Stylish but barely mediocre overall

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It all started during "Matlock's" first season (1986). The sixth episode of that series featured William Conrad as District Attorney James "Fatman" McShane. The next year the producers took this character, changed his name slightly to Jason Lochinvar 'Fatman' McCabe, and with Conrad created the long-running series "Jake and the Fatman". Conrad's deep voice gave him quite a radio/television career, much of it unseen as he played Matt Dillon on the radio version of "Gunsmoke" and did voice-over commentary for "The Fugitive" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle". The 106 hour-long episodes of this police drama were originally broadcast on CBS from 1987 to 1992. This pending DVD set contains the first half of the 23 episodes from the first season, 21 regular episodes and a two-part pilot, which actually ran "after" the show had premiered. In some ways the two title characters in the first season of "Jake and the Fatman" could be considered the most authentic looking of any police drama. While Conrad's character on "Cannon" was dubbed "Cannonball" by Mad Magazine, lampooning was unnecessary with the "Fatman" character and Conrad actually seemed to gain weight with each passing episode during the first season. For the second season he slimmed down a bit for their move from Los Angeles to Hawaii, everything is relative. Like "Cannon" he groans and complains but manages to get his man by the end of each episode. But while "Cannon" at least looked presentable, the "Fatman's" grooming makes him look he's been staying in a homeless shelter and staining his tie in soup kitchens. Of course this was supposed to contrast with his suave police associate Jake Styles (Joe. E. Penny), who cruises for babes in a silver Porsche speedster. But this guy isn't like the squeaky clean detectives on "Hawaiian Eye". As Harry and Wally said: "Jake is some young, oily hotshot who works undercover to do the legwork....Jake looks like the kind of guy who would proposition your fourteen-year-old sister". He did seem slightly more wholesome once the two moved to the Islands but for DVD buyers that won't be until Season Two. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Hailing from the UK i am not that familiar with niche 80's US detective shows, so imagine my surprise whilst flicking through the various cable channels at 4am (dont ask) that i came across Jake and the Fatman.although other people might disagree i found myself hooked on this show which for an 80's programme (reaganite politics aside) is extremely groundbreaking in a cheesy sort of way. episodes that dealt with vigilante husbands punishing random muggers due to his wife being gang-raped (something he was made to watch)years previously to an avenging cops wife shooting her husband and his partner for the miscarriage he rather violently inflicted on her in the past.i am aware of the censorship issues that are in operation in network American TV so it is all the more refreshing and intelligent that such a programme could have dealt with these issues in (i am assuming) its prime-time slot.if you happen to read my rather general review on Jake and the Fatman and i have piqued your interest you would not be wasting your time if you were to give it a go, so search the stations on those cold dark nights and be entertained.

I agree to my previous speaker: "Jake And The Fatman" was one of the best TV crime dramas, and surely on top of the list during the late 1980's. I would say it lines up nicely with the great TV crime series like The Streets of San Francisco, Cannon, Petrocelli, Vega$, and Miami Vice - all quite different and individual, but all classic. By the way, I had the impression that William Conrad had his good days and less good days during the Jake And The Fatman series, especially in later episodes filmed on Hawaii. Does anyone know if William Conrad suffered from (a beginning) Parkinson's disease?

Why was this series cancelled? With the exception of Hunter, it was probably the best detective show since William Conrad starred in Cannon. Conrad played the eccentric district attorney, J. L. McCabe, with his ever-present dog Max to the hilt, and Joe Penny played detective Jake Styles just as well. The interplay of McCabe's and Styles's personalities added much to the mix.