View Full Version : Looking For Gavilan (1982)- Robert Urich


Black Sheep One
01-14-2020, 02:28 AM
Hi, everyone,
I was a member of this forum in past but have been gone quite a while now
due to work and family issues, but I am back hopefully for good this time.

I am interested in classic TV series, both well-known/popular and rare,
especially specific series that starred certain actors I always liked who
are mostly no longer with us sadly. I have a DVD collection mostly retail
(which I'm not allowed to copy btw) but most of what I am interested in
is presently not officially released on DVD. I have many different wants
too many to mention here but we'll start with an urgent need and an
old short-lived series (well, not too old, early 80's) which is a favorite
of mine that I remember watching on network TV during its original run.

Is anyone here familiar with Gavilan (1982) starring the late actor
Robert Urich (of S.W.A.T., Vega$, Spenser For Hire, and Lazarus Man)?
It aired on NBC-TV during the 1982-1983 season but wasn't on for
very long at all. There were 13 episodes filmed total but only 1-10
aired on NBC-TV before it was abruptly cancelled due to low ratings.
There are 3 episodes that were unaired. Gavilan has only aired once
since then that I know of, and that was on TNT in the early 90's,
mostly for Robert's birthday that particular year. To my knowledge,
it has not aired in the US anywhere ever since. The final episode
to air on network TV was # 10 The Midas Keys.

To refresh the memory of those who may have watched the show
either when it was originally on network TV or in reruns on cable
ever so briefly, Robert Urich played Robert Gavilan, an ex-CIA
agent turned oceanographer who worked for a marine life
research institute. This is going quite further back, but think
of the 50's series Sea Hunt starring Lloyd Bridges with a little
bit of spy genre thrown in. This of course got him into assorted
adventures involving helping people in difficult situations who
had nowhere else to turn. Patrick Macnee (John Steed of
The Avengers, 60's British spy series) played his buddy,
Milo Bentley who was sort of a permanent house guest.
Trivia: Fernando Lamas (father of Lorenzo Lamas from
Renegade and Falcon Crest) was originally supposed to
play a character similar to Milo, but passed away first
so Patrick got the role in his place.

Anyway, I do have Gavilan on DVD, exactly 6 episodes from
collectors when it was on TNT. I also have an incomplete
version of the pilot episode (the last 23 minutes of it).
I am missing the following episodes:

# 4 A Matter Of Geography
# 5 The Hydra
# 9 The Guns Of Harry August
(all originally aired on network TV back in 1982)

Need a full complete version of the pilot episode,
Sarah And The Buzz.

Unaired episodes are:

# 11 The Diamond Goddess
# 12 The Proteus Affair
# 13 Rios En La Mar
(To my knowledge, these episodes have not been aired
anywhere whatsoever).

The 6 episodes I do have are:
# 2 Pirates (poor) Need upgrade badly. Present copy is watchable.
# 3 By The Sword
# 6 A Drop In The Ocean
# 7 Designated Hero
# 8 Best Friend Money Can Buy
# 10 The Midas Keys
(these have surfaced in the collectors market in recent years;
unfortunately they are all that were available at the time).

If any members have this show on DVD and wish to either trade for it or
can copy it in exchange for blank disc and sufficient compensation for
time and postage only as a favor to a fellow fan, please let me know.

This series has not been officially released on DVD by its original owners
and probably will not be in future. I would like to complete this series
if possible in memory of Robert Urich, whose most well-known series
S.W.A.T. (the original), Vega$, and Spenser For Hire as well as his
last series The Lazarus Man (1996) a Western (during which he was
diagnosed with cancer resulting in the series being cancelled) have
all been released on DVD as complete series by their respective owners.

My luck trying to find the missing episodes of Gavilan has not
been very good. Very few people even remember it today.
Watching it when it was originally on is another story.
I was 19 when I first saw it.

That having been said, I appreciate your help in this matter.
I hope that I hear from someone who can assist me.
Thanks in advance.

Respectfully, Black Sheep One. :)

CadeFoster
03-22-2022, 11:51 AM
Gavilan Episode 4 is on Youtube - Italian dubbed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPy82WZLL3s&t=2090s

CadeFoster
02-17-2023, 08:23 PM
Gavilan Episode 4 is on Youtube - Italian dubbed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPy82WZLL3s&t=2090s



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4qhIO5esOQ
Gavilan episode 9