Probe (Yahoo Group)

Mailing List
Name:	Probe TV Series
Date(s):	March 22, 2005 to 28 October 2019
Moderated:	Yes
Moderators/List Maintainers:	austin_james2005
Founder(s):	austin_james2005
Type:	News and merchandise
Fandom:	Probe
Scope:	General events news
URL:
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Probe TV Series was a Yahoo group with 211 members at its close. Activity was fairly regular until 2016 when months went by without posts. However the group was still being followed as, despite having a Facebook group, a member posted the following as the last group message: "I would advise the group Admin to migrate all content off Yahoo groups and create a Google-groups account. Typically shut downs occur in phases and the messaging feature may soon be eliminated as well. Google-groups has messaging features just like Yahoo. Best if we do this now because not everyone is on Facebook and facebook is banned in some countries."

Description

A thrilling site for fans of the 1980's TV series Probe : starring Parker Stevenson and Ashley Crow. Only 7 segments were ever made, with only 2 network airings - and yet a cult was established! Check out what all the interest is in a show that was made to indulge your mind.

Sample Posts

March 22, 2005

Welcome to the very first posting of our Probe TV Series Yahoo Group! I plan to unite fans of the Probe TV Series through this page and link all of us together to form a huge fan-chain of the Probe show. As I searched the web, I found many of you out there, scattered about - so now I intend to link us together and share what we all seemed to think we were the only ones out there enjoying! If you are a fan, join up, write in, share your FanMemories of the show and it's wonderful stars. Talk about the talent behind the outstanding writing, or how ahead-of-it's-time it was, to have aired before later shows of the same genre caught on! I plan to offer all kinds of goodies as well, such as fan art, profiles, short stories, etc. - so give us a try and see how you like being part of the group.

Check back for info on links to sites and photos soon!

May 5, 2008

So glad you picked up on one of our past topics! I do indeed hope that you can start a story out of this (for those who don't know, Barb is a fine writer of Probe fiction, and has given our group permission to run several of her stories in our upcoming Probe Newsletter (our first issue should be ready in the fall).

March 21, 2013

Well let me be the 1st to celebrate our Yahoo groups 13th Anniversary.

I started this group on March 22nd, 2005. Having never run a group before, I was not sure how this was all going to go - I wasn't even sure how many real fans of Probe would find us, and if so, would they join?

Very little was on the internet for the Probe series, and I was not too sure there were many who had the same passion as myself.

This show changed me. Changed what I now wanted from TV viewing. Changed the way I think. Made me want to use my mind and it did so by introducing the viewer to heightened subjects and topics that other shows were just around the corner from making common ground.

March 7, 2018

It only makes sense to talk about the Probe pilot on the anniversary of it's original airing 30 years ago today.

Isaac Asimov, who was one of Probe's creators, made a name for himself in the sci-fi novel realm with books that literally wrote the rules on robotics - before his guide, the subject was often generic.

So when Michael Wagner, the series other creator (often called, the true creator and inspiration to the Austin James character), decided television needed the world greatest detective, who could solve the world's most unsolvable mysteries through science, technology and the most keen mind (who also happened to be the world's most smartest man alive), Austin James was born.

Wagner went to Asimov to pitch his idea and have Asimov co-create the series, Probe.

Asimov himself has noted that his input was very minimal (Asimov was suppose to have continued on the series as a consultant and writing contributor, but his fear of flying kept this out of his reach, as the series was originally to be based in LA, and Asimov lived in New York).

Many involved in the series (including series star, Parker Stevenson) credit Michael Wagner as the true series creator - but the hints of Isaac Asimov's influences are felt throughout the entire series.

Episodes regarding robots were numerous in the series (Untouched By Human Hands, Now You See It...), as well as an episode that dealt with a sci-fi novel writer who gets killed by possible aliens! (Plan 10 From Outer Space).

But no one episode brings in the Asimov robot regard more than the pilot movie (titled in syndication as, Computer Logic).

Spoiler Alert: Austin's greatest adversary, Crossover helps to put in all the Asimov influences in the show - a computer that begins to kill people based on their usefulness - quite amazing indeed!

Also very chilling is having the one thing that Austin James, the world's greatest thinker in the world, uses the most in his pursuits of time and space, the computer, be the one thing he must battle against in order to stop the killing.

To me, that just ups the game for our hero - that he must out think the thing he relies on most - technology. And in this bit of brilliant writing - Probe was born!

The story itself would not be such a stand out were it not for the two main leads - Austin James and Michelle Castle - much better then the average classic TV character's, in that each one is enhanced by the others presence - and this was to remain so for the entire run of the 7 segment series (the pilot counting only as one segment here).

Computer Logic (the pilot) uses many themes found in Asimov's books regarding computers and robots, such as the age old ethical question of right and wrong, and the morals of a robot that indeed does in Crossover and has Austin and Mickey triumphant by the pilot's end.

Future episode segments would lean in this same direction, but none do it as well as the Probe pilot, which help to make it still enjoyable and fresh 30 years after it originally aired, as do all the segments produced for this short lived series - the segments stand the test of time, as the writer's put extra care in filling in the right elements to each story. Gadgets and technology have been kind to the series and made it still centered in a mild relevant way.

So here is to 30 years of Probe - a most AMAZING and original television series that was created to try and break the mold of the ordinary TV series pattern - and it succeeded!

October 13, 2019

Hi group, just wanted to let you all know that I had an amazing chance to work a deal with Parker Stevenson this past summer to buy from him his original copies of the scripts of ALL the Probe episodes and the pilot movie!!!

These are a treasure to me, as anyone who has been here on this group for all these years knows - I have been trying to locate any copies of the episode scripts for years, with no luck.

So to not only now have ALL the episode scripts is fantastic - but to have them come from the real Austin James himself, is a gem!!!

This all became possible after my meeting Parker in November 2016, we talked about my social media pages on the show and I told him I only had a first draft of the pilot movie script, but that no one sold any of the episodes, he told me he might still have his copies, and that I could have them if he found them - it would take some time, as he kept his things in storage, but he said he would be on the look out for them.

After a time, I reached out about a year later - but never heard anything, so I figured that was that - he never did say he had them for sure.

But I decided to try and ask again in early 2019, this time I got a response from a lovely lady who helps him, she reached out to ask what I was looking for - I told her pretty much ANYTHING!

So we emailed back and forth for a few months, when suddenly I got an email right before the summer - He may have ALL the scripts, wanted to know if I was still interested.

So I said for sure, it took a few weeks, but she informed me he had found them, I remined her he had promised them to me in our meeting in 2016, so she told me he was planning to sell them as a set and gave me first crack. She would keep me posted on the price, when he told her how much he wanted to sell them for.

A week or two later - I got the price it would cost me to own these.

I did not have anywhere near that amount saved, and asked would he consider a little less or if I could pay it off in a break down of a few payments. But she told me he had another interested party willing to pay more then he was offering them to me for - so it was up to me to take or decline the offer - the ball was in my court.

I asked for time to try and raise the money - and was given plenty of time to do so.

So over the summer I tried everyway I could to raise the amount it would take to own these, I thought of a go fund me page, but felt foolish! I even thought of just offering him a much smaller amount for just copies, as that would have been fine by me as well.

I even thought of passing them up - the price was way out of my range for the items and I could not come up with ideas to help me get the money fast enough - I didn't want to keep Parker waiting, so I knew I had to come up with something in less them a month's time.

Also to be included with the scripts were to be ALL his call sheets for the entire series and pilot - he had ACTUALLY kept all the documents that showed the day to day work each episode took to film, and make. Locations, guest stars, who was used on which days, which scenes were filmed on which days - even the knowledge of what order and how many days it took to complete each episode!

I didn't know what was in those goodies then, call sheets didn't seem that exciting to me then - I even thought of asking just for the scripts to see if it would help lower the price - but it was an all or nothing deal.

Finally, the date of the deadline had come, I told them I would be all in or all out by a certain time frame just so they'd know I was serious in what chance they were giving me to own the holy grail.

And I promise you, when it looked like it wasn't going to happen - I got lucky and got accepted for a loan/type situation that got me what I needed to own the items, and pay it off over time - so not to feel it too much.

I was thrilled to tell them yes, I could meet the offer - and completed the deal in a few short days.

I was pleased to be able to own this - it came REALLY close that I would not be able to afford it.

Once I got the package, I was glad I didn't pass on the call sheets - they are the gem of all gems when it comes to Probe artifacts, as they tell me EVERYTHING I truly need to know about the show and are a perfect match to the scripts, which do go hand in hand with the call sheets - so I can see why Parker did not want to spilt them up.

Our deal included that he sign each piece to me, they told me it might be more valuable to just have them just signed, not personalized, in case I wanted to re-sale them later - - - But these items are staying with me till I pass on!!!

He did include a letter, stating that these were his and are originals, incase I ever did sell, I have my proof, and he was so kind as to tell me he was very happy that they are now home with me - which I thought was too kind and I felt like that teenager I was, who originally watched the show and dreamed of wanting to one day meet the star and own a script of the episodes - only in this case I got Austin James' ACTUAL set used, filming script and got them from the man himself, not second hand - I had a melt down that this could even really happen...

He also added a few 8x10 photos from Probe, that he signed for me - and a RARE cast photo of the entire crew on the back lot from the pilot movie, that he also made out to me.

That was AMAZING, as it was not part of the deal and just a bonus for me.

I was touched.

So I just wanted to share a bit of how it all happened, I have spent the last month or so, watching the episodes against the scripts and seeing how much changes Parker did to Austin's dialogue as time went on - it's been a fun time, that and to see what order they filmed the episodes and which scenes first - I will be sharing all of this on these pages and our Facebook page, so keep following - little by little I want to be able to share as much as I can with everyone here.

I am not selling copies of the scripts at this time - they are in very delicate condition, so taking them apart to copy may not be a good idea - I do want to keep them as Parker had them, taking them apart kind of opens it up for lots of damage - but if I can find a way to do so in the future, I will let everyone know - but be warned, I paid a pretty big sum for these, so even if I could copy them without damaging them - I would only sell at a pretty high cost, to try and recoup some of the money I am still paying off to own them in the first place.

Thanks so much for everyone who's been with our group - can't wait to share other little surprises coming soon - it has been a long journey for me to finally own these, and I am thrilled that each and everyone of you have been on the journey with me all these years!!!

I am also uploading a picture that Parker took of the scripts, opened up on random pages, to send to me as proof that these were the real deal - as I wanted to make sure I was getting what I paid for - hope you enjoy the photo as a little preview!!!