Private Eye
This is a detective series set in 1950's Hollywood. Jack Cleary is a (virtuous) cop and his virtue cost him his badge--he tried to expose corruption within his department, and the cops he tried to expose framed him, and subsequently he got thrown off the force. For the next few years, Jack tried to drown his sorrows in the bottle. His brother's a private investigator, when he got killed while on a case, Jack tried to find his killer and did. He would then take over his brother's (private eye) business. Working with him is Johnny Betts, a young man who worked with his brother. And his main contact on the police force is Lt. Fontana, who didn't see eye to eye with Jack when they were on the force but nevertheless, a friend.
- 1987-1988
- 1 season
- NBC
- Suspense, Drama
This is a detective series set in 1950's Hollywood. Jack Cleary is a (virtuous) cop and his virtue cost him his badge--he tried to expose corruption within his department, and the cops he tried to expose framed him, and subsequently he got thrown off the force. For the next few years, Jack tried to drown his sorrows in the bottle. His brother's a private investigator, when he got killed while on a case, Jack tried to find his killer and did. He would then take over his brother's (private eye) business. Working with him is Johnny Betts, a young man who worked with his brother. And his main contact on the police force is Lt. Fontana, who didn't see eye to eye with Jack when they were on the force but nevertheless, a friend.
Season 1 Episode Guide
12 Episodes 1987 - 1988
Episode 1
Pilot
Sun, Sep 13, 1987 98 mins
It's 1956 and Jack Cleary is a top-notch detective on the Los Angeles police force. Framed by mobsters for taking bribes, he's drummed out of the force where he hits the bottle and the skids. Jack's brother owns Nick Cleary Detective Agency, and after he's murdered while working a case, Jack takes over his brother's Agency. While trying to find his brother's killer, Jack gets his self-respect back. Along with his brother's agency, he inherits his brother's nutty secretary and a former delinquent sidekick named Johnny Betts.
Episode 2
Nickey the Rose
Fri, Sep 18, 1987
Movie star and sex goddess Rita Marlo hires Jack to tail her boyfriend, in order to find out who he's secretly dating. Rita's boyfriend is a mobster named Nicky the Rose, who is being set up by the mob to run the movie studio's union. However, Nicky the Rose has secret plans of his own.
Episode 3
War Buddy
Fri, Sep 25, 1987
Jack runs into his childhood friend and war buddy, who is now a down-on-his-luck roller derby star. Since returning home from the war, nothing seems to be going right for Jack's friend, and he's in deep to the mob's loan sharks. Jack puts himself square in the middle of the mob and his long-time friend.
Episode 4
Blue Movie
Fri, Oct 2, 1987
A Congressman hires Jack to find his runaway daughter. She fled to Hollywood with stars in her eyes, and ended up making 'blue movies". The case is eerily similar to one Jack worked ten years ago when he was a police officer. He couldn't save the girl back then, but perhaps this time he can it right.
Episode 5
Blue Hotel Pt.1
Fri, Oct 16, 1987
The promoter of an up and coming rock 'n roll star hires Jack to locate the stolen masters of his next album. When the promoter is murdered, Jack continues the investigation. Meanwhile, Johnny is hopelessly in love with the singer's ex-girl friend.
Episode 6
Blue Hotel Pt. 2
Thu, Oct 22, 1987
When Johnny Betts is accused of murdering Billy Ray, Jack sets out to find the real killer and recover the stolen master recordings for his next album. Meanwhile, Johnny is on the run with Billy Ray's ex-girl friend.
Episode 7
Barrio Nights
Fri, Nov 6, 1987
Johnny heads into the Barrio for a night of music, drinking and romance. He gets more excitement than he bargained for when he's threatened, framed for murder, and has his car stolen several times. Jack attempts to clear Johnny of murder, and ends up smack dab in the middle of a drug smuggling operation.
Episode 8
Nobody Dies in Chinatown
Fri, Nov 13, 1987
When an innocent young Chinese lad is arrested for a robbery and murder in Chinatown, his sister hires Jack to prove his innocence. Working a case in Chinatown again brings back a flood of bad memories for Jack, as he once worked the beat there when he was on the police force.
Episode 9
Both Sides of the Same Coin
Fri, Nov 20, 1987
A man hires Jack to tail his wife and see if she's being unfaithful. Jack runs into another private eye who was hired by the wife to see if her husband was unfaithful. Like Jack, the other private eye was framed and drummed out of the police force, so he became a private investigator. They used to be partners on the police force together.
Episode 10
Light and Shadows
Fri, Dec 4, 1987
A black woman hires Jack to find out who has been threatening her and her family for moving into an all-white neighborhood. Jack discovers the real reason she is threatened is because she is active in a civil rights group that has caught the attention of the FBI. Johnny gets a lesson in race relations.
Episode 11
High Heels and Silver Wings
Fri, Dec 11, 1987
Jack Cleary, Johnny Betts and Dottie are pulled into a web of lies, deceit, infidelity and big money when the Cleary Detective Agency is hired by the owner of Dixon Airlines to follow his unfaithful wife. The trail of surveillance leads to graft, a cover-up, and a lot of dead test pilots.
Episode 12
Hollywood Confidential
Fri, Jan 8, 1988
Jack follows a young aspiring actress for a client, and gets surveillance photos of her in the clutches of a mega movie star. The next day the photos mysteriously appear in a gossip magazine, prompting the young actress to commit suicide. Jack suspects she was murdered, and his investigation uncovers a deep secret held by Paragon Movie Studio.