Parker Stevenson Movies

The fifth videocassette in the Hardy Boys collection was originally telecast under the title "Wipe Out." Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson star as Joe and Frank Hardy, the teen-aged detectives created back in the 1930s by Franklin W. Dixon. This time out, Joe and Frank come to Hawaii to participate in a surfing meet. Returning to their hotel room, the boys find out that they've been burglarized. It's obvious that the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for. But what was it? Shelly Novack, Titus Napoleon, James Shigeta and Bruce Gordon co-star in this 48-minute mystery, first shown as the April 24, 1977 installment of TV's weekly Hardy Boys series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hardy Boys, Part 3 consists of "The Mystery of the Flying Coulier," a 48-minute episode of TV's Hardy Boys series. Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson head the cast as teenage detectives Joe and Frank Hardy. While searching for a UFO, the boys come across a bizarre mansion with disappearing floors and rooms that change size. We suspect that Professor Desmond (David Opatoshu) is behind it all. "Mystery of the Flying Coulier" first aired March 6, 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several major changes occur during the second season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Whereas in season one the series maintained a alternating-week format -- with teenaged detective Joe and Frank Hardy (Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson) appearing in their own Hardy Boys Mysteries episode one week, followed the next week by 18-year-old sleuth Nancy Drew (Pamela Sue Martin) headlining her own Nancy Drew Mysteries installment -- beginning with the two-part season-two opener "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula," all three leading characters would occasionally appear together, solving the same mystery. Thus, while Joe and Frank soloed in such efforts as "The Mystery of the African Safari" and "The Acapulco Story," and Nancy would go it alone in the likes of "Nancy Drew's Love Match" and "The Lady on Thursday at Ten," the Hardy Boys and Miss Drew would combine forces in such capers as the two-part "The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom" -- which incidentally, featured cameo appearances by Robert Wagner, Jaclyn Smith, and Dennis Weaver. With the episode titled "Voodoo Doll," the two rotating series The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew officially merged into one, with the three major characters appearing together ever afterward. However, the series would do without the services of Pamela Sue Martin, who left the property in protest over having her separate series eliminated. Janet Louise Johnson takes over as Nancy in the aforementioned "Voodoo Doll," remaining with the series until Nancy Drew is completely written out at the end of season two. ~ All Movie Guide

Although the Hardy Boys books are credited to Franklin W. Dixon and the Nancy Drew mysteries are signed by Carolyn Keene, both of these children's literature properties were created by one man -- Edward R. Stratemeyer -- who, using a wide variety of pen names and a huge staff of ghost writers, churned out hundreds of "Hardy," "Drew," and similar book series from the WWI years onward. Curiously, while both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew had been adapted for films and television, the two properties never "merged" until ABC got the bright idea of creating the Sunday-evening TV series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries in late 1976. In this incarnation, teen heartthrobs Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson were respectively cast as Joe and Frank Hardy, the amateur-sleuth sons of celebrated private investigator Fenton Hardy (Edmund Gilbert), while Pamela Sue Martin was seen as Nancy Drew, the bright, insatiably inquisitive daughter of criminal lawyer Carson Drew (William Schallert). In keeping with their common "parentage," The Hardy Boys Mysteries and The Nancy Drew Mysteries both found their young protagonists seeking out clues and risking their lives in order to solve baffling cases, much to the dismay and disapproval of their respective parents -- not to mention the Hardy kids' aunt Gertrude (Edith Atwater) and the Drew family's maid Bess (Ruth Cox). Joe and Frank Hardy were occasionally assisted by their school friend Callie Shaw (Lisa Eilbacher), while Nancy Drew's partners in deducing were her erstwhile beau Ned Nickerson (George O'Hanlon Jr.) and her tomboyish gal pal George Fayne (played first by Jean Rasey, then by Susan Buckner).

Debuting January 30, 1977, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries was during its first season a "rotating" series, with a Hardy Boys episode one week, followed by a Nancy Drew installment the next. Beginning with season two, the Hardys and Nancy would occasionally appear in the same episode; in February of 1978, the two shows became one (albeit under the same "blanket" title), with Joe, Frank, and Nancy appearing together in every episode. At that time, Pamela Sue Martin left the series, balking at the notion of her "separate" vehicle being eliminated. Janet Louise Johnson then stepped into the role of Nancy Drew, remaining with the property until it was decided to drop Nancy altogether. Thus, though The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries officially ended in the fall of 1978, the series hung on as simply The Hardy Boys until August 26, 1979. ~ All Movie Guide

Sam Elliot stars as Rick Carlson, a thirty year old lifeguard who thinks life is passing him by. Rick loves the beach life and his job, but after attending his fifteen-year high school reunion and receiving advice from his family and friends that he's wasting his life, Rick begins to question his livelihood and wonders whether he should quit and find a more normal line of work -- such as selling cars for the local Porsche dealership. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Seven teenage prep-school students become young men as they face the realities of WW II in this drama set in 1942. Much of the tale centers on two roommates who seem exceptionally close, but whether or not they are homosexually involved is never made clear. But when one feels betrayed by the other, he acts out of anger and ultimately causes the other to become a cripple. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide