In San Francisco, con man E.L. "Tenspeed" Turner (Ben Vereen) steals $ million of Nazi cash from a deposit box. He escapes from the pursuing Nazis by boarding a plane to L.A. in disguise. With both the mob and Nazis after him, EL hides the money in the luggage of Lionel "Brown Shoe" Whitney (Jeff Goldblum). The karate fighting Lionel is obsessed with private eye pulp fictions and hates being under the boot of his fiancee's high powered father. EL pretends to be a limo driver and picks up Lionel and his future in-laws. Lionel ends up arrested for stealing the limo. It's the start of a beautiful partnership. In order to stay out of prison, they start up a private detective agency.
The title is bad. The premise is convoluted. Tenspeed starts off really annoying. The ten-speed bell gimmick wears thin. There is a lot wrong with this show. I decided to give it a try after Conan O'Brien mentioned it on his podcast interviewing Goldblum. It's a rough start but it does grow on me over time. Iconic writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell created this after his legendary smash hit The Rockford Files finished its run. He would become a staple in 80's network comedy-action hour long drama. This is not one of those at the top of his resume. The chemistry between Vereen and newcomer Goldblum had some potential. Goldblum is starting to deliver his weird comedic timing. Vereen has the name brand. The show needs a less convoluted pilot. This is the Madlib of TV writing. It feels like Cannell had a crazy idea about a Nazi heist and decided to throw in the mob in the elevator pitch. It doesn't make sense that they start a detective agency together and Tenspeed has no incentive to stay with Lionel. He is lifelong con-man and suddenly he turns straight for no good reason. He also needs a better name especially since he never rides a ten-speed bicycle. It's a weird crazy concept trying to play it off seriously. Cannell would repeat the same detective action-comedy format over and over again with much more success and more sensible premise however outlandish. This is not one of Cannell's best although he would dominate the 80's.
The title is bad. The premise is convoluted. Tenspeed starts off really annoying. The ten-speed bell gimmick wears thin. There is a lot wrong with this show. I decided to give it a try after Conan O'Brien mentioned it on his podcast interviewing Goldblum. It's a rough start but it does grow on me over time. Iconic writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell created this after his legendary smash hit The Rockford Files finished its run. He would become a staple in 80's network comedy-action hour long drama. This is not one of those at the top of his resume. The chemistry between Vereen and newcomer Goldblum had some potential. Goldblum is starting to deliver his weird comedic timing. Vereen has the name brand. The show needs a less convoluted pilot. This is the Madlib of TV writing. It feels like Cannell had a crazy idea about a Nazi heist and decided to throw in the mob in the elevator pitch. It doesn't make sense that they start a detective agency together and Tenspeed has no incentive to stay with Lionel. He is lifelong con-man and suddenly he turns straight for no good reason. He also needs a better name especially since he never rides a ten-speed bicycle. It's a weird crazy concept trying to play it off seriously. Cannell would repeat the same detective action-comedy format over and over again with much more success and more sensible premise however outlandish. This is not one of Cannell's best although he would dominate the 80's.