Alvin Sapinsley (Writing)

Desperate Voyage

A modern-day pirate hijacks private yachts, steals the valuables on board, and sends the passengers to the bottom of the ocean. But his current captives have no intentions of being tossed into the briny.

Release Date:1980-11-29

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:1

Once Upon a Family

A father tries to make it as a single parent when his wife walks out on him and the children.

Release Date:1980-01-22

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter is a 1979 miniseries based on the novel of the same name that aired on WGBH from March 3, 1979 to March 24, 1979. The series is four episodes long, 60 minutes each. Part 2 won the 1979 Emmy Award for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Limited Series or Special for film editors Ken Denisoff, Janet McFadden, and Tucker Wiard. In 1979, when most literary programs were being produced in the United Kingdom, Boston public television station WGBH decided to produce a homegrown literary classic of its own. The result is this epic version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's enduring novel of Puritan America in search of its soul. Hester Prynne overcomes the stigma of adultery to emerge as the first great heroine in American literature. Hawthorne's themes, the nature of sin, social hypocrisy, and community repression, still reverberate through American society. Meg Foster brings a quiet strength to the role of Hester, the adulteress condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. As her partner in crime, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, John Heard writhes in private torment most convincingly. Kevin Conway completes this grim triangle as the mysterious, maleficent Roger Chillingworth. The costumes and scenery are simple, so as not to detract from the dialogue as each character grapples with the meaning of sin, forgiveness, and redemption.

Release Date:1979-03-03

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:4

Vote Count:6

Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target

A millionaire hires a pair of private investigators, who specialize in recovering lost and stolen objects, to find his daughter, who has apparently been smuggled out of the country.

Release Date:1977-05-02

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Sherlock Holmes in New York

An affectionate bow to the master sleuth in this lavishly produced original that has Holmes rushing to New York City after discovering that his old nemesis, Moriarty, has kidnapped the son of the detective's long-time love, actress Irene Adler.

Release Date:1976-10-18

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Vote Count:30

Spencer's Pilots

Spencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. The series stars Gene Evans as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation.

Release Date:1976-09-17

Department:Creator

Job:Creator

Vote Count:1

Nick and Nora

Retired detective Nick Charles and his wife set out to solve a murder mystery after a corpse wearing white gloves is found in a hotel pool.

Release Date:1975-03-04

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Kojak

A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New York City.

Release Date:1973-10-24

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:119

Moon of the Wolf

After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf.

Release Date:1972-09-26

Department:Writing

Job:Teleplay

Vote Count:39

Night Gallery

Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.

Release Date:1970-12-16

Department:Writing

Job:Teleplay

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:97

The Name of the Game

The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s. The show had an extremely large budget for a television series.

Release Date:1968-09-20

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:12

Hawaii Five-O

Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s. The theme music composed by Morton Stevens became especially popular. Many episodes would end with McGarrett instructing his subordinate to "Book 'em, Danno!", sometimes specifying a charge such as "murder one".

Release Date:1968-09-20

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:138

Code Name: Heraclitus

A man who dies on an operating table is brought back to life, but he has total amnesia. A government agent decides that he would make a perfect undercover operative.

Release Date:1967-01-01

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Invitation to a Gunfighter

In New Mexico, a Confederate veteran returns home to find his fiancée married to a Union soldier, his Yankee neighbors rallied against him and his property sold by the local banker who then hires a gunman to kill him.

Release Date:1964-10-14

Department:Writing

Job:Adaptation

Vote Count:54

Shirley Temple's Storybook

Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by actress Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales like Mother Goose and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was meant for older youngsters. Temple's three children made their acting debuts in the last episode of the first season, "Mother Goose".

Release Date:1958-01-12

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:1

Vote Count:4

Mr. Matches

An arsonist-for-hire dubbed "Mr. Matches" has been been torching buildings all around the city. Bernard Frank, head of the fire bureau, knows who he's looking for because he's spotted in the crowd at each of his jobs admiring his work. To catch "Mr. Matches" in the act, the department has an ex-con hire him to take down a building they're monitoring. His capture becomes personal after Frank's son is killed in one of the arsonist's fires.

Release Date:1953-01-13

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Tales of Tomorrow

Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others featuring such performers as Boris Karloff, Brian Keith, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Bruce Cabot, Franchot Tone, Gene Lockhart, Walter Abel, Leslie Nielsen, and Paul Newman. The series had many similarities to the later Twilight Zone which also covered one of the same stories, "What You Need". In total it ran for eighty-five 30-minute episodes.

Release Date:1951-08-03

Department:Writing

Job:Writer

Episode Count:2

Vote Count:6

The Front Page

Newspaper comedy based loosely on the 1928 stage-play and its subsequent film adaptations.

Release Date:1950-06-08

Department:Writing

Job:Writer