Assignment: Vienna was one of three components of ABC's wheel anthology, The Men, which lasted but one season (1972-3), with each component getting 8 episodes, plus a pilot. Also, the three components were produced by different studios, instead of being under one roof, unlike NBC's anthologies.
For example, MGM produced Assignment: Vienna, which marked the second straight series failure for Robert Conrad (ex-The Wild, Wild West, The DA), and this would be the pattern for the balance of his career going forward.
For the record, WB packaged The Delphi Bureau, and Universal was in charge of James Wainwright's Jigsaw.
The series originally aired on Thursdays, opposite Ironside on NBC, and movies on CBS. ABC, then, moved their wheel to Saturdays, which wasn't much better. It was Carol Burnett who put the final nail in The Men's coffin. Thanks for coming.
Edit, 10/10/21: The video was deleted as the YouTube poster lost his account. In its place is a standard open/close.
Fun Fact:
ReplyDeleteWhen ABC ordered the pilot film, this was called Assignment: Munich, to be filmed in that city.
The star was Roy Scheider, who'd just played the second lead in The French Connection, which just started to catch box-office fire.
What Happened:
The international situation went awry, forcing a locale change to Vienna.
Plus: Gene Hackman turned out to have coattails, jacking up Roy Scheider's price - clear out of TV range.
All this happened after ABC announced Scheider as the star, which is why Assignment: Vienna has a patched-together opening title, which went into use in Spring of '73.
We all know what happened in Munich in 1972. Not only was Scheider attached, but they originally were going with Richard Basehart (ex-Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea) and Werner Klemperer, a year removed from Hogan's Heroes.
ReplyDeleteI remember the hostage crisis in Munich during the Olympics. Assignment: Vienna, along with the other components of The Men, launched in September 1972, not spring '73. I made a point of saying those shows were done before the spring of '73.