The Five Best Coronet Blue Episodes

Series star Frank Converse.

A former Cafe contributor wrote about Larry Cohen's cult TV series Coronet Blue back in 2009. The show's premise is brilliantly simple: a young man awakens in New York Harbor with no memory--except for the two words "coronet blue." Taking the name Michael Alden, he spends the next 13 episodes trying to unravel the meaning of that phrase, which holds the key to his identity.

Made in 1965, Coronet Blue sat on the shelf until CBS decided to "burn it off" in the summer of 1967. The network held the show in such little regard that the final two episodes were never aired. Still, it acquired a cult following over the years (as did the catchy title song, where you can hear on our YouTube Channel). Finally, in 2017, Kino Lorber released the entire series on DVD.

It was grand fun to watch it again and to see a very young Frank Converse as Alden. It inspired the Cafe staff to take this opportunity to list our five favorite episodes. By the way, the DVD set includes an interview with series creator Larry Cohen, in which he explains the ultimate meaning of "Coronet Blue" (you can google the answer, too).

1. The Assassins - Michael answers a mysterious classified ad and meets a couple who claim to be his parents. They welcome him lovingly back into the family--and reintroduce him to his fiancee! But are they his parents? And if not, what do they want with him? This absorbing episode reminds me of a later classic episode from Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner called "The Chimes of Big Ben." Actually, there are a lot of similarities between Coronet Blue and The Prisoner.

Frank Converse and Brian Bedford.

2.  A Dozen Demons - Surviving an assassination attempt on his life, Michael awakens in a monastery in New York City. He's befriended by a young man training to become a monk (series semi-regular Brian Bedford). When the men notice Michael's uncanny resemblance to St. Anthony in a stained glass window, they set out to find the artist. The opening scenes in the monastery are the highlight of this episode, which also features Donald Moffat as a rector. Moffat was one of many fine British actors that appeared on the series, along with Susan Hampshire, Denholm Elliott, and Juliet Mills.

Juliet Mills and Converse.

3.  Man Running - After saving a political figure from an assassination attempt, Michael attempts to reunite him with the daughter he hasn't seen in years. Michael finds the daughter (Juliet Mills), but then his house guest suddenly disappears. Like the best Coronet Blue episodes, this one keeps the viewer guessing as to which characters are good and which are bad. Juliet Mills gives a very appealing performance; it's too bad her film career never equaled that of sister Hayley. Juliet is delightful opposite Jack Lemmon in Billy Wilder's Avanti! (1972).

4.  Tomoyo - Michael recognizes an Asian woman from his past, but she claims to have never met him. Seeking to learn more about her, Michael enrolls in a karate class and quickly makes an enemy with one of the black belt instructors. Appearing long before Kung Fu or even Longstreet, this episode offers an engrossing look into martial arts. This was one of the episodes never shown on CBS.

Susan Hampshire.

5.  A Time to Be Born - The first episode sets up the premise concisely and provides viewers with the most tangible clues into Michael's real identity. We see him pre-amnesia in the opening scene before he's beaten up and tossed into the harbor. After a long hospital recovery, he assumes the name Michael Alden and sets out to discover what happened to him. A potential clue leads him to a young socialite (Susan Hampshire), whose father may hold the key to Michael's identity.

Here's a two-minute scene from the episode with Juliet Mills from the Cafe's YouTube Channel:

Five Awesome TV Series Themes (You May Have Never Heard)

The classic television landscape is filled with great themes from TV shows such as Mission: Impossible, The Avengers, Route 66, and Hawaii Five-O. However, there are a plethora of awesome themes from lesser-known TV series as well. We wanted to highlight five of them today. Best of all, you can click on the videos and listen to these opening themes on the Cafe's YouTube channel without even leaving this page.

1. Coronet Blue - Larry Cohen's short-lived 1967 series was about an amnesiac (Frank Converse) whose only clue to his identity were the words "coronet blue." He spent 13 episodes trying to discover what those words meant. The catchy title song, which reminds me of "Secret Agent Man," was penned by Earl Shuman and two-time Oscar nominee Laurence Rosenthal. Lenny Welch, who provides the vocals, scored a top 5 hit in 1963 with a cover of "Since I Fell for You."



2. The Protectors - Robert Vaughn and Nyree Dawn Porter (The Forsyte Saga) starred in this 1972-73 British series about a trio of international troubleshooters. The title song "Avenues and Alleyways" was a UK hit for Lou Christie, who sings over the closing credits. I prefer the opening instrumental version.



3. UFO - Composer Barry Gray wrote some great themes for Gerry Anderson's marionette TV series (e.g., Thunderbirds, Stingray). So, it was only natural that Anderson would turn to Gray for his first live-action show in 1970. I love how the snazzy music is perfectly synchronized with the rapid editing.



4. The Loner - Jerry Goldsmith had already received one of his 18 Oscar nominations when he composed the theme to Rod Serling's 1965-66 TV Western. The show starred Lloyd Bridges as a former Union officer roaming the West and dealing with issues such as racial prejudice, redemption, and resignation.



5. Man In a Suitcase - This jazzy theme is probably the least-known on this list, but it was composed by Ron Grainer. He was responsible for memorable title tunes for TV series such as The Prisoner and Doctor Who as well the scores for movies like To Sir, With Love (though he didn't write the title song). Incidentally, the Man In a Suitcase theme was later used for the 1996-2000 British entertainment show TFI Friday.

Seven Obscure TV Shows That I Curiously Remember

Robert Goulet.

Blue Light (1966) – With gadget-laden secret agents dominating the TV landscape, ABC offered an old-style spin on the genre. Robert Goulet starred as David March, an American correspondent supposedly working for the Nazis at the start of World War II. But, hey, Robert Goulet can’t be a bad a guy—so it turns out March is really an uncover agent. Larry Cohen (The Invaders) co-created it.

Q.E.D. (1982) - Quentin E. Deverill was a Harvard University professor who had various adventures (e.g., thwarting a rocket attack on London) in England circa 1912. Sam Waterston (as Deverill) and Julian Glover (as the villainous Dr. Kilkiss) headed a fine cast and the show had plenty of style. Alas, it lasted only six episodes.

Search (1972-73) – I’m not sure I’d want to work for the World Securities Corporation, a private firm that outfitted its “probe agents” with implanted audio devices and tiny telemetry/camera devices. Talk about no privacy! Still, this series recruited Hugh O’Brian, Tony Franciosa, and Doug McClure to play the lead agents on a rotating basis. Burgess Meredith ran the Probe Control Unit with Angel Tompkins. Leslie Stevens (The Outer Limits) created this entertaining show (which also featured a catchy theme). The pilot film was called Probe—a better title in my opinion.

Strange Report (1969) – Anthony Quayle starred as Adam Strange, a forensics-minded criminologist, in this British import that aired on NBC. Kaz Garas played his associate Hamlyn (Ham) Gynt. Some of the mysteries were conventional, but others showed some flair—such as the one where a 30-year-old murder was covered up by a World War II bomb explosion.

The Senator (1970-71) – Long before The West Wing, Hal Halbrook played a crusading American senator that battled air pollution, the use of National Guard troops to squelch anti-war protests, and the displacement of Native Americans. This show was part of the umbrella series The Bold Ones, and rotated with The New Doctors and The Lawyers.

The New People (1969-70) – A 45-minute TV series? Yes, networks were more adventurous in the old days! This oddity was about a plane crash on a deserted Pacific island that killed all the adults over 30 years old. That left a bunch of college students to establish a new society in this obvious ode to Lord of the Flies. The show’s creators included Rod Serling (who wrote the pilot) and Aaron Spelling. I don’t recall the series being particularly good, but, hey, it’s one I’ve never forgotten.

Frank Converse.

Coronet Blue (1967) – One of my fellow Café contributors wrote a fine post about this show and offered this concise description: “In the pilot episode, Frank Converse portrays a young man who is attacked aboard a luxury liner and tossed overboard. He is rescued, but with no memory of his past except for the words ‘coronet blue.’ He is taken to a hospital for treatment of his memory loss, where he adopts the name Michael Alden, and sets out to determine the truth about his identity.” I remember enjoying this series, though an episode I watched on YouTube was only so-so. Incidentally, Larry Cohen created this show, too.

Coronet Blue -- Where You From and What You Done?

If you were a tween or a teenager during the summer of 1967 you may have become enthralled with the short-lived replacement television series "Coronet Blue", which ran on CBS from May 29, 1967 to September 4, 1967. After airing 11 of 13 episodes originally scheduled, the show was abruptly canceled by CBS without divulging the secret that was at the core of the plot. It was many years before this mystery was resolved.

In 1965 CBS ordered 22 episodes of the series for its 1965 -- 66 fall schedule. During that time James Aubrey was fired as president of CBS and those who replaced him took the opportunity to put their own stamp on the network, and in the schedule shuffling that followed "Coronet Blue" was left without a timeslot. However, filming began on the series in the spring of 1965 and by the end of July 13 episodes were ready for broadcast. The producers hoped that CBS would insert "Coronet Blue" into its 1966 -- 67 schedule, instead of using it as a midseason replacement in January 1966; but "Coronet Blue" wouldn't appear on national television until the summer of 1967, two years after filming had been completed.

In the pilot episode, Frank Converse portrays a young man who is attacked aboard a luxury liner and tossed overboard. He is rescued, but with no memory of his past except for the words, "coronet blue". He is taken to a hospital for treatment of his memory loss, where he adopts the name Michael Alden, and sets out to determine the truth about his identity. In each episode Michael travels around the country searching for clues to his past, interacting with different people and becoming involved in their various personal crises. The show's debut on May 29, 1967 was greeted by mostly negative reviews, although to the surprise of producers and critics alike it became popular with viewers. Nevertheless the last show ran on September 4, 1967 without any sort of conclusion. It had been preempted several times and only 11 of 13 episodes were aired.

Fans irked by the abrupt ending without resolution clamored for new episodes that would solve the mystery of Michael's identity. But even if CBS had wanted to resurrect the series, it couldn't; Frank Converse had accepted the lead role in ABC's NYPD.

In subsequent interviews given by series creator Larry Cohen and star Frank Converse it was learned that the words " coronet blue" had no meaning whatsoever. But the speculation about Michael's real identity continued until 2003. In an article in the New York Times about Larry Cohen, critic Elvis Mitchell revealed that Michael was in fact a Russian agent who had been sent to the United States to participate in espionage operations. When it was learned that he had decided to defect to America he became the target of assassins.

In spite of being trashed by critics, the series somehow touched a chord in many younger viewers, and today "Coronet Blue" has attained somewhat of a cult status. Those viewers, now in their 50s, most vividly remember its theme song performed by Lenny Welch.