The Donald P. Bellisario Thread

[Aloha Friday]

Didn't he leap into Elvis' body in one episode?

[Pahonu]

Didn't he leap into Elvis' body in one episode?

Yes, I remember hearing about that episode at the time, but I never saw it. Michael St. Gerard, who played Elvis in the TV series of the same name, was In the episode. I had watched that short-lived series and enjoyed it. I met him just a few years later and he was surprised that I recognized him because the show never gained popularity. There was also something about Red West, who was Elvis’s actual body guard and actor on MPI, being played by his own son or nephew or something.

I feel like I want to revisit this series and watch them all!

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

. I feel like I want to revisit this series and watch them all!

The complete series is on the Roku channel.

[Chris109]

Everything Bellisario has done is gold! MPI is number one, though.
Only exception is JAG. I watched one episode and was bored to tears.

There were only 2 things that kept that show afloat.



And in the end, CB is a lesbian.

[Pahonu]

. I feel like I want to revisit this series and watch them all!

The complete series is on the Roku channel.

Thanks!

[Aloha Friday]

NCIS was a spin-off of JAG...that one has lasted for years and spin-offs of its own. Always liked Mac.

[Pahonu]

I tried watching JAG and couldn’t get into it. I really liked A Few Good Men which came out just a couple of years earlier and I thought may have had something to do with JAG getting the green light. I don’t think many people were familiar with the military court system before the movie became a hit. Many times over the years I have heard people reference the TWO court systems in the US, criminal and civil, and I sometimes add that there is also administrative law courts, and the military court system. Plus there is the immigration court system. This doesn’t include jurisdictional differences though.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

JAG is the second best show DPB made. It's much, much better than NCIS and if you watch it from the beginning, it's not boring at all.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Yeah, I could never get into JAG either. Loved the theme song though!

NCIS was better because it was closer to a traditional detective series, where a crime is committed and the investigation begins. With JAG it was all kinds of military and judicial internal wranglings.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

With JAG it was all kinds of military and judicial internal wranglings.

It's not a police procedural and that's why I prefer it. There could be a lot more variety to the stories. Some episodes were courtroom drama, some were action, some were adventure, some were war/combat stories, and they even worked in some comedy and romance. I still think it ranks as DPB second best show.
The order for me is
1. MPI
2. JAG
3. Quantum Leap
4. NCIS
5. Tales of the Gold Monkey (this would rate higher if the writing was better)
I know a lot of DPB fans would rank Airwolf, but I could never get in to it.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

With JAG it was all kinds of military and judicial internal wranglings.

It's not a police procedural and that's why I prefer it. There could be a lot more variety to the stories. Some episodes were courtroom drama, some were action, some were adventure, some were war/combat stories, and they even worked in some comedy and romance. I still think it ranks as DPB second best show.
The order for me is
1. MPI
2. JAG
3. Quantum Leap
4. NCIS
5. Tales of the Gold Monkey (this would rate higher if the writing was better)
I know a lot of DPB fans would rank Airwolf, but I could never get in to it.

Until a few years ago I would have said AIRWOLF was Bellisario's best show (it's certainly Bellisario's best TV theme!!) but these days I'd probably go with MPI, if only because of the variety in stories, the laid-back Hawaiian vibe, and the acting. AIRWOLF was certainly more formulaic, which was not necessarily a bad thing. But every episode concluded with some aerial dogfight, even when there really was no reason for it. Somehow every baddie owned an airplane or helicopter, with mounted machine guns to boot! So that Airwolf would have something to blow out of the sky. Still, it was a good show and the first season was pretty dark - ahead of its time actually. Definitely Bellisario's writing all over that. Before the network started tinkering with it and watering it down over the next 2 seasons.

Anyway, my ranking of Bellisario's shows:

1. MPI
2. Airwolf
3. NCIS
4. JAG
... the rest I haven't seen.

[litefoot]

Happy 88th birthday, Donald!

[Aloha Friday]

Wasn't Aug 8th also one of the two birthdays for Thomas Magnum?