BTW, “Sprung aus den Wolken” means “Jump from the clouds” in German. The clip is in English (with subtitles) under its original title of Ripcord. There’s also a brief (half hour or so) promo for the series, hosted by Ivan Tors, on YouTube. It explains the sport of skydiving (which, along with helicopters and scuba diving was a big thing at the time) and is quite interesting.
I prefer to think of it as “equal opportunity” and “ethnic diversity to be cherished and lauded.” 
Actually, I’m being unfair. If I recall correctly, Tracy has only a very minor role in the series, introducing the detective of the week but doing not much else.
Though he was kidnapped in one episode. He had to tap out an SOS on his wrist radio in the hope that one of the other detectives would hear it.
(Holy crap! I’m amazed I remember that!)
Yes. I don’t remember them being in the same episode but I guess it makes sense.
Other stories venture into the “ick” territory, such as his older sister’s involvement with one of her college professors or his uncle “gifting” him with a prostitute for his 16th birthday (James declines, as he’s late for a date with a Swedish exchange student).
Whose uncle buys him a hooker for his birthday? Network TV in the late 1970s? Mind boggling!
did anyone besides me watch the robocop tv series? it was weird and pretty much-ignored movies 2 and 3 except delta city actually had been built …my fav eps were when the out of touch benevolent despot of OCP came up with some goofball social policy(usually a parody of a real-life situation) and they usually sent robo to save him from the unintended results or the one where a public poll said that same thing so he decided to wander around to see how “real people lived” and Robo had to accompany him with hilarious results
The best uncle in the world.
There was an episode of King of the Hill where Hank recounts the time his father took him to a hotel and tried to buy a prostitute for him. “Not many fathers would do that to their son. I mean for their son.”
My dad offered to do that for me shortly after I turned 21. I politely declined, since I had already lost my virginity.
I wonder whatever happened to Debbie… 
…I just like the DT credits with the areal view of the traffic moving out of the way for him.
And of course Mumbles.
I was almost going to start an I.D thread on this, because there’s a certain episode that I think was from this series, but can’t seem to find it on youtube. So: does anyone remember an OSB / Twilight Zonish “episode” where (ok super hazy memeories coming off here now, coming off an earth-shaking mushrooom high while coming back from a 1982 Who concert and breaking into a hotel room to crash for the night, turned on the TV, and this comes on, to really freak me) an incredibly disgusting, unidentifiable mass of flesh and viscera - along with a creeeeepy semblance of eyes and a face - is stored in a large jar for the bemused townfolk to view. I vaguely recall, from my paranoid, bemused haze, a scene where a bunch of folks are just sitting in a room and staring, increasingly obsessively, at this grotesque ‘whatever’ in the large jar, as they speculate and bicker and get more worried about whatever it could possibly be.
At the time, I was like - ok, this is the last thing I need to see right now. I’m starting to get obsessed over whatever that creepy mass of horror-slime-with-eyes in the jar is.
Anyone know? Please confirm so that this wasn’t some big hallucination.
Did someone mention “Search” earlier? Featuring the MIGHTY AND STALWART DOUG MCCLURE. Great 70’s computer font for its title.
I always thought Felix Unger’s ex-wife Gloria was too hot for such a preening milksop. I guess maybe why she became an ex.
…and most importantly Killdozer. 
Indeed - eccentric uncle fixes him up with a (who else?) hot Swedish philly to set Lance Kerwin straight.
Oh god the theme song “WHOH, OH, OH, OH, OH, JAMES”. I wanted to kill that man. The singer. And James.
/ ETA: WHOA! Like, suddenly ninja’ed on this like stink! /
Has Supertrain been mentioned yet? Several hours’-worth of glorious power-quality, here:
I’ve complained / gushed here before about Me and the Chimp. Ted Bessel from That Girl got disenchanted with having to play second banana to the monkey and just got fed up overall with having to deal with a sometimes unruly chimpanzee on set… Yeah, Ted, I feel ya. Burn.
In 1979 PBS aired We Interrupt this Week, a current events game show. Mom was really into this and tried to get me to watch it but this grade niner had a tough time following. Occasionally I’d laugh, though, at sprightly young Jeff Greenfield’s offings.
Ninja’d!
Yes!!! Thank-you crowmanyclouds!
I can now rest in slightly less hazy, paranoid, gross “were-they-memories?”.
Here’s the episode:
Dueling ninjas FTW!
The JAR (Alfred Hitchcock Hour) - video Dailymotion
Rats! Ninja’d too! 
Someone now needs to post a forgotten ninja TV show to complete the circle.
That show was great. Glover is my favorite Devil ever. Showing up in various roles tempting people to “the dark side”. (College advisor telling a young lady that it’s OK to make some extra money stripping at bachelor parties, etc.)
Given the way this thread has gone, for me at least, I woulda said Kung Fu!