Bay City Blues
| Bay City Blues | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Comedy-drama Sports |
| Created by |
Steven Bochco Jeffrey Lewis |
| Written by |
Steven Bochco David Israel Jeffrey Lewis David Milch Thad Mumford Joel Surnow Dan Wilcox |
| Directed by |
Gregory Hoblit Allen Reisner Michael Rhodes Arthur Allan Seidelman Rick Wallace |
| Starring |
Michael Nouri Pat Corley Ken Olin Dennis Franz Sharon Stone |
| Composer(s) | Mike Post |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Steven Bochco Gregory Hoblit |
| Producer(s) |
Jeffrey Wallace Rick Wallace |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MTM Enterprises |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | October 25 – November 15, 1983 |
Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco. Eight episodes were produced, but only four were aired prior to its cancellation.
Synopsis
Bay City Blues centers on a Bay City, California minor league baseball team, the Bluebirds. Players varied from young hopefuls to once-great players who were sent to the minors before retirement. Storylines revolve around the players' lives, loves, and problems. Bay City Blues features an ensemble cast of regulars including a then-unknown Sharon Stone, Mykelti Williamson and Dennis Franz.
The series from producer Steven Bochco utilized many character actors who had appeared on Hill Street Blues including Franz, Jurasik, Corley and Rodriguez. After the series' cancellation, Ken Olin joined Hill Street Blues cast in the fall of 1984 and Mykelti Williamson appeared in a recurring role. Michele Greene would later re-join Bochco in 1986 as a cast member of L.A. Law after Bochco was fired from Hill Street. Franz re-joined producer David Milch in a new role on Hill Street Blues in 1985 and later both Bochco and Milch for a career-making role on N.Y.P.D. Blue in 1993.
Michael Nouri portrayed the Joe Rohner, the Bluebirds' kindly manager. He was only a few months removed from a starring role as Nick Hurley in the blockbuster movie Flashdance. In 2006, Nouri had a supporting role in a sports-related film, Invincible, the biopic of Vince Papale, who rose from World Football League reject to a special teams ace with the Philadelphia Eagles. Nouri portrayed Eagles owner Leonard Tose.
Nouri's love interest on Bay City Blues was portrayed by Kelly Harmon, the ex-wife of car magnate John DeLorean and sister of Mark Harmon, who joined the cast of another NBC hit, St. Elsewhere, in September 1983.
Bernie Casey, who portrayed over-the-hill Ozzie Peoples, was a standout wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1960s.
Scheduled opposite ABC's Hart to Hart and CBS's Tuesday Night Movies, Bay City Blues drew poor ratings and was pulled from NBC's lineup after airing four of the eight episodes that were produced. The four remaining episodes were aired by selected affiliates in two-hour blocks on Sunday July 1 and Sunday July 8, 1984, after the local news broadcasts. The prime-time run ended up ranking 88th out of 94 programs, averaging only a 10 percent household rating.
The remaining four episodes had not been seen again in prime-time until 2011, when ESPN Classic acquired the rights to the series and aired all eight episodes. ESPN Classic never televised the second episode when it aired the show.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Michael Nouri | Joe Rohner |
| Ken Olin | Rocky Padillo |
| Dennis Franz | Angelo Carbone |
| Pat Corley | Ray Holtz |
| Patrick Cassidy | Terry St. Marie |
| Bernie Casey | Ozzie Peoples |
| Perry Lang | John "Frenchy" Nuckles |
| Larry Flash Jenkins | Charlie Henderson |
| Mykelti Williamson | Deejay Cunningham |
| Jeff McCracken | Vic Kresky |
| Marco Rodríguez | Bird |
| Tony Spiridakis | Lee Jacoby |
| Sheree North | Lynn Holtz |
| Sharon Stone | Cathy St. Marie |
| Michele Greene | Judy Nuckles |
| Kelly Harmon | Sunny Hayward |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | October 25, 1983 |
| 2 | "Beautiful Peoples" | November 1, 1983 |
| 3 | "Zircons are Forever" | November 8, 1983 |
| 4 | "I Never Swung for My Father" | November 15, 1983 |
| 5 | "Going, Going, Gone" | July 1, 1984 |
| 6 | "Look Homeward Hayward" "Hurry Home Hayward" | July 1, 1984 |
| 7 | "Rocky IV-Eyes" | July 8, 1984 |
| 8 | "Play It Again, Milt" | July 8, 1984 |
External links
- Bay City Blues at the Internet Movie Database
- Bay City Blues at TV.com
- Bay City Blues at epguides.com
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