Robert B. Parker's cultured Boston cop-turned-PI probes cases with his brooding, enigmatic pal, Hawk (later spun off into the 'A Man Called Hawk' series). Various lady friends also helped the sensitive sleuth, notably guidance counselor Susan Silverman and ADA Rita Fiori. Parker was a consultant for this series. 'The business of television,' he wrote in TV Guide, 'is to put on good television, not to replicate my books.' And 'Spenser: For Hire' was indeed good television.