Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio.
Except for a brief stint on Lifetime in the 1990s, the series has not been rerun or issued on DVD.
Best Episodes of Midnight Caller
Someone to Love
S2 Ep7
10.0
14th Nov 1989
Jack receives a call from a hospice. Tina Cassidy's battle with AIDS is near the end. As Jack goes to her, he reflects on their time together.
Fathers and Sins
S1 Ep10
9.0
14th Feb 1989
A man claiming to be Jack's father shows up and Jack is not exactly warming up to him. And Devon finally has it out with her father which doesn't end well.
Twelve Gauge
S1 Ep2
9.0
6th Dec 1988
Jack receives a phone call from a kidnapper who informs Jack that he has taken a suspected murderer into his personal custody so he won't hurt any more women. He continues to use Jack's show as a forum for his demands. A supposed suicide is revealed to be an elaborate murder cover up.
Blame It on Midnight
S1 Ep11
8.0
21st Feb 1989
Jack meets a night club singer, dates her and falls hard for her. She warns him of her ex-husband who's not willing to let her go. The man even attacks Jack with a knife in a bar. Later the man is killed and Jack is the prime suspect.
Trash Radio
S1 Ep8
8.0
31st Jan 1989
Jack finds himself being raked over the coals by a jealous competitor who has insider information on an Internal Affairs investigation, which found Jack not guilty of the charges.
But Not for Me
S1 Ep7
7.7
17th Jan 1989
Jack receives a phone call from a kidnapper who informs Jack that he has taken a suspected murderer into his personal custody so he won't hurt any more women. He continues to use Jack's show as a forum for his demands. A supposed suicide is revealed to be an elaborate murder cover up.
After It Happened
S1 Ep3
7.0
13th Dec 1988
"After It Happened" is a 1988 episode of the NBC television series Midnight Caller. The controversial episode tells the story of a bisexual man who is deliberately infecting people, including series lead character Jack Killian's ex-girlfriend, with HIV. AIDS and LGBT rights activists disrupted filming, citing concerns over the negative portrayal of bisexual and HIV-positive people and fears that the show would make people with AIDS the targets of violence. Series executives made some changes to the script in response to these concerns, but activists were still displeased.
"After It Happened" performed well in the ratings but received a mixed critical response. Actress Kay Lenz received an Emmy Award for her guest-starring role as Killian's ex-girlfriend Tina. NBC aired a follow-up episode in 1989 in which Tina is near death. This second script, "Someone to Love", was written in consultation with some of the groups that protested "After It Happened" and was much more favorably received.
Promise to a Dead Man
S1 Ep12
6.5
7th Mar 1989
Jack gets involved with a retired cop's search for the man who killed his partner years ago. And it seems that Devon's father was a person of interest.
Worst Episodes of Midnight Caller
The Fall
S1 Ep13
2.0
28th Mar 1989
Jack is drawn back to the neighborhood he worked in as a patrolman in response to a mother's plea to help her drug-addicted son.
Baby Chase
S1 Ep15
2.0
11th Apr 1989
Assisting an ill man on the street, a young doctor is faced with every mother's nightmare when her infant daughter is abducted by a young woman whose grasp on reality is failing. Jack uses the show as a forum to track down the kidnapped child, who, on top of everything, is desperately ill and will die without her medication.
Evil is Live Spelled Backward (1)
S2 Ep2
2.0
26th Sep 1989
Jack's show is plagued by a series of on-air murders and locations of dead bodies. Jack's intuition tells him it's a serial killer but he has a hard time convincing Lieutenant Zymak.
Take Back the Streets
S2 Ep6
2.0
7th Nov 1989
The drug trade hits too close to home for a San Francisco neighborhood. Their personal war on crime becomes the focus of Jack's show.
A Snitch in Time (1)
S2 Ep14
2.0
20th Feb 1990
Jack borrows Devon's car, unfortunately a young woman is killed by a hit and run driver matching Devon's car and Jack's description. The victim turns out to be the daughter of an influential retired lawyer, who wants retribution. Jack is hauled in for questioning, and becomes the pawn in a jewelry thief's deal for release.
The Reverend Soundbite
S2 Ep16
2.0
6th Mar 1990
Gang violence and police retaliation are the focal point for this episode. Zymak, accused of police brutality, is unable to come clean with his whereabouts as his marriage is disintegrating.
The Hostage Game
S2 Ep20
2.0
1st May 1990
Jack's friend from childhood is too close to the hostage situations around the world; his brother is one of many on a hijacked plane. In retaliation, he kidnaps an official from the country claiming responsibility. He keeps regular contact with Jack via the radio show, alluding to his location.
Life Without Possibility (1)
S3 Ep6
2.0
2nd Nov 1990
Nikki shows who's the new boss by insisting Jack cover a prison riot near San Francisco. Jack arrives at the prison and becomes part of a chosen delegation to go inside and witness the atrocities the convicts are rebelling against. Unknowingly, Jack becomes the target of one of the inmates, who has a personal score to settle.
Midnight Caller Episode Guide
Conversations with an Assassin
S1 Ep1
6.5
25th Oct 1988
Jack Killian retires from the San Francisco Police Department after accidentally shooting his partner, Rusty, in a crossfire situation. He's drawn back to the world of the living by an offer to be a late night talk radio host. A serial killer begins calling Jack, explaining the assassinations and Jack's inadvertently pulled back into the crime fighting world.
Twelve Gauge
S1 Ep2
9.0
6th Dec 1988
Jack receives a phone call from a kidnapper who informs Jack that he has taken a suspected murderer into his personal custody so he won't hurt any more women. He continues to use Jack's show as a forum for his demands. A supposed suicide is revealed to be an elaborate murder cover up.
After It Happened
S1 Ep3
7.0
13th Dec 1988
"After It Happened" is a 1988 episode of the NBC television series Midnight Caller. The controversial episode tells the story of a bisexual man who is deliberately infecting people, including series lead character Jack Killian's ex-girlfriend, with HIV. AIDS and LGBT rights activists disrupted filming, citing concerns over the negative portrayal of bisexual and HIV-positive people and fears that the show would make people with AIDS the targets of violence. Series executives made some changes to the script in response to these concerns, but activists were still displeased.
"After It Happened" performed well in the ratings but received a mixed critical response. Actress Kay Lenz received an Emmy Award for her guest-starring role as Killian's ex-girlfriend Tina. NBC aired a follow-up episode in 1989 in which Tina is near death. This second script, "Someone to Love", was written in consultation with some of the groups that protested "After It Happened" and was much more favorably received.
Payback
S1 Ep4
20th Dec 1988
A female friend of Jack's from the police force is wounded in the line of duty and her partner killed. They seek comfort in each other's arms to grieve the deaths of their partners. Jack finds himself in the crossfire of the mob hit man trying to silence the only witness to the crime.
Bank Job
S1 Ep5
5.3
3rd Jan 1989
As Jack's luck would have it, he goes into a bank to cash a cheque and finds himself a hostage in a bank robbery. The media and the police wait out the negotiations, all with a personal interest in Jack's well-being.
The Execution of John Saringo
S1 Ep6
6.0
10th Jan 1989
Jack, Devon and Billy are forced to examine their belief in capital punishment when they are invited to broadcast the final hours of a death row inmate's life.
But Not for Me
S1 Ep7
7.7
17th Jan 1989
Jack receives a phone call from a kidnapper who informs Jack that he has taken a suspected murderer into his personal custody so he won't hurt any more women. He continues to use Jack's show as a forum for his demands. A supposed suicide is revealed to be an elaborate murder cover up.
Trash Radio
S1 Ep8
8.0
31st Jan 1989
Jack finds himself being raked over the coals by a jealous competitor who has insider information on an Internal Affairs investigation, which found Jack not guilty of the charges.
No Exit
S1 Ep9
6.0
7th Feb 1989
A young runaway, forced into prostitution, turns to Jack via his radio show for assistance in breaking away from her pimp who is involved in the white slavery market.
Fathers and Sins
S1 Ep10
9.0
14th Feb 1989
A man claiming to be Jack's father shows up and Jack is not exactly warming up to him. And Devon finally has it out with her father which doesn't end well.
Blame It on Midnight
S1 Ep11
8.0
21st Feb 1989
Jack meets a night club singer, dates her and falls hard for her. She warns him of her ex-husband who's not willing to let her go. The man even attacks Jack with a knife in a bar. Later the man is killed and Jack is the prime suspect.
Promise to a Dead Man
S1 Ep12
6.5
7th Mar 1989
Jack gets involved with a retired cop's search for the man who killed his partner years ago. And it seems that Devon's father was a person of interest.
The Fall
S1 Ep13
2.0
28th Mar 1989
Jack is drawn back to the neighborhood he worked in as a patrolman in response to a mother's plea to help her drug-addicted son.
Ethan's Call
S1 Ep14
4th Apr 1989
Jack continues to be haunted by the night of Rusty's death. This time he has to help out Rusty's son, Ethan, who has run away from home and calls Jack to tell him so.
Baby Chase
S1 Ep15
2.0
11th Apr 1989
Assisting an ill man on the street, a young doctor is faced with every mother's nightmare when her infant daughter is abducted by a young woman whose grasp on reality is failing. Jack uses the show as a forum to track down the kidnapped child, who, on top of everything, is desperately ill and will die without her medication.
Wait Until Midnight
S1 Ep16
2nd May 1989
One of Jack's regular callers ""witnesses"" a murder in her apartment building while talking to Jack on the phone. She isn't believed by the authorities because she is blind and there is no evidence that a crime has been committed.
Blues for Mr. Charlie
S1 Ep17
9th May 1989
The season finale deals with the issue of gun control, and a citizen's right to bear arms. A neighborhood convenience store owner misinterprets Jack's caution to protect himself, ends up killing a man and places partial blame on Jack for the idea.
