Customer Reviews

The Hardy Boys (1995) - The Complete First Season (Boxset)

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

 

 

Not as good as the books, this series suffered from the Half-Hour format, not enough time for a deep mystery. But the production values & acting were quite good!
THE HARDY BOYS
(1995; syndicated)
13 30 minute episodes
Based on characters created by "Franklin W. Dixon" Edward Stratemeyer.
Starring Colin Gray as FRANK HARDY
and Paul Popowich as JOE HARDY
Also starring Fiona Highet

"All That Glitters" (September 23, 1995)
"Jazzman" (September 30, 1995)
"A Perfect Stranger" (October 7, 1995)
"Say Cheese" (October 14, 1995)
"Smart Drugs" (October 21, 1995)
"Telling Lies" (October 28, 1995)
"The Debt Collectors" (November 4, 1995)
"The Curse" (November 11, 1995)
"R.I.P." (November 18, 1995)
"Play Ball" (November 25, 1995)
"Lovebirds" (December 2, 1995)
"The Last Laugh" (December 2, 1995)
"No Dice" (December 2, 1995)

I purchased this Hardy Boys at a department store in a hurry not realizing what I was actually buying. In the back of my mind I was thinking I was buying the 70's television series.

Getting home and playing the disks proved to be a surprising treat. This is a totally different Hardy Boys series from what I was thinking.

The first thing that caught my attention is the opening graphics at the start of the shows, then the absence of the actors I was expecting to see. This caused me to walk over to the computer and do a search on this title. Sure enough, this series I was watching is from the middle 1990's. A series I wasn't even aware of.

I watched all these episodes finding some issues that could be caught by anyone with a sharp eye. This series looks like it made attempts to flash back to the time of the original series. I say this because the stage sets and costumes in this series have a lot of inconsistency. They are literally a noticeable `hodge-podge'.

In the first episode the show starts showing an ambulance from the 1950's. Through the rest of the show you can see vehicles on the road with modern composite headlights. Their home has a vintage yellow rotary dial phone on the wall; while through the rest of the show they are seen repeatedly using a cell phones and modern computer equipment. The scene I thought was most entertaining was the shot showing a paperboy on a bicycle. This paperboy was dressed like he came right out of the 50's and 60's as he went past the camera wearing his long sleeve shirt, wool pants and `pie hat' while riding an antique bicycle.

A hodge-podge, ...yes, that's what I said. Would I call this series a butcher job? No, ...absolutely not. It's just different. I found this series to be very entertaining and worth adding to my DVD collection. I'm glad I happened across it. I'll still buy the original series, but this title in my opinion was a worthwhile addition to my collection too.

I'm wondering if the creators of this series did these things on purpose with a sense of humor. I say this because in one of the other episodes on disk one, they show a kitchen shot with a ripped up pizza on the kitchen table. The pizza wasn't the only item on the kitchen table. There was a carton of milk on the table too. I'm not going to say what it said on the milk carton, because I'd like people to see this for themselves. It caused a room full of people in my home to laugh out loud.

The series was filmed with some descent equipment. The actors were very good. The scripts and story lines were solid and easy to follow and understand.

Joseph Toth

Here is the Hardy Boys in their last television series this is the 1995 television series and it didn't last long cause it was cancelled after one season.So if you ever enjoyed the Hardy Boys no matter if it's from the Mickey Mouse Club or of the Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson fame or from the books themselves then this is an must for any fan and it's for any generation.

Rondall Banks

I love the Hardy Boys, I really do. I loved the older series from the 70s. The thing is that this series was not like the Hardy Boys at all! It was entertaining, but it was not the Hardy Boys! First of all, the ages are different. Frank is 21 while Joe is 20. Frank also works as a reporter, while Joe isn't given a career although he's known to be a computer hacker. Joe loves girls, and in one of the episodes he has a very heavy kissing scene that is a little dirty. One other thing that I disliked about this series was that there was bad language in nearly every episode! This is definitely not a family show! The good thing is that the little 24 minute episodes were entertaining. Were they fabulous? No, but they were very good considering that they were so short. It's a good series, but it really isn't like the books at all. I definitely recommend the older series from the 70s, but I suggest that you give this one a pass.

The Hardy Boys, and are fictional detectives in a long running series of mystery books, written under the pseudonym of Franklin W. Dixon, that were originally targeted at juvenile readers. They featured teenaged brothers Frank and Joe, sons of private detective Fenton Hardy, attempting to follow in their father's footsteps.

This 1995 take on the classic sleuths, was produced by New Line Television in Canada, and lasted just one season, with thirteen half hour episodes. Paul Popowich is Joe Hardy, and Colin K. Gray is older brother Frank, who works as a reporter for The Metropolitan Eagle, where Kate Craigen (Fiona Highet) was his boss. With their father away in Europe, the boys operate from the family home in the town of Bayport, and often hangout at Dixon's restaurant (in homage to author Franklin W. Dixon).

Frank's job as a reporter, often leads to some interesting cases. Unlike the 70's television series that starred Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson, this version of the Hardy Boys is not a vehicle for teen idols. These Hardy's are a bit more serious and competent. There is no singing in a band or surfing contests, and the brothers do not bumble around wide-eyed looking for clues, like the gang from Scooby Doo. And true to character, they do not use weapons, or get into many fights.

The stories are mostly on the lighter side, not particularly violent or sophisticated, and there isn't always time for in depth story or character development. Neither of the Hardy's has a girlfriend, but romance isn't part of the scene. Most of the action is set in Bayport, but for a change of pace, in the final two episodes, the guys are in France, where they have a brief reunion with their father, and also meet Nancy Drew (Tracy Ryan) for the first time. Ryan was starring as Nancy Drew in her own series for New Line Television (Nancy Drew (1995) - The Complete First Season (Boxset)).

This mildly entertaining version of The Hardy Boys, is probably of interest only to diehard fans of the detectives. The acting is competent enough, but the writing doesn't do a very good job of developing the characters of Frank and Joe, and their relationship with each other. There isn't anything special here. The image quality and sound quality of the fullscreen presentation is very good. The episodes have chapter stops, but are not subtitled.

No matter what shape a Hardy Boys adventure comes in, it is always a pleasure. Enough action, mystery, and male bonding to keep the die hard fan engaged, as well as convert the uninitiated viewer. Frank is an up and coming newspaper reporter...and as near as I can figure out Joe is a student (either that, or unemployed). Eagle eye'd watchers will notice a tip of the hat to "author" Franklin W. Dixon -- the restaurant that Frank and Joe frequent is called F.W. DIXON'S. And also a cameo of sorts by Shaun Cassidy (Joe in the 1970s verson) in the episode JAZZMAN. Frank and Joe are looking through boxes of old vinyl albums, and sticking out of one box is the Shaun Cassidy LP BORN LATE. A nice touch. Good cast, fairly well written stories, and innocent adventure that will be well shared between fathers, sons and (of course) brothers.

A fast-paced, witty, and highly entertaining 1995 reboot of the Hardy Boys -- this is NOT the 1970s incarnation, and don't try to compare the two (and book canon nit-pickers, move along). I wish I'd caught this series when it was actually on the air, and I'm sorry I missed it. The writing's solid, the plots fast-moving, the characterizations and acting excellent.

Here, Frank's an investigative reporter, Joe's still in college, though he's a photographer and accomplished hacker. Their Dad's moved to Europe, leaving them the house, and the brothers get involved in all the mysteries that the town of Bayport can conjure. The 20 minutes format means that the writers can't set up anything too involved, but the adventures are fun, the humor is witty, dry, and to the point (as the brothers are ransacking Fenton's record collection: Joe: "Maybe Dad didn't alphabetize them?" Frank: "Joe, Dad alphabetized the *spice rack*...").

It's a joy to watch Grey and Popowich have such fun with the brother detectives. Paul Popowich, in particular, does an amazing take on Joe Hardy as a dry deadpan-snarker who has far too much a weakness for girls (the episode "The Debt Collectors"/"All in the Family" is a real tour-de-force there). There's shout-outs to the 70s show ("Jazzman" and "Love Birds", dear god), so keep your eyes and ears open. I'd place Grey's & Popowich's portrayals of Frank and Joe Hardy as definitive, in the same way that David Suchet defined Poirot and Jeremy Brett, Holmes; the characterizations of the brothers are very much within the book canon, Joe as the impulsive intuitive one, Frank as the cooler brain. The actors have done their homework, and it shows.

It's a shame that this show only lasted one season -- I was sorry to come to the end of this DVD, and wanting more. Pick this one up, grab a bowl of popcorn, and enjoy!