The one knock against Don Adams' 1971 sitcom, The Partners, which marked Adams' return to NBC, was that it was too soon after his last series, Get Smart, had ended at CBS. Worse, it was on Fridays, which now belonged to The Brady Bunch over at ABC.
Essentially, Adams was working similar ground, only this time, he was a police detective instead of a secret agent. This was the first of two series he did for Universal, with the other, Don Adams' Screen Test, having previously been reviewed here. Adams would eventually bring the Smart franchise to Universal for 1980's "The Return of Maxwell Smart" (aka "The Nude Bomb"), but by then, it was already too late.
The only holdover from the Smart cast besides Adams was Robert Karvelas, whose role here was as a serial confessor. In other words, he was copping to just about any crime, probably because he thought prison food was so good, and he wanted a steady diet of free meals. I'd imagine that joke got old real fast.
Anyway, here's a sample clip:
Universal was so desperate for this series to work, they actually recruited Jack Webb to make a guest appearance. While Webb might've been able to do a comedy skit with Johnny Carson, I doubt even he could save this show. It lasted only 5 months. I have little or no memory of seeing this show, so I can't rightfully rate it.
Maybe it would have been better for Adams to have tried it straight for The Partners. I agree it was too soon after having been Maxwell Smart for so long.
ReplyDeleteHe'd done plenty of straight scenes on Get Smart and of course was able to slide into comedy effortlessly. He could have been a bit like the Lennie Briscoe character on L&O!
As for Karavelas' character, there are plenty of people in real life who confess to crimes they had nothing to do with - often it's a need for attention - even if it's negative. Such guys were referred to as "Edward The Confessor[s]"
It was just a case of poor timing. Had Adams waited a year or two, maybe Partners works better after all.
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