TheDude

Does anyone out there remember Hooperman, the late '80's drama/comedy starring the late John Ritter as a detective in S.F.? When I was a teen back in Fall '87, I remember catching a couple of episodes of this series and thinking it was fairly good.

Unfortunately, it's never been released to DVD (as far as I can tell), so I doubt it will ever hit Blu.

This is one of those shows that will probably never be released to home video due to it's obscurity, however hopefully at some point a company will clean the video up & release it for streaming.....

dex14

Looks like you can get some custom DVDs from sellers on iOffer

OldBoy

i fucking loved Hooperman!!

Spiderbite

I watched it every week because of my love of John Ritter due to Three's Company but I honestly cannot remember a single thing about the show.

Count Dooku

Hooperman was a wonderful little show that was definitely ahead of its time.

Ritter played a police detective who inherits a rundown apartment building and starts a romance with one of the tenants (played by the insanely sexy Debbie Farentino). The show was a drama, a comedy, and a romance. It was the kind of complicated and sophisticated show that required loyal and attentive viewers. Too much for network TV viewers in the 80s who were just looking for another sitcom.

The show also revealed a deeper side to Ritter, who was famous for pratfalls and broad comedy from Three's Company.

I remember the show being paired with The Slap Maxwell Story starring Dabney Coleman, which also tried to break the rules of what "a sitcom" or 30-minute show could do.

Probably the best series of that time to play with the 30-minute format was Frank's Place.

Thanks to the OP for bringing a smile to my face with a reminder of Hooperman!

Geofferson

I vaguely remember this show. Didn't realize it was a Steven Bochco production.

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Count Dooku

It was a logical extension of what he had done to the cop show format with Hill Street Blues but with the focus on just one detective instead of a large ensemble with lots of stories.

TheDude

Glad I'm not the only one who remembers this underrated show; I didn't see that many episodes of Hooperman, but I do remember the dramatic aspect more than the comedic aspect. It was interesting to see John Ritter in that kind of a role, since prior to that he was best known for Three's Company - which in 1987 (when the series premiered) was still relatively fresh in everyone's mind.

Actually, I'm not interested in custom DVD's of the show, but Thanks for the info. I'm sure the quality would be extremely poor. Though I know it's too much to hope for that the show would be officially released on home video, we can always hope for a DVD-R (made to order) set, or possibly streaming - we'll see...

I never thought Slap Maxwell (starring Dabney Coleman) was that great; I think I caught a couple of episodes at the time. IIRC, Coleman starred as a reporter. Didn't seem that interesting to me...

Spiderbite

I seem to remember Hooperman getting moved around from its time slot or skipping weeks a lot and it was hard to keep up. That is probably why I have a hard time remembering major details of it because it was hard to catch and the never seemed to rerun it very often.

Cardsfan111

I vaguely remember the show.

After seeing this thread last night, I was reminded of how much John Ritter is missed. Hard to believe he's been gone over 11 years.

mphtrilogy

Began the "Dramedy" era if I recall...

hasslein

With a Joyce Dewitt-esque haircut....

mwbmis

Outside of teenage me having a crush on Farentino, I remember very little about this show. Later on after the internet was invented it was nice to find pictures of her from that time frame.

Count Dooku

That haircut is pretty heinous.

TerryW

Lotsa good shows that should be available to see/buy:

mwbmis

Lots of hairstyles from the 80s look pretty heinous now.

TheDude

I don't believe Hooperman was ever re-run. I literally haven't seen it since around 1987/1988...

madcougar

Remember it and loved it.

Deadman31

I am pretty sure most these were not good shows.

TerryW

You'd be wrong.

PileOfFudge

I do remember this show. Hooperman aired on ABC starting in fall of '87 and Slap Maxwell followed in the 8:30 time slot. Slap Maxwell was canceled shortly into its first season due to low ratings, but Hooperman ran for two seasons. And I'd be willing to bet that theme song is from prolific composer Mike Post.

Bill Needle

Too Many Hoopermen?

Decker

Yes it is. He did just about every Stephen Bochco show. I knew him pretty well as a family friend from when he was in Hawaii doing Magnum PI. He was a pretty cool guy.

PileOfFudge

Thanks for sharing this. I'm a huge Mike Post fan and have seen several interviews with him and that is definitely how he comes across.

TerryW

Love his theme for The Rockford Files.