Blacke's Magic (1986– )

A magician and his con-man father solve mysteries using a combination of sleight of hand and con games.

Creators:

Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link

Stars:

Hal Linden, Harry Morgan, R.J. Adams

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Hal Linden	...	Alexander Blacke (4 episodes, 1986)
Harry Morgan	...	Leonard Blacke (4 episodes, 1986)
R.J. Adams	...	Art Baer (3 episodes, 1986)
Claudia Christian	...	Laurie Blacke (2 episodes, 1986)
Mark Shera	...	Lt. Ted Byrnes (2 episodes, 1986)

Storyline

Alexander Blacke is a retired magician who comes out of retirement, at the behest of his con-man/gambler father, Leonard, to perform on stage and solve mysteries in this series that mixes the magical antics of "The Magician," the con-game schemes of "The Sting," "Switch," and "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe", and the intricate mysteries of "Columbo" and "Murder She Wrote."

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Plot Keywords:

magic | detective | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blacke el Mago

Filming Locations:

Denver Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in St. Elsewhere: Black's Magic (1986)

User Reviews

more like a made-for-t.v. of "The Sting", than magic.

Enjoyable plots, but there was very little magic to see, which I thought was the main idea of the series. The main character, Alexander Blacke, was not as self-reliant nor as self-directed as was Anthony Dorian in "The Magician" series that had come before it. I also missed how the magician, using only his own wit and skills, solved the mystery/problem without much outside help as did Blacke seem to need from his carny father, let alone from many other characters in each episode. Hal Linden may not have been the best choice for this series, perhaps someone with a more bold personality, instead of Hal's lighthearted demeanor. Maybe it should have been called " Blacke's Acts ". Still, it was fun to watch.