Pretty Good

Disapointment

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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.

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!"

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.

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.