Contra rcj5365's review, this was Palance's SECOND weekly TV series. His first was another one-season wonder, "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1963-64). In that one, Palance was the manager of a traveling circus.
The role of "Bronk" seems to be a much better fit for Palance, allowing him to appear both sensitive and badass simultaneously. Alex Bronkov is a pipe-smoking cop who is called into action by the mayor of Ocean City to clean up the town of corrupt officials, scumbuckets, and the type of people Palance played for most of his career.
An interesting connection here is that Carroll O'Connor, in the middle of his run as Archie Bunker on "All in the Family", found the time and energy to be the creator and showrunner for this particular series. He definitely put a quality touch on what might otherwise be a paint-by-numbers police procedural.
Somehow, though, the combination of O'Connor's behind-the-camera touch and Palance's tremendous acting skills wasn't quite enough to keep this quality show going. While the viewing public gave it high marks, CBS decided to yank it after one season.
The role of "Bronk" seems to be a much better fit for Palance, allowing him to appear both sensitive and badass simultaneously. Alex Bronkov is a pipe-smoking cop who is called into action by the mayor of Ocean City to clean up the town of corrupt officials, scumbuckets, and the type of people Palance played for most of his career.
An interesting connection here is that Carroll O'Connor, in the middle of his run as Archie Bunker on "All in the Family", found the time and energy to be the creator and showrunner for this particular series. He definitely put a quality touch on what might otherwise be a paint-by-numbers police procedural.
Somehow, though, the combination of O'Connor's behind-the-camera touch and Palance's tremendous acting skills wasn't quite enough to keep this quality show going. While the viewing public gave it high marks, CBS decided to yank it after one season.