Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Man Of The People: Cast Photo

Man Of The People ran from September until October 1991 on NBC.

James Garner, who built a career playing lovable rogues tried another variation on the theme here without success. Jim Doyle ( James Garner), a small-time scam artist and gambler, found himself suddenly appointed to the city council of Long View, California , to fill out the term of his recently deceased wife , a popular councilwoman. He wasn't the pushover, that unscrupulous Mayor Chardin( Kate Mulgrew) thought he'd be , however. Jim alternated between scams, dubious ethics, the race track, and actually helping his constituents( usually for the wrong reasons, but with the right results). Watching him like a hawk was Constance ( Corinne Bohrer), his late wife's humorless, straight-arrow assistant. Others hanging around city hall were Art ( George Wyner), the mayor's obsequious ally, aspiring politico Richard ( Taylor Nichols), and Rita ( Romy Walthall), a perky former prostitute hired by Jim as soon as he took office-to be his secretary.

A single leftover hour long episode of this series was aired on December 6, 1991.

A Review From The New York Times

TV Weekend; The Good News? James Garner Is Back

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: September 13, 1991
Of all the familiar faces returning to television this fall, none will generate warmer vibrations than James Garner's. His rugged good looks and easy-going charm have contributed mightily to weekly series, most notably "The Rockford Files," and quality television movies, the most recent being "Decoration Day." Mr. Garner is an old-fashioned star, his fine performances always conveying something of his own integrity.

And now the bad news. Somehow Mr. Garner was persuaded to return to series television in "Man of the People," having its premiere on NBC at 8 Sunday evening. He plays Jim Doyle, a self-described small-time grifter, once married to a city councilwoman and now content to spend most of his time placing horse bets and hustling innocents in pool halls. When his former wife dies, Doyle is appointed to fill her seat by the mischievous Mayor Lisbeth Chardin (Kate Mulgrew). The cocky Doyle, looking forward to a chauffeured limousine, sets up shop in the blue-collar district, much to the horror of Constance (Corinne Bohrer), the devoted staff member of Doyle's late wife. The situation: devil-may-care Doyle in predictable combat with disapproving Constance.

The most immediate problem is that Mr. Garner is at least 15 years too old for the role. His disarming rogue is a touch creaky in the joints, and dyed eyebrows, no matter how carefully trimmed, are anything but flattering. Mr. Garner's disarmingly direct style of reading a line can still do wonders for distressingly ordinary dialogue, but there's little he can do about a flat concept. Doyle gets to play his little scams -- nailing a pompous sucker in a card game, deflating a hotshot realtor with an elaborate con game -- but the rogue keeps ending up looking considerably more tired than irrepressible. Some of his best moments are played off against his streetwise secretary, Rita (Romy Walthall), a Madonna fan.

The first three episodes of "Man of the People" add up to little more than mildly amusing trifles. Mr. Garner needs far heftier material if he expects to survive against Angela Lansbury in "Murder, She Wrote" on CBS. Another distinguished acting veteran, Ms. Lansbury was considerably more shrewd in selecting a late-career annuity vehicle.

For more on James Garner go to http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/garnerjames/garnerjames.htm

For a James Garner website go to http://www.jefflangonline.com/garner/

For Corrine Bohrer's Official Website go to http://members.aol.com/jondc8/indexx.html

For a website dedicated to Kate Mulgrew go to http://www.totallykate.com/