Alvin Sapinsley (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 Date1976-10-18

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Charactersd Engineer

Vote Count32

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 Date1968-09-20

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count1

Vote Count149

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin work for a secret intelligence service working under the auspices of the U.N. Their immediate superior is Mr. Waverly. Together they operate out of a secret base beneath the streets of New York City, and accesses through several cover business such as Del Floria's Tailor Shop and the Masque Club. This secret intelligence service is called U.N.C.L.E. United Network Command for Law and Enforcement.

Release Date1964-09-22

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count1

Vote Count68

Kojak

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

Release Date1973-10-24

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count2

Vote Count130

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 Date1968-09-20

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count1

Vote Count12

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 Date1970-12-16

DepartmentWriting

JobTeleplay

Episode Count1

Vote Count105

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 Date1958-01-12

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count1

Vote Count5

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 Date1951-08-03

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count2

Vote Count6

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 Date1980-11-29

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Vote Count1

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 Date1979-03-03

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Episode Count4

Vote Count7

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 Date1976-09-17

DepartmentCreator

JobCreator

Vote Count1

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 Date1967-01-01

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

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 Date1975-03-04

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

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 Date1980-01-22

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Moon of the Wolf

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

Release Date1972-09-26

DepartmentWriting

JobTeleplay

Vote Count41

Shannon

Shannon is an hour-long 9-episode CBS crime drama starring Kevin Dobson. Jack Shannon is a recently widowed detective who moves from New York to San Francisco to live and work, intending to be closer to his wife's parents. In New York, Shannon operated in a single mode—always moving forward. However, he discovers that in San Francisco, the approach is more relaxed; they also take time to pause. He faces considerable resistance from the laid-back San Francisco police officers, who are not impressed by his intensity or his methods. When he requests his coffee to be served "regular," they smirk at him. Additionally, when he is dissatisfied with a crime arrest that he feels is questionable, they merely blink in response.

Release Date1981-04-14

DepartmentProduction

JobSupervising Producer

Episode Count10

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 Date1953-01-13

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

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 Date1964-10-14

DepartmentWriting

JobAdaptation

Vote Count55

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 Date1977-05-02

DepartmentWriting

JobWriter

Vote Count2