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The "Charlie's Angels" phenomenon began in March of 1976, when a made-for-TV movie attracted 59% of the total viewing audience. ABC re-broadcast the movie the next week, and amazingly, its ratings were still sky high. It was inevitable that a TV series would follow, and "Charlie's Angels" became one of the ten highest-rated shows for the next two years. While its plot and its premise were paper-thin, most complaints centered around the show's shameless focus on the attractiveness of its three female detectives. But the show itself is not quite as bad as people want to remember.

The Spelling-Goldberg production team had already attracted audiences to their three earlier crimes dramas - "The Mod Squad", "Starsky and Hutch," and "The Rookies" (which starred Kate Jackson). Conceived as star vehicle for Jackson, "Charlie's Angels" followed three three female investigators going undercover for their wealthy clients. This premise provided opportunities for the wearing of slinky clothing and travels to exotic locations. Adding a touch of mystique was the fact that their boss, Charlie was never seen. Instead Charlie would describe their assignments over the phone, in a fast conversation which typically included friendly dialogue and some banter. ("Good morning, angels." "Good morning, Charlie!")

The hour-long episodes wandered through a formulaic crime drama, but it was all served up with earnest seriousness (and laughably ominous titles like "Angel Come Home" and "Angel in a Box".) Charlie's detectives infiltrated new and usually glamorous crime scenes every week, including a casino, a roller derby, and a beauty pageant. (In other episodes they investigated a crooked prison and a stock car racing track.) The good-looking detectives were always faced with token perils to overcome, but fortunately they'd been trained in karate.

Even as an attempt to pander to male audiences, the show ran into problems. After the first season Farrah Fawcett left to pursue a movie career (finally getting out of her contract by agreeing to a number of guest appearances in the third and fourth season.) Cheryl Ladd turned an offer to replace Fawcett, but finally accepted when the producers agreed she could have a unique status as "the rookie." But within one year, Kate Jackson also left the show, being replaced by supermodel Shelley Hack. This proved unsuccessful, and in its final season the producers screened 2,000 actresses to find a replacement, eventually choosing Tanya Roberts. But a surprising number of famous also actors appeared on the show during its five-year run. Besides celebrity guests like Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, the series also featured appearances by rising young stars like Timothy Dalton, Kim Catrall, Jonathan Frakes, and even a young Tommy Lee Jones.

"Charlie's Angel" paved the way for shows like "Beverly Hills 90210," since the producers learned they could attract young audiences by filling their shows with attractive people. (In 1976 a poster of Farrah Fawcett sold over 12 million copies, making it the single best-selling poster in history.) Even in its third season, "Charlie's Angels" was still the year's 12th most-popular show, and #20 in season four. But after moving to Sunday nights, its ratings dropped nearly 50%, and in 1981 the show was cancelled.

It's fun to mock the show for its clumsy plots, but for better or worse its freakish popularity ensured a spot in television history, and in the memory of any who remembers television in the 1970s.

Learn more about this author, Moe Zilla.
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