Baretta
The 5½ Pound Junkie
TV Flash files “The 5½ Pound Junkie” as hour 2 of 82 in the TV Flash guide — Baretta (1975–1978) on ABC, season 1, episode 2, aired 1975-01-24, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E02: listed hour 2 of 82 in the Baretta guide, hour 2 of 12 in season 1. It aired 1975-01-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “He'll Never See Daylight” (S01E01). Next is “Woman in the Harbor” (S01E03).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After Baretta's childhood friend Eddie is killed, he takes on the obligation of a pregnant widow who is addicted to smack. He "kidnaps" her in an attempt to wean her off drugs to prevent the baby's being born addicted as well. His CI helps Baretta get justice.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The 5½ Pound Junkie sit in the Baretta guide?
S01E02 is listed hour 2 of 82 — hour 2 of 12 in season 1, season 1 episode 2.
When did Baretta S01E02 air?
The 5½ Pound Junkie aired 1975-01-24 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need Toma first?
No. Baretta replaced Toma as a Cannell vehicle for Blake. This undercover hour stands on its own street.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Robert Blake's undercover cop keeps a cockatoo named Fred and a theme America sang in parking lots. Street-level Spelling/Thomas toughness with disguises, informants, and a catchphrase about doing the time. Intensity on camera first; the later legal saga is extra-textual weather you already know.
The first image is a cockatoo named Fred and a cop who would not play pretty: Robert Blake's Tony Baretta in street-level disguises, informants, and a theme America sang in parking lots. ABC's Baretta (1975–1978), created by Stephen J. Cannell as a vehicle for Blake after Toma, ran four seasons, 82 episodes, in the Spelling/Thomas crime wave. Tom Ewell's Billy Truman and Michael D. Roberts's Rooster filled the orbit. Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow was a charting hit for Sammy Davis Jr. Don't do the crime if you…
Filed against
- Robert Blake as Det. Tony Baretta
Robert Blake's Det. Tony Baretta kept a cockatoo named Fred and a theme America sang in parking lots — street-level Spelling/Thomas toughness, disguises, informants, a catchphrase about doing the time. Intensity on camera first. TV Flash…
- Tom Ewell as Billy Truman
Tom Ewell occupied Baretta’s street-level orbit as Billy Truman — the civilian weather around Robert Blake’s undercover cop, a 1970s Spelling/Thomas hour with a cockatoo named Fred and a theme America sang in parking lots. Intensity…
- Michael D. Roberts as Rooster
Michael D. Roberts’s Rooster walked Baretta’s street-level toughness like an informant who had already heard the theme song — 1970s Spelling/Thomas cop hour, Robert Blake, a cockatoo named Fred, disguises, a catchphrase about doing the…