Obscurity factor: 6
Detective shows was a big television staple in the 80's. Hart to Hart, Spencer for Hire, Cagney & Lacy... And before Texas so strongly represented one side of the political divide (or at least before I was aware of it) Matt Houston combined elements of all of them. Matt was a fabulously wealthy Texas oil man who spent most of his time in Los Angeles playing at being a private detective - and he played hard at it! His glamorous sidekick (Pamela Hensley) was always there to fill in the necessary information about a case. The action was dramatic - breaking windows, falling cars, running across roofs - and the stories were easy to digest with plot lines you could follow while you made yourself a snack in the radar range. Lee Horsley was quite the show piece, in that mustachioed way that was so popular in the 70's and 80's, and Pamela Hensley was something of a siren herself, and eerily similar to Barbara Stock who played her counterpart on Spencer for Hire. When she show first premiered the opening credits gave a hint to the slightly quirky humor to be found in the series, as you can see in the video below.
The series ran for 3 seasons (I was a devoted viewer as a kid). I was pleased to see that the first of those seasons has been released on DVD. The opening credits above were uploaded to YouTube by bretmaverick2004.
Obscurity factor: 6 (Available on DVD, remembered by some, largely lost to the sands of time)
I remember watching this in my teens. I had a crush on Lee Horsley (it was the 'stache) and was amused by the quirky and sometimes surreal plots. I remember lots of bizarre gimmicks, like contract killers who dressed like Laurel & Hardy. As the series went on the gimmicks vanished and it became rather too serious for its own good. Looking at it now, it's funny that every episode started off with Lee Horsley's crotch...
ReplyDeleteYes, that crotch shot kinda set the tone for it, didn't it? I had quite the crush on Lee too...
ReplyDeleteThe age of mustaches and really fluffy hair!
ReplyDeleteWow! Opening credits that were nearly a minute-and-a-half long! Nowadays some shows don't even have opening credits, and just list everything on screen during the first scene.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the Lee Horsley fan club, although I actually became aware of him as Archie on the ill-conceived William Conrad version of "Nero Wolfe."
ReplyDeleteYes, it is a long show open, but as show opens go, it's a great one! I've never seen that version of Nero Wolfe... I'll have to look for it.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea who Lee Horsley was /is until I saw the clip above, but I'm going the fan club. Those late '70s/early '80s men are just so confident, sexy and fun.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he's all that and a bag of scones...
ReplyDeleteadd me to the fan club, loved matt houston.his show was good and sexy.even now i love to watch my box set of his first season,wish i could find more.lee horsley,pamela hensley,i love ya. your long time fan, joan
ReplyDeleteadd me to matt houston/lee horsley fan club.he may not be on t.v. now but i never forgot his t.v. series.loved it.i own the boxed set of his first season,looking for others,love them.does anyone know where i can purchase more?diehard lee horsley fan.
ReplyDeleteFor later seasons you might try iOffer.com. They have lots of unreleased DVDs...
ReplyDeleteI was a big fan of the show and some of my friends thought I looked a little like Lee.
ReplyDelete