I loved this show as well. It premiered on channel 45 here in phx, az. chanel 45 was brand new and had shows like hunter and tj hooker. the station was later bought by paramount studios making it upn 45. (United Paramount Network) Now thats gone and its just MyNetwork45. sorry to ramble, it just brought back memories.
Pamela was awesome, not the usual damzal in distress charachter,loved her. I think when they brought on Buddy Ebsen that put her on the back burner way to much and the writers ruined the show by doing that. The chemistry/dynamic between Matt and Cj was wonderful, they need to bring it back.
Magnum was cool, Matt Houston...whew, he was classier than Magnum could hope to be. I loved this show because it was one of the few my whole FAMILY agreed on...especially my Mom! LOL boy she had a thing for Matt.
One things I remember about this show was the number of times Matt was "near death" from a gun shot or stab wound. Which to me made his character more real than other shows that the star/hero does get injured.
Jesus, this show is so 80s, while at the same time incredibly 70s. Look at Matt's John Holmes moustache and hideous chunky clothes! Look at Lincoln Kilpatrick's "I'm a police lieutaenant, dammit" glare and matching suit! Look at the very feeble car smashes! Look at Buddy Ebsen (who really should have retired by this point) firing a prop Uzi like he's terrified the thing will blow up in his hands! Looks like a fun cheezy show. :)
The graphics and the pyrotechnics looked far more 80s than 70s. The 1980s was when TV probably got the most bang for their buck in terms of pyrotechnics and chase scenes. It was real back then. They really crashed the cars and they really blew things up....it wasn't all $20 CGI like it is today.
@BigVilFromWestPhil Exactly. When TV Land first started out it was showing old shows like that. But now it changed and sold out. Emergency, Starsky & Hutch, Hill Street Blues, Rockford Files, Chips. Now it's like you said. 4 hours of Roseanne, the nanny, and that stupid Raymond show.
I loved this show as a kid. I remember watching it with my Mam and sister. It was on late, around 10.30 (late for a kid) so we'd go to bed and then my Mam would wake us up and allow us to watch it before returning to bed. happy memories, hope it comes out on DVD soon.
It seems like every guy on tv who has a 'stache' on his upper lip is 1)makes great tv and 2) getting laid pretty often. I got my flavor saver growing as of now! Great show btw!!!
Oh man, that luscious Pamela Hensley. She was also in the movie "Rollerball" and "Buck Rogers in the 23rd Century". And what a long title--some shows like "Lost" don't even have titles.
Matt Houston's still not out on DVD. I wonder why? My aunt feels Matt Houston wasn't good enough to be released on DVD, but I disagree with her. Many old TV shows from the '60's-'80's, including Matt Houston, were totally awesome.
Actually, the first season more closely resembles Burke's Law before taking a darker tone in the second and third season. The arrival of Miami Vice in the fall of 1984 helped bring the demise of the show.
Man, when I was a kid, my mom and I used to stay up every Friday night just to watch this show! Only drawback is, I MISSED MIAMI VICE! Oh well, can't win em all...
You would think TV land would show old like Matt Houston, Fall Guy, TJ Hooker, Manix, Barreta, Vegas, Rockford Files. I guess the world needs to see four hours of Roseanne
Is it me or did that intro run on for what seemed like forever? After a minute you think ok its over by the music... but then it takes a "one more time for good luck" approach..haha!
Max Baer who played Jethro Bodine on the Beverly Hillbillies was also in an episode of Matt Huston he was his Buddy from Vietnam, a Chopper Pilot. So the answer is Yeehaw meet you by the cement pond.
Easy Brother! I remember (I am so old-42) anyway yeah it was a good show-better than most people gave it credit. It may be on dvd soon-you should check it out if you like 80s shows.
This themesong reminds me of being in bed in the early 80's...because It came on late and I'd be in bed but still wide awake and I could hear the TV coming from my parents room and they'd be up watching this show.
I remember watching this show, I enjoyed it. There was action, comedy and of course beautiful ladies. C.J. aka Pamela Hensley is now 57 years old?! Matt Houston aka Lee Horsley is 51..damn it..does anyone else agree with me that time flies by way to fast? Man..where has it gone?
I used to love this show I vividly remember that red Mercedes and I love the theme song. The only thing I used to hate about this is Matt would always gets beat up in the beginning of the show and later gets his revenge same plot.
I was at olvera street on a field trip in the fifth grade and they were filming a short sequence there...any chance there's a list of those things? I'm forty now I'd love to see that moment again
I remember watching this show every week. I thought it would be a stupid Magnum P.I. copy, but once I saw one episode I was hooked. Especially cool was Chuck Connors as the evil Gestanos. I hoped my life would turn out to be like Matt Houston's. Why am I not a millionaire businessman/private investigator solving crimes with a hot assistant in my spare time from my penthouse office suite? Life's not fair.
Horsley later starred in the late 1980s CBS western series "Paradise". A rare popular western show in the 1980s lasting 3 seasons like Matt Houston did..
General observation: it's intriguing and a little bewildering at the length of the intro to shows like Matt Houston, and most crime dramas from the 70's and 80's. Some of them run well over a minute -- by today's standards they seem endless. It's actually a terrible waste of limited TV time -- think about it, a show with 40 minutes of non-advertising story time, and 1-1/2 mins. wasted on music and credits every week. Compare today's show with nearly non-existent intros. I prefer that approach.
@jamessmedley82 Lee isn't dead he just hasn't done a lot of acting-from what I found out he does a lot of outdoorsman and rodeo type stuff. Plus he is a avid hunter. I will see what else I can find out. I loved this show too-how cool is it to be a wealthy detective always catching the bad guy and having hot women around?
True. But like Stephanie it did give Matt the confidence and protection he needed to chase crooks on Roller-skates and horseback . He felt fresh and dry all season and thanks to the discreet floral packaging which was mistaken for a box of Benson and Hedges he managed to Pack so much action in the one show.
Why was Buddy Ebsen added to the show later? You think they would bring in someone young and hot. I guess Ebsen was still an icon then, having done "Barnaby Jones" and "Beverly Hillbilles". I guess they thought he would increase the ratings??
Was that guy really that young? I always thought he was like 40 back then but he was 27 when the show started. At least that's what I read. Apart from that, Pamela Hensley was hot and Barnaby Jones how old was he? like 80?
He worked steadily during the 80's and 90's but the career came to a screeching halt after co-starring in that Bo Derek fiasco Wind Over Water that lasted all of 3 Saturday night airings on NBC in 1998.
Its like this, the Matt Houston show would be the Airwolf equivalent and Magnum P.I. would be Blue Thunder. Matt Houston would be the Transformers and Magnum P.I. would be the GoBots.
I agree with you on that. Hunter is a lot more street tough than Magnum and Matt. However Magnum and Matt both had much cooler cars than Hunter. I especially loved Magnum`s red Ferrari.
You notice the lettering in the opening credits is the same as in Pulp Fiction? This makes me laugh because I live in Houston. Also a guy in high school used to brag that he had a "Matt Houston" haircut!! He's bald now! LOL
This is probably a dumb question, but if this show is not yet out on DVD, where did this clip come from? IIRC, Matt Houston broadcast well before VCR's were commonplace.
Buddy Ebson working the Uzi ... classy. And don't get Lincoln Kilpatrick, or he will mess your white ass up ... just as soon as Matt Houston is through with you, of course.
Matt Houston. I'm not usually much into "P.I" shows but I did like this one, I thank it was Pamela because she wasArdala in Buck Rogers but I liked this better than Magnum P.I or other "P.I.s"
