Adderly
| Adderly | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Elliott Baker |
| Starring | Winston Rekert |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Production location | Toronto |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Global CBS |
| Release | September 24, 1986 – March 9, 1988 |
Adderly is a Canadian television drama series, first aired in 1986.
Background
Adderly is based on series creator Elliott Baker's novel, Pocock & Pitt.
Cast
- Winston Rekert as V.H. (Virgil Homer) Adderly
- Jonathan Welsh as Melville Greenspan
- Dixie Seatle as Mona Ellerby
- Ken Pogue as Major Jonathan B. Clack
Plot
V.H. Adderly (Rekert) is a secret agent for an organization known as the I.S.I (International Security and Intelligence). While on a mission in East Germany, Adderly lost the use of his left hand when an enemy agent, Victor Barinov, crushed it with a medieval mace during an interrogation. Not considered useful any longer as an active agent, at the beginning of the series Adderly is reassigned to the I.S.I.'s tiny Department of Miscellaneous Affairs, located in a small basement office. This is meant to be a sort of "good service" reward for Adderly, as his supposedly cushy Miscellaneous Affairs job is mostly concerned with mundane (but easy) in-house administrative paperwork. However, Adderly consistently finds ways to use his vague, non-specific status as a representative of "Miscellaneous Affairs" to actively investigate anything the I.S.I. has overlooked, and regularly goes above and beyond (or completely ignores) his mundane duties to uncover and neutralize dread plots that the larger organization has failed to investigate.[1]
Miscellaneous Affairs is officially run by the prissy but lovable Melville Greenspan (Welsh), a man fastidiously devoted to bureaucracy and unwilling to allow Adderly the freedom to pursue his outside interests. The only other departmental staff member is Mona Ellerby (Seatle), Greenspan's obviously over-qualified secretary who is addicted to adventure and romance novels. Greenspan's superior is Major Jonathan B. Clack (Pogue), who is in charge of the I.S.I. as a whole, and is responsible for Adderly's reassignment from active field operations to Miscellaneous Affairs.
Through the course of the 44-episode run, Adderly repeatedly demonstrated his ability to perform the duties of an active field agent, even saving the life of Major Clack himself. Unfortunately for Adderly, all he did was confirm to Clack that he was an important asset at his current post. In fact, it is implied that Clack may have deliberately created the Department of Miscellaneous Affairs simply as a way to allow Adderly the freedom and flexibility to pursue various cases which the I.S.I. couldn't normally handle.
Episode guide
Season 1 (1986–1987)
| Ep. | № | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Hit-Man Complex | 24 Sep. 1986 |
| 2 | 2 | Mailman | 1 Oct. 1986 |
| 3 | 3 | Critical Mass | 8 Oct. 1986 |
| 4 | 4 | A Change of Mind | 15 Oct. 1986 |
| 5 | 5 | Backfire | 22 Oct. 1986 |
| 6 | 6 | Rich Kid | 29 Oct. 1986 |
| 7 | 7 | Capture the Flag | 5 Nov. 1986 |
| 8 | 8 | Nina Who? | 12 Nov. 1986 |
| 9 | 9 | The Dancing Lesson | 19 Nov. 1986 |
| 10 | 10 | Adderly with Eggroll | 26 Nov. 1986 |
| 11 | 11 | Brotherly Love | 3 Dec. 1986 |
| 12 | 12 | Secrets of the Sun | 7 Jan. 1987 |
| 13 | 13 | A Matter of Discretion | 14 Jan. 1987 |
| 14 | 14 | Nemesis | 4 Feb. 1987 |
| 15 | 15 | Year of the Tiger | 11 Feb. 1987 |
| 16 | 16 | Who Do, Voodoo | 18 Feb. 1987 |
| 17 | 17 | Miscellaneous News | 25 Feb. 1987 |
| 18 | 18 | Tiers of Internment | 4 Mar. 1987 |
| 19 | 19 | Running Backwards | |
| 20 | 20 | Class of '87 | 29 Apr. 1987 |
| 21 | 21 | Mirror Man | 13 May 1987 |
| 22 | 22 | A Far, Far Better Thing | 27 May 1987 |
Season 2 (1987-1988)
| Ep. | № | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Speed of Light | 7 Aug. 1987 |
| 2 | 24 | Run to Darkness | 14 Aug. 1987 |
| 3 | 25 | Eye in the Sky | 21 Aug. 1987 |
| 4 | 26 | To Better Days | 28 Aug. 1987 |
| 5 | 27 | Blood Feud | 4 Sep. 1987 |
| 6 | 28 | The Perils of Mona | 11 Sep. 1987 |
| 7 | 29 | Midnight in Morocco | 30 Sep. 1987 |
| 8 | 30 | The Bridge | 7 Oct. 1987 |
| 9 | 31 | Headhunter | 14 Oct. 1987 |
| 10 | 32 | Code Name: Chipmunk | 28 Oct. 1987 |
| 11 | 33 | Spymaster | 11 Nov. 1987 |
| 12 | 34 | Requiem | |
| 13 | 35 | Horse Cents | 25 Nov. 1987 |
| 14 | 36 | Debbie Does Dishes | 2 Dec. 1987 |
| 15 | 37 | The Man Who Didn't Know Too Much | |
| 16 | 38 | Deathwatch | 23 Dec. 1987 |
| 17 | 39 | Covert Agenda | 20 Jan. 1988 |
| 18 | 40 | The Game | 10 Feb. 1988 |
| 19 | 41 | Adventures in Bodysitting | 17 Feb. 1988 |
| 20 | 42 | The Interrogation | 24 Feb. 1988 |
| 21 | 43 | See How They Die | 2 Mar. 1988 |
| 22 | 44 | Point of No Return | 9 Mar. 1988 |
Broadcast history
Adderly aired from September 1986 through May 1987 (its first season) in the 11:30pm CBS Late Night slot on the CBS network. For the second season (beginning in August 1987), the show's popularity prompted CBS to run episodes in prime time, but there was little promotion and the show didn't do well in the ratings. CBS moved the show back to the 11:30pm time slot in September 1987 where it remained until the series ended.[2]
References
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007 (Volume 1). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-3305-6.
- ^ Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.