T. and T.

T. and T. is a Canadian-produced television series, in production from 1987 to 1990. The series premiered in first-run syndication in January 1988, later moving to new episodes on the Family Channel in 1990. It was a starring vehicle for Mr. T.

The opening voice-over set-up the premise:

“ T.S. Turner was convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Amy Taler was a young crusading lawyer. She launched a campaign to put Turner back on the street, this time in a shirt and tie as a private detective. Together they are -- T. and T. ”

The regular cast included Mr. T himself along with Alexandra Amini as Amanda "Amy" Taler, Kristina Nicoll as Terri Taler (who replaced her sister as Turner's new partner in 1990), and David Nerman as Decker, the owner of the gym where T.S. boxed and, eventually, set his own headquarters. Also appearing, early on, were Amy Taler's secretary Sophie (Catherine Disher); Det. Jones (Ken James), who sometimes worked along side T. and T.; and in season two, teenage orphan Joe Casper (Sean Roberge), who lived with Decker. For the first two seasons, Turner lived with his Aunt Martha (Jackie Richardson) and teenage cousin Renee (Rachael Crawford), upon getting out of jail and cleaning up his life. In the third season, a new detective, Dick Hargrove (David Hemblen) assisted the team.

The first season had lots of violence and fight scenes, which glorified Mr. T's familiar image. Originally, when T.S. was on the hunt for the bad guys, a stylized routine would take place where he would retire to his locker room, change out of his pinstripe suits and don a leather street jacket, in preparation for vigilante justice. At the start of the second season, this routine was dispensed with, as plotlines started centering around social and environmental issues that T.S. and Amy began taking on in their work. Season three, however, saw a return to violent stories. This was despite the fact that T. and T. was now airing on the Family Channel, which generally had some limitations to the amount of sex and violence allowed on their programming.