Get Christie Love!

Get Christie Love!
Directed by William A. Graham
Produced by Peter Nelson
Lawrence Turman
David L. Wolper
Written by Dorothy Uhnak (novel)
George Kirgo (teleplay)
Starring Teresa Graves
Harry Guardino
Louise Sorel
Distributed by Universal Television
Running time

74 mins. (TV Pilot),

60 min. 45-48 min. (excluding commercials) (TV Series)
Language English

Get Christie Love! is a 1974 made-for-television film starring Teresa Graves as an undercover female police detective who is determined to overthrow a drug ring. This film is based on Dorothy Uhnak's crime-thriller novel The Ledger. However, the main character "Christie Opara"—a white, New York Police detective—was dropped completely and "Christie Love" emerged.

Det. Olga Ford of the NYPD served as the series Technical Advisor.[1]

Synopsis

The film was inspired by the 1970s heroine blaxploitation films such as Tamara Dobson's Cleopatra Jones (1973), and Pam Grier's Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). The title character had a catchphrase; upon apprehending a criminal, Love would declare, "You're under arrest, Sugah!" The film proved a success, and consequently spawned a short-lived television series on the ABC network (23 episodes from January 22, 1974-April 5, 1975, featuring Charles Cioffi as Love's supervisor Lt. Matt Reardon, who is later replaced by Jack Kelly as Capt. Arthur Ryan. Financed on a meager budget and heavily sanitized to conform to Graves' religious morals (she had joined Jehovah's Witnesses since the making of the TV film), the series was soon cancelled. One episode featured many of Graves' former Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In co-stars such as Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley, and Arte Johnson in particular playing a mad bomber. Another notable guest star was Jaclyn Smith, who appeared in an episode entitled "A Fashion Heist."[2] The starring TV role made Graves the only African-American female lead in a U.S. network drama until Kerry Washington in Scandal (2012).

Cast

Episode list

Season One (1974–1975)

Nº Title Original air date
1"Pilot (2 hours)"January 22, 1974 (1974-01-22)
Teresa Graves stars as a police detective who tries to get the goods on a huge drug empire.
2"Market for Murder"September 11, 1974 (1974-09-11)
Christie infitrates an international robbery ring and tries to find the top man.
3"Deadly Betrayal"September 18, 1974 (1974-09-18)
A criminal accuses Christie and her partner of accepting a bribe.
4"Emperor of Death Street"September 25, 1974 (1974-09-25)
Christie poses as a heroin dealer.
5"Pawn Ticket for Murder"October 2, 1974 (1974-10-02)
Christie investigates a murder with a homicide seargent who thinks that women don't belong on the police force.
6"Death on Delivery"October 9, 1974 (1974-10-09)
Christie goes undercover to investigate a counterfeiting operation.
7"For the Family Honor"October 23, 1974 (1974-10-23)
A mobster tries to blackmail Det. Caruso.
8"Highway to Murder"October 30, 1974 (1974-10-30)
Two Mexican farm workers are accused of murdering a police officer, but Christie thinks otherwise.
9"Fatal Image"November 6, 1974 (1974-11-06)
Christie investigates a murder in the company of a journalist, unaware that he is the killer she seeks.
10"Downbeat for a Dead Man"November 13, 1974 (1974-11-13)
Christie poses as a singer in order to investigate a record company owner.
11"Bullet from the Grave"November 20, 1974 (1974-11-20)
A hit man, supposedly killed in an auto accident, is alive and has been hired to kill Det. Belmont.
12"Deadly Justice"December 4, 1974 (1974-12-04)
A deranged police academy dropout is executing criminals.
13"The Longest Fall"December 11, 1974 (1974-12-11)

Christie goes undercover at a flying school.

NOTE: This episode features the last appearance of Charles Cioffi as Lt. Matt Reardon in the series.
14"The Deadly Sport"January 8, 1975 (1975-01-08)

Christie takes on two jobs at once.

NOTE: This episode features the first appearance of Jack Kelly as Capt. Arthur Ryan in the series.
15"Too Many Games in Town"January 15, 1975 (1975-01-15)
A 12-year-old boy is inadvertently drawn into his older brother's blackmail scheme.
16"Our Lady In London"January 29, 1975 (1975-01-29)
Christie goes undercover as a stewardess.
17"Murder on High C"February 5, 1975 (1975-02-05)
Christie goes after a bomber who gives clues to his intended targets in tape-recorded rhymes.
18"My Son, the Murderer"February 12, 1975 (1975-02-12)
Christie tries to help a childhood friend.
19"The Big Rematch"February 19, 1975 (1975-02-19)
$250,000 in prize money from a tennis match is stolen.
20"From Paris with Love"March 5, 1975 (1975-03-05)
A charter service is suspected of being involved in smuggling and murder.
21"A High Fashion Heist"March 12, 1975 (1975-03-12)
A diamond thief proves difficult to catch. Jaclyn Smith guest stars.
22"A Few Excess People"March 26, 1975 (1975-03-26)
Sgt. Gallagher's Uncle Harry causes problems.
23"I'm Your New Neighbor"April 4, 1975 (1975-04-04)

Christie's new neighbor is in danger.

NOTE: This Episode is the final episode of the series.

In Syndication

The series has aired in the U.S. on the cable network TV Land in 1997 and on Centric in 2014 as part of the show's 40th Anniversary.

Cultural references

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 459. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
  2. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0587416/
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