SYNOPSIS

Vigilante justice reached new extremes in this action series, in which an athletic retired judge decided to track down "the ones that got away" - presumed criminals who had beaten the rap in his courtroom over the previous 30 years thanks to smart lawyers, lack of evidence, and other "legal loopholes". Although Judge Hardcastle was still remarkably fit at age 65, he needed some help in this crusade, so he recruited a handsome, young two-time loser named Mark, who just happened to be a hotshot race car driver. The deal was that Hardcastle would get the lad off the hook for his latest conviction (auto theft), if Mark would help the judge track down his quarry. "I figure it takes one to catch one," growled Hardcastle.

Mark agreed, partially just to be around such a colorful character. Hardcastle, who used to wear loud shirts and tennis shorts under his robes while on the bench, was now given to wearing T-shirts and slogans like NO PLEA BARGAINING IN HEAVEN and FIND 'EM AND HANG 'EM. He raced around in a macho red sports car (macho because you had to crawl in through the windows) with license plates reading DE JUDGE. Amid a steady stream of wisecracks and car crashes, he still knew how to lean on his many contacts in the judiciary and on the streets to help him crack cases. Home base for the series was the judge's palatial estate (he had evidently invested  well). Presided over by housekeeper Sarah, it was the scene of his weekly poker game.

Of course, there were a few "buts," presumably to keep the ACLU off his back. Mark hadn't really committed that crime, and Hardcastle only went after offenders for their current offenses. Once he even took on a trio of fellow judges who had decided simply to kill ex-cons as they were released from prison. But the criminal element presumably got the message: watch out for judges wearing T-shirts reading BLAST 'EM, TONTO!