# Wire Service > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wire_Service > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Wire_Service.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_Service > Source revision: 1356150430 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American TV drama series (1956–1957)}} {{about|the television series|a wire service that gathers news reports|News agency}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = Dane Clark Dan Miller Wire Service 1956.JPG | caption = Dane Clark as Dan Miller, 1956. | alt_name = '''''Deadline for Action''''' | genre = [Drama](/source/Dramatic_programming) | writer = Al C. Ward
Frederick Brady | director = [Lance Comfort](/source/Lance_Comfort)
[Tom Gries](/source/Tom_Gries) | starring = [Dane Clark](/source/Dane_Clark)
[George Brent](/source/George_Brent)
[Mercedes McCambridge](/source/Mercedes_McCambridge) | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 39 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = Warren Lewis
Don Sharpe | producer = [Buck Houghton](/source/Buck_Houghton) | company = [Desilu Productions](/source/Desilu_Productions) | runtime = 45–48 minutes | channel = [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) | first_aired = {{Start date|1956|10|04}} | last_aired = {{End date|1957|06|17}} }} '''''Wire Service''''' is an American television [drama series](/source/Dramatic_programming) that aired on [ABC](/source/American_Broadcasting_Company) as part of its [1956–57 season](/source/1956%E2%80%9357_United_States_network_television_schedule) lineup. ==Synopsis== ''Wire Service'' focuses on three reporters for the fictional Trans Globe [wire service](/source/news_agency),{{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of television shows, 1925 through 2010|date=2011|publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=978-0-7864-6477-7|page=1185|edition=2nd}} which was similar to (and obviously inspired by) real-life news wire services such as the [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) and [United Press International](/source/United_Press_International). It was the first hour-long, weekly scheduled dramatic series with continuing characters to last a full season on network television.Castleman, Harry, and Podrazik, Walter (1984): ''The TV Schedule Book'' https://www.amazon.com/TV-Schedule-Book-Programming-Sign/dp/0070102775{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}} However, the three reporters functioned independently of each other,{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television |date=1996 |publisher=Penguin Books USA |location=New York |isbn=0-14-02-4916-8 |page=919 |edition=4th}} meaning that the series was essentially three different ones sharing a time slot and title. This program was aired at 9 p.m. (Eastern Time) Thursdays from September 1956 to February 1957, when it was moved to Mondays at 8:30. It was not renewed for a second season, and the last [prime time](/source/prime_time) broadcast under this title was in September 1957. However, when a gap developed in the ABC schedule in February 1959, the episodes starring Dane Clark (only) were then rebroadcast under the title '''''Deadline for Action'''''.{{cite book |last1=Books|first1=Tim|last2=Marsh|first2=Earle|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946–Present |url=https://archive.org/details/completedirector1st00bro|url-access=registration|date=1979|publisher=Ballantine Books|location=New York|isbn=0-345-25525-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/completedirector1st00bro/page/689 689]}} The last of these repeat episodes was broadcast on September 13, 1959. The series sometimes delved into topics that were controversial for its era. They included profiteering, [nuclear testing](/source/nuclear_testing), and [prison reform](/source/prison_reform).{{cite journal|last1=O'Brien|first1=Scott|title=George Brent: Hollywood's Mysterious Lone Wolf|journal=Films of the Golden Age|date=Spring 2015|issue=80|page=55}} ==Cast== * [Dane Clark](/source/Dane_Clark) as Dan Miller * [George Brent](/source/George_Brent) as Dean Evans * [Mercedes McCambridge](/source/Mercedes_McCambridge) as Katherine Wells ==Episodes== {| class="wikitable" ! Episode # || Episode Title || Director || Writer || Original Airdate |- | 1 || "The Blood Rock Mine" || [Alvin Ganzer](/source/Alvin_Ganzer) || Al C. Ward || October 4, 1956 |- | 2 || "Campaign Train" || [Tom Gries](/source/Tom_Gries) ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=[Gordon and Mildred Gordon](/source/The_Gordons_(writers))|t=Frederick Brady}} || October 11, 1956 |- | 3 || "Hideout" || Alvin Ganzer ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=|t=[Gabrielle Upton](/source/Gabrielle_Upton_(screenwriter))}} || October 18, 1956 |- | 4 || "The Johnny Rath Story" || [Robert Florey](/source/Robert_Florey) ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Al C. Ward|t=Frederick Brady}} || October 25, 1956 |- | 5 || "Night of August 7th" || Alvin Ganzer || Al C. Ward || November 1, 1956 |- | 6 || "Conspiracy" || Reginald LeBorg || Seeleg Lester || November 8, 1956 |- | 7 || "The Tower" || [Reginald LeBorg](/source/Reginald_LeBorg) ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Merwin Gerard|t=James Edmiston and Merwin Gerard}} || November 15, 1956 |- | 8 || "Deported" || Tom Gries ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Joel Kane|t=Jack Jacobs, Joel Kane, and [Malvin Wald](/source/Malvin_Wald)}} || November 22, 1956 |- | 9 || "Until I Die" || TBA || Gabrielle Upton || November 29, 1956 |- | 10 || "The Avengers" || TBA || Malvin Wald and Jack Jacobs || December 6, 1956 |- | 11 || "The Deep End" || Tom Gries ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=[Fredric Brown](/source/Fredric_Brown)|t=James Edmiston}} || December 12, 1956 |- | 12 || "High Adventure" || TBA || TBA || December 20, 1956 |- | 13 || "Chicago Exclusive" || Alvin Ganzer ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=[Steve Fisher](/source/Steve_Fisher_(writer))|t=Steve Fisher}} || January 3, 1957 |- | 14 || "World of the Lonely" || [Tony Leader](/source/Tony_Leader) || Gabrielle Upton || January 10, 1957 |- | 15 || "The Third Inevitable" || John Peyser || Frank L. Moss || January 17, 1957 |- | 16 || "Flowers for the General" || Alvin Ganzer || [László Görög](/source/L%C3%A1szl%C3%B3_G%C3%B6r%C3%B6g_(writer)) || January 24, 1957 |- | 17 || "The Comeback" || Reginald LeBorg || Samuel Elkin || January 31, 1957 |- | 18 || "Atom at Spithead" || [Lance Comfort](/source/Lance_Comfort) ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=|t=Frederic Brady}} || February 11, 1957 |- | 19 || "El Hombre" || Alvin Ganzer ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Richard M. Bluel and M.L. Lynn|t=Frederic Brady}} || February 18, 1957 |- | 20 || "Profile of Ellen Gale" || Reginald LeBorg || John Copeland || February 25, 1957 |- | 21 || "Dateline Las Vegas" || Reginald LeBorg || Al C. Ward || March 4, 1957 |- | 22 || "Forbidden Ground" || Tom Gries ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Malvin Wald, Jack Jacobs, and Seeleg Lester|t=Jack Jacobs and [Malvin Wald](/source/Malvin_Wald)}} || March 11, 1957 |- | 23 || "No Peace in Lo Dao" || Reginald LeBorg ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Lowell Barrington|t=Elliot West and Lowell Barrington}} || March 18, 1957 |- | 24 || "A Matter of Conscience" || Harold Schuster || Stephen Thornley || March 25, 1957 |- | 25 || "Misfire" || Tom Gries ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=Daniel Mainwaring|t=[Wilton Schiller](/source/Wilton_Schiller)}} || April 1, 1957 |- | 26 || "The Indictment" || Tony Leader || Seeleg Lester || April 8, 1957 |- | 27 || "Ninety and Nine" || Harold Schuster || James Edmiston || April 15, 1957 |- | 28 || "The Oil Man" || Tom Gries || David Chandler and Lowell Barrington || April 22, 1957 |- | 29 || "Run, Sheep, Run" || Tony Leader || W.R. Harris and Frederic Brady || April 29, 1957 |- | 30 || "The Death Merchant" || [Michael McCarthy](/source/Michael_McCarthy_(film_director)) ||{{StoryTeleplay|s=[Jack Laird](/source/Jack_Laird)|t=[Marc Brandel](/source/Marc_Brandel)}}|| May 6, 1957 |- | 31 || "Violence Preferred" || Tom Gries || Stanley Niss & Lowell Barrington || May 13, 1957 |- | 32 || "The Last Laugh" || Tony Leader || Andrew Solt and Glen Bohannan || May 20, 1957 |- | 33 || "Confirm or Deny" || Harold Schuster || John Michael Hayes and E. Jack Neuman || May 27, 1957 |- | 34 || "Four Minutes to Shot" || Tom Gries || Frank and Doris Hursley || June 3, 1957 |- | 35 || "The Washington Stars aka The Washington Story" || TBA || TBA || June 10, 1957 |- | 36 || "A Death at Twin Pines" || Harold Schuster ||{{StoryTeleplay|s= Harold Channing Wire|t= A.I. Bezzerides}} || June 17, 1957 |- | 37 || "The Nameless" || TBA || TBA || September 9, 1957 |- | 38 || "Rehearsal for Sabotage" || TBA || TBA || September 16, 1957 |- | 39 || "Escape to Freedom" || TBA || Malvin Wald and Jack Jacobs || September 23, 1957 |- |} ==Production== The producers were Don Sharpe and Warren Lewis. Directors included Lance Comfort. Some episodes were filmed in England.{{cite magazine |date=February 13, 1957 |page=74 |title=Tele Followups: Wire Service |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-02/page/n145/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=June 8, 2023}} ''Wire Service'' initially was broadcast at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursdays. Beginning on February 11, 1957, it was moved to Mondays at 7:30 p.m. ET. [R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company](/source/R._J._Reynolds_Tobacco_Company) was the sponsor.{{cite magazine |date=May 8, 1957 |page=28 |title=ABC-TV Takes Dim View Of '57-'58 'Wire Service' |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety206-1957-05/page/n115/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=August 9, 2023 }} The program was produced by [Desilu Productions](/source/Desilu_Productions) at [Desilu Studios](/source/Desilu_Studios) in Hollywood, California.{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}} ==Home video== A DVD set, ''Wire Service'' Volume 1, was released by [Alpha Video](/source/Alpha_Video) on March 1, 2016.{{cite web|title=Wire Service Volume 1|url=http://shop.tcm.com/wire-service-volume-1/08921877579|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215121405/http://shop.tcm.com/wire-service-volume-1/08921877579|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 15, 2017|website=TCM Shop|accessdate=15 February 2017}} ==See also== {{Portal|Television}} * ''[The Name of the Game](/source/The_Name_of_the_Game_(TV_series))'' ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0048914|title=Wire Service}} * [https://ctva.biz/US/Reporter/WireService.htm''Wire Service'' at CVTA] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cO4JBekNwg "Chicago Exclusive" episode of ''Wire Service'' from YouTube] * [https://archive.org/details/The_Tower--Wire_Service "The Tower" episode of ''Wire Service'' from the Internet Archive] * [https://archive.org/details/Deep_End--Wire_Service "The Deep End" episode of ''Wire Service'' from the Internet Archive] Category:1956 American television series debuts Category:1957 American television series endings Category:1950s American drama television series Category:Black-and-white American television shows Category:English-language American television shows Category:Television series by CBS Studios Category:Television series by Desilu Category:Television series about journalism Category:American Broadcasting Company television dramas --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wire Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_Service) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_Service?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.