Customer Reviews

Route 66: Season 3 Volume 1

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

 

 

After all the praise I gave Infinity Entertainment for listening to the desires of the consumer with the release of Route 66 - The Complete First Season and Route 66 - The Complete Second Season, they backslide with a half-season release of Season 3, Volume 1. This is early news and perhaps a full season issue would be not far behind. Either way Infinity Entertainment is light years ahead of the dullards at CBS/Paramount.

With further thought, Season 3 was a transitional season with the mid-season departure of primary performer George Maharis due to illness. With Maharis out and Glenn Corbett in AND being 31 episodes long, a 2-Vol. set is semi-acceptable; just barely:)!

Either way, we do praise Roxbury/Infinity Entertainment for continuing marketing of this fine classic anthology.

UPDATE: 07.21.09

Here's a scoop on what to expect.

This 16 episode set is housed in a plastic clam-shell; two discs staggered per side. The discs themselves are pictures of the cover art with a large 1, 2, 3 and 4. The audio quality is extra crisp while the picture quality is superb, retaining the original Aspect Ratio of 1.33:1. The DVD intro splash menu is really clever with a PLAY ALL or EPISODES options. And I stand corrected as Original Episode Commercials are listed under the EXTRAS option on Disc 4.

The only cons are that there are no listings of the episodes in the clam-shell or cover box; only on the EPISODES option. Also the cast and bios feature from S.1 & S.2 are missing.

For me, quality picture, audio and story content top everything! And as a neat surprise, the 1st episode is a superb story starring every one's favorite "Fugitive", David Janssen! Enjoy!

UPDATE: 07.22.09

Possibly some bad news here with QA/QC problems. I noticed that Discs 1 & 4 make a rumbling sound in my best DVD player; a Panasonic burner. But all seem to play okay in my computer drive and an old RCA player. I'd like to know if anyone else is experiencing this problem.

UPDATE: 07.23.09

And now we hear reports that all discs on the S.3-V.2 are bad! What in the world is going on here? I really thought when Infinity released both S.1 & S.2 as whole season releases we would be rid of defective discs, phony wide-screen video, etc. Some people should lose their jobs because of this!

I just received my copy of this release, and the packaging is different than the previous season releases. It comes in a plastic Amaray style case that holds 2 discs on each side, which slips into a cardboard slipcase. I don't mind the new packaging, but the omission of the episode listing is quite annoying. Now the only way to determine what episodes are on each disc is to put it in the player! Well I guess I will make up my own episode list and put it in the case. Don't worry though the video and audio quality are crisp and clear as ever. Another thing they omitted is the cast bios from this release, BUT, unlike the previous season you DO get the classic commercials they once gave you. This time they throw in Bumpers, Next On Promos, Station ID's, etc.

ANOTHER NOTE: The Episode "Only By Cunning Glimpses" on Disc 3 has been taken from a syndicated master, and not the original film negative like all of the other episodes so far. The video quality is pretty good, but the audio is a little bit muddy. At the end, this episode does not contain the "Screen-Gems" logo followed by the "CBS Television Network" spiral like the other episodes do. It is replaced with a COLOR "Columbia Pictures Television" logo instead.


UPDATE #3: The Full Season Release is out everywhere now and the production issues have been rectified. You don't gain anything from buying Volume One on it's own, I would spend the few extra dollars and buy the Complete Season Set for Season 3. There is nothing special about the Complete Season either - no book, no episode listing, just 8 discs in a case, but the content ON THEM is WORTH EVERY PENNY! Just one more season left and the entire series is released.

Only having problems with disc no.1,a rumbling sound as well as the pix freezing up at certain spots on episode 1 and 4 only. Episodes 2 and 3 play ok.Something going on here with this set for sure.

This first half of Season 3 features the final stages of George Maharis' bow out from the series. He would appear in the first 12 episodes (discs 1-3) of this set and in the first episode of Season 3, Volume 2. Some intense and enjoyable performances by Maharis were couched in this season. A synopsis of those episodes is featured below.

Journey To Nineveh. A frolicsome story with Buster Keaton as a snakebitten man named Jonah. Buz works to break Jonah's apparent lifelong jinx. One of the lighthearted 66 episodes not meant to be played seriously. Milner & Maharis clearly enjoy working with the physical comedy legend that was Keaton.

Man Out Of Time, with Luther Adler playing an aged gangster who fears payback from old enemies.

Voice At The End Of The Line casts Sorrel Booke as a wimpish man who loves a switchboard operator he's never seen. Booke's performance is moving and offers a ray of hope to any man who has fallen for a woman considered "out of his league". The storyline serves as a forerunner for the chatrooms and online dating services so prevalent on today's global information expressway. Well done.

Lizard's Leg & Owlet's Wing. Near Chicago, Buz & Tod get jobs at O'Hare Hotel, host to a convention featuring Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, & Lon Chaney. These titans of terror want to know if their horror costumes will work on the hotel staff and its patrons. Thanks to the hokiness of this script, they do. Crafting an episode honoring the legacy of Karloff, Lorre, & Chaney is a kind gesture. A more kind gesture would've been to create a program which did not strain the show's credibility nor strained to attain laughs. One of the low points of the season and the series, IMO.

Ever Ride The Waves In Oklahoma? Buz challenges a surfing king to a match after his previous opponent is killed at sea.

Every Daughter Must Weave Her Own. A Construction manager tries to arrange a relationship between Buz and his daugher who is actually dying. The acting and the episode remain good until spinning into the disease of the week realm.

Poor Little Kangaroo Rat. A workaholic scientist (Leslie Nielsen) must choose between his work and his wife who is tired of playing second banana.

Hey Moth, Come Eat The Flame. Buz & Tod try to help an alcoholic nightclub pianist (Harry Guardino) get back on his feet. His 13 year old son, Arnie, is more of a caretaker and best friend than he is a son. This episode features good interaction between Arnie & Buzz, who no doubt relives some of his orphaned past through the boy's plight.

Only By Cunning Glimpses. A girl takes up soothsaying as a way of punishing her father for her Mother's death.

This latter episode was actually borrowed from a syndicated source. It features a Coca Cola/Columbia Pictures lady at the end rather than the CBS opening eye logo.

Across Walnuts & Wine, set in Oregon City, Oregon, showcases Robert Walker Jr. as a young man bitter, feeling unloved, and ill equipped to face life's challenges after the death of his father. With Buz's help, the boy's aunt persuades him to tackle life's obstacles.

The opening episode of Season 3, One Tiger To A Hill, showcased David Janssen as Karno, an ex soldier who became a dockfighter after a war enemy killed all of his soldiers. Karno & Tod vie for the affection of the same woman and the two square off in a climatic boat fight. A strong Martin Milner episode Season 3 could've used more of.

Welcome To The Wedding, another episode emphasizing Milner, starred the amazing Rod Steiger who played a psychopathic killer. This script was a total revisit of Aren't You Surprised To See Me? from Season 2.

Disc 4 is an assembly of 4 solo Martin Milner episodes. Where Is Chick Lorrimer? Where Has He Gone? While working at an auto garage, Tod meets a bailjumper, Vera Miles, who was a onetime singer. Tod finds her in St. Louis. She became a stripper and Tod falls for her.

Give The Old Cat A Tender Mouse. Julie Newmar is back as Vicki, the elusive biker Tod wants but can't have. Like Miles character (and others Tod goes for in Season 3), Vicki is more interested in the meaning and the pursuit of life than she is having a relationship with Tod.

A Bunch Of Lonely Pagliaccis. Tod works for a noted writer whose daughter kills her terminally ill husband. An accessory in the murder case is Cora Parkes, who once loved the man.

You Can't Pick Cotton In Tahiti. Tod meets a Hollywood songwriter, Richard Basehart, who comes to Tennessee looking for new writing material. Tod and a few
other townspeople find his motives questionable. That includes the family of the girl the writer falls for.

The Milner episodes aren't totally bad. They just aren't the same without George Maharis. It is painfully obvious that dialogue intended for Maharis is dispersed amongst the guest stars in the Chick Lorrimer and Tahiti episodes. And each episode on disc 4 hints to Buz recuperating from a virus in a hospital.

The show's producers knew that Chevrolet committed to another year of sponsorship. However, Chevrolet nor Herbert Leonard thought George would be gone for good. By Leonard's admission: "We knew that when George left that the series was over. Had he stayed on, there was talk of taking the show to Europe, which would've made us the first American show to film overseas". I Spy would bear that distinction a year later. In color, which is another horizon this great piece of thespian Americana was deprived of.

Infinity could have been more attentive to packaging details, such as putting the titles of each episode on the 4 discs. You have to navigate through a menu to find an episode you choose to watch. And though Infinity did add a "Next Route 66 Promo", they eliminated the film credits bio of each guest star. I also noticed a rumbling sound during a playback in one of the discs. Maharis & Milner are still alive. It would have been great to have them do some sit in studio commentary about this series.

Still, there are more pluses than minuses when viewing this set. And the guest stars who adorn the credits of each episode are a walking who's who of Hollywood. All of which, like the towns and cities Buz & Tod navigated through,
are part of a time piece which can never be replicated again.

UPDATE: 02.03.09

Meanwhile it does appear that this release date will be for an 11 episode "Best Of" Route 66. As another reviewer stated; "Caveat Emptor"!

After all the praise I gave Infinity Entertainment for listening to the desires of the consumer with the release of Route 66 - The Complete First Season and Route 66 - The Complete Second Season, they backslide with a half-season release of Season 3, Volume 1. This is early news and perhaps a full season issue would be not far behind. Either way Infinity Entertainment is light years ahead of the dullards at CBS/Paramount.

We do praise Roxbury/Infinity Entertainment for continuing marketing of this fine classic anthology.

As a little kid growing up in the 60"s, I was only vaguely aware of the riff-raff and behind the scenes
turmoil involving Route 66. Yes, this was the season where George Maharis mid-way through this third
season says adios! So you get Martin Milner driving alone and looking pretty lonesome. It"s too bad
for the fans because that season had some pretty good shows including one with David Janssen, later
to find immense success for himself with The Fugitive. Also, a show reuniting Boris Karloff, Lon
Chaney, Jr., and Peter Lorre is a real treat but their monster makeups could have been better. Still,
it"s good to see them together again. I curious to see what happens in Vol 2 when Milner is paired
with a new partner, Glenn Corbett. The black and white photgraphy is sometimes breathtaking and you
wonder why cheap CBS refused to broadcast it in color. With todays' video technology these transfers
would look even better. Bonus features are old Route 66 bumpers and commercials, plus previews of
forthcoming episodes.






































As

Season 3 and Route 66 just wore out it's welcome. A great idea that's been copied a lot. Basically "On The Road", with new places, new people, new stories. But the tone is so maudlin and grief stricken with the collective whimpering of the fictional American populace it sets your teeth on edge. And George Maharis is suddenly absent on Disc 3. This is where he did actually get sick ( or try to re negotiate his contract). I got this collection because it featured a story combining Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. And that story was awful. Disc 3 has a missing Maharis and also features a defect casuing it to roar in the player like a jet about to take off until you select the Episode menu.

According to TV on DVD website, this Feb release is not Season 3...just a best of set of episodes.
Buyer beware if you want Season 3 like I do.

My original efforts to acquire Route 66, Season Three, Volume One, began in late 2009. I always received DVD sets that had defective discs that would cause my DVD player to rumble when they came up to speed, which were obviously unbalanced. After four unsuccessful product return/replacement efforts, I finally contacted Infinity Entertainment--the distributor of the Route 66 DVD sets--and asked what the heck was going on. They owned up to the fact that their initial Route 66 products were plagued by bad original disc media; further, they claimed that the problem was being corrected and that the "second generation" Route 66 products would be free of defects.
I waited a few months and re-ordered Season Three, Volume One. All four discs worked perfectly, and I must say that Infinity did a great job with the intro material on each disc.
So far, it seems that Infinity's Route 66 DVD products should be good.

Amazon has apparently cancelled pre-orders of Season 3. Anyone know if Infinity has pulled the plug on this (or did somebody pull THEIR plug)? What a shame... just as they were starting to get the hang of how to properly transfer these to DVD.