A Man Called Sloane
GenreDrama
Created byCliff Gould
StarringRobert Conrad
Dan O'Herlihy
Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Voices ofMichele Carey
Theme music composerPatrick Williams
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producerPhilip Saltzman
ProducerGerald Sanford
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesWoodruff Productions
QM Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 22 (1979-09-22) –
December 22, 1979 (1979-12-22)

A Man Called Sloane is an American secret agent adventure television series that aired on NBC during the 1979–1980 television season. It was a Woodruff Production in association with QM Productions and became the final series produced by Quinn Martin's company to debut.[lower-alpha 1] A Man Called Sloane was an amalgam of elements from numerous spy series of the previous 15 years, including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, and Conrad's own The Wild Wild West.[lower-alpha 2] One of the more expensive series produced during the season, it failed to gain an audience and was cancelled after 12 episodes were broadcast. It is also one of only three QM series not to have an announcer accompanying the opening titles,[lower-alpha 3] one of two not to display a copyright notice at the beginning but rather at the end,[lower-alpha 4] and the only one not to have a "Tonight's Episode" card or the "Act I/II/III/IV/Epilog" formatting — the episode titles still appear onscreen, but they appear as part of the episode credits rather than during the standard opening.

Synopsis

The series starred Robert Conrad as Thomas R. Sloane III, a freelance spy who takes on occasional assignments for UNIT, a secret American intelligence operation run by The Director, played by Dan O'Herlihy. Unlike nearly all the other stars of series produced by QM Productions, Conrad was billed above the title.[lower-alpha 5] The secret entrance to UNIT headquarters was through a toy store. KARTEL was the evil secret organization that was UNIT's nemesis. Aiding Sloane's missions was Torque, his deadly right-hand man played by Ji-Tu Cumbuka. Torque had a mechanical hand with interchangeable parts (drill, saw blade, etc.) that often helped during their assignments. The pair was also assisted by Effie, a computer voiced by Michele Carey.

On March 5, 1981, NBC aired a TV movie, Death Ray 2000, which was actually the original pilot for the series. The movie starred Robert Logan as Sloane and Cumbuka played Torque as a villain.[lower-alpha 6] Logan was originally supposed to play Sloane on the series, but Fred Silverman stated he did not like Logan and wanted Robert Conrad.[1]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Night of the Wizard"Alan J. LeviPeter Allan FieldsSeptember 22, 1979 (1979-09-22)9027-7904
2"The Seduction Squad"Michael PreeceStephen KandelSeptember 29, 1979 (1979-09-29)9027-7901
3"Tuned for Destruction"Elizabeth LindbergDick NelsonOctober 6, 1979 (1979-10-06)9027-7905
4"Masquerade of Terror"Michael PreeceB.W. SandefurOctober 13, 1979 (1979-10-13)9027-7903
5"Demon's Triangle"Michael PreeceJimmy SangsterOctober 20, 1979 (1979-10-20)9027-7906
6"The Venus Microbe"Winrich KolbeStory by : Marc Brandel
Teleplay by : Peter Allan Fields & Jack V. Fogarty & Gerald Sanford		October 27, 1979 (1979-10-27)9027-7907
7"Collision Course"Elizabeth Lindberg & Ray AustinStephen KandelNovember 17, 1979 (1979-11-17)9027-7909
8"Samurai"Elizabeth LindbergDick NelsonNovember 24, 1979 (1979-11-24)9027-7908
9"Sweethearts of Disaster"Jack StarrettPat Dunlop & Rich MeyerDecember 1, 1979 (1979-12-01)9027-7910
10"Lady Bug"Michael PreeceJack V. FogartyDecember 8, 1979 (1979-12-08)9027-7902
11"Architect of Evil"Lewis TeagueDon IngallsDecember 15, 1979 (1979-12-15)9027-7911
12"The Shangri-La Syndrome"Robert ConradPatrick MathewsDecember 22, 1979 (1979-12-22)9027-7912

Notes

  1. ↑ Barnaby Jones was the last remaining QM program to be cancelled, in 1980.
  2. ↑ Michele Carey previously had appeared as a guest star in an episode of The Wild Wild West.
  3. ↑ The others were Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected and Most Wanted.
  4. ↑ The other was 12 O'Clock High.
  5. ↑ Robert Forster was the only other person to receive such an honor as Banyon.
  6. ↑ Footage of this version of Torque attacking Sloane was included in the opening credits of the TV series.

References

  1. ↑ Britton, Wesley A. (2004). Spy Television. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 188.
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