Charlie's Angels

Charlie's Angels was a television series broadcast from 1976 to 1981, about three women who work for a fictional private investigation agency, the Charles Townsend Agency. Their boss, Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe), was rarely seen and is never seen full face - in some episodes he is shown from the rear only (where the viewer only sees the back of his head and his arms) and on the series finale where he appears in surgeon's mask and outfit. He only ever contacted the "angels" by telephone, addressing them via a speakerphone on the office's desk.

The three original "angels" were Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett-Majors) and Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith). Later, when a character left (because the actress went on to other projects, etc) another "angel" was brought on to keep the number at three. Later angels were Jill's little sister Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd), Tiffany Welles (Shelley Hack), and Julie Rogers (Tanya Roberts). Jaclyn Smith was the longest serving TV angel, remaining with the show for its entire five season run. Another major character throughout the series was Charlie's assistant, John Bosley (David Doyle).

Because the show's premise focused on the angels using a combination of sexual wiles and fierce knowledge (of seemingly every subject in the entire world) the show became known as "T&A T.V." (or "Tits and Ass television"). The angels would often be seen scantily clad for no apparent reason other than to showcase the figures of the actresses. Farrah Fawcett-Majors once attributed the show's success to this fact, quoted as saying "When the show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra.".

Movies

The television series inspired two feature films: Charlie's Angels (2000) and Full Throttle (2003). Each was directed by McG and starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as the three angels, with John Forsythe returning to voice Charlie. Bosley (John of that ilk) was played in the first film by Bill Murray, and in the second (as John's half-brother Jimmy) by Bernie Mac.

The second movie had more nods to the TV series than the first movie in the series did, perhaps due to complaints from fans of the TV series. Whereas most movie remakes of 1970s TV shows, like Starsky and Hutch, are actually remakes, the Charlie's Angels films are set in a different time. The mythology goes that whenever an Angel leaves, she is replaced so there are always three (seen in the TV show). Liu, Barrymore and Diaz's characters are not based on the Angels in the show, but are their "descendants". To prove this fact, Demi Moore's character, who is a 'fallen' Angel, quotes; "Back in my day - we used guns", which refers to the lack of martial arts in the TV series, while it is the preferred form of combat in the films. In the TV series, the Angels were more police-like, and never fought physically, only with guns.

Also, Jaclyn Smith reprised her Kelly Garrett role from the TV series, who Dylan (Barrymore) meets in a Mexican cafe when she decides to leave the Angels. Kelly persuades her to rejoin the Angels with an inspiring speech. This reinforces the fact that there were not just three Angels (in fact in the TV series the viewer sees six different Angels), but there have always been three Angels at any time.

In 2004, a television movie entitled The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels aired on NBC. It depicts the true story of what happened during the first season of the TV show.

Video games

In July 2003, three Charlie's Angels games were released on three different gaming platforms: Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and the mobile phone. The versions released on both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 were virtually the same, each given the same title: Charlie's Angels. The version released for the mobile phone was fundamentally toned down to fit the technical restrictions of the platform, and was titled Road Cyclone.

Despite the critical success of both the TV show and the movies, the video games, aside from the mobile phone version, were a debacle. According to gamerankings, the GameCube version is the worst reviewed video game of all time (an average of 23%, with metacritic garnering the same results). Although the PlayStation 2 version didn't garner enough reviews to be officially listed, this version is virtually the same as the GameCube version. The mobile phone version averaged a respectable 79%.

Other collectible items

The show sold many items during its run. These included dolls, (two versions), games, trading cards, notebooks, and even record albums. The dolls are rumored to be worth a lot if in mint condition.

Comics

A British comic strip version was produced, written by Angus P. Allan and printed in TV comic Look-In.

List of Known Angels

During run of TV series

Sabrina Duncan (1976-1979), played by Kate Jackson
Kelly Garrett (1976-1981), played by Jaclyn Smith
Jill Munroe (1976-1977), played by Farrah Fawcett-Majors
Kris Munroe (1977-1981), played by Cheryl Ladd
Tiffany Welles (1979-1980), played by Shelley Hack
Julie Rogers (1980-1981), played by Tanya Roberts

In between TV series and movies

Connie Bates (1988-1989), played by Claire Yarlett Angels of the "Angels '88" or "Angels '89" from the much-hyped but never-aired show of the late '80s. ^*
Pam Ryan (1988-1989), played by Sandra Canning
Trisha Lawrence (1988-1989), played by Karen Kopins
Bernie Colter (1988-1989), played by Téa Leoni
Madison Lee (1980s or 1990s?), played by Demi Moore A character in the Full Throttle movie with "retcon" involving her being a former Angel
Adriana Vega (1998-1999), played by Patricia Manterola Angels from the "Angeles" TV show from the 1998-99 Spanish-language version on Telemundo. ^*
Elena Sanchez (1998-1999), played by Sandra Vidal
Gina Navarro (1998-1999), played by Magali Caicedo

During movies

Natalie Cook (2000-2003), played by Cameron Diaz
Dylan Sanders aka Helen Zass (2000-2003), played by Drew Barrymore
Alex Munday (2000-2003), played by Lucy Liu

Notes and references

External links

Internet Movie Database
- Charlie's Angels (the series)
- Charlie's Angels (the movie)
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
- Behind the Camera: The Charlie's Angels Story
''Encyclopedia of Television

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