The Blue Knight (TV series)

The Blue Knight is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from December 17, 1975 until October 20, 1976. It stars George Kennedy as Officer Bumper Morgan. The show was based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Joseph Wambaugh and produced by Lorimar Productions. It was also inspired by the 1973 TV film The Blue Knight, starring William Holden, which ran before the TV show premiered.

The Blue Knight
George Kennedy as Bumper Morgan.
Genre	Action Police drama
Based on	The Blue Knight by Joseph Wambaugh
Developed by	E. Jack Newman Albert Ruben
Starring	George Kennedy
Theme music composer	Henry Mancini
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	23 (6 unaired)
Production
Executive producers	Lee Rich Philip Capice
Running time	60 minutes (per episode)
Production company	Lorimar Productions
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	December 17, 1975 (1975-12-17) – October 20, 1976 (1976-10-20)

Plot

Bumper Morgan is a veteran police officer in Los Angeles, who continues to patrol the streets in uniform. The series dealt with Morgan's daily dealings with dangerous criminals and drug dealers.

Guest stars included Jim Davis, Robert Hays, Vivi Janiss, Harry Lauter, Gerald McRaney, Bruce Glover, Robert Hoy, and Lee Weaver. After a run of twenty-three episodes, the series was cancelled by CBS.

Episodes

Pilot (1975)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
Pilot	"The Blue Knight"	Unknown	Unknown	May 9, 1975 (1975-05-09)
75-minute pilot episode: Reaching his last week on the force before retirement, Bumper decides to devote his time to searching for a fellow officer's killer.

Season 1 (1975–76)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Two to Make Deadly"	Paul Krasny	Story by : Don G. Letney Teleplay by : Don G. Letney & Herman Groves	December 17, 1975 (1975-12-17)
Bumper's beat becomes a powder keg of murder and theft when two hoods decide it would be safer to rob other lawbreakers.
2	2	"Triple Threat"	Unknown	Unknown	December 24, 1975 (1975-12-24)
Bumper Morgan wounds a suspected mugger, then tangles with the injured man's fiercely protective sister, an attorney who will not believe that her brother is a criminal.
3	3	"Odds Against Tomorrow"	Daniel Haller	Anthony Lawrence	December 31, 1975 (1975-12-31)
When the mistress of a sadistic crime boss tries to leave him he beats her up, and vice officers ask Bumper Morgan's help in using the incident to persuade the girl to lead them to her long-wanted boyfriend.
4	4	"A Fashionable Connection"	Unknown	Unknown	January 7, 1976 (1976-01-07)
Bumper discovers that a high style fashion firm, headed by a shrewd woman designer, is the front for a smoothly-operated narcotics trade.
5	5	"The Cop Killer"	Unknown	Unknown	January 14, 1976 (1976-01-14)
A deranged ex-con, blaming Bumper Morgan for putting him behind bars, hires a killer to carry out his revenge.
6	6	"The Creeper"	Unknown	Unknown	January 28, 1976 (1976-01-28)
Bumper Morgan sets out to track down a mentally deranged hotel sneak thief.
7	7	"The Candy Man"	Unknown	Unknown	February 4, 1976 (1976-02-04)
After arresting a major drug pusher, Bumper finds the man is apparently immune to the law when federal narcotics agents put him back on the street.
8	8	"Mariachi"	Charles S. Dubin	Earl Wallace	February 11, 1976 (1976-02-11)
The savage beating of an elderly gambler sets Bumper on the trail of a loan shark and his sadistic henchman.
9	9	"Snitch's Karma"	Unknown	Unknown	February 25, 1976 (1976-02-25)
Eager to catch an elusive thief, Bumper reluctantly uses a small-time hood as an informant.
10	10	"A Slower Beat"	Paul Krasny	Walter Dallenbach	March 3, 1976 (1976-03-03)
Gunmen are holding up everybody on Bumper Morgan's beat—including his girlfriend—and detectives belittle him at every turn.
11	11	"To Kill a Tank"	Unknown	Unknown	March 10, 1976 (1976-03-10)
A dangerous criminal, armed with a stolen anti-tank gun, goes looking for a big score with his reluctant sidekick as Bumper tries to find him.
12	12	"The Pink Dragon"	Unknown	Unknown	March 24, 1976 (1976-03-24)
Bumper's campaign to close a hangout for crooks pits him against a hood who tries to trap him with a pretty girl.
13	13	"Everybody Needs a Little Attention"	Unknown	Unknown	March 31, 1976 (1976-03-31)
Bumper demonstrates to his partner that "everybody needs attention" after a massage parlor manager files a false complaint that threatens his badge.

Season 2 (1976)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
14	1	"Bullseye"	Unknown	Unknown	September 22, 1976 (1976-09-22)
A trigger-happy cop forces Bumper into an all-out battle by endangering a valuable informer.
15	2	"A Slight Case of Murder"	Unknown	Unknown	September 29, 1976 (1976-09-29)
Police machinery is hard to stop when evidence points to an old wino as a cop killer.
16	3	"Upward Mobility"	Unknown	Unknown	October 13, 1976 (1976-10-13)
Bumper stirs up trouble on his beat when he tries to steer a young girl into a safer life.
17	4	"The Rose and the Gun"	Unknown	Unknown	October 20, 1976 (1976-10-20)
An overeager young cop shoots and kills a suspect, then hints that Bumper was afraid to fire.
18	5	"Everything in Life is 3 to 1 Against"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
A retired cop is heavily in debt to a bookmaker Bumper has doggedly tried to shut down.
19	6	"A Matter of Justice"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
Defying Bumper's warning about taking the law into his own hands, a vigilante goes after a band of hoodlum-robbers who raped his daughter.
20	7	"Great Wall of Chinatown"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
Bumper investigates the shooting death of a Chinese gang leader
21	8	"Point of View"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
Bumper goes back to the Police Academy to take a course designed to update veterans in modern techniques. An ex-con has a job, but an informer says he is in on plans for a big robbery.
22	9	"Throwaway"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
Bumper is relieved from duty while officials investigate his fatal shooting of a hood.
23	10	"Death Echo"	TBD	TBD	Unaired
Bumper tells down-and-out bum Joey to stop disturbing the police when he keeps confessing that he is the one responsible for raping and murdering four women. But when Joey begins to give details which only the cops and the murderer know, Bumper realizes that Joey has become the sounding-board for a maniac.

References

• Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials: 1974-1984 Written by Vincent Terrace
• Television detective shows of the 1970s: credits, storylines, and episode guides for 109 series by David Martindale

External links

• The Blue Knight at IMDb