MovieChat Forums > Burke's Law (1963) Discussion > Important information for newbies re: Am...

Important information for newbies re: Amos Burke, Secret Agent.

posted 11 years ago by jonabbott56
16 replies | jump to latest

Although both featured the character of Amos Burke played by Gene Barry, and Amos Burke, Secret Agent was an ill-advised retooling of the successful Burke's Law, they are two very different shows, and should be listed as such, independent of each other (as if a spin-off). Unfortunately, if you look up an episode or acting credit for Amos Burke, Secret Agent it presently comes up on the IMDB as an episode of Burke's Law. The easy way to differentiate between the two, and identify which series the credit or title refers to, is that all the Burke's Law episodes begin with the pre-fix "Who Killed...?", and the Secret Agent episodes don't. Burke's Law was a wonderful series, and like many people I believe it would have run to five seasons had the network not effed about with it, but the Amos Burke, Secret Agent series (which I recently had the pleasure of rewatching for the first time since the '60s a few years ago on an obscure British satellite channel) is, while no classic, a moderately entertaining and enjoyable series in its own right, a sort of Bond/UNCLE combo, with great 1960s character actors involved, marred only by the knowledge that Burke's Law died for it. Judge it as a separate series and it's not so bad, but yes, Burke's Law was better.

[–] wendyblue228 11 years ago

Yes Yes Burke's Law was one of my favorite shows and I really didn't care for Amos Burke Secret Agent. Luckily MeTv is showing the series now and I can watch it again and my opinion hasn't changed.
If I remember Gene Barry wasn't too keen on doing the spinoff but in retrospect he was one heck of an elegant debonair classy actor who could pull off a believable world class spy like James Bond.

[–] richrol 11 years ago

Good post jon--I had watched a few of the Burke's Law episodes since they started showing up on MeTV and found them entertaining enough and then since they did indeed continue to label the series as Burke's Law when they started showing its bastard son ABSA I was "lucky" enough to be caught unawares when I
settled down for what I thought was a Burke's Law episode and instead was treated to the truly bizarre episode that featured Henry Jones as some kind of idealist guru gone bad whose efforts to improve the world involved the utilization of some gas that rendered its victims (even Burke!) totally apathetic to what was going on around them and interested only in having "fun" via a kind of stoned-like behavior. Against this weird backdrop I was somewhat shocked at the brutal gun violence employed by his (Jones') minions and the inclusion of some truly awkward, if not creepy instances of Burke finding time in the middle of all this to make passes at every woman he runs across. The episode could have taught the Austin Powers movies something about 1960's groovy bizarreness.

[–] jonabbott56 11 years ago

Yes Rich, what is interesting about the two shows is how completely different in tone they are. All the shows inspired by Bond picked up different aspects of the Bond formula, and Amos Burke Secret Agent unfortunately imitated the franchise's callous attitude towards the female characters. It was standard to kill off a female character in almost every episode, often pointlessly, and for Burke not to much care! The only reason for doing it was because it always happened in the Bond films! It was certainly the least of the '60's TV spy shows, although there were a few good episodes (with plenty of Austin Powers moments!), whereas Burke's Law was for a long time one of a kind and still better than its 1980s and '90s imitators. Also, that plotline of duped idealistic kids turned up everywhere in the '60's didn't it, including UNCLE and Get Smart!!

[–] shemp56 11 years ago

Amos Burke Secret Agent is one of the most awful shows I've ever seen! I usually like the secret agent shows of the 60's (UNCLE is great!) but this show stinks! I was really enjoying the Burke's Law reruns on MeTV and then it morphed into this poorly made idiot plotted monstrosity. One of the worst cases of a network ruining a good series ever.

[–] jonabbott56 11 years ago

Looks like we're all pretty much on the same page with this thread. I enjoyed Amos Burke a) for Gene Barry, and b) for the excellent 1960s cast lists, and there were a few good stories, if derivative--the old obedience gas chestnut and one with Michael Dunn as a Dr. Evil type come to mind. But yes, any season of UNCLE is vastly superior to Amos Burke, as was I Spy, and of course Burke's Law itself. The show's greatest handicap was always that it was foisted on both Barry and the audience as a substitute for the excellent Burke's Law, an epic fail. Also, I seem to recall it ran against I Spy in the U.S. TV schedule. No contest! Classic case of the network fixing a hit. If it ain't broke...

[–] wufferduck 10 years ago

Totally agree. Watching the Burke's Law dvd, you wonder what idiot changed the shows concept. It was fun, well acted and written. Loved all the Who Killed..... format. Captain Burke had style and class. Also a very good supporting team. Thank heaven for dvd's. I get to see a classy program.

[–] glacier1134 8 years ago

So, except for season 1, the dvds are unavailable I think. Did you find the other seasons somewhere?

[–] LarrupinLou 10 years ago

Judge it as a separate series and it's not so bad, but yes, Burke's Law was better.

That's about right. Amos Burke, Secret Agent isn't really bad, but I can surely understand viewers watching it back in the '60s with disgust (especially since Burke's Law was doing fine in the ratings).

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] Adrianapolis 9 years ago

Sorry to disagree with you, folks. 'Amos Burke Secret Agent' was an excellent spy show, boasting exciting action and first-rate episodes such as 'Password To Death' and 'Terror In A Tiny Town'. Only idiots would have watched it in disgust. It has stood the test of time far better than tedious old 'Burke's Law' which looked dated even on the first run. Thumped in the ratings by 'I Spy'? You're joking! There was more excitement in 'Secret Squirrel'! With recent revelations on the nightly news about Bill Cosby's private life, I like it even less!

[–] LarrupinLou 9 years ago

Only idiots would have watched it in disgust.

Think about it this way: you're a fan of a show featuring a millionaire captain of a police department for a few seasons. You even like Gary Conway and Regis Toomey, too. The new season starts, however, and Amos is now a millionaire spy out of the blue. You can't understand why people then would have been annoyed? Except for retaining Amos Burke, everything else changed. Besides, if people wanted to watch a spy program, there was an interesting one on at the same time instead - maybe even out of spite (and I Spy did become more popular very quickly).

I was only a baby back in '65, so I don't have the expectations viewers had at that time. I can appreciate both versions of Amos Burke and enjoy them equally. Yet, had I been a regular viewer when it originally ran, I think I would have said WTF a few times back in 1965.

No blah, blah, blah!

[–] halhorn65-988-97778 9 years ago

BURKE'S LAW was distinctive and unique.

AMOS BURKE, SECRET AGENT was just like every other spy show.

[–] Teddy5469 9 years ago

I vaguely remember Burke's Law, (I was 9 when it began), but I recall that I liked it. The Grown-ups had control of the (only) TV so I was glad I did. I seem to have always been a Gene Barry fan, and War of the worlds was one of my favs, and I caught up on Bat Masterson through reruns. Until Decades TV ran Amos Burke, secret agent, I had never, ever heard of it. I watched it as a remake of a good show, but it reminded me of Dean Martin in The "Matt Helm" movies. Stiff, unconvincing fights, in stylish clothes that would prohibit throwing a punch, and too many things working out as planned, or too easy to remedy. While I loved Dino, who was as cool as James Bond to me, I felt bad he took these roles. It may have been a "goof", but I was unimpressed. I'm now glad I didn't remember AB,SA as it might have tarnished Barry in my eyes.

[–] LittleBrother55 9 years ago

I have about the same response, which accords with all of the comments except for the predictable lone contrarian.

I'm an OTA, aka "rabbit ears" or "free TV" viewer. During the past year or so, I've seen "Burke's Law" on a couple of the syndicated networks that feature retro/"classic" shows, e.g. ME-TV, COZI, and now "Decades".

To be more accurate, these stations call the show "Burke's Law", but so far they seem to only show "Amos Burke, Secret Agent" episodes.

I would much rather see authentic "Burke's Law" episodes, if only to see whether they're as watchable as I (vaguely) remember.

I can only assume that the weasels who put together these syndication packages could care less about the content; they're not Gene Barry/Amos Burke fans, that's for sure.

Showing only the crappy reboot is bad enough, but calling it "Burke's Law' adds insult to injury. 😉

[–] Teddy5469 9 years ago

I'm pretty much in agreement with about 98% of your letter. I am glad that they show all the episodes of the old shows, including the duds. Keep watching...I'm sure you will also see the true "Burke's Law" episodes. I have a complaint about Cozi Tv, in that they don't show all the credits , I assume to save space for more commercials. I have to rely on IMDb to get the rest. I'm really pleased I found the database - it's incredible! As for Decades, They do a great job in programming 4 times daily to give you more chances to see what you want. They also program the same time of year as the original broadcast with other historical facts. One problem...the minitaurization of the telecast at the end of the credits. Not as bad as others, but annoying. METV doesn't seem to do it, but I've only discovered them recently. I dare you to read the credits on channels like SyFy and Lifetime! I have a 47" screen and I still can't read it!

[–] LittleBrother55 8 years ago

I can't resist throwing this in:

This weekend, the "Decades" channel had a "Burke's Law" marathon. As it happens, I had other things to do and only got to watch one full episode and bits of others-- not too many bits, because why get sucked in when you know you can't watch it all?

But it was the first true "Burke's Law" episode I'd seen since I don't know when; as I mentioned previously, the various "retro" networks in my area only seemed to recycle a few "Amos Burke, Secret Agent" episodes once in a while.

I enjoyed it a lot. No offense to those who equally enjoy the "Secret Agent" mutation, but the original concept and production is of a far higher order than the retooled version. It's not even close.

Perhaps the "Secret Agent" episodes work better if one never saw (and liked) the original premise. I can't say. I mean, it's true enough that the majority of comments are from fans of "Captain" Burke, debonair and wealthy cop, and his sidekicks, and find Agent Burke and the genre change a yuuge mistake and letdown.

This series should be required viewing in a "Survey of Catastrophic TV Series Retoolings and Spinoffs" class. It wasn't just "Rhoda". 😉

When I watched that episode, I thought "It isn't just nostalgia. 'Secret Agent Amos Burke' was like 'New Coke'."

[–] SublimeRoar 8 years ago

perfect synopsis