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SARGE Starring George Kennedy 1971 - 1972 

 



Kennedy stars as Samuel Patrick Cavanaugh, a San Diego police detective sergeant
who decides to retire and enter the priesthood after his wife is murdered. Sarge had
initially studied for the priesthood prior to his police career, but his seminary studies
were interrupted by military service during World War II.

The series was preceded by a pilot titled Sarge: The Badge or the Cross,
which set the premise for the subsequent series. One week before the show's fall premiere, on
September 14, 1971, Cavanaugh traveled to San Francisco because of the death of a friend and
fellow priest. His investigation caused him to cross paths with the characters from Ironside in
a two-hour special that consolidated the two series' consecutive time slots. This has been
subsequently seen as a TV-movie, The Priest Killer.

The series was set in San Diego and the pilot movie was filmed primarily on location. However,
when the series went into production, episodes were filmed in Los Angeles. The parish church
used was St. Peter's Italian Catholic Church on North Broadway in Chinatown.

George Kennedy's character was originally Sarge Swanson in the pilot movie.
Starting with the Ironside crossover episode, and for the rest of the series, his last name was
changed from Swanson to Cavanaugh. Supporting actor Ramon Bieri played Sarge's police contact.
In the pilot, his name was Chief Dewey, but was changed to Lt. Barney Verick, chief of detectives,
for the series. Sallie Shockley (Valerie) and Harold Sakata (Kenji Takichi) reprised their roles from
the pilot movie for the series. Henry Wilcoxon as Bishop Andrade and Dana Elcar as Father
Frank Dismore also appeared in the pilot, as well as the series.

This is the Complete Collection of all available Episodes

DVD 1

Pilot 1: The Badge or The Cross
A Terminal Case of Vengeance
Ring Out, Ring It
Pss! Wanna Buy a Dirty Picture?

DVD 2

A Push Over the Edge
John Michael O'Flaherty, the Eleven O'Clock War
Silent Target
Quicksilver

DVD 3

A Bad Case of Monogamy
The Combatants
A Company of Victims

DVD 4

An Accident Waiting to Happen
Napolean Never Wanted to be a Cop
Pilot 2: The Priest Killer