Lee Majors stars as the Fall Guy, Colt Seavers, a stunt
man moonlighting as a bounty hunter who uses Hollywood stunt tactics to
capture criminals. The hero of The Fall Guy, Colt Seavers--played
by Lee Majors, the former Six Million Dollar Man--is a Hollywood stunt man,
which lets the show do all kinds of spectacular car crashes with no
justification whatsoever, and he's a bounty hunter, which lets him get into
all kinds of fist fights and ridiculous plots with no justification
whatsoever. It's the perfect 1980s TV show, and it's no surprise it was
created by Glen Larson, the mastermind behind such hits as Knight Rider,
Battlestar Galactica, and Magnum, P.I. Assisted by his handsome but not-too-
bright cousin Howie Munson (Douglas Barr) and sexy stuntwoman Jody Banks
(blonde bombshell Heather Thomas), Colt grapples with a corrupt sheriff, a mob
hit man, a government secret agent, a neo-Nazi biker gang (which, naturally,
Colt had to infiltrate through cunning disguise), women wrestlers, and more,
more, more. Preposterous? Absolutely! It's all an excuse to set things on fire
and parade scantily clad young women around (Thomas had a popular bikini scene
that led to a top-selling poster), while the Hollywood setting allowed for
cameo appearances by stars ranging from James Coburn (In Like Flint) to Lou
Ferrigno (appearing as himself playing the Incredible Hulk--it's downright
postmodern) to Farrah Fawcett (Charlie's Angels), Majors' just-divorced ex-
wife. But what kept The Fall Guy running for five seasons wasn't silly plots
or leaping cars. Lee Majors is one of those relaxed, genial actors who were
made for television. Manly but gentle, handsome but down-to-earth, Majors
appealed to men and women equally, could toss off a snappy one-liner without
effort, and gave the impression that, no matter what happened, it would come
out all right in the end. He even sang his own theme song. The Fall Guy: The
Complete First Season is pure comfort television. (Season 1 is the only season
with Jo Ann Pflug as Colt's boss, "Big Jack"; her adult sexiness and worldly
wit were much-missed on later seasons.) The only extras are a couple of brief
but entertaining featurettes, featuring interviews with Majors, Thomas, and
Larson. --Bret Fetzer