin was switching production to Vancouver. Weather and amateurish Canadian actors along with equally amateurish Canadian production values (witness the current Hallmark Channel movies) hurt the show's initial quality. Yes, I know the lead, Nick Mancuso, is an Italian-born Canadian but he has undeniable acting talent even though he was quite noticeably stunt-doubled more than most leads in action shows. Had Cannell hooked up earlier with Stu Segall, this show would have benefitted from San Diego shooting.

As much as I hate reboots, this one deserves one BUT only by keeping the original premise: a quiet, sometimes menacing 35-year-old Caucasian male who drives a black Stingray and takes on troubleshooting in exchange only for one future favor. It doesn't need the character's race, ethnicity, or gender changed. It doesn't need a squad of minority team members. The character is a mysterious loner. Keep the scripts literate and not the current trend of mishmashing clipped dialogue and quick cuts as though the writers aren't capable of pounding out complete sentences of dialogue.

Don't tinker with any of the original and it would work once again-as long as you keep it out of Canada.