Lucas Tanner

*Lucas Tanner*
Lucas Tanner
	David Hartman as Lucas Tanner with a gifted student, Scott Glaser (Alfred Lutter III), in the episode "Thirteen Going on Twenty."
Genre	School drama
Created by	Jerry McNeely
Starring	David Hartman; Rosemary Murphy; Robbie Rist;
Composer	David Shire
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	David Victor
Producers	Jay Benson; Jerry McNeely;
Cinematography	Harry L. Wolf
Editors	Tony Martinelli; Robert Watts; John J. Dumas; Edward Haire; Richard Bracken;
Running time	60 min
Production companies	Groverton Productions; R.B. Productions; Universal Television;
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 11, 1974 –; April 9, 1975

Lucas Tanner is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1974–75 season. The title character, played by David Hartman, was a former baseball player and sportswriter who becomes an English teacher at the fictional Harry S Truman Memorial High School in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He changed professions following the death of his wife and child.^[1] Episodes often deal with the resistance of traditional teachers to Tanner's unorthodox teaching style.

Regular co-stars included Rosemary Murphy, Kimberly Beck, John Randolph, and ten-year-old Robbie Rist. Unusually, the show was actually filmed in Webster Groves, rather than on a Hollywood backlot. That gave it a somewhat unusual "look" for a prime-time TV series.

A 90-minute pilot film of the series aired on NBC the week of May 4, 1974; the pilot also starred Kathleen Quinlan and Joe Garagiola.^[2]

This series was Hartman's last work as an actor. In November 1975, he began as co-host of ABC's Good Morning America. To date, he has not returned to acting.

Episodes[edit]

Nº	Title	Directed by	Written by	Air date
0	"Lucas Tanner"	Richard Donner	Jerry McNeely	May 8, 1974 (1974-05-08)
90-minute pilot.
1	"A Matter of Love"	Gordon Hessler	John McGreevey	September 11, 1974 (1974-09-11)
2	"Instant Replay"	Gordon Hessler	Robert Van Scoyk	September 18, 1974 (1974-09-18)
3	"Thirteen Going on Twenty"	Walter Doniger	Jerry McNeely	October 2, 1974 (1974-10-02)
4	"Winners and Losers"	Leo Penn	Eugene Price	October 9, 1974 (1974-10-09)
5	"A Question of Privacy"	Jerry McNeely	Jerry McNeely	October 16, 1974 (1974-10-16)
6	"Three Letter Word"	Walter Doniger	Leonard & Arlene Stadd	October 23, 1974 (1974-10-23)
7	"By the Numbers"	William Asher	Sue Milburn	November 6, 1974 (1974-11-06)
8	"Echoes"	Walter Doniger	Arthur Heinemann	November 13, 1974 (1974-11-13)
9	"Look the Other Way"	Jerry London	Story by : Arthur Heinemann & Gene Thompson Teleplay by : Arthur Heinemann	November 20, 1974 (1974-11-20)
10	"Cheers"	Paul Kransky	William Froug	December 4, 1974 (1974-12-04)
11	"Merry Gentlemen"	Walter Doniger	Robert Van Scoyk	December 25, 1974 (1974-12-25)
12	"Bonus Baby"	Randal Kleiser	Bruce Shelly & David Ketchum	January 8, 1975 (1975-01-08)
13	"Pay the Two Dollars"	Allen Baron	Robert Van Scoyk	January 15, 1975 (1975-01-15)
14	"Those Who Cannot, Teach"	Robert Scheerer	Story by : Lila Garrett Teleplay by : Judy Burns & Robert Van Scoyk	January 22, 1975 (1975-01-22)
15	"What's Wrong with Bobbie?"	Walter Doniger	Booker T. Bradshaw & David P. Lewis	January 29, 1975 (1975-01-29)
16	"Collision"	Alexander Singer	Story by : Max Hodge Teleplay by : Robert Van Scoyk & Max Hodge	February 5, 1975 (1975-02-05)
17	"Why Not a Happy Ending?"	Charles S. Dubin	Story by : Claire Whitaker Teleplay by : Claire Whitaker & Judy Burns	February 12, 1975 (1975-02-12)
18	"Shattered"	Richard Bennett	Story by : Ann Beckett Teleplay by : Ann Beckett & Robert Van Scoyk	February 19, 1975 (1975-02-19)
19	"The Noise of a Quiet Weekend"	Leo Penn	Story by : Joel Clark Teleplay by : Robert Van Scoyk	February 26, 1975 (1975-02-26)
20	"Requiem for a Son"	Robert Scheerer	David P. Lewis & Booker T. Bradshaw	March 12, 1975 (1975-03-12)
21	"A Touch of Bribery"	Paul Kransky	Eugene Price	April 2, 1975 (1975-04-02)
22	"One to One"	Charles S. Dubin	Story by : Norman Hudis Teleplay by : Norman Hudis & Robert Van Scoyk	April 9, 1975 (1975-04-09)

References[edit]

Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (7th ed. 1999), p. 601.

External links[edit]

Lucas Tanner at IMDb

[1] Morrison, Bill. "Bland Television Menu Could Give You Ulcers," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), Sunday, September 22, 1974. Retrieved January 17, 2023.

[2] NBC TV Guide ad for week of May 4, 1974, at Vintage Toledo TV.

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