Customer Reviews

Cannon: Season 2, Vol. 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Every season of Cannon is beyond excellent. Of all of the crime drama's of this era, this one was definately the best. I had hoped for years that they would release Cannon on DVD, I am glad they did. However, I also think that it's a joke to not have released these as full seasons, double dipping in this economy is just shameful... That being said I will still buy it and be happy to see this wonderful program again after all of these years. If you haven't seen Cannon and "if you can afford it" buy these sets, as you will love this show!

My complaint about CBS is releasing Cannon in volumes - as in, Season 2, Vol. 1. What is the point of that? Release the entire season! Better yet, why bother with releasing Season 1, Season 2, etc? For those of us who are going to buy Cannon, Mannix or whatever TV crime show from the day, we'll buy the whole entire series if they would only release a box set of it. That's my complaint.

:-)

I am happy to say that for those of us who enjoy good old-fashioned one hour 1970's TV crime dramas, William Conrad does it again.Quinn-Martin productions specialized in a quintessential formula for cops and robbers shows-likeable cops and detectives, folksy stereotypes of people in trouble, and lots of nasty poorly dresssed thugs who have no problem killing anyone who gets in their way. The shows are nicely divided into Parts I-IV, and the plot develops at a measured pace. That usually means frequent auto chase scenes on the streets of LA and out to the desert.The cars are huge, and Cannon's is the biggest,a Lincoln coupe with a hood 8 feet long. The fat man moves quickly, in or out of his car, and by Part IV, always solves the crime, and saves the day.The "guest stars" for each episode are highlighted, but most of them apparently never went too far in Hollywood, because I rarely recall their names. The music is bright, brassy, and bold, and adds a nice touch to the show.For those of us who fondly remember the 1970's, when gas was 30 or 40 cents per gallon, when big sedans were still cool, and flashy sportcoats and slacks were everyday dress-Cannon takes you there.If you are too young to remember those days, here is your chance to go back in time 40 years.I look forward to future releases of Cannon, and eventually, its spinoff-Barnaby Jones, featuring Buddy Ebsen as the geriatric detective.I can't wait!

William Conrad had been around for quite some time before he became best known for being private eye Frank Cannon in the Quinn Martin television series, "Cannon." He had been an actor, producer, and director for movies and television shows, and was best known for three programs that used his voice only - being the voice of Matt Dillon on the radio version of "Gunsmoke," the narrator of the classic cartoon series "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle," and the narrator of another Quinn Martin series, "The Fugitive."

When Martin looked for someone to play an overweight, but very capable private eye in Cannon, he could have picked a better actor than Conrad. Even though he was best known for his vocal talents, Conrad made Cannon a flesh and blood character - charming, humorous, compassionate, and on occasion, violent. For once, Conrad had a chance to show as much talent on camera as he had off camera. And with Martin's penchant for creating solid detective dramas, Cannon became a very popular series.

Conrad would have other notable gigs after Cannon, the emcee of CBS' Thanksgiving Day festivities, the DA in "Jake and the Fatman," and for too brief a time, "Nero Wolfe," but he will always be remembered at the portly detective who drove a Mark IV, had a car phone (very rare at the time), and who knew as much about cooking as he did the law.

It's okay if this "review" is taken off soon, but I have to say this to dvd companies: DON'T do volumes of seasons. Do complete seasons. Really. It is POSSIBLE. Other shows do COMPLETE seasons. There is NO reason for this.

I don't know why everyone makes a big deal about Frank Cannon's weight. Sure back in the day he might have been considered heavy, but in modern times he'd blend in just fine. Seriously, have you been to Milwaukee lately? How about Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Chicago or anywhere they sell "real"(as in cooked with lard) grits? This poor guy was a drop in the fry grease bucket compared to what we got walking around out there nowadays. There should be more Frank Cannon spin-offs on TV now than there are for CSI or Law & Orders!

I liked old Frank. I especially liked how, to compensate for the fact that he was never gonna chase anyone on foot, the writers would add in a chase scene where a criminal on foot is chased down by Cannon in his huge monster car. Then instead of tackling the bad guy he smacks him with the car door, or on a good night, actually runs the bad guy down! WHEEEEOOO! That was fun! And remember how they had to imply the love scenes with the ladies, cuz nobody wanted to see THAT, and even though it was only hinted at the actresses still looked really uncomfortable. It's hard to believe that when he shot this show he was a mere 22 years old.

I really appreciated this show because at the time I was a bit of a stout lad myself and it was nice to see someone like me up there on the small screen. Frank never let his weight get in his way (except when he was looking for his weener) and that was something I admired. Where are the heroic, smart chubbies of today? We don't have any. Instead one of our most popular TV shows is about real life fatties who need to make a public spectacle of themselves to lose weight! They sit there and bawl for an hour while an angry she-male yells at them.

We need more shows like this one. Well written dramas, whether they are detective, doctor, lawyer or anything else are like the canaries in the mine shaft. Once they start disappearing the industry is in big trouble.

I love the Cannon series and William Conrad, but hate these half season "volume" sets. Just another way for the studio to rip-off fans by hitting them twice in the wallet. I refuse to buy them new. I wait for re-sales of nice used sets in the secondary market. These CBS half season sets sell for the price of other studios full season releases of other TV series from the same era. Just no other way to see a reason for it except that the studio wants to hit your pocket twice. What a shame for fans of these classis shows.

I generally prefer comedy over drama (or crimes shows) William Conrad's playing Frank Cannon is one of the few exceptions, along with Mike Connors as Joe Mannix & Buddy Ebsen as Barnaby Jones being the other two. Show was pretty well written. Even though at one time or another I've watched all 5 seasons of this show & enjoyed watching the first 2 seasons on dvd, I hope Paramount moves on to releasing the 3 remaining seasons, & hopefully not in volumes.

He's a big man with a big heart and an even bigger stomach. Villains fear his "Saturday Night Special" but the uninitiated soon find out that his surprise belly flop maneuver is just as dangerous. He's Frank Cannon, P.I. of the 1970's. He's cheesy and a lover of cheese, wine, pork, beef, and all that is edible. Bring home the madness today!

I love Cannon and Jake and the Fatman; however, I think it's a total rip off to release these series in volumns rather than the complete season. That's just a way to get more money and with the economic situation that we find ourselves in right now, it's a total disgrace. I'll just have to wait until these come down in price - and I'm sure that they will if people just REFUSE to pay this price.