Tenspeed and Brown Shoe


Tenspeed and Brown Shoe is an American detective comedy series originally broadcast by the ABC network between January and June, 1980. The series was created by producer Stephen J. Cannell. Most of the show's creative staff were veterans of the private detective series The Rockford Files, which concluded its run about two weeks before Tenspeed and Brown Shoe debuted.

Plot

The one-hour program revolved around two private detectives who had their own detective agency in Los Angeles. E. L. "Tenspeed" Turner is a hustler who worked as a private detective to satisfy his parole requirements. His partner Lionel "Brownshoe" Whitney is an archetypal accountant, complete with button-down collars and a nagging fiancee, who had always wanted to be a 1940s-style Bogart private investigator. A running joke was his penchant for reading a series of hard-boiled crime novels, subtitled "A Mark Savage Mystery", written by Stephen J. Cannell, with Goldblum reading some passages in voice-over in each episode. But Brownshoe was sharper than he seemed and more reasonable than his career path demanded; he had even received a black belt in karate.

Cast

Production

This was the first series to come from Stephen J. Cannell Productions as an independent company. It is also the only one not to carry the famed Cannell logo on any episodes, having "A Stephen J. Cannell Production" appearing in-credit.
The show had broad similarities to the later television series Simon & Simon and Moonlighting, in that it was a lightly dramatic program with many comic moments about two dissimilar detectives who attempt to solve cases together. Cannell later recycled the basic idea of Tenspeed and Brown Shoe as the successful Hardcastle and McCormick.

Reception

The show was heavily promoted by ABC at the time it premiered in late January 1980. The series attracted a substantial audience for its first few episodes, but viewership dropped off substantially after that, and the series was not renewed for the 1980–81 season.

Home media

On March 9, 2010, Mill Creek Entertainment released Tenspeed and Brown Shoe on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. Because CBS, which held ownership of the pilot, refused to come to an agreement on its use, MCI revealed in January 2010 that it would not be included on the DVD. However, the full-length pilot is included on the German and French DVD releases.

Cross-overs

Ben Vereen later reprised his role as Tenspeed on five episodes of J.J. Starbuck, another Cannell production:
  • "The Rise and Fall of Joe Piermont"
  • "Rag Doll"
  • "Permanent Hiatus"
  • "A Song from the Sequel"
  • "Cactus Jack's Last Call"