Customer Reviews

The Streets of San Francisco: Season Two, Vol. 2

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

During the second act of the first episode it happens...that 2-minute or more long tracking shot of the partners striding through headquarters shot from the waist up with no cuts, both men acting with their posture, their arms, their stride, their faces, their voices--the whole thing. It's my favorite thing about this old show. There are enough interesting angles and shots to make the direction interesting much of the time, and then there's a scene like this in almost every episode where the actors spout a few pages of dialog and just act for all they are worth with no close-ups or pauses or quick cuts. It's such a refreshing change from modern shows. San Francisco is a glorious backdrop, and Malden and Douglas are great together. The stories are 50 minutes long and develop slowly. What wonderful change of pace!

Here are the episodes with a few guest stars and directors noted:
The Runaways--3 kids trying to stay together (Larry Wilcox, Jeanette Nolan)
Winterkill--bombs and blackmail
Most Feared in the Jungle--woman doesn't believe baby was stillborn
Commitment--Stone's daughter visits, always a good ep (Tyne Daly)
Chapel of the Damned--kidnapping and psychics
Blockade--rape and murder (Cheryl Ladd, Ida Lupino, Charles Martin Smith)
Crossfire--a sniper (Nick Nolte)
A String of Puppets--Steve goes undercover (dir by Richard Donner)
Inferno--arson, of course!
The Hard Breed--rodeo murder (Harry Carey, Jr.)
Rampage--vigilantes, always a 70s favorite! (Ron Glass)
Death and the Favored Few--blackmail

I like this show alot and I never tire of watching it. Karl Malden and Michael Douglas were a great team on this show like Don Johnson and Cheech Marin were on Nash Bridges but I personally think The Streets Of San Francisco is way better than Nash Bridges. How often do you hear comments like Buddy boy and Hotshot on cop shows these days not too mention see the father/son like chemistry Karl Malden and Michael Douglas had? Not very often or not at all. I can't wait to get Volumne 2 of Season 2 in a couple weeks and get the remaining seasons. This show and EMERGENCY! are #1 in my book and I never tire of watching them.

The Streets of San Francisco is part of the legacy of Quinn Martin, who was one of television's alltime most successful producers, responsible for some of television's most popular action/adventure series. Martin was the producer for such popular series as The Untouchables, The FBI, Cannon, and Barnaby Jones.

The Streets of San Francisco followed the pattern of most of Martin's shows. There were divided into three acts and an epilogue, and the guest stars were introduced at the beginning of each episode. The show feature veteran, Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden (who during this time starred in a series of popular commercials for American Express credit cards) and Michael Douglas, son of Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas.

Malden played veteran SF homicide cop Mike Stone, who was newly paired with rookie detective Steven Keller, played by Douglas. Following the Naked City model of police dramas, Stone showed the green Keller the ropes of policing the city while Keller used his criminology decree and understanding of modern technology to balance the equation. Darleen Carr has an occasional role as Stone daughter and Keller's eventual love interest.

This was a solid, enjoyable series and the teaming of Malden and Douglas was an excellent one. This show is one that is still entertaining almost forty years later.

I am a San Francisco, Karl Malden, Michael Douglas fan and I watched these at home when they first aired back in the early seventies. I appear in one of the episodes for about three seconds in a crowd scene so I am personally attached. That one has not been released yet so I am waiting for it. I just got lucky the first day I ever set foot in San Francisco. Amazing.

Yes, some of the stories and some of the the lighting are a bit, "early seventies" but I want to have every one of these. And if you like old cars, every car on the street is a classic. I love seeing (and mapping) the San Francisco scenes. I hope that of all the remaing seasons are released soon. Keep 'em coming Amazon!

It is hard to beat the theme song to this show. The only one that compares is Hawaii Five-0. I used to watch this show in college. Seeing it now brings back great memories. And the show is very entertaining.

Yes, TV has come a long way and The Streets of San Francisco looks nothing like The Wire but it fulfills every qualification needed to enjoy a show. Malden and Dougles are one of the best TV teams in the industry.

I recommend this series for anyone who liked the Streets of San Francisco. I have Season 1 but i like Season 2 better. Once it arrived, i stayed glued to the tv, watching show after show. Karl Malden and Michael Douglas worked great together. I have been a fan of Michael Douglas's since i use to watch this show. I saw his star quality back then, before he got famous...

This is a great series from the 1970's
Highly recommend!

Nancy Salmela

Streets of San Francisco was the best cop show ever on television. The dvds are of very good quality, both visually and the soundtrack. I was a fan of the orginal show, so it is most delightful to see the programs again.
If you are a fan of police shows, get this one! It is the best.
My wife and I love the location filming in and around San Francisco.

"Streets of San Francisco" series has great story lines, believable characters, and lesson in each episode. And all without the bloody gory mess we see on the present detective shows. Too bad it only lasted a few seasons.