Series Description

The Code Red TV show was a 60 minute drama series that aired on ABC for only 19 episodes during the 1981-1982 season. It was about a fire chief whose two sons had also become firemen and his 13-year-old adopted son was a member of the fire department's Explorer program that prepared young people to eventually join the fire department. The series also had a lady firefighter who was the first of her kind in the department.

Code Red Cast

Lorne Greene .... Chief Joe Rorchek
Julie Adams .... Ann Rorchek
Sam J. Jones .... Chris Rorchek
Andrew Stevens .... Ted Rorchek
Dennis Haysbert .... "Stuff" Wade
Martina Deignan .... Haley Green
Adam Rich .... Danny Blake
Joe Maross .... Captain Mike Benton
James Crittenden .... Rags Harris
Jack Lindine .... Al Martelli

Code Red Trivia:

Code Red was Lorne Greene's last starring role on a TV serie after becoming a household superstar on the series, "Bonanza". Lorne also starred on the original "Battlestar Galactica TV Show" as Admiral Adama, commander of the Galactica. Even before Bonanza, he was a popular personality on several radio programs in his native Canada. He became Canada's #1 Newscaster and was even commonly referred to as "The Voice Of Canada"!

The Code Red TV show's setting was in Los Angeles, California. Chief Rorchek was a 30-year veteran of the fire department!

Fire Chief Rorchek's son Ted worked as a "traditional" fireman while his son Chris was the department's helicopter pilot.

Most of the Code Red TV show's episodes had a "message" for the audience about fire safety like knowing the escape route in your home, proper handling of camp fires, etc.

Code Red was on pretty early in the evening for a drama series. It aired at 7:00PM eastern time on Sunday nights. Its competition on CBS was "60 Minutes" and NBC ran local programming which typically included the news.

If you look at the episode air dates below, you'll notice that Code Red didn't premiere until November of 1981. That was because there was a writer's strike that year that delayed most premieres anywhere from one to three months!