Tenspeed and Brown Shoe
Ben Vereen is E.L. "Tenspeed" Turner, an inveterate con-man and master of disguise. Jeff Goldblum is Lionel Whitney, a "brown shoe" (accountant). Through an unlikely series of circumstances, they form a detective agency. Tenspeed is the realist, while Lionel fantasizes of having adventures like the fictional private eye he idolizes, Mark Savage.
- 1980-1980
- 1 season
- Mill Creek Entertainment
- Comedy, Suspense, Drama
- TV-PG
Ben Vereen is E.L. "Tenspeed" Turner, an inveterate con-man and master of disguise. Jeff Goldblum is Lionel Whitney, a "brown shoe" (accountant). Through an unlikely series of circumstances, they form a detective agency. Tenspeed is the realist, while Lionel fantasizes of having adventures like the fictional private eye he idolizes, Mark Savage.
Season 1 Episode Guide
14 Episodes 1980
Episode 1
Pilot: Part 1
Sun, Jan 27, 1980 60 mins
Fast talking conman EL Early Leroy "Tenspeed" Turner hooks up with straight arrow suburban professional Lionel Whitney (who just happens to have a black-belt in Karate and was an Olympic Games pistol shooting competitor) to form a mismatched buddy private detective team.
Episode 2
Pilot: Part 2
Sun, Jan 27, 1980 60 mins
As Nazis and mobsters pursue Lionel for the diamonds E.L. planted on him, the accountant convinces the ex-convict to come up with a scam that'll get the criminals arrested.
Episode 3
The Robin Tucker's Roseland Roof and Ballroom Murder
Sun, Feb 3, 1980 60 mins
Lionel takes on his first case, tracking down a missing girl on behalf of a millionaire. But he soon discovers that the millionaire wants her dead, and others start dropping dead round her.
Episode 4
Savage Says: There's No Free Lunch
Sun, Feb 10, 1980 60 mins
A new female client hires Lionel to find out who is trying to kill her, and he quickly falls in love with her. It turns out that the woman, Avon, is trying to cut a deal with the board of directors that she worked for as a call girl, and they want her out of the way... along with anyone who tries to protect her.
Episode 5
Savage Says: What Are Friends For?
Sun, Mar 2, 1980 60 mins
Stockbroker Marty Huckerman, an old friend of Lionel's, hires the agency to investigate two men who have threatened him after having him invest their money. When Marty turns up dead, the partners realize that Marty may have been laundering drug money for a motorcycle gang... and the gang wants their money back.
Episode 6
The Sixteen Byte Data Chip and the Brown-eyed Fox
Sun, Mar 9, 1980 60 mins
E.L. is smitten with Lola Marshall, a beautiful dancer who hires the partners to find her missing brother, a computer programmer who was used in a scheme to liquidate a tax evader's company against his will.
Episode 7
The Millionaire's Life
Sun, Mar 16, 1980 60 mins
E.L. gets his old partner, Mike McGill, to run a scam to pay Lionel with con money to keep the agency afloat. However, the fake crime that they set up uncovers a real one, and the crooks will do anything to keep it quiet.
Episode 8
Savage Says, 'The Most Dangerous Bird Is the Jailbird'
Sun, Mar 23, 1980 60 mins
A lounge singer comes to the partners for help against a crazed gangster.
Episode 9
It's Easier to Pass an Elephant Through the Eye of a Needle Than a Bad Check in Bel Air
Sun, Mar 30, 1980 60 mins
E.L. is busy running a real estate scam on an Arab sheik when his nephew B.L. arrives in town. The boy has stolen a numbers runner' book and has convinced the crook that E.L. has it.
Episode 10
Loose Larry's List of Losers
Fri, May 30, 1980 60 mins
E.L.'s parole officer is transferred, and the tough new officer wants so send E.L. back to prison. When another parolee tries to run the officer down, E.L. tries to get back in his good graces by finding the murderer. Meanwhile, E.L. gives Lionel a stolen watch for his birthday.
Episode 11
This One's Gonna Kill Ya
Fri, Jun 6, 1980 60 mins
Lionel takes on the 40-year-old murder case of Sable Hill, and works with the retired police detective who handled the case. People start shooting at E.L. and Lionel, and they soon realize the murder attempts are tied into the resurrected murder case.
Episode 12
Untitled
Fri, Jun 13, 1980 60 mins
E.L. discovers that the agency cleaning woman, Katie, is Russian royalty. He arranges for her to marry a talent agent desperate to acquire a title, in return for a 10% finder's fee. However, a Russian professor and his goons come after Katie for a jeweled dagger that belonged to the Tsar.
Episode 13
The Treasure of Sierra Madre Street
Fri, Jun 20, 1980 60 mins
A judge hires the agency to determine if a mental patient, Dean Culpits, is actually a hired killer. However, Lionel and E.L. soon learn that the judge is anything but, and that there's a million dollars in missing money that Culpits, the judge, and the money's original owner all want.
Episode 14
Diamonds Aren't Forever
Fri, Jun 27, 1980 60 mins
When Lionel's parents William and Harriet come to town, E.L. decides to help out his partner by setting him up with a new car and a fancy fake penthouse office. However, the detectives discover that thieves are after a stolen diamond hidden in the office by the previous owner.