 When Musante, Tony (qv) decided to quit the series, the producers  wanted to continue on with Blake, Robert (qv) in the lead role,  but Blake didnt want to appear on the series feeling like he was an  understudy to Musante and suggested a name change. The producers  changed the name, and also agreed to rewrite the role to better fit  Blakes true character, and renamed the show "Baretta".