Charlie’s Angels Return to ABC’s Fall TV Lineup. Will You Watch?

Charlie’s Angels returned to TV on September 22 at 8 pm on ABC.  The new Charlie’s Angels is a modern take on the 1970’s smash hit series for their fall lineup. The original featured John Forsythe as the voice of Angels boss Charlie Townsend. For those who remember the original, Charlie was never seen – in full face anyway.  The series was intended to showcase up and coming actress Kate Jackson and also starred relative unknowns Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett who quickly usurped the spotlight and captured the public’s attention. Fawcett, who left the show after only one season, went on to become what may be argued as the first actress to be known as a brand, thanks to her undeniable appeal, a nipple-showcasing red bathing suit, toothsome smile and a flippy, flowy hairstyle that not only became eponymous but was sported by women long after the show had lost its luster.

The premise was simple. Charles Townsend, bazillionaire and do-gooder, wrested three beautiful women from dead-end jobs at the LA police academy, and set them loose upon the bad guys. Each episode was an opportunity to showcase the women in the fashions of the day (or sans fashions, especially in the second season with the introduction of Cheryl Ladd as Fawcett’s little sister who preferred bathing suits to street clothes.) As for mixed messages – whew – Charlie’s Angels was full of ‘em.  The women were eye candy, for sure, but they were also powerful and positive role models, engaging in law enforcement, martial arts and all that doing good entails. They were among the first female television characters to take on roles traditionally reserved for men and yet the show became known more for its fluff quotient than for its feminist values. Perhaps if the Angels hadn’t been so gorgeous, the bad guys so one-dimensional and the plots so neatly tied up at the end of each episode, Charlie’s Angels might have established some genuine street cred with women’s libbers. Yes, the Angels took on drug dealers, art forgers and sex traffickers and, while they did karate-chop their way to justice, the show was more about what the women wore and how they practiced their flirty and feminine wiles than on their physical and intellectual strengths. Having said that, I loved the show.  It was formulaic and predictable – but it was fun.

The original Charlie’s Angels was set against a backdrop of social change in America. The feminist movement was taking hold in homes and offices across the country and women demanded that their voices be heard, their paychecks be equal and their bras be optional. Today, while many of the same issues are being debated in political (and medical) arenas, to wit: women’s reproductive rights, the atmosphere has settled.

A press release describes the new Charlie’s Angels in this way: “This big, loud, fun take on the 1970’s smash hit series introduces us to three new angels, all fearless operatives, head-turning beauties and close friends.” Leonard Goldberg, who co-produced the original Charlie’s Angels with Aaron Spelling, co-produces this time with Drew Barrymore, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville). Los Angeles has been abandoned in favor of Miami and Bosley, the Angels’ teddy bear of a helper, originally played by David Doyle is re-imagined as a hot, young technical expert played by Ramon Rodriguez. Hollywood veteran Robert Wagner (Hart to Hart) is the voice of Charlie.

The Angels include Abby (Rachael Taylor of Grey’s Anatomy), a Park Avenue princess who’d turned to thievery; Kate (Annie Ilonzeh of General Hospital), a good Miami cop turned bad; and Gloria, a disgraced army lieutenant who, apparently, is not that good with explosives. When she meets a tragic death, Charlie persuades the Angels to partner with Gloria’s childhood friend, Eve (Minka Kelly of Parenthood and Friday Night Lights), a street racer with a mysterious past.

It will be interesting to see how women are portrayed in the new Charlie’s Angels and if they will capture the country more for who they are and what they do than for what they wear or don’t wear.

Here, a little snippet of the new Charlie’s Angels …