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On The Insider: Bruno Film Edited Due to Jackson's Death

The Sentinel

UPN (Ended 1999)

Show Score

 
8.2 Great
340 votes

Your Score

Buzz

The Sentinel ranks 2,022 out of the 18,229 shows on TV.com.

The 326 users who count themselves as The Sentinel fans have written a total of 16 reviews.

Status

Ended

Premiered

March 20, 1996

Ended

May 24, 1999

Genre

Drama, Action/Suspense

Theme

Fantasy

Show Overview

Final Episode

More Episodes »
Episode Score
 
9.4

The Sentinel by Blair Sandburg

When Blair's mother Naomi secretly submits her son's Sentinel thesis paper to a publisher, Jim discovers that being famous can be detrimental to your health. While Jim and Blair protect a local union leader Jack Bartley, information from Blair's paper is leaked and Ellison is in the middle of a media frenzy. Unless someone can diffuse the situation, the Sentinel will be forced to leave the city of Cascade — forever.

Aired: 05/24/99

Show Summary

Edit Summary »

"In the jungles of Peru, the fight for survival heightened his senses. Now, Detective Jim Ellison is a sentinel in the fight for justice."

From the Forums

+ Add a Topic More Topics »
  • Season 2

    Does anyone know when the Season 2 DVD set will be out?

    4 comments, last one Jun 15, 2009 + Add Comment
  • Why was it cancelled?

    I love this show and I would love to watch the DVDs. My question is: why did they cancel the show at all? I heard the ratings weren't bad and the actors didn't want to stop. So, what's actually the reason?

    3 comments, last one Aug 26, 2008 + Add Comment
  • Question to fans of The Sentinel

    Sorry to post this here, but I have exhausted all other possibilities. Does anyone know the name of the show that was after The Sentinel? The one where the FBI like guys would hunt down the mutants? I would greatly appreciate any help on this.

    4 comments, last one Jun 18, 2008 + Add Comment
More Topics »
  •  
    8.5 Great

    Great fun. hide « show »

    I loved The Sentinel. The chemistry between Richard Burgi and Garret Maggart was great. Sure, some of the storylines get a little trite, but I think the dynamic main characters more than make up for it. Could it have been better? Sure, but then what couldn't stand some improvement. The only thing I think it really could have used was a strong female lead- Carolyn in the first season was a great, but she was gone when Season 2 started. Later on, Samantha (Mimi from Jericho) makes a strong recurring character as Blair's on-again-off-again loved interest. I would have liked to see this developed, but it never happened. Instead they brought in the annoying 'Australian' detective. I really hope they bring out the rest of the series on DVD. My favorite episodes were in the second and third seasons.
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  •  
    10 Perfect

    One of the best action-adventure shows out there. hide « show »

    The Sentinel TV show (not the movie), is one of the best sci-fi, action-adventure shows out there. It combined an aspect of human abilities (heightened senses) with an already popular genre - the buddy cop show. What could be better? Not much in my mind.

    The actors who portrayed the characters of Blair Sandburg (Garrett Maggart), Detective Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi), and Captain Simon Banks (Bruce A. Young) made the show even better in that the chemistry between them was great. They were able to play off each other, joke, and make the characters just that much better.... I can't imagine any other actors in those roles...it just doesn't work.

    The stories this cast of people were put into helped to explore who they were as individuals, as well as how their own insecurities and fears affected what they said, did, and how they interacted with others. Just like the rest of us....unlike other shows, The Sentinel made the idea of having heightened senses more realistic in that it could actually happen, and we just don't know about it.

    I wish the show hadn't been canceled when they did, because I don't think they were out of stories (as proven by the thousands of fan fic), but the actors have since gone on to other projects, all the while not forgetting their fans as a result of this show. That's what makes the show great, as well as the actors who portrayed these characters.
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  •  
    6.4 Fair

    It was really good action series! hide « show »

    The reason why "The Sentinel" should have went on another network for a brand new season is that besides being a very innovative series, the three main actors said that they would have loved to come back and continue filming new episodes. That is a surprising thing for multiply actors on a TV show to say. The reason is usually after a number of seasons of a TV series that is not well known in the mainstream, some people start to get tired of being on it and want to pursue other opportunities. One reason why Sci-Fi did not want to pick it up is because they want to stick to their original programming. It's like a cable TV network not wanting to use someone's leftovers. I thought that "The Sentinel" would have been perfect on CBS. I say this because I recall when they had their "America's Night of Heroes" theme for their Saturday night lineup. Another reason is that I was surprised when I saw Richard on one of their weekend television shows. He was on another police show that they had. What puzzles me about a CBS television executive not deciding to pick up "The Sentinel" is that the network did that with "JAG". "The Sentinel" would have fit perfect with that "America's Night of Heroes" theme, since they have that "Touched by An Angel" series on their network. "The Sentinel" is also in the same mold as that "Nash Bridges" TV series. I would have to say that this show gave UPN a plethora of credibility. It is fitting that UPN initially canceled "The Sentinel" and thus caused loyal viewers to start a large letter writing campaign to continue the series for another season. The ending with Jerri Ryan's character was the reason why writers on the show did not want to continue it. "The Sentinel" would have been perfect on CBS for a few additional seasons after it went off the air on UPN.
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  •  
    9.2 Superb

    Made me dream of having the same gift hide « show »

    I loved this series SOOOOO much!
    I don't understand why we didn't get any re-runs of this series... i would really love to see it again!

    I didn't miss a single episode since i first watched it.
    It was such a great series, very unique! Really a great idea, very well written, great actors, characters... I loved it! And it was very refreshing for me!

    The parts from the jungle, to show the senses... Awesome!

    The flashbacks, stories, the drama and humour... just GREAT!

    *possible spoiler, for those who haven't seen the series*


    The whole drama around Blair's book, based on the Sentinel... WOAW... that actually pissed me off quite a bit... i mean... that his mother had the book published without his knowledge... and then the reaction of Jim! That really made me really angry... i wasn't happy at all when Blair told the world that all he wrote was a lie... i mean... DAMNZ! It ruined him! And for who?! Jim wasn't being a nice guy at all! And he couldn't care less that Blair's career was in sake there... But okay... LOL

    I really loved the series and i would love to get it back!
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  •  
    9 Superb

    I don't think I have enjoyed a show this much since "Quantum Leap". hide « show »

    Jim Ellison, a policeman in the city of Cascade, has super senses. He can hear, see, touch, smell to such a high degree that he can help solve seemingly unsolvable crimes. Blair Sandburg, a college student majoring in anthropology, is the guide who helps Jim Ellison control his super senses. Together, these two men help fight crime in Cascade.

    This is a really fun action show! The actors are all very good and the writers for this show really know how to hook a viewer's attention in the first five minutes of the show. All the episodes are very well plotted and very exciting. What is a real shame is that one can see that this show had the potential to be even more. I wish there was more mysticism and more magic in this show. But other than that, it's a great hour of TV.
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