Customer Reviews

The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries: Season Two

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm VERY excited that we're finally going to see another season make it to DVD. However, I do have a minor complaint:

Season TWO consists of "22 episodes" and three are "two-part" episodes (making the real "whole episode" count "19"). Here is a list of the "season two" episodes:

The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (Part 1) - 09/11/77
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula (Part 2) - 09/18/77
The Mystery of King Tut's Tomb 09/25/77
The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (Part 1) - 10/02/77
The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom (Part 2) - 10/09/77
The Mystery of the African Safari - 10/16/77
The Creatures Who Came From Sunday - 10/30/77
The Strange Fate of Flight 608 - 11/06/77
Acapulco Spies - 11/13/77
Nancy Drew's Love Match - 01/20/77
The Silent Scream - 11/27/77
Will the Real Santa Claus..? - 12/18/77
The Lady on Thursday at Ten - 01/01/78
Oh Say Can You Sing - 01/08/78
The House on Possessed Hill - 02/22/78
Sole Survivor - 01/29/78
Voodoo Doll (Part 1) - 02/12/78
Voodoo Doll (Part 2) - 02/19/78
Mystery Of The Avalanche Express - 12/26/78
Death Surf - 03/12/78
Arson and Old Lace - 03/31/78
The Campus Terror - 05/06/78

"Season Three" consists of only "10 episodes" and two are "two parts" (which basically makes it an "8 episode" season). I think that it would have made more sense to release a "season two AND season three" combo box set. I realize that it would have added to the cost, but then we may end up having to wait a couple more years for the final "10" ("8") episodes. Let's hope not!!

This series is standard "Glen Larson" material and GREAT nostalgia entertainment! The chemistry of the cast helps to drive the series and make it a light hearted, fun, and quite enjoyable viewing experience!

-JM

Hate to sound like a demented fan - but I can't wait! This is the season that features the cross-over episodes of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula/ Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet the Hollywood Phantom. Plus I hope this has the "rare" Christmas ep of Nancy Drew - Will the Real Santa Claus... As mentioned, the major disappointment comes with Pamela Sue Martin's departure. In an interview she said she didn't want to turn into the girl that said - you boys solve the mystery while I go call the police. And sure enough that's what happened to the new Nancy. If anybody recalls - the first episode of Janet Louise Johnson as Nancy was one of the most idiotic episodes ever. First, her Nancy has been missing for months, kidnapped and held captive by an old geezer. That Nancy couldn't get out of that one herself was so preposterous. Then - to add further insult to injury, the Hardy Boys have to come rescue her and all she does the entire time is whine. Pamela's version of Nancy would've gotten out long before the Hardy Boys got there. Watch the Dracula and Phantom episodes and see how well she holds her own against the boys!

This is a terrific season for HB/ND fans, with some terrific guest stars such as Dennis Weaver, Jaclyn Smith, Rick Springfield, and Maureen McCormick. The only disappointment is Pamela Sue Martin's midseason departure as Nancy Drew. After two years, fans are finally getting this terrific season DVD box set.

There are many DVD sets in my collection and not one of them was as anticipated as this one. I'm pleased to say that Season Two of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries does not disappoint.

To put Season Two in perspective I must first say a few words about Season One. Released on DVD in March 2005, the first season episodes beautifully capture the essence of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew novels that have been a staple in children's literature since the 1920's. Frank, Joe, and Nancy helped solve mysteries around their hometowns, often assisting their fathers on important cases. In Season One the guys and Nancy are just getting started with their crime solving, sometimes making mistakes here and there. This could be debated but Nancy made far fewer mistakes than the boys ever did! In both seasons Nancy is a young woman who mostly works alone and gets the job done right the first time. Pamela Sue Martin's portrayal of Nancy was perfect. No one else could ever BE Nancy, then or now.

Nearing the end of Season One a phenomenon helped to transform this great children's series into "must-see-TV" for teens and pre-teens everywhere: The Brothers Hardy - wonderfully portrayed by Parker Stevenson and super singer Shaun Cassidy - became teen idols. And so began Season Two...

Though it has been done in print many times since, the first episode on this Season Two set has the characters of Frank, Joe, and Nancy meeting for the first time ever. The brothers are hardly ever home this season, though they do still assist their dad on occasion. The second season takes the guys to exotic lands and the danger quotient is slightly increased over the previous year. If you're a fan of The Hardy Boys Casefiles (novels written in the late '80's) this season is for you!

Many guest stars lend their talents to this season too, including Lorne Green, Valerie Bertinelli, Edd Byrnes (77 Sunset Strip), Troy Donahue, Fabian, Tommy Sands, Deborah Walley (Gidget), Melanie Griffith, Ray Milland (veteran actor from the 1920's through the 1980's), Linda Dano (One Life to Live), Rick Springfield (General Hospital), Jaclyn Smith (Charlie's Angels), Robert Wagner (Hart to Hart), Casey Kasem (radio personality), Dennis Weaver (McCloud), and many more.

I'm proud to say I've been a fan of this series for 30 years, though I didn't watch it regularly until the end of season two. My memories of watching "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" take me back to edited reruns on snowy, low-powered UHF TV channels during the television days B.C. (Before Cable). Needless to say, this set is a joy to watch; the episodes are complete and beautifully restored. They are presented on five neatly packaged single-sided discs. New generations will watch this and get acquainted with three super sleuths who value friendship, perseverance, independence, respect, hard work, brotherly love, and so much more that's missing from today's television landscape. Three decades have passed but parents and children can still enjoy this show together. That is the sign of a true classic.

Finally, I must salute the cast - Shaun, Parker, Pamela, Janet Louise Johnson as Nancy Drew, Edmund Gilbert (the ONLY Fenton Hardy and the perfect Hardy dad!), and William Schallert as Mr. Drew. Without you this series would not be the classic that it is. The evidence - this DVD set - proves it!

I bought this DVD set a while ago and I have to say that it has to be one of my favorite shows I've seen in a long time. Being a teenager, sometimes it can be hard to step away from all the pop culture and music that kids my age are into today but somehow I discovered Shaun Cassidy and instantly became a fan! Even though I have yet to see season 3 (unfortunately, the 70's was before my time) I'm more than anticipating Universal's release of it on DVD.

It's so hard to pick a favorite episode since all of these are wonderful, but both of the 2 part episodes (The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula and The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom) will keep you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Hopefully Universal will release season 3 soon!

It's been 2 years since the release of the first season on dvd and I have been hungry for more episodes! This series gives you a great slice of life in the late 70s, with a good mix of crime solving, comedy and suspense.

Loving the retro dvd artwork too! This is gonna look great in my collection! Thank you for finally releasing this classic piece of television.

In the first season, The Hardy Boys Mysteries and Nancy Drew Mysteries split time equally, alternating episodes each week. In second season, the series underwent a major change, placing the emphasis on the Hardy Boys, and making Nancy Drew secondary. Of the 22 episodes, only three were stand alone Nancy Drew Mysteries. Pamela Sue Martin also appeared as Nancy Drew, in two, two-part Hardy Boy adventures. Martin, left the series with several episodes remaining, resulting in Janet Louise Johnson being cast as a replacement. Johnson, appeared as Nancy Drew, in four additional episodes.

With more backing from the studio, The Hardy Boys Mysteries changed in several ways. The writing, while still not great, is improved. Many of the clichés remained, but the series featured colorful international settings outside of Bayport, Massachusetts, that created possibilities for the stories. Hollywood, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Austria, Nassau, Egypt, and Africa, are some of the scenic spots on the Hardy boys' itinerary . The handsome brothers, Joe (Shaun Cassidy) and Frank (Parker Stevenson), while still prone to goofy foulups, display a higher level of maturity and competence. Still mostly pretty boy detectives, who usually run from trouble, at least the Hardy boys are now independent, and not constantly apologizing like schoolboys in the principal's office after messing up. While more lovers than fighters, the Hardy's are able to take on some physical tasks, without looking completely ridiculous.

With most of the action set outside of Bayport, first season regulars Aunt Gertrude (Edith Alwater), and Callie (Lisa Eilbacher) were written out of season two. On their own, the guys, especially Frank, experienced a hormone rush, becoming much, much, more interested in girls, with this often being the motivation for their investigations. Some of the young actresses featured include, Kimberly Beck, Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time), Kim Cattrall (Sex In the City), Debra Clinger, Elyssa Daniels, Bonnie Ebsen, Martha Garrett, Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), Jean Marie Hon, Maren Jensen (Battlestar Gallactica), Stepfanie Kramer (Hunter), Anne Lockhart (Battlestar Gallactica), Robin Mattson, Cathy Rigby, and Deborah Ryan. After some pretty lackluster guest stars in season one, season two featured notable Hollywood veterans like J. D. Cannon, Cesare Danova, Thayer David, Howard Duff, Lorne Greene, James Hong, Jack Jones, Casey Kasem, Dorthy Malone, Ray Milland, Diana Muldaur, Larry Storch, James Wainright, Paul Williams, and Stuart Whitman. Those making cameos include Jaclyn Smith, Robert Wagner, and Dennis Weaver.

The Hardy boys remain mostly non-violent, and inept at fighting. A push is usually about as aggressive as they get, and it often doesn't take more than a push to put a Hardy down, particularly Joe. Whenever they are travelling, these guys seem to get their room searched nearly every time, but thankfully Joe doesn't spend much time, ridiculously collecting fingerprints anymore. The Hardy's have mostly left their junior investigators ways behind, taking on enemy spies, braving fires, thwarting smugglers, facing ghosts, and even managing to land a jet airliner at sea! Although the guys are approaching superspy status, there are still many cartoonish 'Scooby Doo' aspects (laughing phantoms, ghosts, witches, and vampires) to the program, which are part of its 'charm'.

While Shaun Cassidy's singing is featured more, he also demonstrates that he has some talent as an actor, with his best dramatic performance probably being in Sole Survivor, where foreign agents try to trick Joe into believing that he has been in a coma, and that Frank and his father are dead. The younger Hardy uses his head and makes a daring escape across the rooftops of Hong Kong, with a beautiful nurse. Campus Terror features a very determined Joe, searching for whoever is terrorizing female students on campus. The guys usually have an exciting time in Hawaii. In Death Surf, Frank is obsessed with finding out all he can about a girl that disappeared in the surf. Mystery on the Avalanche Express, is like a reunion for past teen stars, featuring Troy Donahue, Tommy Sands, Fabian, and Deborah Walley. It's a pretty good adventure set on a train passing through Europe, that features Joe fighting on the rooftop of the train, and in a ski chase down a slope.

While things are going very well for the Hardy Boys, the same can't be said for Nancy Drew. Nancy repeatedly describes herself as a 'part time investigator', and ironically, that is exactly what she became in season two. The rise of the Hardy brothers' star, is correspondingly the setting sun for Pamela Sue Martin. Martin has three separate Drew adventures, but most of her River Heights ground base from season one is gone. William Schallert returns as Carson Drew, but Susan Buckner replaces Jean Rasey as Nancy's pal George Fayne, and Rick Springfield is the reintroduced Ned Nickerson. Martin's stand alone episodes are not very well written. The best may be Nancy Drew's Love Match, where Nancy is hired to keep an eye on a star tennis player (Maureen McCormick, Brady Bunch) who has a penchant for shoplifting.

Martin fit in well, when teamed with the Hardy Boys, with the writers playing up her relationship with Frank, but with her role reduced, she decided to move on. Her replacement, nineteen year old Janet Louise Johnson, does an admirable job, in what must have been a stressful situation. It is kind of hard to accept another actress as Nancy Drew, after the sudden switch, but there isn't much choice. Johnson makes her entrance in the two-part episode Voodoo Doll, and does her best with the part. She is put to the test in Arson and Old Lace, a completely over the top story, where Nancy has been kidnapped, and held captive for six months, by a demented, reclusive millionaire. Later she is put into the ridiculous position of shinnying up an elevator cable with Frank.

The Hardy Boys becoming jet setting international operatives, unfortunately left Nancy Drew behind. In the third and final season, Nancy Drew would be completely phased out. In season two, Frank and Joe become more well rounded and credible sleuths, while retaining their wholesome appeal. After leaving the series, Pamela Sue Martin apparently sought to radically change her image, appearing in Playboy in 1978, and playing a prostitute in The Lady in Red (1979). She then secured the role as Fallon, on Aaron Spelling's Dynasty (1981-84).

The second season dvd set of THE HARDY BOYS/NANCY DREW MYSTERIES started off with a bang! "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula 1 & 2" began season two with Parker Stevenson, Shaun Cassidy, and Pamela Sue Martin joining forces to solve a mystery in Dracula's castle. The trio also got together in Hollywood for another two-parter during this season called "The Mystery Of The Hollywood Phantom." Again, the story lines are exciting with plot twists and fun filled adventures, but something becomes noticeably different in season two.

It seems that Nancy Drew (Pamela Sue Martin) was being relegated to a supporting character to the Hardy Boys. The shows were now focusing more on Frank and Joe Hardy, and Nancy Drew would be a guest star. Even the number of Nancy Drew episodes dropped from an equal number in the first season (7-to-7), to only three shows(not guest starring with Hardy Boys) in this season.

Maybe the reason for this change was because of Shaun Cassidy's (Joe Hardy) huge popularity as a pop singer during that time, but something made the show's creators focus on the Hardy Boys. Even the regular characters on "Nancy Drew," namely "George" and "Ned," were replaced with other actors in season two. I'm not sure if the "Ned" character played by Rick Springfield in the episode "Will The Real Santa Claus..." was supposed to be the "Ned" character from season one, but the "George" character was definitely the same, but played by a different actress.

Anyway, the changes aren't too jarring until you get half way through the season when Pamela Sue Martin steps out as Nancy Drew and is replaced by Janet Louise Johnson(?) in another Nancy Drew guest-star/two-parter called "Voodoo Doll." And even though Johnson(?) isn't bad as ND, Martin was perfect. I don't know why this happened, but whatever the reason it was a little unsettling. It would be like Lynda Carter being replaced as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman half-way through the season of "Wonder Woman."

Although I didn't like this change in casting, I gave this set 5-stars because the shows were pretty good...even if they were mostly "Hardy Boys" episodes. The episode called "Arson and Old Lace," the second to the last on this season, was a little corny where Nancy Drew gets kidnapped by this old man and held for six months. There's this scene where Frank and Nancy are climbing up an elevator shaft; they reach the top of it and all of a sudden they're outside on the roof. So suspension of disbelief was really being stretched there.

But I'm glad I bought this set. The picture and sound quality are good and this time the episodes are on five single-sided dvds. There's also a bonus feature called "America's Top Sleuths" that says it's the Sleuth Channel's countdown of top sleuths on tv and film. Another thing I enjoyed on this set, that was also on season one, was the voice over at the beginning of each show saying, "Tonight on the Hardy boys/Nancy Drew..." and the episode title.

...devoted fans of this classic of the late 1970s can stop rewinding and rewatching their tired old VHS tape copies of reruns from Saturday at noon. Arguably, the second season was the best of this series, at least as long as Pamela Sue Martin was around...though the loss of Lisa Eilbacher as Callie Shaw is lamentable. This was the peak of the show's popularity as a Sunday night 7:00 p.m. EST staple; both the Christmas episode and the two-part "Voodoo Doll" are memorably nostalgic. All in all a great tribute to the fans who successfully petitioned (and bought the first season): it was by no means a guarantee that this season would ever be released on DVD. A rare series in syndication...a welcome example of what television lighthearted crime drama once was.

Although the show still featured Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, season 2 was already starting to focus more on the Hardy Boys. When Pamela Sue Martin learned that there would be no more Nancy Drew episodes in the next season, she left the show in the middle of season 2 and another actress took over the role of Nancy Drew. I agree with a lot of the other reviewers that the show started to go downhill in season 2, when Pamela Sue Martin left. Personally, I was disappointed that they stopped the Nancy Drew portion of the show. Some of the episodes might seem a bit corny, however they are still a lot of fun. Die-hard fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys will love these shows. I know I do! In this set, the episodes aren't separated into Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys, like the ones in the first season. The episodes are in the order they were aired. Here's a list of the episodes:

1. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula, pts. 1 and 2 -- The Hardy Boys go to Transylvania to find their missing father and run into Nancy Drew, who was supposed to meet with Mr. Hardy to investigate some art thefts. These strange circumstances seem to surround a rock concert held at a local castle where Dracula supposedly lived. Could there still be a vampire lurking in the dark caverns under the castle?

2. The Mystery of King Tut's Tomb -- The Hardy Boys travel to Egypt where they try to help a young woman whose purse was stolen. Surprisingly, she is less than grateful for their help and refuses to take the purse back. Frank finds a statuette inside the purse that looks like it's made of gold. Could the girl have actually wanted it stolen?

3. The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom, pts. 1 and 2 -- The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew are attending a detectives' convention in Los Angeles. After a tour of a movie studio, strange things start happening to the convention attendees. Who is out to get the detectives?

4. Mystery of the African Safari -- The Hardy Boys are asked to help investigate a case of poaching in Africa where the animals' bodies are not even found.

5. The Creatures Who Came on Sunday -- An old friend of the Hardy Boys' asks for their help in finding her missing boyfriend. She believes that his disappearance has something to do with a UFO that she saw in the mountains nearby. Although Frank and Joe don't believe in aliens, it's clear that something is going on in the mountains that people don't want anyone to know about.

6. Strange Fate of Fligth 608 -- A stewardess friend of the Hardy Boys gets them seats on a flight carrying a group of stewardess trainees from Nassau to New York. One of the stewardesses is nervous because their flight will pass through the Bermuda Triangle. Her worries don't seem as silly when the flight crew is drugged and Frank has to land the plane.

7. Acapulco Spies -- Fenton Hardy is on a case in Acapulco when he runs into some trouble. He tells Frank and Joe to go to a certain hotel and wait until someone gives them a certain code phrase. From there, everything goes wrong. Fenton Hardy disappears, and by accident, a couple of American girls say the code words to boys.

8. Nancy Drew's Love Match -- Nancy Drew is asked by a concerned parent to watch his daughter, a young tennis star with kleptomaniac tendancies, but there may also be a more sinister criminal at work.

9. The Mystery of the Silent Scream -- A deaf girl reads the lips of a man plotting a horrible crime. She will need the help of the Hardy Boys to catch the man before he can put his plan into action.

10. Will the Real Santa Claus . . . -- In this Nancy Drew Christmas episode, Nancy must prove that a man who may or may not be Santa Claus is innocent of a series of burglaries. There is also a new Ned Nickerson in this episode who bears no resemblance to the Ned Nickerson in the first season of the show.

11. The Lady on Thursday at Ten -- Nancy is driving late at night in New York when she gets lost and accidentally hits a man with her car. The man is taken to the hospital, and another man at the scene tells her that he is with the NYPD and the man she hit was an escapee. When Nancy doesn't hear from him the next day, she makes inquiries with the police, and they say that they've never heard of the policeman or the escapee.

12. Oh Say Can You Sing -- Joe is invited to sing at a concert put on by a friend, Harriet, but Harriet is arrested over a hit-and-run accident. Harriet claims that she only witnessed the accident and reported it to the police, but the police say that she never came to them.

13. The House on Possessed Hill -- Frank and Joe feel obligated to help a disturbed young woman who seems to have psychic abilities and a strange connection to an old house that people believe is haunted. Is she a witch, like some people believe, or are her visions hinting at some disturbing events in the past?

14. Sole Survivor -- Joe wakes up in a hospital in Hong Kong and is told that his father and brother are dead. Did a car accident really kill them, or is there something else happening?

15. Voodoo Doll, pts. 1 and 2 -- The Hardy Boys visit New Orleans during Mardi Gras, but soon after they arrive, someone steals their wallets. Then, someone leaves voodoo dolls of them in their room. They don't know why, but it seems to be connected to a magician performing at a night club. Meanwhile, Nancy Drew is undercover as a magician at the same night club on an investigation of her own. This is the first episode featuring Janet Louise Johnson as Nancy Drew.

16. Mystery on the Avalanche Express -- The Hardy Boys and Nancy are in Europe to see a ski tournament. They find themselves on a train with a frightened woman who is being pursued by men demanding that she give them something that belonged to her late brother, only she has no idea what they want. (This episode bears a strong resemblance to the movie Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.)

17. Death Surf -- While on vacation, Frank tries to save a drowning girl, but no one finds any trace of her. Her father tells Franks that he and his daughter weren't very close, but he wants to know more about her life. As Frank and Joe start to investigate the dead girl, they find out that they're not the only ones interested in her.

18. Arson and Old Lace -- The Hardy Boys are desperately trying to find Nancy Drew, who has been kidnapped by a man living out obsessive fantasies about his dead wife. The situation is made all the more dangerous by an arsonist.

19. Campus Terror -- The Hardy Boys try to help an old friend when her college classmates start disappearing. The identity of the kidnapper will come as a shock to them all.