BARBARY COAST

Jeff Cable is an agent with American Intelligence.

The period of time in which Cable operates is in the second half of the 19th Century, a few years after the end of the Civil War (so likely 1870-1875). The area of Cable's activities is the growing city of San Francisco, more specifically the red-light district of the city which earned the nickname of the Barbary Coast after the lawless region of North Africa against whom the newly created American government fought two wars seven decades before.

Exactly what department or bureau in the American government Cable answered to is quite unclear and exactly what he does is also a bit fuzzy. In the total of 14 recorded adventures that exist of this operative, several have him going up against a person or group clearly at odds with the American government while others deal with far more local criminality such as protection rackets and bank heists.

Regardless of who he goes after on whomever's behalf, Cable is an interesting fellow with an intense love of action and danger and a near fetish-level attraction to disguises and assuming other roles. He is very good at finding the excitement and even better at the role-playing.

Cable bases his operations in an unlikely headquarters; he has chosen the lush and elegantly decorated casino and saloon named the Golden Gate and owned by a friend and sometime colleague of Cable, Cash Conover.

Conover is an interesting fellow who would normally have never thought of getting involved in anything close to the kind of danger that Cable obviously adores. Conover has a history of being a conman and earns a good living at gambling. He is far more comfortable in the glitter and lights of his establishment than in the dark alleys that Cable frequents. Nevertheless, Conover has shown reluctant willingness to risk life, limb, and even his beloved casino to help his friend.

Both Cable and Conover are in their early 40's. Both are in reasonably good shape but both would rather use brains and guise than straight-out physicality to win conflicts. Unfortunately for their health and comfort, their enemies are not so inclined.

I remember seeing and liking a lot the pilot movie for this series way back when. I loved the disguises that Shatner/Cable used (even the turning of him into Oriental - not so PC these days). I loved the smoothness of the first Conover, Dennis Cole. I adored the depiction of the Barbary Coast section and the rest of San Francisco back then. It was, of course, television and therefore designed to be entertainment over reality but since I was for the former more than the latter (still am) I liked it.

Military duty took me away for the actual series and out-of-sight, out-of-mind until it came time to re-learn it for this entry. I have watched some of the regular episodes and more or less enjoyed them. Certainly I would watch more now and then. I am certain, though, that had I been able to view them back then, I would have definitely tried.