The Fall Guy Explained

Genre:Action/adventure
Creator:Glen A. Larson
Theme Music Composer:Gail Jensen
Glen A. Larson
David Somerville
Opentheme:"Unknown Stuntman"
Composer:Stu Phillips
Ron Ramin
Frank DeVol
Tom Worrall
Morton Stevens
Dennis McCarthy
Ken Heller (uncredited)
William Broughton (uncredited)
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:5
Num Episodes:113
List Episodes:List of The Fall Guy episodes
Executive Producer:Glen A. Larson
Producer:Robert Janes
Larry Brody
Paul Mason
Lee Majors
Cinematography:Ben Colman
Michael Hofstein
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:45 - 48 minutes
Network:ABC

The Fall Guy is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonlight as bounty hunters.

Plot

Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) is a Hollywood stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter. He uses his physical skills and knowledge of stunt effects (especially stunts involving cars or his large GMC pickup truck) to capture fugitives and criminals. He is accompanied by his cousin and stuntman-in-training, Howie Munson (Douglas Barr), and occasionally by fellow stuntwoman Jody Banks (Heather Thomas).

Cast

Production

Seavers's truck was a Rounded-Line 1981 GMC K-2500 Wideside with the Sierra Grande equipment package.[1] [2] A Rounded-Line 1980 GMC K-25 Wideside with the High Sierra equipment package was also used.[3] During the show's initial series, the stunts took their toll on the modified production trucks, supplied at low cost to the production by General Motors, so several different years, makes (Chevy/GMC), and models were used during the show's initial run.

From the second season, General Motors supplied three specially adapted trucks for the stunt sequences, with the engine moved to a mid-chassis position immediately under the cab seat.

Intros

The series introductions were composed mainly by scenes from this TV series, and from risky stunt scenes of various films predating 1981. The theme song, "Unknown Stuntman", was sung by Lee Majors and later released as a single.[4]

Home media

On June 5, 2007, 20th Century Fox released the first season of The Fall Guy on DVD in Region 1. Season one was released on DVD in Region 2 in Germany and the UK. Season two has also been released in Region 2, in Germany on November 28, 2008, and in the UK on February 16, 2009. all with edits.

DVD Name Ep # Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 (UK) Region 2 (Germany)
The Complete First Season 23 June 5, 2007 June 25, 2007 January 14, 2008
The Complete Second Season 23 N/A February 16, 2009 November 28, 2008

Reception

These are the Nielsen ratings.

SeasonRankRating
1) 1981 - 1982
  1. 27
19.0
2) 1982 - 1983
  1. 14
19.4
3) 1983 - 1984
  1. 16[5]
19.9
4) 1984 - 1985
  1. 22[6]
17.1
5) 1985 - 1986
  1. 80[7]
7.8

Legacy

A board game adaptation based on the show was released by the Milton Bradley Company[8] in 1981.

A comic strip adaptation was drawn by Jim Baikie for Look-In magazine.[9]

A video game adaptation was produced by British video game developer Elite Systems in 1984.[10]

In September 2020, Universal Pictures announced the film The Fall Guy, loosely based on the television series, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by David Leitch.[11] It was released on May 3, 2024 to positive reviews but performed unsuccessfully at the box office.[12] [13] [14] Lee Majors and Heather Thomas appear as police officers in the mid-credit scene.[15]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fall Guy GMC . 73-87.com . May 4, 2012 . May 26, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130526175251/http://www.73-87.com/7387_Novelties/TV_movies/FallGuy4.jpg . live .
  2. Web site: 1982 GMC K-2500 Wideside . www.imcdb.org . May 4, 2012 . November 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111115163224/http://imcdb.org/vehicle_329806-GMC-K-2500-1982.html . live .
  3. Web site: 1980 GMC K-25 Wideside . www.imcdb.org . May 4, 2012 . November 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111115163358/http://imcdb.org/vehicle_5980-GMC-K-25-1980.html . live .
  4. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt Risk It All in 'The Fall Guy' — An Exclusive First Look . March 24, 2024 . Vanity Fair . November 1, 2023 . November 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101194636/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/11/the-fall-guy-first-look-ryan-gosling-emily-blunt . live .
  5. Web site: August 15, 1991 . The Lazy Journalist . The TV Ratings Guide: 1983-84 Ratings History . The TV Ratings Guide . May 13, 2020 . July 1, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220701234154/http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/03/1983-84-ratings-history.html . live .
  6. Web site: August 15, 1991 . The Lazy Journalist . The TV Ratings Guide: 1984-85 Ratings History . The TV Ratings Guide . May 13, 2020 . June 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200608173809/http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2020/03/1984-85-ratings-history.html . live .
  7. Web site: August 15, 1991 . The Lazy Journalist . The TV Ratings Guide: 1985-86 Ratings History . The TV Ratings Guide . May 13, 2020 . October 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201013175016/http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/1991/08/1985-86-ratings-history_15.html . live .
  8. Web site: The Fall Guy. BoardGameGeek. April 1, 2024. April 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240401052814/https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6623/the-fall-guy. live.
  9. Web site: Jim Baikie. lambiek.net. April 8, 2018. January 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012422/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/baikie_jim.htm. live.
  10. Web site: Fall Guy. spectrumcomputing.co.uk. April 12, 2022. April 12, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220412103301/https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/entry/1722/ZX-Spectrum/Fall_Guy. live.
  11. Web site: Ryan Gosling, David Leitch Tackling "The Fall Guy"-Style Stuntman Movie for Universal . Borys Kit . . September 23, 2020 . November 2, 2021 . November 2, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211102134801/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ryan-gosling-david-leitch-tackling-the-fall-guy-style-stuntman-movie-for-universal-4063325/ . live .
  12. Web site: 'The Fall Guy': Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything We Know About the Ryan Gosling Movie. Soham. Bagchi. May 11, 2023. Collider. April 1, 2024. March 1, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240301003619/https://collider.com/the-fall-guy-movie-release-date-cast-plot/. live.
  13. Web site: Galuppo . Mia . Ryan Gosling's 'Fall Guy,' '3 Body Problem' Headed to SXSW . . January 10, 2024 . January 10, 2024 . January 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240110200019/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/fall-guy-three-body-problem-headed-to-sxsw-1235783886/ . live .
  14. Web site: Rubin . Rebecca . June 12, 2024 . Why Does Hollywood Care About Box Office Opening Weekends? . June 12, 2024 . . 12 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240612163733/https://variety.com/2024/film/news/box-office-opening-weekend-why-does-it-matter-1236033313/ . live . en-US.
  15. Web site: Lee Majors to star alongside Ryan Gosling in The Fall Guy movie . Yahoo! Life . June 16, 2023 . February 17, 2023 . June 16, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230616133651/https://uk.style.yahoo.com/lee-majors-star-alongside-ryan-120000730.html . live .

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