Why hasn't Baretta been shown on TV anymore?

[Hawkee]

I find it shocking that out of all the classic cop shows Baretta is the most underrated of all cop shows that hasn't been seen anywhere anymore and I want to know the reason? Is it because not too many people know about it or did TV stations ban Baretta reruns after what Robert Blake did to his wife? It would be cool if Heroes And Icons or GetTV would add Baretta to their lineup soon
Bestie

[DadTheKing]

Hi, Bestie! I agree that Baretta is a series that deserves to be brought back. Which network do you think should? I sat METV. Maybe you should post a poll.
DTK

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by LaBestia

I find it shocking that out of all the classic cop shows Baretta is the most underrated of all cop shows that hasn't been seen anywhere anymore and I want to know the reason? Is it because not too many people know about it or did TV stations ban Baretta reruns after what Robert Blake did to his wife? It would be cool if Heroes And Icons or GetTV would add Baretta to their lineup soon
Bestie

Yeah, I think it was because of what happened to his wife ! I loved Baretta and really wish it would be shown on one of the retro stations! But I guess they feel it would be in bad taste to run a show where a guy who was accused of murdering his wife in real life is playing a cop / detective on TV !

I'm basically a Robert Blake fan per se ! Besides Baretta I've seen him in some movies , he is a great actor !

[1960'sTVfan]

This is going back a number of years but if I remember correctly, MeTV aired episodes of Baretta for a time. I watched some episodes back then and I think MeTV was the channel that ran them.

[TMC]

Why hasn't Baretta with Robert Blake been shown on TV anymore?

Question: Why hasn't Baretta with Robert Blake been shown on TV anymore?

Let’s see:

1. Robert Blake murdered his wife and got away with it - This is the primary reason that the series isn’t shown any longer. It’s quite possible that had Blake not killed her that he could have experienced a career revitalization. However that’s never going to happen now.
   
2. The series is quite terrible - If you doubt me watch some clips on YouTube or better buy an episode of it on a streaming service and judge for yourself. While Michael D. Roberts, Tom Ewell, and Dana Elcar were all exceptional, Robert Blake proved pretty early on that he was even less appealing on television than he had been during most of his feature film career. The writing was also uneven and rarely compelling.
   
3. There aren’t enough episodes - Baretta ran for only 82 episodes, which wasn’t enough to obtain it a decent syndication package even back in the 1970s. If the series had lasted two more seasons, it’s likely that it would be on the air somewhere now.
   
4. Robert Blake is a major league a**hole - Even before he offed his wife, most people did not care for Blake and that was demonstrated by the fact that even though he was a veteran of screen and television, he couldn’t steal a job for years. No one missed Robert Blake when he left television and that’s part of the reason that Baretta isn’t airing today.
   
5. It hasn’t aged very well - There are scenes in Baretta that would be quite offensive to modern audiences. The series was pretty close to the edge when it aired; now it much of it would be dated, embarrassing, or simply unwatchable.

Robert Blake’s career ended when he murdered his wife.

That included the desire of most networks to re-air any of the television content featuring him.

[Bonniegirl]

Originally Posted by TMC

Why hasn't Baretta with Robert Blake been shown on TV anymore?

WOW!!!!