found it myself... it was called "chase"..
Warning: Some Spoilers Attached, though it's unlikely this show will air anytime soon. . . . In the 60's, the top genre for American TV was the western; in the 70's, it was police shows, ranging from the deadpan Adam-12 to the self-effacing humor of Columbo. In 1973 came Chase, a surprisingly fresh series about a renegade captain who doesn't play by the book. Capt. Chase Reddick forms an elite and secret squad gleaned from the best the police force has to offer. Their mission is to go after the bottom of the barrel, really tough cases. Reddick recruits former stock-car driver Steve Baker, ex-chopper pilot and Viet Nam War vet Norm Hamilton and hotshot motorcycle cop Fred Sing. He sells them on the idea of his no-glory operation, though Baker isn't real enthused at first, and they crack their first hard case and become a team. In the ensuing series, Sgt. Sam McCraye and his attack dog Fuzz are added to the group, which becomes very tight. The actors had a great on screen presence and a nice chemistry with each other. Chase was a very promising show . . . but then came trouble. NBC had some sort of strike (writers, I believe) and had to slash the show's budget. Special effects were pared back and three of the principal actors---Reid Smith/Hamilton, Michael G. Richardson/Baker and Brian Fong/Sing were fired, to be replaced by the lackluster pair Ed Rice(Gary Crosby) and Tom Wilson(Graig Gardner). No offense to those gentlemen, but they were flat and and their characters annoying. The powers that be must've thought the viewers wouldn't mind such a major switch, but they thought wrong. The ratings sank like a stone with the departure of Messrs. Smith, Richardson and Fong; though Maunder was gorgeous and Ryan a ruggedly good actor, even they couldn't carry the show on their talents alone. What resulted was an exercise in frustration for people who enjoyed the series and Chase soon suffered a premature demise. It was a pity. Like so many other TV shows, Chase began with such promise and fizzled out. If only DVDs were available. . . !
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i also noticed that james gavin was listed in the cast as an extra... guess we know who did the driving!!
