Go West , Young Honey

I know that TV is going through a Golden Age, with your Sopranos and your CSI: Whattahecks, and so forth, but I pity those who weren't young during the 1960s. Leaving out Get Smart and My Mother the Car, we had Man from U.N.C.L.E, Girl from U.N.C.L.E, and (from 1965) Honey West.

Anne Francis (from Forbidden Planet) plays private eye Honey West. She fights crime with skin-tight cocktail dresses, high-tech gadgets and judo. She doesn't fight crime very well, though, since every episode seems to start with Honey blowing a case, which she spends the rest of the episode clearing up. There are martinis, bikinis, sunglasses, sports cars and yachts.

Honey's Aunt Meg acts as office manager, and Sam Bolt is her associate, her Willy Garvin, her Ilya Kuriakin. He also gives her a chance to say, "Saaaaayaaam" in her whiskey-and-honey voice. And, she has a pet ocelot named Bruce.

Bruce doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he's the best part by far. He's sleek and sexy, and loves to play. He is usually seen tearing up his blanket or kicking, scratching and biting Honey. This combination of playfulness and ferocity are a great match for Honey West. A vicious, clawing, biting ball of gorgeousness, both of them. It is said that Bruce would often get upset on the hot, noisy stage, and that only Anne Francis enjoyed working with him, even though he raised bruises with his paws and once bit her hard enough to draw blood.

Aaron Spelling got the inspiration for this series from Honor Blackman of The Avengers. When The Avengers came to America, Honey West was cancelled after one season. Only one action female at a time.

In conclusion: Bruce!