Hardball (1989 TV series)

Hardball is an American crime drama television series that ran on NBC from September 21, 1989, to June 29, 1990, during the 1989–90 television schedule.

Hardball
GenreAction
Crime drama
Created byRobert Palm
Written byPaul Bernbaum
Chris Bunch
Allan Cole
Frank Lupo
Robert Palm
Burt Pearl
Directed byRob Bowman
James Darren
Francis Delia
David Hemmings
Bruce Kessler
Guy Magar
Larry Shaw
Virgil W. Vogel
StarringJohn Ashton
Richard Tyson
Theme music composerSylvester Levay
Eddie Money
Opening theme"Roll Over It" performed by Eddie Money
ComposerSylvester Levay
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes18
Production
Executive producersJohn Ashley
Frank Lupo
ProducerPaul Bernbaum
CinematographyRick Bota
EditorsNathaniel Burr Smidt
David Ramirez
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time45–48 minutes
Production companiesColumbia Pictures Television
NBC Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 21, 1989 (1989-09-21) –
June 29, 1990 (1990-06-29)

Synopsis

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Hardball is a variation of the buddy cop genre that focused on two plainclothes L.A. cops, Charlie "C.B." Battles (John Ashton) and Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski (Richard Tyson). Battles is a 45-year-old hard-nosed veteran officer who is forced to take a desk job or retire. Battles is soon assigned a new partner, the 25-year-old hotshot Kaczierowski who follows his own set of rules when dealing with criminals. The pair are soon at odds over their respective methods of law enforcement.

NBC President Brandon Tartikoff saw this series as inspired by the Lethal Weapon films and Battles was patterned after Pete Rose.

Cast

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  • John Ashton as Charlie "C.B." Battles
  • Richard Tyson as Joe "Kaz" Kaczierowski
  • John Pappas as Pappas
  • Barney McFadden as Ballantine

Production notes

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The series was created by Robert Palm and executive produced by John Ashley and Frank Lupo.[1]

Theme song

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The series' theme song "Roll It Over", was written by Sylvester Levay, Mark Spiro, and Eddie Money. Money also performed the tune.

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Till Death Do Us Part"David HemmingsFrank LupoSeptember 21, 1989 (1989-09-21)
2"The Silver Scream"Larry ShawStory by : Burt Pearl
Teleplay by : Burt Pearl & Paul Bernbaum
September 28, 1989 (1989-09-28)
3"The One Armed Bandit"Guy MagarPaul BernbaumOctober 13, 1989 (1989-10-13)
4"Which Witch Is Which?"UnknownUnknownOctober 27, 1989 (1989-10-27)
5"The Cleveland Indian"David HemmingsStory by : Burt Pearl
Teleplay by : Paul Bernbaum
November 3, 1989 (1989-11-03)
6"The Fighting 52nd"David HemmingsPaul BernbaumNovember 10, 1989 (1989-11-10)
7"Time Bomb"UnknownUnknownNovember 17, 1989 (1989-11-17)
8"Trying to Make a Living, and Doing the Best I Can"UnknownUnknownNovember 24, 1989 (1989-11-24)
9"The Out of Towner"UnknownUnknownDecember 1, 1989 (1989-12-01)
10"The Cool Katt"UnknownUnknownApril 20, 1990 (1990-04-20)
11"The Angel of Death"UnknownUnknownApril 27, 1990 (1990-04-27)
12"A Killer Date"David HemmingsPaul BernbaumMay 4, 1990 (1990-05-04)
13"A Death in the Family"UnknownUnknownMay 11, 1990 (1990-05-11)
14"Sex, Cops, and Videotape"UnknownUnknownMay 18, 1990 (1990-05-18)
15"Wedding Bell Blues"UnknownUnknownJune 1, 1990 (1990-06-01)
16"Prescription for Murder"UnknownUnknownJune 8, 1990 (1990-06-08)
17"Every Dog Has His Day"UnknownUnknownJune 22, 1990 (1990-06-22)
18"The Hunt for Honus Wagner"UnknownUnknownJune 29, 1990 (1990-06-29)

References

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  1. ^ Vagg, Stephen (December 2019). "A Hell of a Life: The Nine Lives of John Ashley". Diabolique Magazine.[permanent dead link]
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