The success of The Untouchables enabled producer Quinn Martin to form his own production company, QM Productions, which was very active in the 60's & 70's, specializing mostly in crime dramas (there were two exceptions, the military series, 12 0'Clock High, and the horror anthology, Tales of the Unexpected).
The first of these wasn't The F.B.I., as most of you might assume, though. The honor instead went to The New Breed, which spent one solitary season on ABC in 1961-2. I have a faint memory of seeing at least one episode in syndication years later, but it hasn't seen the light of day since.
The New Breed starred Leslie Nielsen, whom most of you might only think of as a comic performer, based on his later works. John Beradino, better known for years of playing Dr. Steve Hardy on General Hospital, co-starred with Nielsen, but isn't featured in this sample clip from the episode, "The Deadliest Sex".
What hurt the show? The competition included comedy icon Red Skelton. Enough said there. As I said, New Breed resurfaced in syndication in the 70's, but not for very long. It's probably too obscure now to even be considered for a DVD release.
Rating: B.
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