For twenty years, Stephen J. Cannell was in the hero business. Or perhaps, the anti-hero business. Whatever the case, his heroes were on the side of the slightly tarnished angels. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Cannell was the single most influential figure in populist action/adventure television. His series range from the smart, wry humor of The Rockford Files to the comic-book exploits of The A-Team. Inbetween, he has created, co-created, and overseen such productions as the pacifist but macho war series Black Sheep Squadron, super-hero spoof The Greatest American Hero, the beach boy bromance Riptide, the outrageous vigilante show Hardcastle and McCormick, and the Eastwood-inspired anti-cop show Hunter. In the late '80s, he produced the critically acclaimed 21, Jump Street, and the quietly horrific, grim, dark mob show Wiseguy. In the 1970s, his marriage of B-western plots and values to the post-Watergate cynicism of 1970s cinema refreshed popular culture, drawing from themes explored and avenues opened by Robert Altman and Clint Eastwood, perhaps the two most influential film-makers of the period. His knowing, self-parodic approach to a tired and weary action/adventure genre permeated all of American television throughout the 1980s, and much cinema thereafter. On the surface, Cannell's heroes are traditional conservative icons of Hollywood myth, cops, judges, vigilantes, military men, tough guys--but they are also renegades and rebels, individual malcontents at odds with the injustices of the world. And despite producing shows featuring handsome but flawed male heroes (or perhaps because of it), his shows were phenomenally popular with the female audience as well as the intended men, displaying a satisfying progressive attitude towards women both in front of, and behind the camera. This book discusses in detail the programs of this writer-producer (and sometimes director and actor), and lists every episode of his 1970s and 1980s series, with storylines and writer, director, and cast credits for 22 shows. With extensive quotes and research, it discusses Cannel's methods of working, his critics, his recurring themes and obsessions, and his successes and failures, and includes publicity materials, information on unsold pilots, and a four-page bibliography and ten pages of sources and quotations to support the author's observations and opinions. Every statement is backed up by cross-referencing numerous examples not only of specific episodes of Cannell shows, but other producers' series as well. There is a 38 page index. Shows covered: The Rockford Files; Baretta; City of Angels; Black Sheep Squadron; Richie Brockelman; The Duke; Stone; Tenspeed and Brownshoe; The Greatest American Hero; The Quest; The A-Team; Hardcastle and McCormick; Rousters; Riptide; Hunter; Stingray; The Last Precinct; 21, Jump Street; Wiseguy; J.J. Starbuck; Sonny Spoon; Unsub; plus: unsold pilots; The Wrap-Up; sources of quotations; bibliography; index (all featured series include episode listings).Customer review for Stephen J. Cannell Productions on Goodreads"Way better than the other Cannell book. This one is incredibly detailed. The author spent many years compiling information and had some really great trivia. More information than most would ever need..."Customer review for Stephen J. Cannell Productions on Amazon.com"An excellent book with many insights into the creation and production of the prolific Cannell library of TV shows... a comprehensive look at the philosophy and methodology of the man and the company. Lots of useful analysis.""Outstanding" (e-mail to publishers, Cannell Entertainment)For full reviews, and comments on reviews, click on 'See all reviews', Amazon.com Customer review for The Elvis Films on the Elvis Information Network "Let me say that I am a fan of the author's earlier works (and) I knew Jon Abbott would infuse his coverage of the eclectic Elvis film canon with a pop culture sensibility and an appreciation beyond the narrow minded perspective of many film critics. The author provides a general overview of the narrative of each film and demonstrates a perceptive understanding of how elements play off each other (and) infuses his discussion with a heady mix of behind the scenes anecdotes offering a rich source of tantalising nuggets of information. He also comments perceptively on Elvis' seminal role in the growth of teen culture. In discussing each film Abbott also goes off in juicy tangential diversions to enlighten the reader about the non-Elvis film careers of many of his co-stars, film producers and directors. Pop culture addicts (like me) will particularly welcome these explorations. Abbott perceptively observes about Michael Ansara and Theo Marcuse (who featured in Harum Scarum): "Both Ansara and Mancuse were the sort of busy and prolific performers whose faces were so well known to the public that, either consciously or in an almost subliminal fashion, they became virtual visual re