Sonny Spoon

Sonny Spoon
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Michael Daly Dinah Prince Stephen J. Cannell Randall Wallace
Starring	Mario Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles Jordana Capra
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	15
Production
Running time	48 minutes
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 12 (1988-02-12) – December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)

Sonny Spoon is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC television network from February 12 to December 16, 1988. The series was created by Michael Daly, Dinah Prince, Stephen J. Cannell, and Randall Wallace, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions (the fall 1988 episodes were in association with NBC Productions).

Overview

Sonny Spoon stars Mario Van Peebles as Sonny, a hip, black private investigator who uses his street smarts and "cool" persona to solve crimes. He often assists, and is assisted by, Carolyn Gilder (Terry Donahoe), an attractive assistant district attorney. Additionally, Sonny was a master of disguises, and might spend part of any given episode dressed as a clergyman, an Arab tourist, or an old lady. He used his many connections on the streets and relationships with friends and informants (who were apparently attracted to him mostly by his vibrant personality, as he had little cash to share with them) to further his ends, and also the insights of his father, Mel, a bar owner (played by Melvin Van Peebles, Mario's real-life father).

Cast

• Mario Van Peebles as Sonny Spoon
• Melvin Van Peebles as Mel Spoon
• Terry Donahoe as Carolyn Gilder
• Jordana Capra as Monique
• Bob Wieland as Johnny Skates
• Larry Friel as Det. Bartlett

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	7		February 12, 1988 (1988-02-12)	April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12)
2	8		October 7, 1988 (1988-10-07)	December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)

Season 1 (1988)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Rating/share (households)
1	1	"Sam's Private Eye"	Unknown	Unknown	February 12, 1988 (1988-02-12)	12.0/21
2	2	"Wizard of Odds"	Unknown	Unknown	February 19, 1988 (1988-02-19)	11.3/19
3	3	"Crimes Below the Waist"	Robert Iscove	Teleplay by: Stephen J. Cannell Story by: Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace & Michael Daly & Dinah Prince	February 26, 1988 (1988-02-26)	11.2/20
4	4	"Who's Got Tonsillitis?"	Unknown	Unknown	March 4, 1988 (1988-03-04)	12.3/22
5	5	"Semper Fi"	Unknown	Unknown	March 11, 1988 (1988-03-11)	11.7/21
6	6	"Tough Habit"	Unknown	Unknown	March 18, 1988 (1988-03-18)	12.1/22
7	7	"Too Good to Be True, Too Smart to Get Caught"	Roy Campanella II	Stephen J. Cannell & Randall Wallace	April 12, 1988 (1988-04-12)	11.6/20

Season 2 (1988)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)	Rating/share (households)
8	1	"Never Go to Your High School Reunion"	Unknown	Unknown	October 7, 1988 (1988-10-07)	15.7	11.3/21
9	2	"Cheap & Chilli"	Unknown	Unknown	October 14, 1988 (1988-10-14)	13.1	8.8/16
10	3	"Blind Justice"	Unknown	Unknown	October 28, 1988 (1988-10-28)	11.7	8.3/15
11	4	"Papa Rozzi"	Unknown	Unknown	November 4, 1988 (1988-11-04)	11.8	8.1/14
12	5	"Ratman Can"	Unknown	Unknown	December 2, 1988 (1988-12-02)	12.8	9.0/15
13	6	"Deuces Wild"	Unknown	Unknown	December 9, 1988 (1988-12-09)	12.9	8.5/14
14	7	"Diamonds Aren't Forever"	Bruce Kessler	Jonathan Glassner	December 16, 1988 (1988-12-16)	14.7	9.2/16
15	8	"The Final Exam"	TBD	TBD	UNAIRED?	N/A	N/A

Production

Sonny Spoon began its run as a mid-season replacement in February 1988, and was renewed for a second season. It did not sustain its early momentum and was canceled in December 1988.

Broadcast history

Season	Time slot (ET)
1987–88	Friday at 10:00 pm
1988–89	Friday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1-4) Friday at 9:00 pm (Episodes 5-7)

References

Sources

• Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

External links

• Sonny Spoon at IMDb