Programmed for Death

Episode aired Sep 23, 1966
30m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

126

YOUR RATING

Action Adventure Crime Sci-Fi

Pat Allen, a Daily Sentinel reporter, is mysteriously killed by a leopard. While cleaning out his desk, Britt Reid discovers a large diamond that turns out to be a perfectly-manufactured fak... Read allPat Allen, a Daily Sentinel reporter, is mysteriously killed by a leopard. While cleaning out his desk, Britt Reid discovers a large diamond that turns out to be a perfectly-manufactured fake, and wonders if Allen uncovered something bigger than he expected. He also finds a trans... Read allPat Allen, a Daily Sentinel reporter, is mysteriously killed by a leopard. While cleaning out his desk, Britt Reid discovers a large diamond that turns out to be a perfectly-manufactured fake, and wonders if Allen uncovered something bigger than he expected. He also finds a transmitter that emits a supersonic tone - the type audible to cats. Britt Reid suspects the le... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

126

YOUR RATING

1User review

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

User reviews1

7.1126

Featured reviews

7powersroc

Animal assassin

This was an intriguing concept to have the villains use a leopard as their hit-man.Although I always wondered as to how the leopard made a clean getaway? I assume the elevator he came up in to reach the Daily Sentinel newsroom wasn't still waiting for him. Later,an outraged zoo keeper confronts reporter Mike Axeford about his article in the newspaper attacking this man's leopard.Other than knowing a leopard killed Mike's friend,how would Mike know the name of this leopard or who owned it? Later on in the gardens at the estate of the villains the leopard is released from its cage to go after Axeford on whom a homing device has been planted which draws the animal to its victims.The Green Hornet & Kato are also in the garden when TGH tells K that the leopard is after Mike. Exactly how did they know this,the leopard could have been after them.I'm not sure that this was the pilot episode as indicated in the trivia section here at IMDb.In the very first TGH episode broadcast(September 09,1966)"The Silent Gun,"the Hornet Sting weapon is oddly missing in this episode.I suspect that this was the pilot for TGH & after viewing it the producers decided he required another high tech weapon besides his gas gun & created the Hornet Sting for him.

Best Emmys Moments

Trivia
It is generally believed that this was the series pilot, despite being aired third. Fans point out that the masks the Hornet and Kato wear here have an angular style to them, while in the rest of the run they are molded to the actors' faces (Bruce Lee does wear this same mask in "Crime Wave" as well, leading to the theory that it was filmed first in the regular weekly run). The fact that "Programmed for Death" comes up first in the syndication package is also cited as supporting the pilot status.