The Detectives (1959 TV series)

Did You Know?

• In syndication, the series was rebroadcast under the name Captain of Detectives.
• The series was released in Germany in dubbed German as 'Kein Fall für FBI'.
• As of 2019, there was no official U.S. DVD release of the series.

Production

The show's second season saw Lee Farr exit, with Mark Goddard taking over as Detective Sgt. Chris Ballard. Adam West later joined in season three as Sgt. Steve Nelson. For its third season, the series moved to NBC, doubled its runtime to 60 minutes, and was renamed Robert Taylor's Detectives. It ran for 97 episodes before ending in 1962. Writer Gene Roddenberry, who would create Star Trek, contributed to the series.

Other media

Norman A. Daniels wrote an original novel based on the series, published by Lancer Books in 1962 with a cover price of 35¢. The book's cover, spine, and title page each use a different version of the series' title. Dell Comics also released a comic book adaptation during the series' run.

Related

After The Detectives ended, Robert Taylor's ex-wife Barbara Stanwyck starred in The Big Valley, also produced by Four Star and Levy-Gardner-Laven Productions, which aired on ABC. Several cast members later took major TV roles: Robert Taylor went on to star in Death Valley Days until his death in 1969; Adam West played the lead in ABC's Batman; Tige Andrews played Captain Adam Greer on The Mod Squad and appeared in Star Trek; Mark Goddard starred in Lost in Space; and Russell Thorson appeared in the TV movie Cocoon and the pilot of Hawaii Five-O.