Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio. Except for a brief stint on Lifetime in the 1990s, the series has not been rerun or issued on DVD.
Air date: 1989-09-19
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack's mentor on the police force is reunited with him under horrific circumstances. His policeman son-in-law commits suicide after calling Jack's show. Jack finds himself involved in a convoluted plot of understanding why, which has him questioning the ethics of some fellow officers.
Air date: 1989-09-26
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack's show is plagued by a series of on-air murders and locations of dead bodies. Jack's intuition tells him it's a serial killer but he has a hard time convincing Lieutenant Zymak.
Air date: 1989-10-03
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: When Devon becomes a kidnap victim of the call-in killer, Zymak and Jack work together to discover that the crimes are a twisted vendetta against Jack and KJCM.
Air date: 1989-10-24
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: In an effort to help his friend whose son is being kept alive by life support, Jack showcases the issue of euthanasia on his show.
Air date: 1989-10-31
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Devon is stalked by a man who targets her during a traffic jam. She and Jack are forced into a situation that causes them to contemplate moving their relationship from platonic to something more.
Air date: 1989-11-07
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: The drug trade hits too close to home for a San Francisco neighborhood. Their personal war on crime becomes the focus of Jack's show.
Air date: 1989-11-14
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack receives a call from a hospice. Tina Cassidy's battle with AIDS is near the end. As Jack goes to her, he reflects on their time together.
Air date: 1989-11-28
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A woman chooses imprisonment versus revealing the location of her daughter to her ex-husband. The young child is supposedly a victim of sexual abuse while her legal eagle parents sort through their own personality flaws. Jack becomes a link in the chain of lies and law-bending for the sake of the child.
Air date: 1989-12-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Deacon's girlfriend, Susan, seeks Jack's assistance in dealing with her gambling debts. As Jack investigates outside of the official channels, he uncovers an art forgery ring that has Susan in the middle of it.
Air date: 1989-12-19
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A blessed statue of the baby Jesus is stolen from St. Michael's Cathedral. Jack uses his show to find out clues to its whereabouts and to prevent the mob family who donated the statue from exacting their own form of penance on the perpetrator.
Air date: 1990-01-16
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: The devastating San Francisco earthquake is re-enacted as Jack and Billy help citizens connect with loved ones via the radio waves, Devon has a close encounter, and Zymak and his family re-unite under tense circumstances.
Air date: 1990-01-23
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: An abandoned young boy seeks refuge within a modern day band of street thieves with similarities to the Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist.
Air date: 1990-02-06
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: The exploitation of illegal immigrants in the work force and the sporting world is the premise for this episode. Jack introduces Devon to the world of boxing. Unfortunately, this leads to the more unpleasant side of things...
Air date: 1990-02-20
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack borrows Devon's car, unfortunately a young woman is killed by a hit and run driver matching Devon's car and Jack's description. The victim turns out to be the daughter of an influential retired lawyer, who wants retribution. Jack is hauled in for questioning, and becomes the pawn in a jewelry thief's deal for release.
Air date: 1990-02-27
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Things are looking tense for Jack, when he and Deacon sit down to figure out the tangled web of lies and deceit to which he has fallen victim.
Air date: 1990-03-06
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Gang violence and police retaliation are the focal point for this episode. Zymak, accused of police brutality, is unable to come clean with his whereabouts as his marriage is disintegrating.
Air date: 1990-03-27
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A long time prisoner of the correctional system is paroled, and he finds the real world too difficult to manage. Jack tries to dissuade him from breaking his parole just to get back into the system he knows so well.
Air date: 1990-04-03
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: We don't see much of Jack in the episode, as his brother and his father hook up for the first time in years to help a damsel in distress retrieve a valuable artifact. (This was the premise for a spinoff show that didn't make it off the ground.)
Air date: 1990-04-17
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: One of Jack's informants from his police force days seeks his assistance when his witness protection status is jeopardized. Jack is drawn into a government conspiracy that reaches to high office and global proportion.
Air date: 1990-05-01
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack's friend from childhood is too close to the hostage situations around the world; his brother is one of many on a hijacked plane. In retaliation, he kidnaps an official from the country claiming responsibility. He keeps regular contact with Jack via the radio show, alluding to his location.
Air date: 1990-05-15
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: As the second season ends, Killian's behavior is definitely out of the ordinary... he can't seem to care about anything. A heart-to-heart intervention with Deacon and Zymak reveals that Jack is mourning Tina as her birthday approaches, but Devon needs him back to normal, for other reasons.
