The concept of "Harrigan And Son" was certainly workable; "The Defenders" got four years out of the same basic idea of father-and-son lawyers working together, with the son learning the realities of the profession he never learned in law school. But ABC made a giant mistake, scheduling this show on Fridays at 8 PM (Eastern), between two animated shows, "Matty's Funday Funnies" and "The Flintstones". Now I know ABC was aiming "The Flintstones" at adults but they had to know kids would be watching, too. "Harrigan And Son" had absolutely no kid appeal; it might have been better to schedule "The Flintstones" at 8 and "Harrigan" at 8:30, or put "Harrigan" on another night at a later time, 9 or 9:30.
Star Pat O'Brien swore off series television when he learned what "Harrigan"'s replacement was going to be: "The Hathaways," about a couple raising three chimpanzees (the Marquis Chimps, with "To Tell The Truth"'s Peggy Cass as one of the human owners).
Still, this would be a show worth catching again; it was certainly believable, and it would be worth it to see a Hollywood legend (O'Brien) in his only series. By the way, Roger Perry (Harrigan Jr.) was married to Jo Anne Worley for many years, and they've appeared on game shows such as "Tattletales".
