Line #29 Creator/StephenJCannell


1	[[quoteright:312:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stephen_j_cannell_2397.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:312:The man, his typewriter, and (some of) his awards.]]
3
4	->''"(Stephen J. Cannell) still gets branded Johnny One-Note (yet has anyone ever noticed any similarity between ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'' and ''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' except that both involve flying?)."''
5	-->--'''''The UsefulNotes/LosAngeles Times'''''
6
7	Stephen Joseph Cannell (February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer and writer, known for creating or co-creating such highly successful series as ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'', ''Series/TheATeam'', ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'', ''Series/HardcastleAndMcCormick'', ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet'', and ''Series/TheCommish''. Suffered from dyslexia. Famously appeared in his [[VanityPlate Vanity Plates]] working at a typewriter and also as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDwUEAnrEkk on camera host of]] ''Scene of the Crime'' and ''U.S. Customs Classified''; he also acted on occasion, most notably as the BigBad on ''{{Series/Renegade}}'' (another series from his company), and wrote a number of novels, most notably a crime-thriller series featuring LAPD detective Shane Scully.
8
9	Also played poker [[Series/Castle2009 with a fictional crime writer]]. He died in 2010; his [[EmptyChairMemorial seat, chips, and whiskey remain at his spot]] to this day. (Cannell has a posthumous executive producer credit on ''Film/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' and its sequel; he also helped produce some movies when he was actually with us, such as the movie version of ''Series/TheATeam'' and ''Film/ThePokerHouse''. His company produced at least one regular non-pilot MadeForTVMovie, 1981's ''Midnight Offerings'' written by frequent collaborator Juanita Bartlett (also creator of ''The Quest'' - see below).
10
11	----
12	!!Series from Cannell (created or co-created by, except where noted with an asterisk):
13	[[index]]
14	* ''Chase''
15	* ''Toma''
16	* ''Series/TheRockfordFiles''
17	* ''Series/{{Baretta}}''
18	* ''City of Angels''
19	* ''Richie Brockelman: Private Eye'' (with Creator/StevenBochco; SpinOff from ''The Rockford Files'')
20	* ''Baa Baa Black Sheep''
21	* ''The Duke''
22	* ''Stone'' (with Creator/LevinsonAndLink - Cannell had previously written for [[Series/{{Columbo}} their best-known creation]] - namely "[[Recap/ColumboS03E04 Double Exposure]]")
23	* ''Series/TenspeedAndBrownShoe'' (the first series to come from Stephen J. Cannell Productions)
24	* ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'' (the first series to feature [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjqDpneJNc his legendary vanity plate]])
25	* ''The Quest''*
26	* ''Series/TheRousters''
27	* ''Series/TheATeam''
28	* ''Series/HardcastleAndMcCormick''
29	* ''Series/HunterNBC''*
30	* ''Series/Riptide1984''
31	* ''The Last Precinct''
32	* ''Series/Stingray1985''
33	* ''J.J. Starbuck''
34	* ''Series/{{Wiseguy}}''
35	* ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet''
36	* ''Sonny Spoon''
37	* ''Unsub''* (has "Developed by" credit)
38	* ''Top of the Hill''
39	* ''Booker'' (SpinOff from ''21 Jump Street'')
40	* ''Broken Badges''
41	* ''Series/StreetJustice''
42	* ''Series/SilkStalkings'' (Cannell's longest-running series, lasting eight seasons)
43	* ''The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage'' (a co-production with Creator/WaltDisney Television)
44	* ''Series/TheCommish''
45	* ''Personals''* (game show)
46	* ''Palace Guard''
47	* ''Series/{{Renegade}}''
48	* ''The Hat Squad''
49	* ''Missing Persons''*
50	* ''Cobra''
51	* ''Series/CaesarsChallenge''* (game show; also the final game show to air on Creator/{{NBC}} Daytime)
52	* ''Traps''
53	* ''Series/{{Hawkeye\|1994}}''*
54	* ''Marker''
55	* ''Series/{{Profit}}''*
56	[[/index]]
57
58	----
59	!!Tropes:
60	* AdamWesting: Guest-stars in a few episodes of Series/DiagnosisMurder as Jackson Burley - an insufferably-hammy television writer prone to Malapropism and best known for equally-hammy action series.
61	-->'''Burley''': You know what they say - you can walk the talk, but don't run the gun if you you can't stand the hand.\
62	'''Steve Sloan''': [[SarcasmMode That's what I always say.]]
63	* TheCameo: Regularly on ''Series/{{Castle\|2009}}'' as himself, and in episodes of [[DescendedCreator his own]] ''Tenspeed And Brown Shoe'' and ''Silk Stalkings''.
64	* CompilationMovie: The three-part series opener of ''City of Angels'', "The November Plan," was later edited into a feature film and released to cinemas internationally under that title.
65	* DescendedCreator: Cannell himself played the evil Lt. Donald Dixon on ''Series/{{Renegade}}''.
66	* FollowTheLeader: ''The Last Precinct'', Cannell's only SitCom (an hour-long show however; created with regular collaborator Frank Lupo - the pairing also generated ''The A-Team'', ''Riptide'' and ''Wiseguy''), was clearly patterned after ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' (in the pilot a character even says "How [the cops] got out of the police academy I'll never know"). Also Creator/AdamWest plays the Lessard equivalent.
67	* NiceGuy: Despite the fact that his popular self-titled production logo scared some fans (particularly children), he was known as a really decent and likable guy. For most children of TheEighties, his face and logo was as beloved as [[Creator/ITCEntertainment another certain cult classic logo]], a reassurance that they just watched (or will be watching) a very cool action adventure show. Also, when ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' paid homage to his closing logo in the episode. "The Front", he loved it so much, upon meeting showrunner at the time, Mike Reiss, he gave him a hug.
68	* VanityPlate: Cannell had a particularly famous production logo, in which he himself appears on camera typing on his typewriter as the camera pans around him and then throws the paper away, which would form his company logo. This logo is rather unique in that while the sequence itself would be fundamentally the same for many years (bar some changes to the music), Cannell would re-film the sequence every so often. This means that if you play each version of the logo back to back, you can watch Cannell age and see his office getting nicer and his award collection getting bigger as his career goes on. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV3sZ9qp2ew See for yourself]].
69	** The logo was such a trademark of his that when he died, ''Series/{{Castle}}'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYPbwd3jvXs modified the the final version of it]] to serve as an InMemoriam
70	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: 1980's ''Nightside'' was a pilot for a never-made series which was created by Cannell and [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 Glen]] [[Series/TheFallGuy A.]] [[Series/QuincyME Larson]]. Stephen J. Cannell and Glen A. Larson - it would have been a 1980s TV dream come true.
71	** In 1997 Creator/{{CBS}} asked him to oversee a revival of ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'', but it didn't turn out too well (among other things, he brought back Chin Ho -- who had been KilledOffForReal). Said pilot has never been made available to the public in any form to this day, and with the successful [[Series/HawaiiFive0 new version]] almost certainly will never be screened in the future.

Context Creator / StephenJCannell