Hardcastle and McCormick is an American action/drama television series from
Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983 through 1986. The series
stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as
ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick. The series premise was
somewhat recycled from a previous Cannell series, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe.
Premise Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Milton
C. "Hardcase" Hardcastle, an eccentric judge notorious for being strict with
the law in both his duties and towards defendants, is retiring. With file
drawers filled with 200 criminals who escaped conviction due to legal
technicalities, the judge, inspired by his childhood hero the Lone Ranger,
desires to make the criminals answer for their crimes anyway. Mark McCormick is a
smart-mouthed, streetwise car thief. He faces a long incarceration for his
latest theft, a prototype sports car called the Coyote X, designed by his
murdered best friend. Together the judge and the car thief strike a deal:
Hardcastle helps McCormick catch the murderer; McCormick agrees to be
released and work as the judge's agent. In addition, McCormick is allowed to
keep the Coyote, which proves to be an excellent pursuit vehicle for their
needs. Cast
Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. "Hardcase" Hardcastle
Daniel Hugh Kelly as "Skid" Mark McCormick
Mary Jackson as Sarah Wicks John Hancock as Lt. Michael Delaney
Joe Santos as Lt. Frank Harper Coyote X
The car that McCormick drove, the Coyote X, was built from custom molds based on
the McLaren M6GT. The original Coyote X was molded, modified and assembled by
Mike Fennel. The nose, windshield doors and lower body are faithful
representations of the McLaren; the cut down rear deck, however, was a custom
component that became a feature on many Manta Montage kits with damaged or
removed rear windows. The most noticeable differences between the
Coyotes and Mantas are the wheel wells, roll pan height and shape, and the fact
that the Coyote has a one piece front clip that terminates about an inch
before and surrounding the windshield. Most of the cars made for the show were
molded and assembled by either Mike Fennel or Unique Movie Cars. Like many
kit cars of the time, the car uses a chassis from a Volkswagen Beetle and its
engine from a Porsche 914. For the second and third seasons, producers used
a different Coyote which was based on a De Lorean DMC-12, as Brian Keith had
difficulty getting in and out of the original Coyote.
The Season 2 and Season 3 Coyote does not resemble the Manta, as the front is
larger than the original, making the car resemble a front-engined car. A Season 1
car that was used in the production of Hardcastle and McCormick is owned by a
private owner in southern New Jersey. The stunt car was reconfigured for the
Knight Rider 2000 television pilot, then consequently turned into Jay Ohrberg's
show car "Taz-Mobile". In April 2011, the car was sold and shipped to Texas
where it will be re-bodied back to its Coyote configuration, retaining as many
of the original Coyote pieces as possible. A Season 2 car appeared
briefly on the sixth episode of Season 5 of the sitcom Married... with Children.
Music The opening theme song during Season 1
was entitled "Drive". It was composed by Mike Post and Stephen Geyer and sung by
David Morgan. For the first part of Season 2, the theme song was "Back to
Back", also composed by Post and Geyer but sung by Joey Scarbury. Public
demand, however, resulted in the "Drive" theme being reinstated and kept through
Season 3. Post and Pete Carpenter scored the music for the series.
Nielsen ratings 1983-84: #15
1984-85: #39 1985-86: #52
DVD releases Visual Entertainment has released all
three seasons of Hardcastle and McCormick on DVD in Region 1. VEI also
released Hardcastle & McCormick: The Complete Series on DVD on September 3,
2008. As of 2013, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.
References External links
Hardcastle and McCormick at the Internet Movie Database
Hardcastle and McCormick at TV.com TVTDB.com - Hardcastle & McCormick
Transcripts at the Wayback Machine The car-star of Hardcastle & McCormick
at the Wayback Machine "Hardcastle and McCormick: Virtual
Season Four".