240-Robert
240-Robert is an American drama series that ran on ABC from August 28, 1979, to March 21, 1981. The series title is a reference to the call-sign designation for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's search and rescue/paramedic teams. The series is considered lost, due to the lack of home video releases of the show except for a few VHS releases in Europe. Only a small number of extremely bad quality Spanish dub clips of the show and the intro of the English version is available online. Synopsis. The series chronicles the missions of  240-Robert, a specialized unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), that utilized four wheel drive vehicles and a helicopter. Most of the assignments were sea/air/land search and rescue operations in the extensive (over ) jurisdiction. The show's creator was Rick Rosner (himself an LASD reserve deputy), who created the hit series "CHiPs" two years earlier for NBC. The vehicles used at that time were 1979 Ford Broncos, while the helicopter was a Hughes HA-500C (similar in design to the current MD 500). The series was based on real life cases encountered by the LASD 's Emergency Services Detail. The real life ESD is actually headquartered in East Los Angeles. Rick Rosner took artistic liberty and portrayed the headquarters as a beach-side station. The actual filming location was at a State of California ranger station located at Sycamore Cove in Ventura County, California. The series was inspired, in part, on the experiences of Officer Charles Thibaudeau of the Hermosa Beach Police Department. Cast. Cassidy and Hensley both had an expert helicopter pilot take over for them in the actual helicopter flight sequences; this regular stunt pilot was Charles 'Chuck' Tamburro who wore a wig  to give the appearance of a female pilot. Cancellation. Harmon and Cassidy left the series when their contracts expired after the first season. Burns and Hensley were brought in to replace them, but the second season (returning mid-season in early 1981 due to an actor's strike) only lasted three episodes before ABC cancelled it due to poor ratings.