Customer Reviews

Charlie's Angels Season 3

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The third season of Charlie's Angels, which aired on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC from September 1978 through May 1979, had a lot going for it, as well as a lot to live up to. The first season exploded onto television and immediately became a Nielsen ratings champ. Thanks to tweaked writing and a better timeslot, the second season was an even greater success, despite losing the angel who became a cultural phenomenon, Farrah Fawcett's "Jill Munroe."

One unique aspect of the third season is that it has the distinction of being the first (and only) season to have all three angels returning from the previous one-Cheryl Ladd as "Kris Munroe" who replaced Farrah, in addition to original angels "Sabrina Duncan" and "Kelley Garret," played by Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith respectively. Additionally, Farrah's contractual return for three episodes this season was another asset for the returning show. Her Townsend Associates homecoming alone caused enough media hype to potentially catapult the ratings even higher than before as everyone was curious to see how the former angel would come back into the fold with her younger sister and former colleagues. Not to mention that this season was filled with plenty of guest appearances including Dean Martin, Dick Sargent, Nancy Parsons, Anne Francis, Casey Kasem, and an up-and-coming young actress by the name of Jamie Lee Curtis. So with all of these factors going for it, this season should have been nothing less than stellar.

Well, that wasn't quite the case. I think that the actresses, along with faithful sidekick "Bosley," played perfectly by the late David Doyle, performed to the best of their abilities, given the material. The real problem is that by the time the third season began, the producers/creators thought that the show was infallible given its immense popularity and record-setting ratings, and this arrogance on their behalf lead to a creative decline mostly due to inferior writing. One particular writer became quite lazy with his scripts, and a pattern begins to emerge in his scripted episodes: they lack any real depth and tend to be built around one good central idea that isn't fleshed out enough for an entire episode. Examples of these episodes include: ANGELS BELONG IN HEAVEN, ANGELS ON VACATION, MARATHON ANGELS, ANGEL ON HIGH, and TERROR ON SKIS, the latter of which he admittedly wrote because his wife wanted to go on a skiing vacation!?! The initial ideas for these episodes are good, but the episodes as a whole don't match the calibur of earlier Angel outings.

Since Charlie's Angels is more episodic (meaning that the storylines are limited to the duration of an episode) than serial (where storylines last several episodes or even an entire season), it's better to have a diverse mix of writers and directors so that they can bring their own creativity to the show, thus giving it a fresh, ever-evolving feel. Consequently, the season's highlights are when guest writers contributed scripts: COUNTERFEIT ANGELS is an original episode that uses Charlie's anonymity against him when a man disguises his voice to impersonate Charlie and send his "evil angels" out to do his bidding; Jill's return in ANGEL COME HOME has a well-developed story that naturally involves all 4 angels as they work together to discover who sent the phony emergency cablegram that brought Jill back from racing in Europe; and another bright spot in the season, and series, is the classic ANGELS IN SPRINGTIME where the Angels infiltrate a women's spa to solve the murder of a famous actress and find her missing memoirs. This episode is loaded with fun, from short shorts to frigid adversaries to faking hypnotism, and this episode boasts one of the best villains: Zora the hefty physical therapist who uses her might against little Kris during a rough confrontation.

As for the DVD set, there's nothing in the form of "special features," but for me the show itself is worth the purchase. The packaging for this season is different than the formats used for previous seasons, with this season's packaging consisting of an outer box that houses 3 slim plastic DVD cases. Each case holds 2 discs and features a large photo of an angel on the cover, episode titles, descriptions and airdates on the back, and several photos of the angels and Bosley on the inside. Of all 3 season DVD releases, I believe this one has the best packaging. The film restoration is excellent, as the episodes look and sound great! My only complaint about the set is that the 2 double-length episodes, "Angels in Vegas" and "Terror on Skis," are the syndicated versions that are each split up into 2-part episodes. It would be nice to have the rarely seen, unedited, original versions of these episodes.

I love the Angels, through thick and thin, and even though this season has its flaws, I'm thrilled to add it to my Angel DVD collection. It's just a shame that a season that could have been spectacular as a whole was instead lackluster.

Season 3: 4 stars
Season 3 DVD set: 4 stars

Well season three is finally here. Unfortunately, I only give it a three star rating because the DVD set does not contain any extras and both "Angels in Vegas" and "Terror on Skis" are presented in their syndicated format (like last season's "Angels in Paradise" and Angels on Ice") which means they've been edited. The packaging is fine (I prefer the book format from season two). The six discs are enclosed in three individual jackets (although not as cheap as the season one jackets) and the photos of the Angels inside each jacket is a nice touch. I do think Farrah Fawcett gets a little too much exposure on the packaging. She's only in three episodes but judging from the artwork, you'd think she was a series regular again. The group photo on the back would have been sufficient. I'm surprised they didn't try to squeeze her photo onto the jacket covers with the others.
Season three is not a bad season as a whole. It has some great episodes (Angels in Vegas, Terror on Skis, Counterfeit Angels) but it also contains the worst episode in the series thus far and a sign of things to come. "Rosemary for Remembrance" is the first of the "solo outings" format which was used quite often in season four. Now I'm sure Cheryl Ladd fans will disagree with me but this episode simply doesn't work. The series always worked best when all three Angels had fairly equal air time and worked together. It's the one episode I probably will never watch on this collection.
The release of season three pretty much brings the series to an end for me since I basically watched it for Kate Jackson and tuned out after she left the show. I hope, however, that for the sake of the fans who watched up until the end, that Sony will be a little more expeditious with seasons four and five.

Finally the third season of Charlie's Angels will be released!It was a long, long wait since the release of season 2 in 2004. Two years, two months and 27 days! Now I hope we don't have to wait for a decade to see all 5 seasons available on DVD.
The third season of Charlie's Angels was a good one. Not as good as the second, which, in my opinion, was the high point of the show, but the best trio of Angels (Cheryl, Jaclyn and Kate)were still together (unfortunately for the last time) and, in 3 occasions, a fourth Angel, Farrah, was present too.That was great...4 pretty Angels all in a row! The scripts for the third season were still inventive and effective, although there were some (just a few) dull moments. Some great episodes like "Angels Come Home", "Rosemary for Remembrance", "Angels in Vegas", "Angels in Springtime", "Mother Angel", "Angels on Vacation", "Angel on My Mind" and others certainly make the third season of Charlie's Angels very attractive and worth of seeing all 22 episodes.
The cover art is also very nice. The small picture of Farrah was an excellent idea, and Jaclyn, Cheryl and Kate are very natural, very beautiful. They are not much retouched as they were for cover art of season two. They are much better now.
But why no special features? The Angels are still alive and beautiful and they could say lots of interesting things about the old days when Charlie was their boss.
Let's hope the sales are good, so Sony may feel encouraged to release seasons 4 and 5.But, for heaven's sake, don't make us await another 2 years for the release of a new season!

This is a great DVD!! Angels in Vegas is fun because they really are in Vegas this time, and it's fun too see how much it has changed. The Tropicana is still there and so is the show Folies Bergere! My favorite episode of this season is "Angel Come Home". It's Farrah Fawcett first return as Angel Jill Munroe. Farrah looks beautiful and it's fun to see the interaction with her and little sis "Kris". My second favorite episode is "Mother Angel" which also features Jill, the little girl is too much , but the interaction between Kelly and Sabrina undercover is real fun to watch!! Another fun episode is "Angel in a Box". This one is when Kris is kidnapped to lure Jill back who is the real target from a moguel who blames Jill for his son's untimely death. Other standout episodes are Teen Angels,Angels in Springtime and Angel on my Mind. You won't regret buying this DVD. I highly recommend it and hope that seasons 4 and 5 are on the way soon!!! Get better everday Farrah!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the original charlie's angels still rock, and season three just reinforces that.
i can't wait for seasons four and five to be released on dvd !

Great to see this season finally come out on DVD. Be fore-warned the packaging is slimmer and comes over six disks tucked into 3 sleeves. Also the packaging is not as slick as season 2 but nice to see pictures of episodes on the inside of each sleeve. As for extras...don't expect any there are none. I look forward to revisiting four of my favorite ladies in their spendid glory. Now if only Sony would get off their duffs and release season 4 and 5 quicker that 2 years apart.

Season 3 of Charlie's Angels brought about the first time when we would see four Angels working together instead of three with the return of season 1 co-star Farrah Fawcett. It was a great season for the series and the chemistry between Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd and Kate Jackson was dynamic. Season 3 also brought with it some great guest stars besides Farrah from Dean Martin in the season premiere to Jamie Lee Curtis, and Stephen Collins. There were also many infamous 'Angel moments' of season three such as Cheryl Ladd wrestling an aligator to 'Marathon Angels' in which the term 'jiggle tv' was at it's highest with all the marathon runners running with out their bras.
The girls were all great in yet another season, the gorgeous Jaclyn Smith dazzled as always as Kelly, Cheryl Ladd went from being the new girl to being part of the team, Kate Jackson was great during her final season on the series and David Doyle was always reliable for bringing the comic charm.
Critics who panned the series obviously never got the joke of what the series is all about. It was never meant to be a heavy hitting crime drama series, it was a bit of fantasy, it was a show that was meant to be light and fun and provide a form of escapism from the real world. It gave little girls ideas that they can do what men do and it gave guys an hour of nothing but beautiful women running around and catching the bad guys. It was a series that broke boundaries and would go on in history as one of the most popular series of all time. It's secured it's place in pop culture.

Great TV series, I was a great fan of the Angels, wouldn't miss it. I love the Packaging system used. The DVD's are packed in excellent conditions. I have seen the complete third season and would watch it over and over again.

It's great to see this classic, campy series on DVD, but why oh why did Sony choose to use the edited versions of these episodes? It's been 18 years since some of these episodes first aired, but I remember the unedited versions of some of these episodes. It's a shame that these transfers, which are about as clear as could be reasonably made, are of edited versions of the episodes. A 4-star set, minus 1 star for the modified episodes.

It's great to have Season 3 in all its campy glory. Kris wrestling alligators,Mercedes McCambridge at a fat farm with lesbian overtones,a Dean Martin romance,Anne Francis as a religious cult groupie kidnapping cheerleaders, and a marathon with T&A and a boa constrictor! I loved Charlie's Angels!! I mostly missed out on the Farrah era(lights out by 10 pm) so Cheryl Ladd was really the only blond angel I knew(and loved). Later,when I got to see the first season,I realized that the Sabrina/Jill/Kelly team had the best chemistry. You believe these three were really friends looking out for each other (plus Farrah's physical stature and presence meshed better I think with Jaclyn and Kate). With Kris there's a noticeable strain in the team although its near impossible to dislike her. When Cheryl joined the show she wanted Kris to be funny and goofy and from then on the show became less edgy and classy and less about the friendship of the girls. It became silly family entertainment. The production level increased,the stories became more ridiculous(but enjoyable). During Farrah's season it almost didn't matter what the plot was,the enjoyment was watching these three interact. You can't bottle that. Now at the time I didn't know Kate Jackson and Cheryl Ladd didn't get along but watching the shows now you can definitely see the tension. Having said that,the cast during Season 3 seem a tad more comfortable with each other than during Season 2 where Kris seems like the baby sister everyone has to put up with. Yes,now they're more at ease, just in time for Kate Jackson to check out. It's clear watching Season 3 that she's counting the episodes til she's outta there. After she left, the show officially became self-parody(which had already begun with season 3).
I actually kinda prefer Season 3 to Season 2. There are some genuinely terrific episodes during this season: Angels In Springtime(I'm woozy with delight...or is it that truth serum?),Counterfeit Angels(always remembered that one),Haunted Angels(actually a little creepy),Angel On My Mind(another unforgettable one and a great performance by Cheryl), Teen Angels(even though it should've been less predictable, its worth it for Kris tangling with Audrey Landers). Terror on Skis is worth it for the shots of Sabrina in her fur hat(from the show pilot?)bobbing around in front of the pre-filmed ski-slope backdrop. Angels in the Stretch and Angels in Vegas are worth it solely for Kate Jackson who wakes up and does great work here. Angels in Waiting isn't particularly enjoyable but it gives David Doyle a chance to flesh out his character more. This season also contains some real bizarre stinkers(in my opinion): Winning Is For Losers(zzz),Marathon Angels(that jogging theme music is enough to make you want to run into traffic),Angels Ahoy(don't just float there Kelly,swim away). In general everyone seems tired: the actors,the writers,the directors. But at its worst you still can't look away.
The real bright spot is the return of Farrah. She sweeps in with Angel Come Home and all of a sudden everything comes to life. Whenever she's on screen,including her other episodes Mother Angel and Angel in a Box,you're reminded why this show commanded attention when it first appeared.
As far as the DVD set goes, yea, I'd love some extras too. Are there no outtakes,bloopers or old commercials anywhere? You gotta wonder if anyone even looked. The quality of the transfers vary, and some are bad, but its great to have them at all. The packaging is wonderful(love the stars). Clearly the designer favors Farrah(and why not?). Now only if Farrah would finally admit she left the show because her then-husband Lee Majors demanded it(maybe not the coolest thing to admit in the feminist 70s).