Stingray is the name of a short-lived NBC television series produced by Stephen J. Cannell that ran from 1985 to 1987. It starred Nick Mancuso, who played the mysterious character known only as Ray, whose trademark was a black 1965 Corvette Sting Ray.

Ray, who lives in Southern California, devotes his time to helping those who are in trouble, much like New York City’s Robert McCall in CBS’s contemporary but longer-running and more popular series The Equalizer. Ray’s background is even more shadowy than McCall’s. All that is known about him is that, like McCall, he advertises surreptitiously in newspapers, ostensibly offering a “’65 black Stingray for Barter Only” and including a telephone number (555-7687); those wishing to enlist his services, presumably having learned the ad’s real meaning by word of mouth, can call him for help.

Ray does not charge money for his help; instead, he extracts a promise from his client in advance that the client will repay Ray in the future by performing a favor, perhaps easy, perhaps difficult, upon Ray’s request. As the series begins, Ray has apparently extracted this promise from many previous clients; this allows him to call in a variety of favors during the series to help his current clients. In one episode, for instance, when he poses as a doctor and is called upon, as part of his cover, to perform surgery, he calls in a favor from a former client who is a physician; the former client secretly takes Ray’s place in the operating room and performs the surgery. In this respect the program not unlike the even shorter lived Vengeance Unlimited.

Ray is a skilled driver and accomplished martial artist, and is excellent at covering his tracks and hiding his real identity. On several occasions, clients and government authorities believe that they have discovered who he really is, but in the end they find that they are mistaken. Often it seems that Ray either is or was affiliated with a secret government agency, perhaps the CIA, but this is never conclusively proven. When the license plate for his Stingray is run through a computer it lists many different addresses and owners. Two of the most notable were “1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, DC”, the address of the White House, and the motor pool for the Governor of California.

While apparently possessing many of the elements for a good action/adventure show, the series never won high ratings and was cancelled shortly after its introduction. The series also had a very distinctive, slick and contemporary style, in which music (by veteran TV composers Mike Post and Pete Carpenter) played a large part. In addition to frequent quick-cutting of visuals in time with the incidental music, the show also inserted music video style interludes, complete with purpose-built “pop songs” sung by (usually) semi-obscure pop and rock vocalists (for example, David Pack singing “Signs of Human Error” in the episode “Playback”).

Struggling writer Kurt has just lost another book pitch. After vividly reliving the experience he visits his local Aquatic Pet shop to buy a new fish. Here he runs into a pretty young woman and after a lively argument with a resident Stingray decides to ask her out on a date. However Kurt's not as good with words as he thinks... Written by Neil Chordia

Lonigan and his partner Tony, two drug dealers, shoot two cops who attempt to set them up, and run away with a million bucks and the drugs, which they stash in a red Corvette Stingray in a used car lot. When they attempt to recover their stash with their leader, Abigail, they find out that two happy-go-lucky dudes, Elmo and Al, have bought the car. They quickly pursue the two along with the police who think that the car's new owners are the criminals. Written by filmfactsman

A district attorney is kidnapped by a criminal who then has a deranged doctor do something to him that leaves him with the mind of a child. His assistant seeks out a man who is only known by the car he drives, a Stingray. He helps people who have problems and in return, they owe him a favor that he will collect later. Written by

Ray is a shadowy character with a mysterious 'secret agent' past. People in trouble often come to him for help, since he has a lot of important and powerful contacts. He refuses to be paid for his services; however, those seeking his assistance must promise him a favor. Some time in the future, Ray will come to them and ask to collect on that favor, giving them some task that is often arduous and/or dangerous. The title of the show comes from the vintage Corvette Stingray that Ray drives. Written by Tad Dibbern