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Probe

1988

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Computer Logic (1) Mar 07, 1988

New secretary Micky is assigned to work for company owner Austin James, an eccentric scientist and investigator. The two soon become enmeshed in two mysteries: a man who died of exposure but his body is colder then the surrounding air, and an error in Austin's water bill that leads to murders by strange mechanical and electrical malfunctions.

EP2 Computer Logic (2) Mar 07, 1988

New secretary Micky is assigned to work for company owner Austin James, an eccentric scientist and investigator. The two soon become enmeshed in two mysteries: a man who died of exposure but his body is colder then the surrounding air, and an error in Austin's water bill that leads to murders by strange mechanical and electrical malfunctions.

EP3 Untouched by Human Hands Mar 10, 1988

Austin is called in when a reactor built by Serendip malfunctions, and a staff member inside is dead. The body is inaccessible because of the high levels of radiation flooding the chamber. By long distance, Austin manages to determine that the pattern of wear on the man's shoes indicate he wasn't the man in question. Rather, the ""victim"" faked his death, killing a bum and using a pre-programmed robot to plant the body and stage the malfunction. Unfortunately, while in hiding the guy's own robot inadvertently kills him.

EP4 Black Cats Don't Walk Under Ladders (Do They?) Mar 17, 1988

By apppealing to his scientific vanity, Micky manages to lure Austin to a talk show/expose to act as a scientific consultant as host Marty Corrigan tries to discredit a self-proclaimed witch, Sabrina. However, the witch's curse apparently comes true after Marty drinks one of her ""potions"". Analysis of the potion reveals nothing, and it has no effect on anyone else. Corrigan appears to have died of an intense case of influenza. Then the witch turns up dead. Austin's investigation eventually turns up that an old colleague, Dr. Drakovich, killed Corrigan using the witch's potion as a ruse to deliver a genetically tailored ""designer virus,"" to protect his son from exposure.

EP5 Metamorphic Anthropoidic Prototype Over You Mar 24, 1988

Austin is called in to help with investigating a claim that a ""mape"" (a Metamorphic Anthropoidic Prototype - i.e., an intelligent monkey) is as intelligent as its sponsor, Dr. Hardwork, claims. Josephine, the mape, is indeed incredibly smart, at nearly human levels. However, an animal activist breaks into Austin's warehouse where Josephine is being kept, and is found dead, shot to death. There seem no obvious culprits, and Austin discovers that Josephine was enhanced through illegal brain surgery. However, he also deduces that Josephine herself is the murderer: having learned such behavior from watching television shows. Austin manages to rescue Micky just before a jealous Josephine can kill her too, and regretfully, the mape is put to sleep.

EP6 Now You See It... Mar 31, 1988

Two businessman die in elevators created by Serendip, putting Austin's future with the company in danger.

EP7 Plan 10 from Outer Space Apr 07, 1988

Micky manages to lure Austin into visiting the desert home of science fiction author Truman Smith the Third. He is being plagued with strange electrical apparations. He claims that the electrical creature is an alien being whose life Truman has been using as the basis for his ""fiction"", and now the alien wants a share. Smith is killed by a huge electrical discharge, but Austin determines that the phenomena is ball lightning caused by the house's location atop a lodestone. As for Smith's murder, Austin uses a ploy to reveal that Smith's wife killed him using electrical cables.

EP8 Quit-It Apr 14, 1988

Austin and Micki come to the aid of a young girl who claims everyone in her neighborhood has been replaced by imposters.
8| 0h30m| NR| en
Synopsis

Probe is a 1988 American television pilot and subsequent TV series, created by television mystery writer William Link and noted science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It aired on ABC. Michael B. Wagner, a veteran television writer, wrote the two-hour pilot, and became Executive Producer for the series. The pilot and series starred Parker Stevenson as Austin James, a misanthropic genius who solved high tech crimes, and Ashley Crow as James' new secretary Mickey Castle. The show began as a mid-season replacement and was canceled after a two-month run of the pilot and six episodes. Entire episodes have made their way on the internet through video-sharing sites such as YouTube. Some episodes of the show revolved around Serendip, a company founded by Austin that he has no interest in running. Mickey, his Serendip-appointed secretary, plays Watson to Austin's Holmes.

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Reviews

Linkshoch Wonderful Movie
Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
unityco-1 I remember this show fondly... it's one of my all-time favourites. I still have the entire series on Beta (recorded off-air during a bad thunderstorm, but what can you do?) I agree with the other posters about it probably being "too smart" to be successful, but I think it was further harmed by the writers' strike that year. The network kept repeating the only 7 episodes (I assume) because there was nothing else in the can. By the time the dispute was resolved, the damage of endless repeats had been done. Too bad. I was in high school when the series debuted, and I loved the fact that the show made me look things up. It really made me want to understand the topics being featured. (And it was a lot harder to look things up back then... no internet!)
Curtis This show was too smart for it's own good. A detective show with a twist. Parker Stevenson is a scientist that solves mysteries by way of science. Created by Isaac Asimov, the show centers around eccentric scientist Austin James and his assistant Michelle Castle. Both are tasked with investigating mysteries that can only solved by deductive logic. Fortunate enough for Austin, he possesses the uncanny ability to solve crimes by science alone...I was sad when this show ended after one season. It was the thinking-mans detective/mystery show. Each episode centered around a crime that could only be solved by Austin and his side kick. The show was pre-CSI...
Cyberknight Masao Kawata The first time I watched an episode of this series, I was "zapping" through the channels, looking for anything worth watching, and got it running, missing maybe five minutes from the beginning of the show. The script was so wonderful that I got caught immediately. The complexity of the characters were captivating and, soon, I had myself into the story, even missing the beginning of the episode. Only in the next week, when I watched another episode, that time from the very beginning, I found out that the responsible for that wonderful series was Isaac Asimov, the greatest science fiction writer of all time. Yes, surely there are fantastic stories from other writers, like "Dune" by Frank Herbert, "Ripples in The Dirac Sea" by Geoffrey A. Landis, "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, "Contact" by Carl Sagan and many others, but while those are precious pearls from a dozen writes, most (if not all) of Asimov stories are precious gemstones, he could not only produce wonderful stories, but lots of them! It's a pity when you get some masterpiece concepts like those in "I, Robot" collection by Asimov and waste them with a movie like "I, Robot"...Oh, but not this time! This series didn't have high-end visual effects or some Hollywood super star obfuscating the viewers from what is important in the movie... No, it had excellent stories, wonderful scripts and not very well known actors, but good ones nonetheless.This series proved one thing, good science fiction doesn't require complicated explanations to impossible arguments, just good ideas and a fine tuning of the elements...
courser-1 I've read the previous comments and agree with them. This was one of the best shows of it's era. I believe it was aired as a summer replacement. I was always under the impression that the network dumped it even before it aired, broadcasting the 7 already-produced episodes as summer filler. I think I was one of about 12 people who saw it, because I've never heard from it again. What a shame. I never thought of comparing it to the X-files, but I suppose that works. Probe was a much, much lighter show, though. Nowhere near as dark. While it might be a bit dated now, I would still love to see the Sci-Fi channel pick this up and air it. Austin James was extremely quirky, living in a warehouse, sleeping in a cupboard (this, way before Harry Potter) and solving crimes and debunking stuff along the way. His secretary, Michelle, brought out his rarely seen human side and provided a foil for his odd sense of humor.Like most anything that requires more than six brain cells to appreciate, the networks dropped this like a hot rock. If it does ever make an appearance, though, give it a chance. It was well-written, well-acted and thoroughly enjoyable to watch.