The Outsider (1968 TV series)

The Outsider is an American detective drama created by Roy Huggins and starring Darren McGavin. A two hour pilot movie aired on November 21, 1967; about a year later, a regular series of 26 episodes aired on NBC for one season from September 18, 1968, until April 16, 1969.[1]

The Outsider
GenreDetective drama
Created byRoy Huggins
StarringDarren McGavin
ComposerPete Rugolo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesPublic Arts
Universal Television
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 18, 1968 (1968-09-18) –
April 16, 1969 (1969-04-16)

Premise

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40-ish Los Angeles–based private eye David Ross (Darren McGavin) is a group-home raised orphan with no family, originally from Puyallup, Washington. (Notably, both series creator Roy Huggins and star Darren McGavin were also originally from Washington state, Huggins from Littell and McGavin from Spokane.) As a teen, Ross became a high-school dropout and a runaway from the group home. At the age of 19, while riding the rails, Ross got into an altercation with a railroad policeman and inadvertently ended up killing him while trying to defend himself. Convicted of murder, he spent six years in prison before receiving a governor's pardon.

Now working as a licensed private investigator, Ross is constantly harassed by police partly for his past crime, and partly due to his activities investigating cases. Ross lives alone in a small, shabby, sparsely furnished apartment in L.A., and is essentially an 'outsider' in society.

Most episodes of The Outsider begin near the story's climax, with Ross in some sort of imminent, life-threatening danger. After briefly setting up the situation via narration, Ross will then (also via narration) say some variation of "I suppose you're wondering how I got here..." The story is then presented in flashback, leading back to the climax, which is then resolved.

When investigating cases, Ross only resorts to violence when forced to, and his carry pistol is a tiny .25-caliber semi-automatic. Many of Ross' cases involve eccentric Hollywood or Southern California types, with whom he copes in a bemused fashion. Ross himself has some peculiarities and eccentricities; for instance, he routinely keeps his phone in his fridge.

There were no other regulars on the show aside from McGavin, although Ossie Davis played Ross' antagonistic police contact Lt. Wagner in the pilot, and James Edwards played the same character in two episodes of the series. Bill Quinn is seen in two late-running episodes as another (slightly friendlier) police contact, Lt. Kanter.

Episodes

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Pilot TV Movie (1967)

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No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
TVM"The Outsider"Michael RitchieRoy HugginsNovember 21, 1967 (1967-11-21)
David Ross is hired by a wealthy businessman to see if an employee is embezzling company funds -- but embezzlement only seems to be the tip of the iceberg in a complicated case. With Edmond O'Brien, Nancy Malone, Shirley Knight, Sean Garrison, Ossie Davis and Ann Sothern.

Series (1968-69)

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No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"For Members Only"Alexander SingerEdward J. LaksoSeptember 18, 1968 (1968-09-18)
2"What Flowers Daisies Are"Gene LevittBenjamin MasselinkSeptember 25, 1968 (1968-09-25)
3"Along Came a Spider"Alexander SingerJoel MurcottOctober 2, 1968 (1968-10-02)
4"A Wide Place in the Road"Sutton RoleyBrian McKayOctober 9, 1968 (1968-10-09)
5"As Cold as Ashes"Charles S. DubinJack MillerOctober 16, 1968 (1968-10-16)
6"A Time to Run"Gene LevittEdward J. LaksoOctober 30, 1968 (1968-10-30)
7"Love Is Under 'L'"Murray GoldenBob and Esther MitchellNovember 6, 1968 (1968-11-06)
8"The Twenty-Thousand Dollar Carrot"Michael RitchieRobert HamnerNovember 13, 1968 (1968-11-13)
9"One Long Stemmed American Beauty"Alexander SingerShirl HendryxNovember 20, 1968 (1968-11-20)
10"I Can't Hear You Scream"Alexander SingerEdward J. LaksoNovember 27, 1968 (1968-11-27)
11"Tell It Like It Was...and You're Dead"Alexander SingerBernard C. SchoenfeldDecember 4, 1968 (1968-12-04)
12"The Land of the Fox"John NewlandBenjamin MasselinkDecember 18, 1968 (1968-12-18)
13"There Was a Little Girl"John PeyserKay Lenard & Jess CarneolDecember 25, 1968 (1968-12-25)
14"The Girl from Missouri"Richard BenedictEdward J. LaksoJanuary 8, 1969 (1969-01-08)
15"The Secret of Mareno Bay"John Llewellyn MoxeyJerry DevineJanuary 15, 1969 (1969-01-15)
16"The Old School Tie"Phil RawlinsBrian McKayJanuary 22, 1969 (1969-01-22)
17"A Bowl of Cherries"Michael CaffeyBob and Esther MitchellJanuary 29, 1969 (1969-01-29)
18"Behind God's Back"John NewlandBenjamin MasselinkFebruary 5, 1969 (1969-02-05)
19"Take the Key and Lock Him Up"Vincent ShermanStanley Adams & George F. SlavinFebruary 12, 1969 (1969-02-12)
20"The Flip Side"Gene LevittRita Lakin & Rick EdelsteinFebruary 26, 1969 (1969-02-26)
21"Handle with Care"Michael CaffeyHerb MeadowMarch 5, 1969 (1969-03-05)
22"All the Social Graces"Charles S. DubinEdward J. LaksoMarch 12, 1969 (1969-03-12)
23"A Lot of Muscle"Alexander SingerStanley Adams & George F. SlavinMarch 26, 1969 (1969-03-26)
24"Periwinkle Blue"Richard BenedictS : Gene Levitt
T : Edward J. Lakso
April 2, 1969 (1969-04-02)
25"Service for One"Gene LevittDon CarpenterApril 9, 1969 (1969-04-09)
26"Through a Stained Glass Window"Charles S. DubinBen MasselinkApril 16, 1969 (1969-04-16)

One two-part program was edited together into a feature-length film and shown on U.S. television under the title The 24-hour Mile. A paperback spinoff novel, The Outsider, was written by prolific American genre writer Lou Cameron.

References

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  1. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. p. 898. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
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