Code Name: Foxfire was basically an attempt to do an an all-female A-Team. It sounds like a good idea, and could probably be done very well today, but it didn't quite reach the level of tongue-in-cheek self-parody of The A-Team, or even Riptide, and didn't try for the darker edge of The Equalizer... if I recall correctly, its main inspiration was probably Mission: Impossible, and it tried and failed to capture that magic mid-80s Stephen J. Cannell touch, without Stephen J. Cannell. It debuted on NBC as a mid-season replacement on January 27, 1985, and lasted eight episodes (including the two-hour pilot) until March 22, 1985.
Robin Johnson plays Danny O'Toole, daughter of Crazy Frank O'Toole, whom Elizabeth "Foxfire" Towne (Joanna Cassidy) approaches to return to his position as her driver, only to find that he's died while she was in prison... Danny proves that she's as crazy a driver as her father was, and gets the job, which entails actual hands-on spy work and small-arms fire. The rest of the team are once and future agent par excellence Towne, and accomplished con artist Maggie Bryan (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who does not get along with Danny. Danny is perfectly crafted quirky 80s action series character... a fearless New York punk (not in the music sense), the Greatest Driver Alive, who's not above a bit of petty theft (although she's likely to feel guilty and sneak back whatever she took). The idea of a supersecretagent crafting a crack team out of the daughter of a former employee and someone she met in prison isn't the strongest basis for a series, but if you don't buy it you don't get to watch.
The only episode readily available today is the pilot (also titled Slay It Again, Sam), which was released on VHS. I watched this series religiously, for obvious reasons, and it sure seemed like more than seven episodes, but I can't for the life of me recall any of the stories. Well... I do remember one where Danny had to impersonate some European princess, and spent a scene mingling and drinking uncomfortably at a party while wearing a gorgeous sparkly gown, before getting kidnapped. No, I don't have any pictures... if I did, you'd be looking at them now, wouldn't you?
[NEWSFLASH! Hey, guess what? She wasn't European, she was South American... and pix are on the way.]
Robin Johnson doesn't appear until 40 minutes in... and it looks like this:
[Video removed for space reasons, and because it was in an obsolete codec that probably wouldn't play anyway.]
The Code Name: Foxfire episode guide:
Title Originally Broadcast 1 Slay It Again, Sam January 27, 1985 Fresh from prison, super-agent Liz Towne assembles a team to track down a stolen nuclear missle. 2 Tell Me That You Love Me February 6, 1985 3 La Paloma February 15, 1985 The team is assigned to protect a visiting South American president and her daughter.[Video removed for space reasons, and because it was in an obsolete codec that probably wouldn't play anyway.] 4 Robin's Egg Blues February 22, 1985 5 That Old Familiar Face March 1, 1985 6 Send Me No Orchids March 8, 1985 7 Pick A Hero, Any Hero March 15, 1985 8 Goodbye, Mr. Microchips March 22, 1985
The pilot episode of Code Name: Foxfire is currently available on VHS.
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Images from Code Name: Foxfire ©1985 Universal City Studios Inc.