Houston Knights
 |
| Houston Knights | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Michael Butler Jay Bernstein |
| Starring | Michael Beck Michael Paré |
| Composers | Dennis McCarthy George Doering |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Jay Bernstein Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | March 11, 1987 – June 10, 1988 |
Houston Knights is an American crime drama set in Houston, Texas. The show ran on CBS from 1987 to 1988 and had 31 episodes.
Summary
The core of the series is the partnership between two very different cops from two different cultures. Chicago cop Joey LaFiamma, played by Michael Paré, is transferred to Houston after he kills a mobster from a powerful Mafia family and a contract is put out on him. Once there, he is partnered with Levon Lundy, played by Michael Beck, the grandson of a Texas Ranger.
Although as different as night and day, and after a rocky beginning (the two engage in a fist-fight) they form a successful partnership and become friends. This is aided to a certain extent by an event where a hitman from Chicago who holds the contract to shoot La Fiamma arrives in Houston and is ultimately killed by Lundy.
During the series, it is revealed that both La Fiamma and Lundy have their own personal demons. La Fiamma's Chicago partner had been killed when the partner went into a crime scene while La Fiamma had waited for backup to arrive. Lundy's wife had been killed by an explosion that was intended to kill him.
Music
The theme music for the series was Texan blues-rock style, opening with a steamy saxophone then featuring slide guitar work and a heavy bass line. Dennis McCarthy and George Doering composed the music for the series. Lee Ritenour is also credited as a major contributor to the music featured in the series.
Features
One of the key features of the show was the car driven by La Fiamma, an ice-blue 289 AC Cobra "replicar", credited as being provided by "North American Fibreglass". The car was yet another way to demonstrate that La Fiamma didn't "fit" in Texas, as most other characters on the show drove pickup trucks (including Lundy).
The wardrobe for La Fiamma consisted of well-cut and stylish Italian label clothing, another contrast to Lundy, who was always attired in typical Texas "cowboy" clothes.
Episodes
The titles of the 31 episodes are listed below, along with their original TV air dates. Although they are listed separately, the first two episodes were originally screened as a movie-length pilot. The first 9 episodes comprised the first season, the remaining 22 episodes formed season two. The first season ranked 34th out of 79 shows with a 15.1/26 rating/share.
Season 1 (1987)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 | 1 2 | "Mirrors: Parts 1 & 2" | Gary Nelson & Richard Lang | Michael Butler & Eric Blakeney & Gene Miller | March 11, 1987 |
| 3 | 3 | "North of the Border" | Mike Vejar | Clyde Phillips & Stan Berkowitz | March 18, 1987 |
| 4 | 4 | "Houston's Hero" | Unknown | Unknown | March 25, 1987 |
| 5 | 5 | "Single in Heaven" | Richard Compton | Michael Ahnemann | April 1, 1987 |
| 6 | 6 | "Yesterday's Gone" | Unknown | Unknown | April 8, 1987 |
| 7 | 7 | "Bad Girl" | Georg Sanford Brown | Michael Ahnemann | April 15, 1987 |
| 8 | 8 | "Scarecrow" | Unknown | Unknown | April 22, 1987 |
| 9 | 9 | "Colt" | Thomas J. Wright | Paul Diamond | April 29, 1987 |
Season 2 (1987–88)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | "Moving Violation" | Paul Krasny | Stan Berkowitz | September 15, 1987 |
| 11 | 2 | "Heads, I Win - Tails, You Lose" | Dale White | Teleplay by: Nancy Ann Miller Story by: Jay Bernstein | September 22, 1987 |
| 12 | 3 | "Desperado" | Reza Badiyi | Teleplay by: Valerie West Story by: Deborah Arakelaian | October 6, 1987 |
| 13 | 4 | "Gun Shy" | Paul Krasny | Elliott Anderson & Lawrence Levy | October 13, 1987 |
| 14 | 5 | "Lady Smoke" | Richard Colla | Teleplay by: Paul Diamond Story by: Stephen Katz | October 20, 1987 |
| 15 | 6 | "God's Will" | Michael O'Herlihy | E. Nick Alexander | November 3, 1987 |
| 16 | 7 | "Diminished Capacity" | Alexander Singer | Phil Combest | November 10, 1987 |
| 17 | 8 | "Home Is Where the Heart Is" | Don Chaffey | Herman Miller | November 17, 1987 |
| 18 | 9 | "Secrets" | Ivan Dixon | Paul Diamond | December 8, 1987 |
| 19 | 10 | "Somebody to Love" | Rick Berger | Paul Schiffer | December 22, 1987 |
| 20 | 11 | "There's One Born Every Minute" | Reza Badiyi | Nancy Ann Miller | January 2, 1988 |
| 21 | 12 | "Vigilante" | Ivan Dixon | Elliott Anderson & Lawrence Levy | January 9, 1988 |
| 22 | 13 | "The White Hand" | Aaron Lipstadt | Teleplay by: Scott Ahnemann & Karl Precoda Story by: Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon | January 16, 1988 |
| 23 | 14 | "Sins of the Father" | Michael Fresco | John Miglis | January 30, 1988 |
| 24 | 15 | "Crime Spree" | Sidney Hayers | Gregory S. Dinallo | February 6, 1988 |
| 25 | 16 | "Cajun Spice" | William Fraker | Elliott Anderson & Lawrence Levy | February 13, 1988 |
| 26 | 17 | "The Stone" | Jerry Jameson | Elia Katz | February 20, 1988 |
| 27 | 18 | "Burnout" | James Quinn | Stan Berkowitz | February 27, 1988 |
| 28 | 19 | "Love Hurts" | Larry Shaw | Paul Diamond | April 26, 1988 |
| 29 | 20 | "Bad Paper" | Jerry Jameson | John Miglis | May 3, 1988 |
| 30 | 21 | "For Caroline" | Randy Roberts | Robin Bernheim | May 10, 1988 |
| 31 | 22 | "The Jungle Fighter" | Jerry Jameson | Robert Bielak | June 7, 1988 |
