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The Fall Guy is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonlight as bounty hunters.
| The Fall Guy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Action/adventure |
| Created by | Glen A. Larson |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | Gail Jensen Glen A. Larson David Somerville |
| Opening theme | "Unknown Stuntman" performed by Lee Majors |
| Composers | Stu Phillips Ron Ramin Frank DeVol Tom Worrall Morton Stevens Dennis McCarthy Ken Heller (uncredited) William Broughton (uncredited) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 113 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Glen A. Larson |
| Producers | Robert Janes Larry Brody Paul Mason Lee Majors |
| Cinematography | Ben Colman Michael Hofstein |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | November 4, 1981 (1981-11-04) – May 2, 1986 (1986-05-02) |
Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) is a Hollywood stunt man who moonlights as a bounty hunter. He uses his physical skills and knowledge of stunt effects (especially stunts involving cars or his large GMC pickup truck) to capture fugitives and criminals. He is accompanied by his cousin and stuntman-in-training, Howie Munson (Douglas Barr), and occasionally by fellow stuntwoman Jody Banks (Heather Thomas).
Seavers's truck was a Rounded-Line 1981 GMC K-2500 Wideside with the Sierra Grande equipment package.[1][2] A Rounded-Line 1980 GMC K-25 Wideside with the High Sierra equipment package was also used.[3] During the show's initial series, the stunts took their toll on the modified production trucks, supplied at low cost to the production by General Motors, so several different years, makes (Chevy/GMC), and models were used during the show's initial run. As a result, some inconsistencies appear in the episodes.[citation needed]
From the second season, General Motors supplied three specially adapted trucks for the stunt sequences, with the engine moved to a mid-chassis position immediately under the cab seat. This meant that these trucks flew further and pitched less in the air, allowing them to be reused for multiple takes and shows.[citation needed]
The series introductions were composed mainly by scenes from this TV series, and from risky stunt scenes of various films predating 1981. The theme song, "Unknown Stuntman", was sung by Lee Majors and later released as a single.[4]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 23 | November 4, 1981 (1981-11-04) | May 5, 1982 (1982-05-05) | |
| 2 | 23 | October 27, 1982 (1982-10-27) | May 4, 1983 (1983-05-04) | |
| 3 | 22 | September 21, 1983 (1983-09-21) | May 2, 1984 (1984-05-02) | |
| 4 | 23 | September 19, 1984 (1984-09-19) | April 10, 1985 (1985-04-10) | |
| 5 | 22 | September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) | May 2, 1986 (1986-05-02) | |
On June 5, 2007, 20th Century Fox released the first season of The Fall Guy on DVD in Region 1. Season one was released on DVD in Region 2 in Germany and the UK. Season two has also been released in Region 2, in Germany on November 28, 2008, and in the UK on February 16, 2009. all with edits.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 2 (Germany) | ||
| The Complete First Season | 23 | June 5, 2007 | June 25, 2007 | January 14, 2008 |
| The Complete Second Season | 23 | N/A | February 16, 2009 | November 28, 2008 |
These are the Nielsen ratings.
| Season | Rank | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1) 1981–1982 | #27 | 19.0 |
| 2) 1982–1983 | #14 | 19.4 |
| 3) 1983–1984 | #16[5] | 19.9[5] |
| 4) 1984–1985 | #22[6] | 17.1[6] |
| 5) 1985–1986 | #80[7] | 7.8[7] |
A board game adaptation based on the show was released by the Milton Bradley Company[8] in 1981.
A comic strip adaptation was drawn by Jim Baikie for Look-In magazine.[9]
A video game adaptation was produced by British video game developer Elite Systems in 1984.[10]
In September 2020, Universal Pictures announced the film The Fall Guy, loosely based on the television series, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by David Leitch.[11] It was released on May 3, 2024 to positive reviews but performed unsuccessfully at the box office.[12][13][14] Lee Majors and Heather Thomas appear as police officers in the mid-credit scene.[15]
