Thread by @JayFaerber, So let’s do this. Over time I’m gonna rewatch SPENSER: FOR HIRE [...]

So let’s do this. Over time I’m gonna rewatch SPENSER: FOR HIRE and tweet along with it. Mute this thread as necessary.

For those playing along at home, you can stream Spenser (minus the pilot movie) for free via @IMDbTV.

Spenser’s important to me on a number of levels... 1/

I discovered Spenser in 1987, I believe. I was in high school. My folks were divorced and I was living with my mom and step-dad, a minister. I rarely saw my dad and I felt like I was lacking a strong male role model. 2/

My step-dad is a wonderful man who I love dearly, but back then his soft-spoken demeanor and kind ways didn’t feel particularly “masculine” to me. Then I came across an article in TV Guide about SPENSER: FOR HIRE, written by Robert B. Parker, creator of the Spenser novels. 3/

I checked out the show (in its second season at the time) and liked it, and then sought out the books at my local library. The first one I read was CEREMONY and it literally changed my life. It opened my eyes to novels not being stuffy old “Literature” that I struggled thru. 4/

I kept up with the show, and was so taken with the idea of a TV show being based on novels that for awhile I wondered what other of my favorite shows were based on novels. Were there Magnum or Rockford novels? Sadly, no. 5/

At any rate — SPENSER: FOR HIRE and the Spenser novels not only helped sparked my love of writing, but they also provided a template of how a man should carry himself. Keep your word, have a code, etc. All the stuff a teenage boy would latch onto. 6/

That’s why SPENSER: FOR HIRE is more than just a TV show for me. Objectively, it was kind of middle-of-the-road. It was well-done and easy to watch, but hardly innovative or elevated. But it means the world to me. So I hope you enjoy following along as I rewatch it. 7/

I’ll dive into the SPENSER: FOR HIRE pilot (based on Parker’s novel, PROMISED LAND) a bit later. But here’s proof that I’m taking this rewatch seriously. I think Spenser would approve. 8/

So SPENSER: FOR HIRE debuted with a 2-hour movie on Sep 20, 1985. This was a time when nearly everything on TV was shot in LA (aside from Miami Vice, a few NYC shot-shows, and the Cannell shows that were just starting to move to Vancouver). 9/

The pilot was based on Parker’s novel, PROMISED LAND. They shot it in the winter in Boston and it looked like nothing else on TV at the time — everything was dirty and snowy, in a fantastic way. 10/

Spenser’s iconic look (the pea coat and Navy watch cap) were introduced in the very first scene of the pilot. And if I recall correctly, this was an invention for TV. Spenser never really dressed that way in the books. 11/

I haven’t read the book in ages, but from what I recall, the pilot stayed pretty faithful, considering they were adapting a novel in roughly 90 minutes. The broad strokes of the plot are there: the housewife wrapped up in robbery and murder, King Powers as the heavy... 12/

... and the introduction of Hawk to the franchise. He’s played here (in the book and the movie) as more of an antagonist to Spenser, but by the end of the story he’s shown his true colors and aligns himself with Spenser. 13/

Spenser fans debate whether or not Urich was right for the role (for me, Urich IS Spenser), but I’ve never come across anyone who didn’t agree that Brooks IS Hawk. And while I can’t prove it, I think his portrayal helped inform how Parker wrote him in later books. 14/

Barbara Stock played Susan Silverman, Spenser’s girlfriend, in seasons 1 and 3. She was written out of the show after the 1st season cuz the producers (understandably) struggled to involve her in the stories. Stock returned in season 3, but she was still never utilized right. 15/

More actors have portrayed Susan than any of Parker’s characters. Stock played her on the show. Barbara Williams played her in two of the Lifetime movies, Wendy Crewson played her in two others, and Marcia Gay Harden played her in the A&E movies (opposite Joe Mantegna). 16/

All in all, I like the SPENSER: FOR HIRE pilot a lot. The highlight is a pretty great car chase / shootout through the snowy Boston streets.

Stay tuned as I prattle on about the first regular episode, which makes some changes to things that were established in the pilot. 17/

The first hourlong SPENSER: FOR HIRE episode was “No Room At The Inn,” where Spenser is hired to protect a witness testifying against the mob. The plot is pretty routine (and shares the whole “lookalike witness” gag with the movie BULLITT) but it’s still an entertaining hour. 18/

While the pilot was shot in the winter, this episode was shot in the summer. In Boston. And it shows. Everyone’s sweaty as hell and the air looks thick with humidity. Urich looks thinner in this episode than in any other — he’s borderline skinny! 19/

The brownstone Spenser had in the pilot movie burns down and he moves into a firehouse in this one. He keeps it for the entire first season, and THE REAL WORLD: BOSTON would later shoot a season in the same firehouse. We also see Spenser’s office, which is never shown again. 20/

The Spenser/Hawk dynamic is totally different than in the pilot, where they were shown as antagonists with a grudging respect for each other. Now, suddenly, they seem like best friends, with Spenser enlisting Hawk to help protect the witness and trusting him with her life. 21/

Avery’s Hawk continues to be one of the strongest things about the show. And the show has a clear advantage over the books: we get to see Hawk without Spenser sometimes. Because the books were written in the first person, we only ever saw Hawk through Spenser’s eyes. 22/

But the show isn’t strictly first person (although we do get Spenser’s voiceovers). So we’re able to follow Hawk even when he’s not with Spenser. There’s a great sequence in this episode where Spenser listens helplessly on the phone as Hawk is in a gunfight on the other end. 23/

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