"Probe" Computer Logic (1988)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Sandor Stern

Writers:

Michael I. Wagner (written by) and
Isaac Asimov (writer)

TV Series:

"Probe" (1988)

Original Air Date:

7 March 1988 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A misanthropic scientist and his quirky new secretary attempt to shut down an artificially intelligent computer that has decided to start killing people.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Secretary | Scientist | Explosion | Computer Disc

Cast

Parker Stevenson	...	Austin James
Ashley Crow	...	Michelle Castle
Jon Cypher	...	Serendip CEO Howard Millhouse
William Phipps	...	Miles Smanovitch (as Wm. Edward Phipps)
Andy Wood	...	John Blaine
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandy Elias	...	Laundromat Customer
Scott Feraco	...	Williams Stevens
Raymond Guth	...	Manager
Gene Johnson	...	Preacher
Ted King	...	Chief of Police
Diana Lamb	...	Secretary (as Diane Baynes)
William T. Lane	...	Truck Driver (as Bill Lane)
Gertrude Nicholls	...	Old Woman
Jan Sandwich	...	Stevens' Maid
Fred Scheiwiller	...	Old Man
Judy Scovern	...	Personnel Employee
Carol Weston	...	Secretary #2

Series Cast

These people are regular cast members. Were they in this episode?

Clive Revill

...

Graham McKinley

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Quotes:

Austin James: C'mere. C'mere! Look at it!
[tosses a charred skull to Mickey, who gasps in horror]
Austin James: That's all that's left of Donald Statheim, an aviator, crashed 1921 while circumnavigating Hudson Bay. Note the object imbedded in the left posterior fontanel. FONTANEL. It's the point of an icepick. Statheim didn't die in the plane crash; he died a minute beforehand when someone drove that into his brain...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Probe" (1988)

The best shows never last.

I remember "Probe" from when I was 12; I loved it. It was kind of a mystery-slash-sci-fi hybrid. I thought it was very funny and the characters were engaging. Parker Stevenson was surprisingly good as the eccentric genius scientist in the lead, and Ashley Crow was also good as his plucky secretary (the patter between the two was always amusing). It had good acting, but unfortunately (for the life of the show, not the quality) I think the writing was a bit too intelligent, and people were lost; that's the only reason I can think of as to why it lived such a short life. I wish it would be released on DVD or that I could at least catch it sometime on sci-fi. This show, along with "Shadow Chasers" (a mystery-horror hybrid from the 80s) sadly introduced me to the concept of ratings controlling a show's future, and good shows being canceled way too early. I doubt many people even remember it now, which is a crying shame. It will always be a favorite of mine in the "canceled way too early" category of TV shows.