Automan

Automan originally aired on ABC (American) from December 15, 1983 to April 9, 1984. Starring Desi Arnaz, Jr. as Walter Nebicher and Chuck Wagner as Automan (or "Otto J. Mann"), this series only ran half a season.

Automan consisted of a 90-minute pilot and 12 one-hour episodes, and has been re-run on the Sci-Fi Channel's Sci-Fi Series Collection.

This episode guide is originally from Dariush Rowlands <D.W.Rowlands@open.ac.uk> and can be found at the FPM Automan Guide. Any additions or corrections should be mailed to Lisa Jenkins <jenkins@rrnet.com>.

DISCLAIMER

Automan, its characters and situations, is copyright 1984 by Glen Larson Productions. This publication is not meant to infringe on rights held by the Kushner-Locke Company, Glen Larson Productions, Twentieth Century Television or its employees.

CONTENTS

		Series Description
		Technical Credits
		Episode List
		Episode Guide

Series Description

If you use your television screen for playing video games, you'd better unplug them on Saturday and turn to Automan on BBC1.

For the hero is this new US-made series will step straight out of the world of computer games and take on human form.

Not that he'll behave much like a human being -- he can walk through walls and can make a high-speed sports car appear out of nowhere just when he needs it, for instance. But he's played by a real actor, Chuck Wagner (left).

In fact Automan is a hologram -- a three-dimensional, computer-generated picture -- created by Los Angeles policeman Walter Nebicher, played by Desi Arnaz, Jr. (above, with Automan). Walter, who would like to be out on the streets chasing criminals, is stuck with a job on the police computer at headquarters. His boss doesn't think much of the ability of either Walter or his computer -- until Automan comes along.

The only trouble is that Automan needs a lot of electricity to keep going -- so he's usually in action while the city sleeps. Once the toasters and electric toothbrushes get switched on in the morning his power supplies fade...a peak-time television hero working from off-peak power!

JOHN DAVIES

Technical Credits

Episode List

1. Automan (pilot)
2. Styaing Alive while Running a High Flash Dance Fever
3. The Great Pretender
4. Ships in the Night
5. Unreasonable Facsimile
6. Flashes and Ashes
7. The Biggest Game in Town
8. Renegade Run
9. Murder MTV
10. Murder, Take One
11. Zippers
12. Death by Design
13. Club Ten

Episode Guide

Automan (pilot)

WRITTEN BY	Glen A. Larson
DIRECTED BY	Lee H. Katzin

A special feature-length episode introducing the ultimate television hero -- Automan -- a holographic image who starts life as a character in a computer game and ends up as Los Angeles Police Department's greatest asset in their fight against crime.

Automan and his creator, mild-mannered computer expert Walter Nebicher, turn their unique talents to solving the mysterious disappearance of key personnel from several big corporations -- even the cop assigned to the case has gone missing!

GUEST STARS	AS:
Patrick Macnee	Lydell Hamilton
Steven Keats	Collins
Robert J. Hogan	Peterson
James Antonio, Jr.	Cramer
Robert Dunlap	Chuck Wilson
Don Galloway	Martin Wills
Doug McClure	Det. Ted Smithers
Camilla Sparv	Tanya
CO-STARRING	AS:
Steven Franken	P.J. Hawkins
Sid Haig
Mickey Jones
Herman Poppe
Dennis Fimple
Gloria LeRoy
Carol Vogel

Staying Alive while Running a High Flash Dance Fever

WRITTEN BY	Glen A. Larson
DIRECTED BY	Winrich Kolbe

When underworld gambling tsar, Leonard Martin, hatches a plot to discredit a respected judge, Automan taps his own database to find a suitable guise to go undercover in Las Vegas. Programmed with superlatives only, a John Travolta clone seems as inconspicuous a choice as any.

GUEST STARS	AS:
Mary Crosby	Ellen Fowler / "Miss Simmons"
Don Gordon	Leonard Martin
Angela Aames	Bartender
Robert F. Lyons	Jason
SPECIAL GUEST STAR	AS:
William Windom	Judge Alexander Farnsworth
CO-STARRING	AS:
Jack Perkins	Drunk
Jorge Cervera, Jr.	Jackson
Jim Storm	The Driver
Bud Davis	Seiger
Gary Epper	Brandt

The Great Pretender

WRITTEN BY	Sam Egan
DIRECTED BY	Kim Manners

Walker [sic] and Automan go under cover as a couple of big-time underworld operators to capture Rudolph Brock, a powerful syndicate counterfeiter. With Automan's data base packed with scenes from classic gangster movies, he doesn't find it too difficult to penetrate Brock's criminal empire.

GUEST STARS	AS:
Clu Gulager	Rudolph Brock
Michael Callan	Kevin Mayhew
Andrea Howard	Lauren Robinson
Ed Griffith	Seymour Laird
James Andronica	Parsons
Cliff Emmich	Paul Lambert
Fil Formicola	Solt
Todd Martin	Gritch
CO-STARRING	AS:
William Long, Jr.	Russo
Ken Sansom	The Minister
K.C. Winkler	The Blonde
Marc Vahanian	Carty
FEATURING	AS:
Richard Derr	Robinson
Barry Berman	Tate
Talbot Simons	The Taxi Driver

Ships in the Night

WRITTEN BY	Parke Perine
DIRECTED BY	Bob Claver

On a Caribbean island, Robert Sawyer has a profitable racket going -- conning near bankrupt businessmen out of their money, then dumping them into the ocean from his private jet. Posing as a big-time crook with more money than sense, Automan soon finds himself taking his last flight aboard Sawyer's plane....

GUEST STARS	AS:
Scott Marlowe	Robert Sawyer
France Nuyen	Liang Lew
Steve Hanks	Woody
Frank Aletter	James Dowling
Abraham Alvarez	Police Sergeant
SPECIAL GUEST STAR	AS:
Cesare Danova	Captain Romano
CO-STARRING	AS:
Javier Grajeda	The Desk Clerk
Branscombe Richmond	Johnson
FEATURING	AS:
Melanie Vincz	The Beautiful Girl
Bridget Sienna	The Croupier
Rick Garcia	The Bank Guard

Unreasonable Facsimile

WRITTEN BY	Sam Egan
DIRECTED BY	Winrich Kolbe

Automan's personality changes when his database becomes cluttered with soap- opera. A very cool hologram sets out to crack the case of a murdered businessman and a police helicopter that fell out of the sky.

GUEST STARS	AS:
Robert Sampson	Henry Innis
Glenn Corbett	Jarrett Powers
Gerald Gordon	Edward M. Scanlin
Delta Burke	Rachel Innis
Lina Raymond	Christine Powers
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE BY	AS:
David S. Sheiner	Norman
CO-STARRING	AS:
Conroy Gedeon	The Bartender
Walter Brooke	Mr. Theodore Behrens
Ruth Warshawsky	Mrs. Hortense Behrens
SEPCIAL APPEARANCE BY	AS:
Tawny Schneider	Herself
FEATURING	AS:
Toni Nero	Francine
Dennis Scott	Reedy
Tammy Alverson	Lisa

Flashes and Ashes

WRITTEN BY	Doug Heyes, Jr.
DIRECTED BY	Kim Manners

What happens when police investigators looking into corruption on the force turn out to be corrupt themselves? This is the awkward question asked by Walter Nebicher who soon finds himself suspended from duty. It is left to Automan to find an answer though he has to go beyond the grave to do it!

GUEST STARS	AS:
Jeff Pomerantz	Malcom Whittaker
Hari Rhodes	Rollie Dumont
Anita Dangler	Madame Russo
Danil Torppe	Sam Lymon
Ron Harvey	Frank Cooney
SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY	AS:
Roscoe Tanner	The Tennis Pro
CO-STARRING	AS:
Michael Horsley	Jeff Coe
James Emery	Dean Springer
Tammy Brewer	Tisha
Tami Barber	Laurie
Africanus Roscius	The Street Guy

The Biggest Game in Town

TELEPLAY BY	Larry Brody
STORY BY	Larry Brody and Shel Willens
DIRECTED BY	Winrich Kolbe

Three computer wizards create a terror-filled game which threatens the entire city of Los Angeles with chaos, death and destruction if their demands are not met. But they reckon without Automan's inside connections in the computer world!

GUEST STARS	AS:
Kristen Meadows	Ellie Harmon
Felton Perry	Bart Johnson
Rick Lenz	Ronald Tilson
Timothy Blake	Sam Maroni
FEATURING	AS:
Stefan Zema	The Man
Michael Holden	2nd Air Controller
Bill Ewing	Chief Controller
Robert Gribbin	Bomb Squad Man #1
Paul Savior	Flood Control Engineer
Lee Garlington	The Doctor
Richard Milholland	Bomb Squad Man #2

Renegade Run

TELEPLAY BY	Larry Brody and Doug Heyes, Jr.
STORY BY	Larry Brody
DIRECTED BY	Allen Baron

Walter investigates the case of a crooked sheriff who steals the land of Chico Fuentes as part of a plan to run illegal immigrants over the border as forced labour on road gangs. Automan is soon in action, leading a motorcycle gang to spring his partner and Walter's old friend Chico from jail. [sic; Walter's old friend is Chico's sister, Teresa.]

GUEST STARS	AS:
Richard Lynch	Sheriff Clay Horton
Greta Blackburn	Gretchen Lewis
Gina Gallego	Teresa Fuentes
Billy Drago	Chico Fuentes
Terry Kiser	Stone
SPECIAL GUEST STAR	AS:
Richard Anderson	Carl Donovan
CO-STARRING	AS:
Michael MacRae	J.P. Crazy
Carol Webster	Miss Lucy
Bobby E. Green	Travis

Murder MTV

TELEPLAY BY	Doug Heyes, Jr.
STORY BY	Guerdon Trueblood
DIRECTED BY	Bruce Seth Green

Sweet Kicks is an all-girl band on the rise. At the shooting of the group's video, an explosion rocks the stage. Walter's and Automan's attempts to track down the would-be killers are hampered when the girls' father seeks help from the underworld....

GUEST STARS	AS:
Laura Branigan	Jessie Cole
Albert Paulsen	Frank Ladrone
Michael Gregory	Tony Lupus
Zitto Kazann	Carlo Crane
Ola Ray	Joanne
Christie Claridge	Josie
SPECIAL GUEST STAR	AS:
Michael McGuire	Sid Cole
CO-STARRING	AS:
Sander Johnson	Sam Clementine
Gerald Berns	Leo Shane
FEATURING	AS:
Paul Haber	The Delivery Boy
Miguel A. Nunez, Jr.	The Valet Parking Attendant

Murder, Take One

WRITTEN BY	Sam Egan
DIRECTED BY	Kim Manners

When gossip columnist Ray [sic; credited as Keith] Gillette is murdered, suspicion falls on former movie star Veronica Everly. But Automan uncovers incriminating evidence suggesting that producer Michael Hagedorn had a greater motive for wanting Gillette out of the way. To trap this killer, Automan goes undercover as an actor, and discovers his true vocation as Hollywood's hottest sex symbol!

GUEST STARS	AS:
Ed Lauter	Michael Hagedorn
Winnie Gardner	Kitty Hopkins
Tim Rossovitch	Oscar Selby
Bart Braverman	Frank Loren
SPECIAL CAMEO APPEARANCE BY	AS:
Peter Marshall	Keith Gillette
SPECIAL GUEST STARS	AS:
Greg Mullavey	Philip Eames
Michelle Phillips	Veronica Everly
CO-STARRING	AS:
Hilary Thompson	Sheila Dunham
Floyd Levine	Seymour Grodkin
FEATURING	AS:
Mark Wheeler	Roland Green
Jonathan Gochberg	The Guard

Zippers

WRITTEN BY	David Garber and Bruce E. Kalish
DIRECTED BY	Alan Crosland

A small-time house burglary ring operating out of an exotic male dancers' nightclub leads Walter and Automan to a bigger caper involving the theft of secret government information. Strictly in the line of duty Automan has to strut his stuff as `Auto the Hot Electrician,' but with a very attractive female audience it's a task he doesn't find too arduous.

GUEST STARS	AS:
John Vernon	Carlos Rayner
James Morrison	Gary Baxley
Erik Stern	Victor
Billy Ray Sharkey	Buck
James Callahan	Dennis Stanton
Jo Anne Astrow
CO-STARRING	AS:
Tom Everett	Stanley
Reginald T. Dorsey	Freddie
Don Mirault	Robin Hood
Nancy Jeris	Mrs. Stanton
FEATURING	AS:
Gertrude Marx	The Woman
Cliff Carnell	Karl
Eric Lawson	Guard #1
Charles Walker	Guard #2
Mindi Iden	Kevie Wright
John Mahon	The Policeman

Death by Design

WRITTEN BY	Sam Egan
DIRECTED BY	Gil Bettman

Automan assumes the identity of a revenge seeking vigilante cop called Mad Dog to trap the ruthless syndicate hit-man responsible for killing one of Jack's best friends, and to stop the mob penetrating the fashion business.

GUEST STARS	AS:
John Erickson	Woodrow "Woody" Oster
Anne Lockhart	Tracy Morgan
Luke Askew	Eric LeBlanc
Lance Le Gault	Simon Rafferty
Eric Server	Gill
David Spielberg	Tom Sholes
Michael Gazzo
CO-STARRING	AS:
Edward Mallory	Nate Hester
J.D. Hall	Noah Jeffries
K.C. Winkler	The Model
Danny Dayton	The Bookie
Johnny Crear	Joseph Sylvana

Club Ten

WRITTEN BY	Michael S. Baser and Kim Weiskopf
DIRECTED BY	Kim Manners

The exclusive Club Ten resort is a centre for diamond smuggling. When Laura Ferguson stumbles on this secret she manages to put out an SOS call to her old friend Roxanne before being taken prisoner. Roxanne, Walter and Automan are soon on the trail of the missing Laura, unaware they themselves are being trailed....

GUEST STARS	AS:
Dennis Cole
Marshall Teague	Ted
Bruce Bauer	Randy
Brett Halsey	Felipe Valdez
Robin Eisenman	Laura Ferguson
Barbra Horan	Geri
SPECIAL GUEST STAR
Don Knight
CO-STARRING	AS:
John Alderson	Rummy
FEATURING	AS:
Abraham Gordon	The Valet
Mae LaBlanc	Girl #2
Cis Rundle	Girl #1
Edward Crotty	The Waiter
Dona Speir	The Bikini Girl

Return to one of the following:

		Shows List
		Agent J's Cult Sci-Fi Television