police officer. The series premise was overhauled completely as Season 2 began in 1980. The governor of Georgia — impressed by Orly County's low crime rate (because Lobo forgot to send the crime data to the state capitol) — reassigns Lobo and Deputies Perkins and Birdie to his crime-fighting task force, the Special Crimes Action Team (SCAT) in Atlanta. Lobo now reports to Chief J.C. Carson (Nicolas Coster). Lobo is forced to contend with his new co-workers, Detectives Peaches (Amy Botwinick) and Brandy (Tara Buckman). The new format also included Nell Carter (billed as Nell Ruth Carter) as Sgt. Hildy Jones. In a July 1980 interview with The New York Times, NBC president Fred Silverman said research showed the show performing well in rural areas but not as well in urban areas. Silverman had a history of preference for urban viewers over rural ones that dated all the way back to 1970. (See the rural purge for an example). For that reason, it had been decided to move the show from rural Orly County to urban Atlanta. But the series was less successful with the new format, and it was cancelled after the end of its second season. The theme song for the show's first season was sung by Frankie Laine and was written in a western ballad style that depicted Lobo as more of a hero than an offender. During the second season, the theme song was a version of Georgia on My Mind. Cast Claude Akins as Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo Mills Watson as Deputy Perkins Brian Kerwin as Deputy Birdwell "Birdie" Hawkins Cydney Crampton as Rose Lobo Perkins Janet Lynn Curtis as Margaret Ellen Leann Hunley as Sarah Cumberland Dennis Burkley as Harry Cunningham Nell Carter as Sergeant Hildy Jones Nicolas Coster as Chief J.C. Carson Amy Botwinick as Peaches Tara Buckman as Brandy Episodes Season 1 (1979–80) Season 2 (1980–81) Syndication The series was syndicated in the early 1980s, as "The B.J./Lobo Show". For syndication, Universal offered the show in two versions, one was the original 60 minute format and the other had episodes cut to fit a half-hour time slot from their original hour versions. What differentiated the half hour episodes from the hour long ones was the inclusion of a laugh track. References External links 1979 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1970s American comedy television series 1980s American comedy television