1 9 8 0 (USA)
1 x 96 minute episode
10 x 60 minute episodes
Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum co-starred in this light detective show which was created by Stephen Cannell (The Rockford Files).
Tenspeed (Vereen ) – whose real name was E L Turner – was a smooth-talking con man who needed a job so he wouldn’t get thrown in jail again (he was out on parole). Lionel ‘Brown Shoe’ Whitney (Goldblum) was a naive, daydreaming stockbroker with a code of ethics. An upper-class misfit who wanted to be just like his hero, a pulp fiction private eye.
In that way, Brown Shoe represented every mystery fan who ever secretly dreamed of being Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.
Whitney opened the tiny Lionel Whitney Detective Agency in partnership with Turner (a truly odd couple), and the duo wound up with more than their share of exciting cases.
Tenspeed possessed a chameleon-like skill which allowed him to instantly shift gears, transforming himself into a priest, a psychiatrist, a chauffeur, or whatever role was necessary to elude his adversaries.
The unlikely series only lasted for 11 episodes.
E.L. ‘Tenspeed’ Turner
Ben Vereen
Lionel ‘Brown Shoe’ Whitney
Jeff Goldblum
