Customer Reviews

Charlie's Angels - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's great to have this 5-disc complete first season compilation on DVD. Although no one will confuse Charlie's Angels with "quality" television (this show was never meant to be taken seriously), this campy series is just plain fun, even 27 years later. Most episodes are light on plotline but the appeal of it's three stars make up for that. Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett-Majors and Jaclyn Smith have a chemistry unmatched by any of the future Angel pairings. Season One contains the series most "infamous" episode, "Angels in Chains." Every single "women in prison" cliche is here......the brutal prison matrons, the leacherous sheriff and deputy, the crooked warden and of course the obligatory shower scene. This is probably the highlight of the season.

This DVD collection gets high marks for including the original movie pilot. Although the pilot movie is just average, I haven't seen it since it first aired, so it was a nice bonus. Although Jaclyn Smith is featured prominently in the pilot, it was meant to be a showcase for Kate Jackson. Kate (for whom the series was created) was originally supposed to play Kelly Garrett but decided to play Sabrina at the last minute, thus Jaclyn Smith gets most of the screen time in the movie.
Unfortunately, the pilot movie is the best that can be said about the extras in the DVD collection. It also contains a rather dull featurette called "Angels Forever" which consists of a lot of geeky fans reminiscing about the series. TV Land and the E network had much better features about the series. Alas none of the stars are featured offering their thoughts on the series. The DVD also does not contain chapter selections for each episode, which is rather irritating. The packaging of the collection is certainly sparse as well. Each disc is contained in a flimsy plastic cover. Hopefully Sony Entertainment will correct these issues in future seasons.

I suspect the appeal of this series lies predominantly with those of us who remember when it first aired in the 1970s. Today, it's hard to believe this innocent, cheesey little show caused as much controversy as it did. It's nice to see that Chucky's girls are still fun to watch after all these years.

Long before Magnum, PI put Tom Selleck on the map, Charlie's Angels owned the world of TV private eyes. Nominated for 4 Emmys and 7 Golden Globes, including 2 for Best TV Series - Drama, Charlie's Angels was a truly rare overnight sensation. The forerunner to modern day shows such as La Femme Nikita and Alias, creators Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts capped off long careers as showbiz writers by penning the unforgettable story of three sexy and vivacious private investigators. Executive producer Aaron Spelling (linked to innumerable hit shows such as Beverly Hills 90210, The Love Boat, Melrose Place, Dynasty, 7th Heaven, and Charmed among others) played a prominent role in the pop culture explosion of this series which witnessed the immediate mass marketing of Charlie's Angels trading cards, posters, lunchboxes, and endless other memorabilia - including a full-length feature film of the same name two decades later (2000). Through the duration of the series (five seasons), the cast changed continuously as Charlie's angels became media stars in their own right and left to pursue various opportunities in modeling, film, and TV...

Charlie's Angels centers around a group of gorgeous female ex-police officers hired to work for the Charles Townsend Detective Agency. A mysterious multi-millionaire with seemingly unlimited means, Charles Townsend communicates with his girls via speaker-phone and through the aid of his personal assistant, John Bosley (David Doyle). Charlie sends the girls on various undercover missions and dangerous assignments where they apprehend criminals and pursue justice with a vengeance. The original angels are Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson) who plays the role of the "smartest" angel, Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith) who plays the part of the "street-smart" angel, and Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett) who plays the role of the "athletic" angel. Together, they unleash their collective talents on the criminal underworld, putting their own lives at risk in process... As the show progressed, Jill Munroe left as a regular on the series and was replaced by her sister Kris (Cheryl Ladd). The following year, Sabrina left the agency to tend to her family and was replaced by Tiffany (Shelley Hack) and later by Julie (Tanya Roberts)...

The Charlie's Angels (Season 1) DVD features a number of action-packed episodes including the series premiere "Hellride" in which the audience first learns of the mysterious Charles Townsend Detective Agency and the beautiful women who comprise the majority of its agents. When a female racecar driver suffers a questionable death, Charlie sends the girls out to uncover the truth. To get the job done, Sabrina poses as a racecar driver, and the girls discover the existence of a murderous conspiracy... Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Bullseye" in which the angels uncover a drug-ring owned and operated by two corrupt military officials, and "The Vegas Connection" in which the angels and Bosley travel to Las Vegas in order to catch a deviant con artist...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Charlie's Angels (Season 1) DVD:

Episode 1 (Hellride)
Episode 2 (The Mexican Connection)
Episode 3 (Night of the Strangler)
Episode 4 (Angels in Chains)
Episode 5 (Target: Angels)
Episode 6 (The Killing Kind)
Episode 7 (To Kill an Angel)
Episode 8 (Lady Killer)
Episode 9 (Bullseye)
Episode 10 (Consenting Adults)
Episode 11 (The Seance)
Episode 12 (Angels on Wheels)
Episode 13 (Angel Trap)
Episode 14 (The Big Tap Out)
Episode 15 (Angels on a String)
Episode 16 (Dirty Business)
Episode 17 (The Vegas Connection)
Episode 18 (Terror on Ward One)
Episode 19 (Dancing in the Dark)
Episode 20 (I Will Be Remembered)
Episode 21 (Angels at Sea)
Episode 22 (The Blue Angels)

The DVD Report

What can be said about CHARLIE'S ANGELS, the Primetime television series, which aired on ABC-TV, from 1976-1981, which hasn't already been said or written? Now it can be said that the FIRST of the five ESSENTIAL components of the series, Season One (1976-1977), is to be released on DVD! Hopefully the episodes will be digitally remastered from the original full-length ABC Primetime edits, instead of the excruciatingly disappointing, chopped up-edits from syndicated television.

KUDOS to whomever is responsible for getting the original ABC-TV Movie of the Week, "CHARLIE'S ANGELS," (March, 1976 & September, 1976) included on this DVD release. This made-for-TV movie and Edward J. Lakso's initial 5 scripts for the following episodes are very solid and extremely important for setting the foundation of the series. Included also on the DVD release are many extras and perks, enough to keep the most avid collectors and devoted fans satisfied with the release... at least until time for the DVD release of Season Two (the time when the series increased EVEN MORE in popularity). I watched the whole series while on ABC, and like many fans, believe that the series progressively got BETTER as the seasons unfolded...

Most Charlie's Angels fans tend to have a favorite Angel, season, and/or episode. My favorites all coincided with the arrival of SHELLEY HACK as "Tiffany Welles," at the beginning of Season Four in the Season Premiere Angels Movie, LOVE BOAT ANGELS (1979), from an original script titled ANGELS IN THE SUN. Tiffany's arrival was as awe-inspiring as "Venus Rising from the Sea," with her fluffy Greta Garbo disco hair and all! Since this episode was recently awarded and acknowledged for excellence at the first annual TVLand Awards in March 2003 (YES!!!), I have great hope and confidence that, one day soon, we shall see LOVE BOAT ANGELS released as part of the Season Four DVD release, UNEDITED! In the September 1979 ABC airing, over an hour's worth of airtime was from footage shot in and around ST. THOMAS in the U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. All that time, energy and money spent on the camera crew sent to The Caribbean, to shoot in the tropical heat of June 1979, is virtually wasted when the episode is split into 2 parts, and edited for syndication (the biggest crime of the whole series!). Too many of the Virgin Islands/Caribbean Sea exterior shots are cut, and too many studio shots are kept in the final syndicated edit. The same applies for the movies from various seasons, filmed in Vail, Honolulu/Hawaii, and Las Vegas. Let's just hope Columbia/Tri-Star has the forsight and fortitude to restore these treasures to their full glory! PLEASE!

Let me preface this review with the fact that I am huge Charlies Angels fan and have been anxiously awaiting this release for years!

I do not believe these were taken from the master, as they come across a little grainy, but I could be wrong, and with every toss of hair and judo chop I seemed to care less and less how grainy it seemed.

The two reasons I feel this DVD falls short are (1)Each disc is inside a plastic case without any artwork or photograph except a label featuring each actress (making it look as if they were bootlegged). (2)The real disapointment was the featurette which was predominantly clips spliced togteher with interviews with fans and a bunch of nobody's who some have not even seen a single episode! Not a single Angel is intervewed, not even Aaron Spelling (although Leonard Goldberg is shown occasionally).

All in all, I am glad to have these classic episodes at my fingertips and hope the second season is better packaged although Farrah is featured in only one or two episodes.

It has been just over a year since the release of Charlie's Angels, the Complete Second Season. With two great seasons out on DVD, it is time we fans let Sony Pictures Entertainment know that we want Seasons 3, 4 and 5! If you enjoyed the first two seasons, please take a moment to send a letter, postcard or fax to the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment to encourage them to get a release date scheduled for Season 3.

Michael Lynton, CEO
Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 W. Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232

Fax: (310) 244-2626

I remember being a teenager watching first run episodes of Charlie's Angels when I was growing up. This release of the entire season one brings back great memories for me.

Sure, the angels had sex appeal.....that's what sold the show. But the show itself is entertaining and fun to watch. The roles were solidly balanced and compared to the graphic violence on television today as well as sex, this show is like watching Romper Room in comparison.

The DVD set is nicely packaged in 5 discs but there aren't any worthwhile extras. The 'angels featurette' featuring fans talking about the show gives nice insight into the individual characters and I found it enjoyable but I could have done without the trailer for the movie remake. That was a waste. Better would have been interviews with the actresses who comprised the angels during the 5 year run.

I knew I was right when I selected Kelly as my favorite angel. Jaclyn Smith didn't let success go to her head like Farrah (my least favorite angel) and was known to be a wonderful, nice lady on the set compared to Kate Jackson (Sabrina) who garnered a reputation for being difficult. Smith has the distinction of being the ONLY angel to appear in every episode and last through the entire run on the series. She alone is worth buying the DVDs for as most of the episodes that have true meaning focus around her and I'm not writing this simply because she's my favorite. The best episodes are "The Seance", "Angels in Chains", "To Kill an Angel" and my personal favorite "Angels at Sea". The ending to that particular episode packed a wallop with all three girls superbly demonstrating their prowess as PIs.

The video and audio quality are superb. I don't have any complaints about my DVD set. Everything was great regarding that.

If you're a fan, you won't be disappointed. Now hurry up and get the rest of the seasons out there!!

Yes, it has arrived: CHARLIE'S ANGELS on DVD! I am happy that the pilot movie for the series was included as well as a retrospective special. But this is where the joy ends, everyone.

I won't automatically award 5 stars for this box set just because it's available. When I read that the episodes had been digitally remastered, I expected a good picture. Instead, each episode looks as though it could have been taped off of TV Land. Apparently, there have been no improvements made. Big disappointment! More care should have been taken to restore such a classic show, especially before a DVD release.

The packaging is awful too - flimsy, bare plastic DVD cases, and only a brief fold-out containing the episode credits.

It's better than nothing, but disappointing for sure.

But since CHARLIE'S ANGELS is here, if only we also had WONDER WOMAN, and THE BIONIC WOMAN as well!!

Fans of 1970s tv won't want to miss this great DVD of the campy series. Or perhaps not so campy; critics may have dismissed this is a "jiggle show" but it was one of the first to show strong female characters in an era when women were largely fluff on television. Angels Forever!

This is a great DVD set to own and always fun to watch with a group of friends. It was the hottest thing at the time and may be a little predictable and campy now in retrospect but that is part of the fun of watching it.
The packaging could be a little better (like the Wonder Woman series is) but still a must have for any fan of the show or 70's TV in general.

I have season one and two of "The Simpsons" and have barely seen all the episodes from them. The day Charlies Angels Season one came out, it was a few days after my birthday, and it became mine with a gift card from best buy, and i have seen all the episodes from this collcetion. Yes Jill was my favorite angel, and this package is well worth being in my library of DVD's. I will agree that the fact that the episodes are not subdivided into seperate chapters is a little dissappointing, but when you have the enitre season on the shelf to see, it is well worth the wait, The original pilot to see is a plus in my book, as well as the "Angels Forever" featurette. I did find out season two is coming out, and yahoo!!! they were as much fun to watch as the first season, but please lets see some personal interviews with the stars and maybe some of the commercials that came out when it was first airred. If you are an Angels fan, get this set, it is worth every penny spent.