Midnight Caller

1988 - 1991

Conversations with an Assassin

25th October 1988

Episode 1

Jack Killian retires from the San Francisco Police Department after accidentally shooting his partner, Rusty, in a crossfire situation. He's drawn back to the world of the living by an offer to be a late night talk radio host. A serial killer begins calling Jack, explaining the assassinations and Jack's inadvertently pulled back into the crime fighting world.

Twelve Gauge

6th December 1988

Episode 2

Jack receives a phone call from a kidnapper who informs Jack that he has taken a suspected murderer into his personal custody so he won't hurt any more women. He continues to use Jack's show as a forum for his demands. A supposed suicide is revealed to be an elaborate murder cover up.

After It Happened

13th December 1988

Episode 3

"After It Happened" is a 1988 episode of the NBC television series Midnight Caller. The controversial episode tells the story of a bisexual man who is deliberately infecting people, including series lead character Jack Killian's ex-girlfriend, with HIV. AIDS and LGBT rights activists disrupted filming, citing concerns over the negative portrayal of bisexual and HIV-positive people and fears that the show would make people with AIDS the targets of violence. Series executives made some changes to the script in response to these concerns, but activists were still displeased. "After It Happened" performed well in the ratings but received a mixed critical response. Actress Kay Lenz received an Emmy Award for her guest-starring role as Killian's ex-girlfriend Tina. NBC aired a follow-up episode in 1989 in which Tina is near death. This second script, "Someone to Love", was written in consultation with some of the groups that protested "After It Happened" and was much more favorably received.

Payback

20th December 1988

Episode 4

A female friend of Jack's from the police force is wounded in the line of duty and her partner killed. They seek comfort in each other's arms to grieve the deaths of their partners. Jack finds himself in the crossfire of the mob hit man trying to silence the only witness to the crime.

Bank Job

3rd January 1989

Episode 5

As Jack's luck would have it, he goes into a bank to cash a cheque and finds himself a hostage in a bank robbery. The media and the police wait out the negotiations, all with a personal interest in Jack's well-being.

The Execution of John Saringo

10th January 1989

Episode 6

Jack, Devon and Billy are forced to examine their belief in capital punishment when they are invited to broadcast the final hours of a death row inmate's life.

But Not for Me

17th January 1989

Episode 7

Trash Radio

31st January 1989

Episode 8

Jack finds himself being raked over the coals by a jealous competitor who has insider information on an Internal Affairs investigation, which found Jack not guilty of the charges.

No Exit

7th February 1989

Episode 9

A young runaway, forced into prostitution, turns to Jack via his radio show for assistance in breaking away from her pimp who is involved in the white slavery market.

Fathers and Sins

14th February 1989

Episode 10

A man claiming to be Jack's father shows up and Jack is not exactly warming up to him. And Devon finally has it out with her father which doesn't end well.

Blame It on Midnight

21st February 1989

Episode 11

Jack meets a night club singer, dates her and falls hard for her. She warns him of her ex-husband who's not willing to let her go. The man even attacks Jack with a knife in a bar. Later the man is killed and Jack is the prime suspect.

Promise to a Dead Man

7th March 1989

Episode 12

Jack gets involved with a retired cop's search for the man who killed his partner years ago. And it seems that Devon's father was a person of interest.

The Fall

28th March 1989

Episode 13

Jack is drawn back to the neighborhood he worked in as a patrolman in response to a mother's plea to help her drug-addicted son.

Ethan's Call

4th April 1989

Episode 14

Jack continues to be haunted by the night of Rusty's death. This time he has to help out Rusty's son, Ethan, who has run away from home and calls Jack to tell him so.

Baby Chase

11th April 1989

Episode 15

Assisting an ill man on the street, a young doctor is faced with every mother's nightmare when her infant daughter is abducted by a young woman whose grasp on reality is failing. Jack uses the show as a forum to track down the kidnapped child, who, on top of everything, is desperately ill and will die without her medication.

Wait Until Midnight

2nd May 1989

Episode 16

One of Jack's regular callers ""witnesses"" a murder in her apartment building while talking to Jack on the phone. She isn't believed by the authorities because she is blind and there is no evidence that a crime has been committed.

Blues for Mr. Charlie

9th May 1989

Episode 17

The season finale deals with the issue of gun control, and a citizen's right to bear arms. A neighborhood convenience store owner misinterprets Jack's caution to protect himself, ends up killing a man and places partial blame on Jack for the idea.

Top Cast

Gary Cole•Wendy Kilbourne•Lisa Eilbacher

Drama

An ex-cop hosts a late-night talk radio program while getting involved with his listeners' problems in his off-time.

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Production Companies

Full Cast

Gary Cole

Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian

Wendy Kilbourne

Devon King

Lisa Eilbacher

Nicky Molloy

Dennis Dun

Billy Po

Mykelti Williamson

Deacon Bridges

Arthur Taxier

Lt. Carl Zymak

Full Crew

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