Slattery's People

Since I was six at the time,and since it has NEVER BEEN RERUN(note that, TVLand and Trio),I only have vague memories of this show. However, it was one of the first "cult" TV shows.One remarkable thing about Slattery's People:(aside from the fact that it Ed Asners first TV series)is that it was the first serious show ( Idont count The Cisco Kid!)to feature Mexican Americans. Not only were both of Slattery's assistants,Hispanic, it was also the first program to have an episode built around a Hispanic.It was called "Whatever Became of the White Tortilla?(All of the first seasons titles were in the form of questions),and starred Ricardo Montalban as a stubborn Hispanic legislator who tries to pass a bill without any co-sponsors.The director was Sydney Pollack. You know, this might sound crazy, but why doesnt C-Span rerun the show? Every episode was a civics lesson.

The pilot was shot in the Capitol Building in Sacramento, and a full size replica of the California Assembly Chamber was the set for the first season. (a smaller set was used the second season). On the flight back from Sacramento the plane was delayed a few hours going around thunderstorms, and there was a real concern the plane might have gone down with the whole cast aboard. This drama had a strong following, and a letter writing campaign saved it from cancelation after season 1, but the ratings would not allow a season 3. For many years this show was made avalible overseas, I saw it regularly in Singapore during the early 70's. I guess USIS used it as a civics lesson.

Like gmr-4, I too remember "Slattery's People." Being interested in politics, it was, and still is, one of my favorite television shows. I am glad to know at least one other person remembers it.

I recall one show in particular. It involved a person who wanted to build a house in a style which violated local design restrictions or what his neighbors wanted. It was a battle between an individual's right to build the house he wanted and government rules and regulations/neighbors. While I do not remember how the show turned out (though I think the individual was able to build what he wanted), the memory of that show has made me skeptical of unnecessary rules on house design, etc.

I doubt there is any way of getting any copies of old shows, but it there is, I would love to know about it.

And I loved it. Fourteen at the time and still grieving my hero JFK, this program was wonderful. Crenna was perfect and the weekly issue-oriented scripts were decades ahead of their time. I will always remember Slattery's People

I was a teenager in high school when Slattery's people aired. I remembered the show and that Richard Crenna was the star, but I did not remember that Ed Asner was on the show also. I remembered that I liked the show and that it was very well-written. I would not have watched it if it had not been. (not a typical air-head teen.) But I could not remember the subject of any of the episodes until I read the synopsis of the show in which a man fought city hall to build the kind of house he wanted instead of the one the zoning board wanted. It then clicked in the dusty recesses of my ancient (grandmother of eight) brain, and I actually did remember the episode. I wish that some cable station would show the great dramas of TV's history instead of constant repeats of inane comedies over and over again.