As the William Shatner series TJ Hooker neared the end of its five-year run, it apparently ran short of original plotlines. The Hooker episode "The Assassin" is a blatant ripoff of an earlier episode of The Streets of San Francisco entitled "Target: Red". "The Assassin" features a paid hit man played by Vincent Baggetta who is hired by a retired Major General (Morgan Woodward) to take out a visiting Soviet Trade Delegate. "Target Red" features a paid assassin played by Bill Bixby who is hired by a retired General (Andrew Duggan) to kill a visiting Red Chinese official. The only thing really different in each episode is the nationality of the target. Even some of the dialog is painfully alike, with the military figures in each episode denying they know the respective assassins as the detectives get wise to their motives.
The Streets of SF episode was the first to air and not surprisingly was the superior show. Veteran baddies Baggetta (the assassin) and Woodward (The Major General) prevent the Hooker installment from being a total waste, but hardly any new ground broken here. Hard to believe no one raised a stink over this flagrant act of plagiarism.
The Streets of SF episode was the first to air and not surprisingly was the superior show. Veteran baddies Baggetta (the assassin) and Woodward (The Major General) prevent the Hooker installment from being a total waste, but hardly any new ground broken here. Hard to believe no one raised a stink over this flagrant act of plagiarism.
