Description
Created by Sidney Sheldon (
I Dream of Jeannie),
Hart to Hart was a
Thin Man for the 1980s. Self-made millionaire Jonathan (Robert Wagner,
It Takes a Thief) and part-time journalist Jennifer Hart (Stefanie Powers,
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.) even had their own Asta-like pooch, Freeway. Unlike Nick and Nora Charles, however, children weren't part of their globe trotting, crime solving plan. Fortunately, they had trusty butler/Bentley driver Max (Golden Globe winner Lionel Stander) to keep them company. Mr. And Mrs. H., as Max referred to them, were introduced by 1979's two-part pilot ("Hart to Hart"), which features Roddy McDowall and Stella Stevens as devious doctors and Wagner's future wife, Jill St. John (
Diamonds are Forever), as a wealthy patient. Natalie Wood, his wife at the time, also has a cameo (under the name Natasha Gurdin). Other highlights of the first year include "Jonathan Hart, Jr.," in which a stranger (Dee Wallace-Stone,
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) claims Jonathan is her son's father, and "You Made Me Kill You," in which an obsessed Jonathan fan (Kathleen Lloyd,
Magnum P.I.) plans to eliminate the competition--Jennifer Hart. Other notable guests include Markie Post (
Night Court), Daniel J. Travanti (
Hill Street Blues), RenĀ© Auberjonois (
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Juliet Mills (
Nanny and the Professor), and Eve Arden (
Our Miss Brooks).
Hart to Hart ran on ABC for five seasons and went on to inspire such popular detective dramas as
Remington Steele and
Moonlighting. After a move to NBC, it was followed by eight made-for-TV movies. Sadly, Stander passed away shortly after filming 1994's
Secrets of the Hart. Three years later, Wagner gained a new generation of fans by spoofing the urbane manner that helped make
Hart to Hart such a hit in the
Austin Powers trilogy.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy Please note this DVD may be Region 1 and will only play on the appropriate DVD players