The Fall Guy

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The Fall Guy
Screenshots of The Fall Guy
Format	Action, Adventure
Created by	Glen A. Larson
Directed by	Ben Cooper, seven episodes
Starring	Lee Majors Douglas Barr Heather Thomas
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	113 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 minutes (per episode)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	November 4, 1981 – May 2, 1986

The Fall Guy is an American television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Heather Thomas, and Douglas Barr.

Series stars Lee Majors and Douglas Barr are the only 2 actors to appear in every episodes of the series. Heather Thomas appeared in all the episodes of the series, with the exception of 1 episode, during the 1981-82 season, for a total of 111/112 episodes.

Plot

Lee Majors plays Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter. He uses his physical skills and knowledge of stunt effects (especially stunts involving cars or his large GMC pickup truck) to capture fugitives and criminals. He is accompanied by his cousin and stuntman-in-training Howie Munson, and occasionally by fellow stunt performer Jody Banks (played by Heather Thomas).

Typically, an episode starts with Seavers' crew performing a stunt for a film or TV series. They are then assigned to finding, for example, a man who has skipped bail. His case turns out to be more complicated than it first seemed. In the course of dealing with the villains, Seavers performs a stunt similar to the one shown at the beginning of the show.

The series is known for its frequent cameos by Hollywood celebrities and the occasional in-joke referring to Majors' previous series, The Six Million Dollar Man.

Theme song

The show's theme song, "The Unknown Stuntman", was written by Glen A. Larson, Gail Jensen, and David Sommerville, and performed by Lee Majors. The lyrics include a reference to Majors' then-estranged wife, Farrah Fawcett and bemoaning the fact that while he takes all the risks it is the stars like Clint Eastwood or Robert Redford who get the glory and the girls.

The truck

Colt's truck was an early 1980s GMC 4x4 pickup. It had a 6-inch lift and 35-inch Dick Cepek off-road tires mounted on a 16-inch chrome wagon style wheel. The truck also had a custom-made chrome roll bar mounted with 4 off-road lights, and a custom chrome grille guard mounted with 2 off-road lights and a Warn winch. One unusual characteristic was a secret compartment in the truck's bed, which was used to stash away villains or to hide weapons.

The vehicle was painted brown and tan two-tone; it had an eagle painted on the hood with the phrase "Fall Guy Stuntman Association" underneath. The truck was very often involved in high-speed chases and huge jumps. As a result, it became very popular, especially with children, and numerous toy and model versions were produced.

During the show's run, the stunts took their toll on the trucks, so several different year model trucks are used during the show's initial run. As a result, there are some inconsistencies in the episodes. For instance, in the pilot episode the truck (a 1980 model) has two square headlights and a light tan interior. For the remainder of the series, it almost always had the quad headlight configuration of the 1981 and newer models, with a dark brown interior. The truck usually appeared to be a short bed model, but sometimes a long bed model was used. After destroying several trucks due to the huge jumps, a custom built jump truck was built as a solution. It had a reinforced frame and axles, and a mid-mounted engine. This greatly reduced the number of trucks scrapped during the show's production...

At the end of the series, the remaining trucks were either auctioned or given away in a contest. It is unknown how many still exist or their whereabouts, but one of them was sold on eBay in 2003.

Cast

• Colt Seavers – Lee Majors
• Howie Munson – Douglas Barr
• Jody Banks – Heather Thomas
• Samantha "Big Jack" Jack – Jo Ann Pflug (1981-82)
• Terri Shannon / Michaels – Markie Post (1982-85)
• Pearl Sperling – Nedra Volz (1985)

DVD releases

On June 5, 2007 20th Century Fox released the first season of The Fall Guy on DVD in Region 1. The 6-disc set contains extensive music substitutions and due to poor sales it is unknown if the remaining seasons will be released.

Region 2

Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 2 in Germany and the UK. Season 2 has also been released in Region 2, in Germany on November 28 2008 and in the UK on February 16, 2009. [1]

See also

• List of The Fall Guy episodes

References

External links

• The Fall Guy at the Internet Movie Database