E. Hornaday's Customer Reviews

E. Hornaday gave 2 stars to: Branded - The Complete Series starring Chuck Connors! 6 DVD SET - OVER 19 HOURS!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:40:02 GMT

Branded - The Complete Series starring Chuck Connors! 6 DVD SET - OVER 19 HOURS! DVD ~ Chuck Connors

Not Remastered, Repackaged!, November 21, 2009

The complete Classic TV Western, Branded, is being released - but by the same company that put out poorly produced single-season sets several years ago.

The Chuck Connors series, which aired from 1965-1966, is well deserving of a quality DVD release. In 2004-2005, Timeless Media Group released individual boxed sets of Season 1 and Season 2 of the series. The problem was, the episodes were edited (chopped for commercial syndication) and the video quality was also very poor, more like copied from cut-rate VHS.

An industry insider has told me that this new releasing is simply a repacking project. This means that Timeless Media Group has NOT remastered the episodes from 35mm film, nor has the video quality has been improved at all, and the episodes have NOT been restored but remain poorly edited and incomplete. As a result, I highly recommend that anyone who already has these sets to refrain from purchasing this boxed set. For anyone who does not have the earlier versions, it's a VERY worthwhile series to own, but be warned, and do expect high-quality DVDs. (FYI: That is the only reason I'm giving this release two stars, because it allows fans to buy the series in one DVD set.)

Connors (best known for his riveting portrayal of Lucas McCain in "The Rifleman,") gives an equally compelling performance here as Captain Jason McCord, in a series created by Larry Cohen.

McCord, a West Point graduate, is the sole survivor of an Indian battle at Bitter Creek in the 1800s. Court-martialed as a coward who ran, he was forever "branded" with that stigma and thrown out of the Army, his rank insignia ripped off and his Cavalry sabre broken in two in a military ceremony casting him out of the fort. The humiliating scene was replayed as the opening clip of each episode as a moving western ballad "Branded" was sung over the images.

McCord, who is actually a man of deep conviction and principle, pleaded innocent but refused to testify in his own defense. As the series progresses, we learn that he did so to protect the memory of the honorable General Reid whose eventual senility resulted in what actually occured at Bitter Creek, and also to protect a peace treaty with the Indians. McCord believes that if those politicians who did not want peace learned that General Reid, who had negotiated the treaty, was unfit, they would nullify the document and resume the Indian war.

Thus, McCord accepts his cruel label and fate, forced to live a nomadic life moving from survey job to job (a skill he learned in the military) because of the hatred people have for him. As far as the general public is concerned, McCord ran off to save his life, abandoning those under his command to all die at Bitter Creek.

Remarkably, the series is able to explore in a sophisticated manner the true meaning of bravery and right and wrong as McCord seeks to help those in trouble whom he encounters. Everyone who deals with McCord ends up understanding that the coward's label pinned on him is far from correct, and that he is a man of grit, bravery and honor.

In some ways, the themes of this series are similar to those explored in Kung Fu almost a decade later: lessons of morality, spirituality, honesty, bravery and the fundamental meaning of right and wrong and personal responsibility presented through the accessible medium of a western.

This show's unforgettable ballad, music by Dominic Frontiere, lyrics by Alan Alch, entones in part: "All but one man died there at Bitter Creek, and they say he ran away... Not a single charge was true... Branded, marked with a coward's shame, what do you do when you're branded, will you fight to clear your name?"

Forty-eight half-hour episodes were produced, and are all included here in a six-disc boxed set.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Barnaby Jones

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:31:22 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Barnaby Jones: First Season (4pc) (Full) DVD ~ Buddy Ebsen

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Not a Millionaire Anymore, a Private Detective!, November 19, 2009

For the first time, fan favorite Barnaby Jones is coming to DVD in a boxed set collecting the first season of the Classic TV detective series.

After years of fans wanting and waiting, our patience has finally been rewarded! This 662-minute DVD set brings all 13 the episodes as originally broadcast, in full screen video and English mono sound. They are also closed captioned. It's being released by CBS/Paramount, and while I've not yet seen the set, it's reportedly been carefully remastered, and contains all of the original musical cues.

Buddy "Beverly Hillbillies" Ebsen plays the tile role, while Lee "Batman, Time Tunnel" Meriwether portrays his daughter-in-law, Betty Jones. Barnaby heads his LA firm, while Betty provides him with invaluable assistance.

The Classic TV detective series aired on CBS from Jan. 28, 1973, to April 3, 1980. It premiered as a midseason replacement show, shaking up the CBS lineup by taking the timeslot of the Iconic Classic TV detective series Mannix, pushing it back to air one hour before the new kid on the block. Because of that, there were fewer episodes produced in its first season.

The Barnaby Jones character was introduced in 1973 in an episode in the third-season of the Classic TV detective series, Cannon, entitled, "The Deadly Conspiracy." The two-part episode began on Cannon and concluded on the premiere of Barnaby Jones with "Requiem for a Son."

An aging Barnaby had decided to retire and had left the private investigation business to his son, Hal. The now-grieving Barnaby decides to take the advice of his friend, Frank Cannon (William Conrad, in the cross-over from the show Cannon), to come out of retirement and solve the case in the pilot episode, "Requiem for a Son." His widowed daughter-in-law, Betty, joined forces with him to solve the case of her husband's murder.

At the conclusion of the case, the pair decided that they had worked together so well that they would continue to keep the detective agency open.

Until the cancellation of Cannon, the characters of both series moved back and forth between the two shows, an unique arrangement and a first for TV

Jones was also unusual, ordering milk in restaurants and bars, countering the stereotypical hard drinking detective. (Ironically, Ebsen was to disclose that he had struggled with alcoholism for decades.)

In 1976, the character of J. R. Jones, portrayed by Mark Shera, was introduced. J.R. was Barnaby's cousin. He had come to LA to try to solve the murder of his father, but stayed to help Barnaby and Betty, while also attending law school.

Barnaby was quite astute, noticing clues most other P.I.'s or the police had missed. Because of his age, Jones knew he would be bested in a fistfight with the criminals he pursued, so he used other means to protect himself, like slamming a door on the hand of a gun-carrying thug!

First season episodes collected here are: Requiem for a Son; To Catch a Dead Man; Sunday: Doomsday; The Murdering Class; Perchance to Kill; The Loose Connection; Murder in the Doll's House; Sing a Song of Murder; See Some Evil, Do Some Evil; Murder-Go-Round; To Denise, with Love and Murder; Little Glory, a Little Death; and Twenty Million Alibis.

Guest stars during the series were a virtual who's who of the acting talent of the day, including: Conlan Carter, Gary Lockwood, Stefanie Powers, Wayne Rogers, William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Anderson, Claude Akins, Carl Betz, Meredith Baxter Birney, Bill Bixby, Jack Cassidy, Geraldine Brooks, Richard Bull, Dabney Coleman, Jackie Coogan, Glenn Corbett, Cathy Lee Crosby, Meg Foster, Anne Francis, Lynda Day George, Richard Hatch, James Hong, Claudia Jennings, Margot Kidder, Geoffrey Lewis, Ida Lupino, Roddy McDowell, George Maharis, Nick Nolte, Jessica Walter, Lynn Hamilton, Jon Cedar, Paul Sorenson, Roddy McDowall, and Gary Owens.

Let's hope the remaining seasons are promptly released!

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Mannix

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:15:13 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Mannix: The Third Season DVD ~ Mike Connors

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

Relax -- Joe Mannix Is On the Case!, July 30, 2009

Mannix returns with more two-fisted action in the Third Season of this Classic TV detective series in a 6-disc DVD boxed set.

CBS Paramount Home Video is quickly following the successful release of Season 1 and 2 of this iconic TV series on DVD with the release of the Complete Season 3. Both of the earlier seasons have had very high quality video and audio remastered episode transfers, so hopefully this release will continue that tradition.

In addition, CBS Parmount Home Video has said that ALL of the ORIGINAL musical score and cues for every episode are included and have not replaced! (They had been sharply criticized by fans for replacing some of the music cues in Season 2 of the Classic TV series The Fugitive.)

Mannix ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller (who also created Mission: Impossible), the title character, Joe Mannix, is a tough and very cool L.A. private investigator, portrayed with grace and gusto by Mike Connors.

Rarely has an actor so inhabited a TV character that it's impossible to separate the two. This series represents one of those times, and even the show's producers underscored that by applying the unusual credit which proclaimed: 'Mike Connors IS Mannix.'

By the time Season 3 premiered in September 1969, Mannix was already well ensconced as a huge TV hit, and producers responded by providing a solid season of great stories, and a lot of the hard-hitting action that it was known for. Season 2 had introduced Gail Fisher as Mannix's devoted secretary, Peggy Fair, and she reprised her role here and remained throughout the series run. (FYI: Ms. Fisher was one of the first African American women to have a regular TV series role, and she also won an Emmy for her brilliant work.)

The series was frequently criticized for its violence -- over its eight seasons, Mannix was knocked unconscious 55 times and shot 17 times! Despite that, the series remains a fan favorite today, as it was when it aired, maintaining its status as a consistent ratings winner.

The 25 episodes of Season 3 truly run the gamut from heart-pounding action to emotionally well-acted drama. In one episode, Mannix returns home to try to mend fences with his father and gets a lot more than he bargained for. In one of my all-time favorite episodes, Mannix suffers psychosomatic blindness, but battles to trap a killer regardless of his devastating disability. Mr. Connors and Ms. Fisher are featured, and their scenes underscoring their characters' bond are genuinely unforgettable and not to be missed.

Ward Wood returns as Lt. Art Malcolm. A few guest stars include Vera Miles, Marion Ross, Lee Meriwether, and Mike Farrell.

Season 3 episodes are: Eagles Sometimes Can't Fly; Color Her Missing; Return to Summer Grove; The Playground; A Question of Midnight; A Penny for the Peep-Show; A Sleep in the Deep; Memory: Zero; The Nowhere Victim; The Sound of Darkness; Who Killed Me?; Missing: Sun and Sky; Tooth of the Serpent; Medal for a Hero; Walk With a Dead Man; A Chance at the Roses; Blind Mirror; Harlequin's Gold; Who is Sylvia?; Only One Death to a Customer; Fly, Little One; The Search for Darrell Andrews; Murder Revisited; War of Nerves; and Once Upon a Saturday.

Let's hope the remaining seasons of this fabulous TV Classic will also be released.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Dark Shadows

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:27:58 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Dark Shadows: The Haunting of Collinwood DVD ~ Jonathan Frid

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Enter QUENTIN COLLINS!, June 26, 2009

Decades before Twilight there was Dark Shadows, the first-ever gothic soap opera, its supernatural stories captivating audiences young and old almost 45 years.

With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-TV from 1966-71, Dark Shadows has justifiably earned the reputation of being one of the most unusual and enduring TV programs in history.

Thanks to MPI Home Video, that iconic Classic returns with two special DVDs compiling episode scenes from two of its most popular story arcs, one featuring the character Barnabas Collins, the vampire, the second disc featuring Quentin Collins, the werewolf.

Each disc, sold separately, contains about three hours of content, which includes selected scenes from color episodes as well as a new interview with the actor whose character is spotlighted.

Dark Shadows: The Haunting of Collinwood, is devoted to the original beloved werewolf - Quentin Collins.

Dark Shadows debuted in June 1966, but faced cancellation because of poor ratings within a year. Creator Dan Curtis, desperate to save the show, decided to "go" supernatural, so he launched various spook-filled stories that led to the introduction of vampire Barnabas Collins, portrayed by Jonathan Frid. The storyline saved the show, but several years later, the ratings dipped again. So, Curtis released another phenomenon from the genie bottle: the werewolf, Quentin Collins.

The introduction of Quentin, portrayed unforgettably by David Selby, was a high mark for the show and rejuvinated its fan base. The story involving Quentin had all of the elements that made Dark Shadows a true classic - the only soap opera in history to have had ALL of its episodes released on DVD. Like Frid two years earlier, Selby became incredibly popular, an instant idol and sex symbol among teenaged girls.

In this special disc, the origin of Quentin is told. Selby was also interviewed specially for this compilation release.

Quentin's tale had the core cast of the series portraying their own relatives, and other characters in the Collinwood of 1897, after Barnabas Collins had traveled back in time using secrets from the mystical Chinese practice of the I Ching, or Book of Changes.

Barnabas had made the supernatural voyage back in time to save young David Collins and his friend, Amy Jennings, who had both become possessed in modern-day (1970's) Collinwood. The children were being menaced by a horrifying and utterly silent ghost - the spectre of Quentin Collins.

Quentin was the victim of a werewolf curse that had been placed on him by a grieving gypsy, Magda Rocozzi (portrayed with memorable gusto in an Emmy-calibre performance by Grayson Hall), who blamed him for the death of her sister, who was also Quentin's wife.

Complicating the plot was the arrival of the sinister Count Andres Petoffi (also protrayed with brilliance by core cast member Thayer David), who possessed supernatural powers and was being hunted by the gypsies. Barnabas believed that the cure to Quentin's "affliction" rested with Petofi. If Quentin could be cured, then the children facing death in Collinwood's present day would be saved!

The core brilliance of has made Dark Shadows endure are the eternal themes it illustrated: Love, death, fear, longing, revenge, obsession, lies, secrets, loyalty and betrayal all played out against a compelling backdrop of Gothic sensibilities that included vampires, werewolves, zombies, seances, time travel, ghosts, mystery, murder, intrigue and a constant dose of the unexpected.

This "soap opera" managed to transcend its genre by bringing a taste of Gothic horror and science-fiction fantasy to the hum-drum world of the afternoon drama. There had never been anything like it before - and there never has been since!

In addition to Selby, Frid, Hall and David, primary co-stars on the disc are: Joan Bennett, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, Lara Parker, David Henesy, Kathryn Leigh Scott, Terry Crawford, Virgina Vestoff, Don Brisco, Marie Wallace, Donna McKechnie, Clarice Blackburn, John Karlen, Michael Stroka, Paula Laurence, Diana Millay and Jerry Lacy.

(As noted: The entire series is available on DVD, also produced by MPI Home Video.)

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Dark Shadows

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:47:38 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse DVD ~ Joan Bennett

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

Enter BARNABAS COLLINS!, June 26, 2009

Decades before Twilight there was Dark Shadows, the first-ever gothic soap opera, its supernatural stories captivating audiences young and old for almost 45 years.

With its alluring tales of Gothic mystery and supernatural intrigue, Dark Shadows became one of the most popular daytime series of all time. Since first airing on ABC-TV from 1966-71, Dark Shadows has earned the reputation of being one of the most unusual and enduring TV programs in history.

Thanks to MPI Home Video, that iconic Classic returns with two special DVDs compiling episode scenes from two of its most popular story arcs, one featuring the character Barnabas Collins, the vampire, the second disc featuring Quentin Collins, the werewolf.

Each disc, sold separately, contains about three hours of content, which includes selected scenes from color episodes as well as a new interview with the actor whose character is spotlighted.

Dark Shadows: The Curse of the Vampire, is devoted to the original beloved blood sucker from the realm of the undead - Barnabas Collins.

Barnabas, the 175-year-old guilt-ridden and love-lorn vampire, was portrayed brilliantly by the classically trained actor Jonathan Frid. Frid, now, in his 80's, was interviewed for this special compilation disc.

Dark Shadows debuted in June 1966, but faced cancellation because of poor ratings within a year. Creator Dan Curtis, desperate to save the show, decided to "go" supernatural, so he launched various spook-filled stories that led to the introduction of Barnabas.

Released from his chained coffin after nearly 200 years, Barnabas arrives at the Collinwood estate claiming to be a relative from England. Although noticing Barnabas' resemblance to his "ancestor" in a foyer portrait, the Collins family did not realize he is the same Barnabas who lived at Collinwood in the 18th century. As Barnabas moves into the Old House on the property, those around him are unaware of the horrors that will soon follow.

The vampire was to be a temporary character that would be killed off following a reign of terror, but Frid's compelling characterization caused Barnabas to remain throughout the series as ratings soared. Not only was the series saved from cancellation, but it became an international phenomenon boasting more than 20 million daily viewers! Frid also became incredibly popular, a sudden idol and sex symbol among teenaged girls.

In this special disc, the origin of Barnabas is told. From the Collinwood drawing room of 1967, the family governess, Victoria Winters, portrayed by Alexandra Moltke, is transported back in time via a seance ends up in the Collinwood of 1795. In the past, the Barnabas Collins of that era, BEFORE a vicious curse had turned him into the blood-thirsty vampire.

Barnabas is about to wed the love of his life, Josette Du Pres, but a jealous servant of Josette's with whom Barnabas had brief affair, successfully plots to ruin their relationship. The servant, Angelique, portrayed with verve by Lara Parker, is actually a witch born who uses her supernatural powers to wreck havoc on everyone in Collinwood. It is Angelique who places the curse of the living dead upon Barnabas.

The core brilliance of has made Dark Shadows endure are the eternal themes it illustrated: Love, death, fear, longing, revenge, obsession, lies, secrets, loyalty and betrayal all played out against a compelling backdrop of Gothic sensibilities that included vampires, werewolves, zombies, seances, time travel, ghosts, mystery, murder, intrigue and a constant dose of the unexpected.

This "soap opera" managed to transcend its genre by bringing a taste of Gothic horror and science-fiction fantasy to the hum-drum world of the afternoon drama. There had never been anything like it before - and there never has been since!

In addition to Frid, Parker and Moltke, primary co-stars on the disc are: Joan Bennett, Grayson Hall, Louis Edmonds, Nancy Barrett, David Henesy, Kathryn Leigh Scott, David Ford, Clarice Blackburn, John Karlen, Anthony George, Thayer David, Jerry Lacy, Craig Slocum, Sharon Smyth, and Joel Crothers.

Note: The entire series is available on DVD, also produced by MPI Home Video.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: The Patty Duke Show

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:20:45 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Patty Duke Show: Season One DVD ~ Patty Duke

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

You Can Lose Your Mind -- When Cousins are Two of a Kind!, June 25, 2009

Celebrations should be thrown at local `shake shops' with rock 'n roll blasting on the juke box for the first-ever DVD release of The Patty Duke Show!

The series was one of the best and most beloved Classic TV comedies from the 1960's. Shout!Factory is continuing its string of great Classic TV releases (including Father Knows Best, My Three Sons and The Donna Reed Show) by presenting the complete first season of this iconic series on DVD for the first time.

The Patty Duke Show aired on ABC beginning Sept. 18, 1963. It lasted 105 episodes spanning three seasons - all in glorious black and white!

One year before, Ms. Duke had won an Academy Award® for her portrayal of the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (at the time, she was the youngest person to have won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). As a result, she was chosen for her own self-titled vehicle, which featured her in not one, but two prominent roles.

The series followed Patty Lane (Ms. Duke), a `normal' 60's teenager living in the Brooklyn Heights section of New York City, who loves boys, ice cream, and sleep-overs. Her father is the managing editor of the New York Chronicle. In the unaired Pilot, her "identical cousin" Cathy Lane (also portrayed by Duke), whose father also works for the Chronicle as a foreign correspondent, arrives in the U.S. from Scotland to live with Patty's family and attend secondary school.

The series was extremely popular with both teens and their parents, turning Ms. Duke into an early teenaged idol.

As an adult, Ms. Duke has documented her long struggle with mental illness. The brilliant star sadly disclosed that she also suffered abuse during the years this series was produced. As a result, there is a genuine darkness beneath the fictitious veneer of these sweetly, innocent episodes. It is a true testament to her talent and very hard work that none of that was conveyed on screen. In my opinion, this series should still be enjoyed to honor her performances, for which Ms. Duke rightly received an Emmy nomination. (She is also the former wife of wonderful actor John Astin. The couple's son, Sean Astin, is also an actor.)

All 36 half-hour episodes and the unaired pilot are expected to be included in this DVD boxed set, presented on six discs (to provide background material as needed, clips from the Pilot had been utilized through "flash-back" scenes describing Cathy's arrival in the U.S.).

Special features are expected to include interviews with cast members, plus a featurette on the series. The show was created by William Asher, who also created and produced Bewitched; and Sidney Sheldon, who created a host of thrillers but also I Dream of Jeannie in the 1960's and Hart to Hart in the 1990's.

In addition to Ms. Duke, the core cast included William Schallert, who played Patty's father, Martin Lane; Jean Byron as Patty's mother, Natalie Lane; Paul O'Keefe portrayed Patty's sister, Ross Lane; and Eddie Applegate, who portrayed Patty's boyfriend, Richard Harrison in 70 episodes.

Schallert has one of the longest careers in TV and also film, and remains active in his 80's. (Incredibly, there was almost no hit TV show - in all genres - from the 60s through the 80s that he did not appear.)

The dual role played by Ms. Duke presented special effects challenges for the low-tech 60's, as they were rarely ever used in sitcoms of the day. (A VERY notable exception was the daytime gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows.)

In each episode of this series, Ms. Duke appeared as both characters in the same frame through the use of a split screen effect. To complement these effects, child actress Rita McLaughlin was used as Ms. Duke's double (almost always seen only from behind).

First Season episodes are: The Pilot; The French Teacher; The Genius; The Elopement; House Guest; The Birds and the Bees Bit; The Slumber Party; The Babysitters; The Conquering Hero; The President; Double Date; The Actress; How to Be Popular; The Song Writers; The Princess Cathy; Christmas Present; Auld Lang Syne; Horoscope; The Tycoons; Author! Author!; The Continental; Let 'Em Eat Cake; Going Steady; Are Mothers People?; The Con Artist; The Perfect Teenager; Chip Off the Old Block; The Wedding Anniversary Caper; Pen Pals; A Slight Case of Disaster; The Friendship Bit; Patty, the Foster Mother; Drop Out; Leave it to Patty; The Little Dictator; The Working Girl; and The Cousins.

"Cousins," was the unforgettable series theme. The music was composed by Sid Ramin, while the lyrics that stayed in your head like a causality loop, was written by Robert Wells. For those not old enough to have the song still playing in their aged noggins, here it is:

Meet Cathy, who's lived most everywhere,
From Zanzibar to Barclay Square.

But Patty's only seen the sights
A girl can see from Brooklyn Heights--
What a crazy pair!

But they're cousins,
Identical cousins all the way.
One pair of matching bookends,
Different as night and day.

Where Cathy adores a minuet,
The Ballet Ruses, and crepe Suzette,
Our Patty loves to rock and roll,
A hot dog makes her lose control--
What a wild duet!

Still, they're cousins,
Identical cousins and you'll find,
They laugh alike, they walk alike,
At times they even talk alike--

You can lose your mind,
When cousins - are two of a kind!

Here's hoping the remaining two seasons are quickly released.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Cagney & Lacey

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:24:37 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years (Box Set) DVD ~ Sharon Gless

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

The Best Cops Return!!, June 18, 2009

Cagney and Lacey are back - my favorite female police partners return in this four-disc boxed set featuring all of their reunion movies on DVD for the first time.

The team of Christine Cagney, portrayed brilliantly by Sharon Gless, and Mary Beth Lacey, portrayed equally well by Tyne Daly, hardly need any introduction. Co-starring in Cagney & Lacey during the 1980's, the women portrayed two women detectives fighting crime and sexism in the New York City Police Department.

In doing so, Cagney & Lacey redefined gender roles in TV dramas. Now, it hardly seems possible that a series starring two women leads would not only be controversial, but a true pioneer in challenging the sexism that prevented women from obtaining untraditional jobs, but it was. While another groundbreaking cop show of that era, Police Woman, starring Angie Dickinson, should also be lauded, it was Cagney & Lacey that went much further in focusing the series spotlight on two professional women, and dealt directly with the sexism that they encountered among the public and within the own New York City police department.

The series went off the air in 1988, after 125 series episodes. Four reunion movies followed, and are collected here on DVD for the first time: Cagney Lacey: The Return, 1994; Cagney & Lacey: Together Again, 1995; Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling, 1995; and Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions, 1996.

"Inside this package you will also find some history excerpted from my memoir `Cagney & Lacey... and Me,' along with some other observations about the four reunion films," said Barney Rosenzweig, creator-producer of the series and the movies. Rosenzweig is also married in real-life to Sharon Gless.

The first film re-introduces Cagney and Lacey, and what they've been up to in the intervening years. Things have changed. Lacey has quit the force, and Cagney is now a lieutenant working for the D.A.'s Office. But the biggest change is that Cagney has married, and the two best friends have lost touch.

"Both Sharon and Tyne had aged and put on some weight and we would make no attempt to mask that, but would, instead, hang a lantern on it. It was quickly decided that, consistent with her characters oft-stated desire, Lacey would by then have taken her retirement while, in those intervening years, Cagney would garner a major promotion and (much to Sharon s dismay), gotten married. Even casting her old pal, TONY award winner James Naughton as the husband, could not get Sharon to be happy about this decision...which we defended as a device we felt would help sell the passage of time to our audience," Rosenzweig said.

In addition to Naughton's James Burton, the guest-cast includes Susan Anspach, who plays Deborah Nelson.

Happily, most of the supporting cast from the series returns, including John Karlen as Mary Beth's husband, Harvey Lacey; Al Waxman as Lt. Samuels; Carl Lumbly as Det. Marcus Petrie; and Martin Kove as Detective Isbecki. New cast members are David Paymer, who plays Deputy Assistant District Attorey Feldberg; Vonetta McGee who portrays Petrie's wife, Claudia; Kenny Johnston who replaces Troy W. Slaten as the Lacey's son, Michael; and Molly Orr as the couple's daughter, Molly.

"Despite virtually the entire series cast making an appearance in this first of the quartet of films, we make it clear in the early going that both Cagney and Lacey have moved on and that the familiar actors that are seen in those early moments will not be part of the shows going forward. The device to get Lacey back to work and, once again, in alliance with Christine Cagney not only worked well for us, but provided residual emotional material for all four films," Rosenzweig, said.

I won't ruin the movies by providing spoilers. Just know that fans, new and old, of Cagney and Lacey will not be disappointed.

John Karlen, an incredible actor who is sadly underrated, appears throughout the movie reunions. Other guest cast members include: George Coe as Dan Broadbent; Lynn Thigpen as Capt. Gigi Cardenas; Chip Zien as Assistant District Attorney Douglas Trayne; and Sandra Oh, as Officer Angela Lum.

The first movie is also being released in a separate single-disc package on the same release date as the boxed set.

E. Hornaday gave 1 star to: The Classic TV Western Collection - EMBOSSED COLLECTOR'S TIN!

Thu, 28 May 2009 17:22:48 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Classic TV Western Collection - EMBOSSED COLLECTOR'S TIN! DVD ~ Classic TV Western Collection

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

Worse than One Star!!, May 28, 2009

I love classic TV and Movie Westerns -- I hate this boxed set!

I gave it one star to represent the badge of a western sheriff who is currently on the trail of the outlaws who produced it!

I fell for the advertising the produrcers put out that the quality of the DVDs was good, and that they had taken the material from actual archival footage. What a laugh! The episodes and movies contained on the discs, almost without exception, look like 10th generation VHS knockoffs (and that's giving them too much credit)!

For the price, Timeless Media Group should be tarred and feathered and run out of town! If you want rooting-tooting classic westerns (and who doesn't?), go elsewhere. If you want to be held up by masked bandits armed with six-shooters like I was, then go ahead and buy this set.

The worse disappointment for me was the inclusion of an episode from the TV Classic The High Chaparral. Rarely, as ANY episode from this incredible series been released on an authorized DVD. Well, it was an awful copy of the public domain episode, Shadow of the Wind -- one of two episodes from the series ever released on VHS. And to add insult to injury, it was in Black and White, not in color as it had been aired!

I do want to be fair -- there is ONE thing good about the set: the cool packaging. The discs are enclosed in a tin box. (Now that I think about it, perhaps they should have been included in a PINE box instead!)

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Peyton Place

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:26:06 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Peyton Place: Part One DVD ~ Mia Farrow

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

This is the Continuing Story of Peyton Place!!, February 15, 2009

Love, lust, backstabbing, murder and illicit secrets. Dallas, Dynasty, Knotts Landing - or maybe The Simpsons? Wrong! Those themes and many more touched the lives of those who inhabited Peyton Place, the first-ever TV primetime soap opera.

By today's standards those storielines may seem tame, but in 1964 when the show premiered they were risque and shocking, more so even than the two theatrical movies that had preceded it, because this WAS TV, gosh darn it!

Peyton Place ran on ABC in half-hour episodes from Sept. 15, 1964 to June 2, 1969, racking up a total 514 episodes. In a truly historic five-disc boxed set DVD release, Shout!Factor has collected the first two seasons that were broadcast in black and white. The remainder of the series was aired in color. (Note, this is only the second true TV soap opera to receive a DVD release - the first was the iconic daytime gothic series, `Dark Shadows.' It also ran on ABC for five years.)

Peyton Place boasted an almost unprecedented cast of talented actors, two of whom got their start on the show but ended as movie stars: Mia "Rosemary's Baby" Farrow and Ryan "Love Story" O'Neal. The stellar cast was lead by Academy Award winner Dorothy Malone.

Executive producer Paul Monash rejected the "soap opera" label for Peyton Place, referring to it instead as a "television novel." The series was, in fact, based on the Grace Metalious novel. Interestingly, it ended up as the ONLY primetime series that ran continuously, never repeating a single broadcast in summer reruns.

The series took place in the title town, which was founded by the Peyton family, whose members included the Harringtons. Like any good soap opera, the plots were deliciously complicated. A few early plots involved Rodney Harrington, the oldest son, choosing between the town's bad girl and the respectable girl. His brother took up with the working class girl, while Ms. Malone's character was keeping a very private secret of her own.

Thus, characters married, divorced, loved and lost. Secrets were the staples of the show, but there was also a healthy dose of illicit passion, murder, and insanity.

Episodes began by depicting a church steeple. The title "Peyton Place" overlays the image as the church bells tone. An uncredited voice proclaims: "This is the continuing story of `Peyton Place.'" The scene changes to the town square, a rolling brook, then a panoramic view of the town. It dissolves to photos of cast members, and a brief recap of previous episodes narrated by Warner Anderson, who also played Matthew Swain. (Anderson left the series after the first season, but continued to offer his voice talents until the final episode.) The memorable theme song, "Wonderful Season of Love," was composed by Franz Waxman, the lyrics written by Paul Francis Webster.

When the show premiered in 1964, Peyton Place aired twice a week. Both installments of the show were Top 20 hits in the Nielsen Ratings, inspiring ABC to air it three times a week in the fall of 1965. But, this move caused viewership to dip sharply and its popularity steadily declined. The series was cut back to two weekly episodes the following season, but it continued to lose its audience. In 1969 it was cut back to one weekly installment until it ended in June.

The core cast included: Ms. Malone as Constance MacKenzie Carson (1964-1968); Tim O'Connor as Elliot Carson (1965-1968); Ms. Farrow as Allison Mackenzie (1964-1966); O'Neal as Rodney Harrington; Christopher Connelly as Norman Harrington; Paul Langton as Leslie Harrington (1964-1968); Barbara Parkins as Betty Anderson Harrington Cord Harrington; Patricia Morrow as Rita Jacks Harrington (1965-1969); Evelyn Scott as Ada Jacks (1965-1969); Ed Nelson as Dr. Michael Rossi; George Macready as Martin Peyton (1965-1968); James Douglas as Steven Cord; and Ruth Warrick as Hannah Cord (1965-1967).

In the premiere episode, Dr. Rossi arrives in Peyton Place by train. He is picked up at the station by Rodney Harrington and his girlfriend Betty. When they drive him to the inn, Rossi catches his father kissing his secretary - Betty's mother!

The show was one of the first seen on network television to talk about sex and infidelity in a frank manner. As such, ABC brass would only allow the show to be aired at 9:30 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, when children and teenagers were expected to be in bed. With the show in a ratings slump in 1968, the show was moved to 8:30 p.m. to draw in a larger audience - courting younger viewers they had once eschewed.

The series was revived briefly as a daytime serial `Return to Peyton Place' from April 3, 1972 to Jan. 4, 1974. Three of the actors from the primetime series reprised their roles - Frank Ferguson as Eli Carson, Patricia Morrow as Rita Harrington, and Evelyn Scott as Ada Jacks.

Peyton Place guest stars included a host of well-known actors: David Canary, who along with Ms. Warrick, is best known for their roles on ABC's popular daytime soap All My Children; James "Star Trek" Doohan; Mickey "The Monkey" Dolenze; Barbara Rush; Susan Oliver; Ruby Dee; Leslie Nielson; Greg "Mission:Impossible" Morris; Joan "Knotts Landing" Van Ark; Joyce Jillson; Diana Hyland; Gena Rowlands; Lana Wood; Erin O'Brien-Moore (who was in the original film,); Mariette Hartley; Frank Ferguson; John Kerr; Joan Blackman; Wilfred-Hyde White; Leigh Taylor-Young; and Dan Duryea.

Let's hope Shout!Factory follows this wonderful release with the remainder of this historic TV series.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: The Jetsons

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 19:18:18 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Jetsons: Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD ~ George O'Hanlon

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

Re-meet George Jetson........., February 8, 2009

Fans of all ages need no introduction to Hanna-Barbera's Classic TV series `The Jetsons,' but may be confused by the origin date of this fabulous DVD release: 1985!

That's because the "original" Jetsons, which debuted Sept. 23, 1962, lasted for only one season on ABC, but became much more successful when it eventually ended up in syndication. (Those episodes have already been released on DVD. The Jetsons - The Complete First Season)

That successful syndication led to a brief revival in 1985 with all-new episodes. The new series, referred to as `Season Two,' boasted more advanced animation, which had richer color, along with attempts to add content to make it seem even more futuristic than its parent show.

The first 21 Episodes from 1985's `Season Two,' have been collected here for the time in this three-disc boxed set from Warner Home Video. Jetsons-Season 2 V01

In addition, a special featurette, `Jetsons: Return to the Future,' is also included that focuses on the evolution of the series. Among those interviewed is animation expert Mark Evanier.

`The Jetsons' was originally conceived following the iconic success of Hanna-Barbera's `The Flintstones,' which featured a `modern' Stone Age family. Hanna-Barbera decided to turn their Bedrock success on its ear, creating a similar family cartoon, but changed the setting to their vision of the Space Age - the 21st century!

The Jetsons originally lived Orbit City, a city where the houses were literally way, way up in the air, like Space Age needles. The family included George, his wife, Jane, and their children Judy and Elroy, along with their beloved dog, Astro. A very sweet robot housekeeper, Rosie, equipped with an unexpected personality, soon joined the family.

So, the Jetsons lived the `average' life in Hanna-Barbera's future, which incorporated flying space cars, instant transport tubes, various robots and a host of other bizarre gadgets to make their lives a breeze. But, the wonderful thing about The Jetsons was that, regardless of the technology, their problems were the same ones faced by families of all ages.

In the original `Season One,' George worked at Spacely Space Sprockets, run by his pint-sized, ill-tempered boss, Cosmo S. Spacely. In `Season Two,' new characters were introduced, including a a second pet for the Jetsons named Orbitty, whose spring-like legs and suction cup feet enabled him to suspend himself on anything and in any direction. Orbitty is also able to change color to reflect his emotions.

The `Season Two' episodes collected here, along with the second-half of the 1985 episodes yet to be released, also aired in syndication, and generated the same level of success as the original episodes had. As a result, a second revival occurred, leading to 10 more episodes, referred to as `Season Three,' finalizing the episode series in 1987!

In addition, `The Jetsons' prompted two TV movies: The music-themed `Rockin' with Judy Jetson,' and then a true Hanna-Barbera crossover, `The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.'

In 1989, `The Jetsons: the Movie' hit the big screen with its only film, which depicted the finale of the entire series. An important note, this movie is being released on DVD for the first time from Universal Studios. The Jetsons: The Movie It's being dedicated to the memories of George O'Hanlon, the voice of George Jetston, and Mel Blanc, THE master voice animator, who was also the voice of Mr. Spacely. Ironically, this movie was the final voice project for both men.

The 21 episodes in this DVD boxed set from `Season Two' are: Elroy Meets Orbitty; Rosie Come Home; Solar Snoops; Judy's Birthday Surprise; Super George; Family Fallout; S.M.A.S.H.; The Mirrormorph; Mother's Day for Rosie; Jetsons' Millions; Fugitive Fleas; Rip-Off Rosie; Far-Out Father; Astro's Big Moment; The Cosmic Courtship of George and Jane; Fantasy Planet; S'no Relative; Instant Replay; Haunted Halloween; Future Tense; and The Wrong Stuff.

We fans can only hope that after all of this time, the remainder of `Season Two,' and the 10 episodes comprising the final `Season Three,' will be released onto DVD very, very soon!

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Rhoda

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 16:20:55 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Rhoda: Season One DVD ~ Valerie Harper

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

You, too, are going to make it after all!!, February 6, 2009

Rhoda, TV's favorite, funny second banana is FINALLY returning in a complete first-season DVD boxed set!

Shout!Factory is issuing the four-disc boxed set to honor the show's 35th Anniversary. (Obviously, this is a pre-order review, so the actual discs could not be examined.)

The series, starring Valerie Harper in the title role, ironically became an iconic sitcom itself after spinning off from THE iconic sitcom of the era: The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Rhoda was a ratings success, even beating its parent show, and was also the winner of two Golden Globes and two Emmy Awards during its run.

Rhoda premiered in 1974 on CBS and ran for five years. Harper portrays her character, Rhoda Morgenstern, as larger than life - a big mouth, big hearted woman from the Bronx with self-esteem and weight issues. Her best friend was the prim and proper, responsible Mary Richards (played to absolute perfection by Ms. Moore), the two meeting because they both lived in the same apartment building in Minneapolis. The juxtaposition between the flamboyantly dressed, non-conformist Rhoda and the fashionable and traditional Mary was a consistent source of humor.

(Note: the following contains specific plot details.)

In this series, Rhoda, who has beaten her weight issues, takes her trademark head scarves and returns home to visit. Once there, she meets Joe Gerard (played by David Groh) and a romance begins. Rhoda decides to stay in New York, initially moving in with her younger sister, Brenda (played by Julie `Marge Simpson' Kavner), who is struggling with the same issues that had plagued her older sister.

Their parents, Ida and Martin Morgenstern (played by the brilliant Nancy Walker and Harold Gould) are arche-typically Jewish, having aired prior to political correct ideas. So, Ida is overbearing, overprotective, loving and desperate to make sure Rhoda finds a good husband. Martin is henpecked, dutiful, and mild-mannered.

In a move that was quite controversial for its time, Joe and Rhoda decide to live together, but do so only briefly. Whether from pressure from viewers or not, Rhoda quickly realizes she wants to be married, and they wed.

Just eight weeks into the series, on Oct. 28, 1974, Rhoda and Joe were married in a special hour-long episode. Widely publicized, the episode became one of the highest-rated TV shows during the decade. All of the main characters from The Mary Tyler Moore Show were on hand for the nuptials. Ted Knight, who played the bombastic anchor man Ted Baxter, was not in attendance.

In addition to Mary Richards, look for curmudgeon Lou Grant, played by Ed Asner, writer Murray Slaughter, played by Gavin `Love Boat' MacLeod, sometime friend Phyllis Lindstrom, played by the brilliant Cloris `Dancing With the Stars' Leachman, and gentle Georgette Franklin, played by Georgia Engle.

In the closing credits of the first season, Rhoda was depicted walking across a New York street. She stops and tries to imitate Mary Tyler Moore's trademark hat toss, but instead the cap slips from Rhoda's hand.

Comic and producer Lorenzo Music, portrayed Carlton the Doorman. Carlton was often drunk, and always unseen. He spoke to Rhoda, et al via the apartment intercom. (Music was also the voice of the TV Garfield.) Becoming well-known for never being seen on Rhoda, gave Music the idea of never being photographed directly in public or on film. If filmed, there would always be something blocking his face, or he'd only be depicted in silhouette.

The opening explanied: "Rhoda Morgenstern was born in the Bronx in December 1941. She's always felt responsible for World War II. She had a bad puberty. It lasted 17 years. She's a college graduate, she went to art school. Her entrance exam was on a book of matches. She decided to move out of the house at the age of 24. Her mother still refers to this as the time she ran away from home. Eventually, she ran to Minneapolis where it's colder, and she figured she'd keep better. Now she's back in Manhattan. New York, this is your last chance."

This boxed set includes all 25 episodes of Season One: Joe; You Can Go Home Again; I'll Be Loving You, Sometimes; Parent's Day; The Lady in Red; Pop Goes the Question; The Shower; Rhoda's Wedding Part I; Rhoda's Wedding Part II; The Honeymoon; 9-E is Available; I'm a Little Late, Folks; Anything Wrong?; 'S Wonderful; Good-Bye Charlie; Guess What I Got You for the Holidays?; Whattaya Think it's There For?; Not Made for Each Other; Strained Interlude; Everything I Have is Yours, Almost; Chest Pains; Windows by Rhoda; A Nice Warm Rut; Ida, the Elf; and Along Comes Mary.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: The Paper Chase

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:23:40 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Paper Chase: Season One DVD ~ John Houseman

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

Finally, the Law Comes to DVD!!, January 10, 2009

Fans of Classic TV shows should rejoice with the release of The Paper Chase on DVD.

Based on an unforgettable 1973 movie, the series focused on the lives of students struggling through law school at a prestigious university.

The series lasted only one season on CBS with 22 episodes, from 1978 to 1979, and this boxed set from Shout!Factory collects those episodes, which revolves around the students' first year of 'trial' and tribulatios.

PBS reran the series then the cable channel Showtime revived the series in 1983, where it lasted for three more seasons.

The series centered around student James T. Hart, a core cast of fellow-students, and one truly dominant force of nature in the form of a legendary law professor, Charles W. Kingsfield Jr., played beyond iconic perfection by the fabulous John Houseman.

Houseman had starred as Kingsfield in the movie version, then unbelievably reprised the role on the small screen to the delight of his fans. Sadly, Houseman died a year after the Showtime incarnation of the series ended.

Hart, played by James Stephens in the series, and by Timothy Bottoms in the movie, is a hard-working student from Minnesota whose background ill prepares him for the rough and tumble of law school.

Hart is utterly terrified and fascinated by Kingsfield, who challenges his students so vigorously that he has become a legend in his own time, and his classes are both loathed and cherished.

The professor, the undisputed authority on contract law, becomes an unwilling and unknowing mentor to Hart, who decides he will do anything he can to meet and exceed the expectations of the master legal-eagle. By the time the series ends on Showtime, Hart graduates.

While the series explores the relationship between Hart and his co-students who form a study group, it is Houseman's Kingsfield that inhabits every inch of the show, even when he is not on screen - a lasting testimony to the actor's skill.

Stephens and Bottoms have devoted fan bases who argue one actor's portrayal is the quintessential Hart. For me, Stephens brings a sensitivity and likeability that Bottoms does not. Of course, Stephens had many episodes to imbue the character with his style.

In the series, Hart's best friend, Franklin Ford III, is played by Tom Fitzsimmons, while actors Willis Bell, James Keane, and Betty Harford, (Kingsfield's secretary) round out the core cast in the first season, which aired on CBS.

The joy of the show was the great scripts which managed to combine humor, tension and incredible stress caused by constant, rigorous study, with friendship and deeper, philosophical issues brought up by the legal topics they were learning. In short, it was one of the best cancelled TV series EVER!

This boxed set includes the 22 episodes from the CBS season: The Paper Chase Pilot; Great Expectations; The Man Who Would Be King; A Day in the Life of...; Voices of Silence; Nancy; Da Da; The Seating Chart; Moot Court; Kingsfield's Daughter; The Sorcerer's Apprentice; Bell and Love; An Act of Desperation; Losing Streak; The Man in the Chair; A Matter of Honor; The Apprentice; Once More With Feeling; The Clay Footed Idol; The Tables Down at Ernie's; A Case of Détente; and Scavenger Hunt.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Mr. Belvedere

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 17:33:13 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Mr. Belvedere: Seasons 1 & 2 DVD ~ Christopher Hewett

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Great Show, Well Worth a DVD Release, January 6, 2009

If you're sick and tired of today's un-funny and truly mean comedies that are billed as "family sitcoms," then this DVD release of Mr. Belvedere from the mid-1980s is for you.

Mr. Belvedere had heart. A Classic TV Family Sitcom that remains vastly underrated, it was based on the Gwen Davenport novel, "Belvedere," which also had spawned two much earlier movie adaptations. The TV series brought a high-brow Englishman to work as a live-in nanny for a middle-class American family. It ran Friday night's on ABC from 1985 to 1990.

It starred Christopher Hewitt, who portrayed Lynn Aloysis Belvedere, a very proper Englishman who had worked for the British gentry, including Winston Churchill and English royalty. The series begins when Belvedere shows up at doorstep of the American residence of George Owens on a very cold and snowy December night. Ownes, played surprisingly well by George Uecker, portrayed exactly what he was in real-life: a former Major League Baseball player and sportscaster.

George's wife on the series, Marsha Cameron Owens, played by Ilene Graff, as well as their three children, immediately fall under the charm of Mr. Belvedere. The same cannot be said of George, who has the exact opposite response to Belvedere, and the feeling is decidedly mutual. Nonetheless, Mr. Belvedere is hired and the rest is Classic TV history.

Much of the series involves the conflict between George and Mr. Belvedere, but also the interaction of the "stuffy" British servant with Marsha, who is also a law student, and the children: Wesley T. Owens, played by Brice Beckham; Kevin Owens, played by Rob Stone; and Heather Owens, played by Tracy Wells. Especially compelling is the relationship that evolves between Belvedere and the spirited and wise-cracking Wesley.

At the end of most episodes, Belvedere is seen relaxing in his room in the evenings after the children are in bed, recording their "everyday" experiences in his diary for future use for a novel he is writing!

A mid-season replacement series that premiered in the middle of March 1985, the first season had only seven episodes. This boxed set includes those episodes and the Complete Second Season, which had 22 episodes.

Season One episodes are: Stranger in the Night, the pilot that introduces the characters; The Outcasts; Gotta Dance; Gorgeous George; What I Did for Love; The Lost Weekend; and Sweet Charity.

Season Two episodes are: The Lion Sleeps Tonight; Tornado; Cheerleader; Requiem; Delivery; The Contract; Vows; Strike; The Letter; Pinball; The Prize; Speechless; The Teacher; The Dropout; Rivals; Wesley's Friend; The Will; Valentine's Day; Heather's Tutor; Amish; Dinner for Two; and The Play.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Room 222

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:00:54 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Room 222: Season One DVD ~ Lloyd Haynes

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

It's More than Time to Go Back to School!!, December 13, 2008

File this under the category, "good things come to those who wait," and brother, has it been a long, long wait for this Classic TV gem to be rediscovered and released on DVD. Now, thanks to Shout! Factory, the complete first season of the iconic comedy-drama, Room 222, is being released for the first-time ever in a four-disc DVD boxed set.

The series, which premiered on ABC in 1969, explored life at integrated Walt Whitman High School in Los Angeles, as seen through the eyes of Pete Dixon, a black American history instructor whose classes are held in Room 222. It's amazing to look back and realize that integration was considered fairly "new" in 1969!

(The basic plot was similar to the popular 1967 film, To Sir, With Love, which starred the brilliant Sidney Poitier. In the movie, Poitier portrayed an idealistic teacher-trainee dealing with rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.)

Room 222 was a half-hour comedy-drama that aired on ABC from 1969-1974. While seldom seen in syndication today, the show broke new ground that would later be developed by the major sitcom factories of the 1970's.

Mixing dramatic elements with traditional TV comedy, Room 222 also predated the "dramedy" form by almost two decades! (Note: Director James L. Brooks worked on the series and went on to fame for his efforts in everything from the Mary Tyler Moore Show to the Simpons, as well as countless movies.)

The plots of Room 222 centered around dedicated and student-friendly teacher Dixon (played by Lloyd Haynes) whose mild-mannered style was admired and respected by students. He used American history class as a spring-board to teach real-life lessons in understanding and tolerance.

The series also depended on an ensemble cast of students and other school employees. The optimistic idealism of Pete, his compassionate girlfriend and school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre (played by Denise Nicholas), and student-teacher and later English teacher Alice Johnson (played by Karen Valentine) was balanced by the experienced, slightly jaded principal, Seymour Kaufman (played by Michael Constantine). Among the students were shy Helen Loomis (played by Judy Strangis), Bernie with the wild hair (played by David Jolliffe), militant Jason Allen (played by Heshimu Cumbuka) and genius Richie Lane, (played by Howard Rice.)

These high school employees and a handful of others debated among themselves how to best handle the academic and personal challenges of their students. Each episode also explored serious cultural issues of the day in a realistic way and in a realistic setting, predating later "relevant" comedies known for using comedy to do just that.

During its five seasons on the air, the series dealt with racism, sexism, homophobia, war, dropping out of school, shoplifting, drug use among both teachers and students, illiteracy, cops in school, guns in school, veterans' issues, teenage pregnancy and death. In one controversial episode, a young male student contracts venereal disease and an elderly female teacher loses her job because she gave him advice to deal with the problem.

The series garnered a number of community and educational awards for its positive portrayal of important social issues seldom discussed on TV at the time, and won an Emmy for Outstanding New Series in 1969.

The episodes from the first season included a laugh track. However, by the second season the laugh track was gone, emphasizing that the show was now primarily a drama, rather than a comedy.

The series was broadcast on Friday evenings at 9 p.m., following both The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family, but preceding Love, American Style. Room 222's initial episodes garnered weak ratings and ABC was poised to cancel the program after its first season. But because of the awards the show earned, ABC relented and renewed the series.

The effervescent Valentine became a fan-favorite and a break-out star worldwide. She was frequently depicted in all of the teen magazines of the day.

Include in this four-disc boxed set are all 26 First Season episodes: Richie's Story; Naked Came We into the World; Funny Boy; The Coat; The Flu; First We'll Eat - Then We'll Strike; Teacher's Dropping Out; Out Teacher is Obsolete; Triple Date; Fathers and Sons; Alice in Blunderland; Clothes Make the Boy; Seventeen Going on Twenty-Eight; The Exchange Teacher; El Genio; Arizona State Loves You; Operation Sandpile; Play it Loose; Goodbye, Mr. Hip; One Upon a Time there was Air You Couldn't See; The Whole World Can Hear You; Ralph; I Love You Charlie, I Love You Abbie; The New Boy; Funny Money; and Just Between Friends.

The series' unforgettable theme song was composed by famed film composer Jerry Goldsmith, and written in a 7/4 time signature, which was unusual for the genre.

Thanks to Shout! Factory for this release. Let's hope they keep 'em coming!

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Columbo

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:33:19 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection 1990 DVD ~ Peter Falk

154 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

There Will ALWAYS be One More Question!!, October 31, 2008

He's back! Everyone's favorite rumpled detective, Lt. Columbo (portrayed with iconic perfection by Peter Falk), returns in this boxed set of some of his more recent mystery investigations.

Universal has been releasing the Columbo - Mystery Movie Collection on DVD. This DVD boxed set continues where the last one left off with installments that were produced in the 1990s. When I initially posted this review, I made an error and listed the episodes expected in the NEXT DVD boxed set, not this one. Thanks to Mike, Tom and Michael Todd for correcting this information.

For some viewers, these latter installments of the dirty-trench-coat-wearing, cigar-smoking sleuth are less satisfying and well-crafted than the original series, but for me, ANY Columbo is better than 99 percent of the current TV roster.

The six mysteries in this boxed set were the last to be produced in the miniseries format, meaning the episodes each run about two hours, while the remaining Columbo mysteries produced were originally shown as one-shot 90-minute movie length specials and are yet to be released on DVD.

Collected here are:

Columbo Cries Wolf (which originally aired Jan. 20, 1990): Two true iconic soap opera actors, Ian Buchanan and Deidra Hall, star in this episode as feuding business partners. Hall ends up dead and Columbo has to use all of his skills to "uncover" the crime.

Agenda for Murder (which aired Feb. 10, 1990): Fabulous actor Patrick McGoohan who has wowed fans since the 1960s Danger Man, is also a close friend of Falk's. That's very lucky for Columbo fans, because he has graced the series with some of the most memorable episodes of the series. This time out, he directs AND stars as a powerful attorney who has political aspirations - and a big secret. Soon, a longtime blackmailer is dead and Columbo is matching wits with an attorney who has never lost - until now.

Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo (which aired March 31, 1990): In an unusual episode, Columbo is the target in this episode. A vengeful woman wants him to pay for the death of her husband, whom Columbo arrested for murder and whom has recently died in prison. Look out for a classic Columbo twist at the end.

Uneasy Lies the Crown (which aired April 28, 1990): Iconic TV writer-producer Steven Bochco (famed creator of Hill Street Blues) wrote this story about a dentist who does away with a patient - who just happens to be his wife's lover - in a creative way. Look for a couple of fun cameos by Nancy Walker and Dick Sargent who play themselves.

Murder in Malibu (which aired May 14, 1990): A famed romance writer whose engaged to a much younger man (Andrew Stevens) learns that he is only after her money, so she calls off the wedding. Exit the author during an apparent burglary. Brenda Vaccaro guest stars.

Columbo Goes to College (which originally aired 12/09/1990): Columbo is on campus as a guest lecturer on criminology. His visit coincides with the machinations of two rich and arrogant frat boys (portrayed by Justin Rowe and Cooper Redman) who utilize "remote control" to kill the professor who's threatened to expel them. The obnoxious killers flaunt their intellectual superiority before the seemingly dull Columbo, who they are stunned to learn is a lot smarter than he looks. Look for the brilliant actor Robert Culp (I Spy), who himself has portrayed a murder in three prior Columbos.

Some of the mysteries yet to be released on DVD include: Caution: Murder Can be Hazardous to Your Health (which originally aired 02/20/1991); The Murder of a Rock Star (which originally aired 04/29/1991); It's All in the Game (which originally aired 10/31/1993); Butterfly in Shades of Grey (which originally aired 01/10/1994); and Undercover (which originally aired 05/02/1994).

Let's hope that Universal continues to release these wonderful episodes, because there ALWAYS will be one more question!

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: M.A.N.T.I. S

Sun, 5 Oct 2008 12:13:32 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

M.A.N.T.I. S: Complete Series DVD ~ Carl Lumbly

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

At Last!!, October 5, 2008

M.A.N.T.I.S. was a Classic TV Sc-Fi series on Fox from 1994 that featured a truly unique and unexpected super hero. I loved the show, but have a hard time arguing with folks who complain it was really cheesy. In my defense, it was huge FUN and that allowed me to ignore its obvious flaws and thoroughly enjoy the series.

Originally airing on Fox, it premiered on Aug. 26, 1994. It was cancelled the following year, but its final unaired episodes were shown for the first time in 1997 on the Sc-Fi Network, which was airing repeats of the entire series.

Quiet, brilliant Dr. Miles Hawkins, portrayed by Carl Lumbly (best known from roles in Alias and Cagney & Lacey), became an unexpected crime fighter. Hawkins was a scientist/inventor with a thirst for justice who could not walk after a robber's bullet left him paralyzed and also cost him his family.

Hawkins invented a shell in which he could overcome his disability and free him from his wheelchair. In effect, the suit, a metal exoskeleton, provides superhuman abilities that ultimate serves to bring out Hawkins' alter ego.

What Hawkins' invented was a "harness" from cutting-edge technology equipped with headgear allowing transmitters in his brain to bypass his damaged spine. Translation: he can walk again and more - he unexpectedly finds that in the suit he has increased strength, speed and agility.

With help from his invention, the Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter System (M.A.N.T.I.S.) and a few supportive colleagues, he decides to fight the criminals that the police could not find. At first a reluctant hero, Hawkins is drawn into the world of fighting crime because the violence that turned his life upside-down is doing the same to the world around him. While in the harness and headset, he assumes the identity of the Mantis believing it is the only way that he is able to fight back.

"This is the scientific journal of Dr. Miles Hawkins, to be published in the event of my death. I know when the truth is known, people will wonder why I felt it necessary to create the `M.A.N.T.I.S.' The reality - I never did. The M.A.N.T.I.S. asked his own creation and I could not refuse him."

Like any vigilante, the police want him brought to justice because he's taking the law into his own hands and making them look bad; the news media wants to expose his true identity; and criminals want him eliminated because he's bad for business. The series takes place in a huge, dark and brooding megalopolis on the West Coast in the present. Its locational ambiguity is meant to suggest that this unusual hero could be in YOUR neighborhood tonight.

M.A.N.T.I.S. was produced by the creators of The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness. Also starring Bobby Hosea (Independence Day) and Gina Torres (Angel, Firefly, Serenity), this action-packed series broke new ground with TV's first African-American superhero. The show became an instant cult favorite, and DVD boxed from Image Entertainment is the first release of this show in any format. It's impending DVD release has been more than eagerly anticipated by its legion of fans.

The boxed set includes the feature-length pilot telefilm from January 1994 and then the 20 aired episodes, and the two unaired episodes which finally made their broadcast debut in 1997 in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel.

Sam Raimi exec produced this show almost a decade before helming the first movie in the Spider-Man film trilogy. Among the guest stars here - both single-appearance and recurring - were Don S. Davis, David Kaye, Jerry Wasserman, Gary Graham, Teryl Rothery, Lorena Gale, John D'Aquino, and Vincent Schiavelli.

Additional cast members includes: Roger Rees, as Hawkins' friend and colleague John Stonebrake who knows his secret and assists the M.A.N.T.I.S.; Galyn Gorg, as Lt. Leora Maxwell; Christopher Gartin, as Taylor Savage; and Andrew Robinson (best known for his recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space 9), as Solomon Box.

The following is the list of all episodes along with when they first aired, since the shows sometimes did not air regularly: Pilot (Part 1), 01/24/1994, Pilot (Part 2), 01/24/1994; First Steps, 08/26/1994; Tango Blue, 09/2/1994; Days of Rage, 09/9/1994; Cease Fire, 09/16/1994; Soldier of Misfortune, 09/23/1994; Gloves Off 09/30/1994; The Black Dragon 10/7/1994; To Prey in Darkness 10/14/1994; Fire in the Heart, 10/21/1994; Thou Shalt Not Kill (1), 11/4/1994; Revelation (2), 11/11/1994; Through the Dark Circle, 11/18/1994; The Eyes Beyond, 12/9/1994; Faces in the Mask, 12/16/1994; The Sea Wasp, 1/6/1995; Progenitor, 1/20/1995; Switches, 1/27/1995; The Delusionist, 2/10/1995; and Fast Forward, 2/17/1995, and Spider in the Tower, 3/3/1995. The last two episodes of the series, which never aired during the show's run, aired instead for the first time in 1997 on the SciFi Network: Ancestral Evil; and Ghost of the Ice.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Mannix

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:39:35 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Mannix: The Second Season DVD ~ Mike Connors

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

Mannix Returns to DVD!!, September 10, 2008

Great news for Classic TV fans!

CBS Paramount Home Video is quickly following the successful release of Season 1 of the iconic TV series 'Mannix' on DVD with the release of the complete Season 2!

Great news: CBS Parmount Home Video has also annouced that ALL of the ORIGINAL musical score and cues for every episode has been included and not replaced! (They had been sharply criticized by fans for replacing some of the music in Season 2 of the Fugitive.)

Mannix ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller (who also created Mission: Impossible), the title character, Joe Mannix, is a two-fisted private investigator portrayed by Mike Connors.

Rarely has an actor so inhabited a TV character that it's impossible to separate the two. This series represents one of those times, and even the show's producers recognized it when the unusual credit proclaimed: Mike Connors IS Mannix.

The ruggedly handsome Connors was the perfect match, and made the signature loud polyester sports jackets of the time look great on his altar ego. Mannix also drove a variety of convertibles, and even had a car phone - which was unheard of at the time!

Mannix originally worked for a high-concept computerized firm known as Intertect in the rarely seen first season. In the second season, Mannix has left the firm and opened his own private investigative agency at 17 Paseo Verde, Los Angeles, California.

It was in the second season that the brilliant and popular actress Gail Fisher was brought on board as Mannix's devoted secretary, Peggy Fair. Peggy's cop-husband, a friend of Mannix, had been killed in line of duty. She is now a widowned mom to young son Toby, portrayed by Mark Stewart, who is still coping with the loss of his father.

Fisher, one of the first African-American actresses to have a regular TV series role, portrayed the character from 1968 through the run of the show.

Connors, very proud of his Armenian heritage and spoke fluent Armenian and French, incorporated his background into Mannix's character, even putting several Armenian proverbs into the episodes including, "There is no reason for war that reasonable men cannot resolve." Connors was also a Korean War veteran - and so was Mannix!

Joseph Campanella, who portrayed Mannix's boss Lew Wickersham, in Season 1, reprised his role in Season 2, but was no longer his boss, but instead offered computer assistance and friendship when Mannix needed it.

As a solo P.I., Mannix was also assisted by members of the police department. The two most prominent officers were Lt. Adam Tobias (portrayed by Robert Reed, prior to his Brady Bunch days when he starred with Florence Henderson as the parents), and Lt. Art Malcolm (portrayed by Ward Wood). Both characters premiered in Season 2, Reed in `A Copy of Murder,' and Wood in `End Game.' Other police contacts were Lt. George Kramer (Larry Linville of M*A*S*H* fame) and Lt. Dan Ives (Jack Ging).

Often criticized for its violence, it nonetheless remains a fan favorite to this day and a ratings winner it aired. Over the eight seasons of the series, Mannix was knocked unconscious 55 times and shot 17 times.

All 25 episodes of Season 2 are included in this boxed set and are: `The Silent Cry,' Mannix chases kidnappers with the assistance of a deaf girl who lip read the plot of the crime; `Comes Up Roses,' Mannix fights a conspiracy of silence to find Rose Anderson, who was swallowed up by the underground she deserted; `Pressure Point,' Mannix's clues to court corruption were a few words gasped by a badly beaten man; `To the Swiftest, Death,' Mannix probes a race-car accident that killed an aerospace engineer; `End of the Rainbow,' Mannix probes the mysterious death of a recently released prison inmate who carried a scrap of paper with his name on it; `A Copy of Murder,' a manuscript gone missing holds the answer to a homicide; `Edge of the Knife,' kidnappers threaten to kill a doctor's son unless the surgeon lets a patient die on the operating table; `Who Will Dig the Graves?' revelations await Mannix in his search for a millionaire's wife; `In Need of a Friend,' Mannix finds new evidence in the case of an embezzler he helped convict; `Night Out of Time,' the likelihood that a young man killed a girl grows stronger as Mannix reconstructs the previous evening for him; `A View of Nowhere,' on a helicopter trip, Mannix thinks he sees a murder below; `Fear I to Fall; Death Run,' Mannix is called to testify against an ex-con he sent up, but this time suspects a frame; `A Pittance of Faith,' an old friend asks Mannix for help, but when he arrives at the man's rural town, he finds murder; `Only Giants Can Play,' Mannix takes a murder investigation into the political arena; `Shadow of a Man,' Mannix tries to unravel a war hero's past in order to find out why he is being targeted for death; `The Girl Who Came in with the Tide,' Mannix believes a drowning victim was murdered; `Death in a Minor Key,' an enigmatic police chief, a bigoted witness and an interloper thwart Mannix's search for Peggy's boyfriend; `End Game,' a court-martialed veteran seeks revenge against Mannix and a policeman, the last survivors of his combat unit; `All Around the Money Tree,' Mannix is lured to Mexico; `The Odds Against Donald Jordan,' Mannix is hired to locate a missing building contractor; `Last Rites for Miss Emma,' Mannix faces the loss of the friendship of Peggy Fair when he tells her that he suspects her new boyfriend of being the key man in the theft of 45 cartons of morphine; `The Solid Gold Web,' a newspaper publisher's daughter is implicated in the death of a mobster; `Merry Go Round for Murder,' a boarding school marked for demolition sets off a mystery; and `To Catch a Rabbit,' a bitter murder suspect claims the death was accidental.

Guest stars in Season 2 read like a `who's who' of the best actors and actresses from the era. Included are: Cloris Leachman, William Windom, Barbara Rush, Barbara Babcock, Gerald S. O'Laughlin, Harold J. Stone, Hugh Beaumont, Peter Haskell, Jill Ireland, Kathryn Hays, Ford Rainey, Eve Plumb, Fritz Weaver, Geraldine Brooks, Harry Dean Stanton, John Colicos, John Considine, Dana Elcar, Madlyn Rhue, Peter Donat, Patricia Barry, Philip Ahn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Zerbe, Steve Ihnat, Paul Winfield, and Sally Kellerman.

It's great to have Season 2 released so quickly after Season 1. Let's hope the remaining seasons follow suit.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: The Lone Ranger

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:37:15 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Lone Ranger: 75th Anniversary - Seasons 1 and 2 DVD ~ Clayton Moore

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

Return With Us..., August 21, 2008

...To Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear! That's right Classic TV western fans - it's finally happened. Hi-Yo Silver, Away! Our favorite hero, The Lone Ranger, rides again! He is being given the DVD respect he deserves but has never received.

The years of wasting money on Lone Ranger DVDs only to get release-after-release of public domain junk that should have been dumped into the trash bin rather than the cut-rate DVD bin are over. Classic Media has produced the best quality and most extensive compilation of RE-MASTERED episodes of this icon of so many of our childhoods - whether male or female.

The Lone Ranger - the 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition includes every episode from Season 1 and Season 2, which aired on ABC from 1959-1960, together in one package. (In these seasons, Clayton Moore portrayed The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels was Tonto, his Native-American partner.)

In the classic story, our hero is a lone Texas Ranger who survived an ambush and was nursed back to health by Tonto, who referred to him as 'Kemo Sabe.' They bankrolled their efforts to do good via a silver mine, which also supplied the Ranger with the silver bullets -- the calling card he becomes known by throughout the West.

Enter the Lone Ranger! The first three episodes tells the origin of our hero, and how he met and joined forces with Tonto, as well as how he found his trusty steed, Silver. (Tonto rode Scout.) After that, the episodes chronicle their exciting adventures.

In addition to the 78 episodes (1,900 plus minutes) of the show on about a dozen photo-discs, this Anniversary set also includes three bonus episodes from the '60s cartoon series, a classic episode of Lassie featuring The Lone Ranger, and an original Lone Ranger radio show broadcast from 1950. But, not to end there, this great package includes an 88-page Commemorative Book, a complete episode guide, reprints of rare comic books and photos, and limited edition collectibles, too.

Fran Stiker and George W. Trendle created the Lone Ranger as a local radio program in 1933. It quickly went nationwide and was the cornerstone of the old Mutual Radio network. The "Hi-Yo Silver!" shout at the beginning of each episode is a recording of Earle W. Graser, who played the Lone Ranger on radio from 1933-1941.

Here is the complete Classic TV opening (which played over the strains of Rossini's `William Tell' Overture):

"A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty `Hi Yo Silver!' The Lone Ranger...`Hi Yo Silver, away!' With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again!"

At the end of most episodes, the towns folk or others who were saved from the desperados often asked, "Who was that Masked Man?" to images of The Lone Ranger and Tonto galloping away into the sunset.

The Lone Ranger is truly immortal, with three feature films, more than 3,000 Classic Radio shows, 220 Classic TV shows, 18 novels, hundreds of comic books, and a Star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. (In 1952, B-film actor John Hart replaced Clayton Moore, who had threatened to quit after 1950. He was being paid only $500 an episode for his hit show, and wanted a substantial raise. Audiences rejected Hart in the role, and after a mere 36 episodes Moore was back atop Silver. Moore wore the mask in 169 episodes through the end of the show's run in 1957, while Silverheels was Tonto for each episode of the TV series. Moore also brought and won a famous lawsuit to allow him to wear THE MASK and costume in personal appearances after he left the show. While the suit was pending, he wore wraparound sunglasses and starred in an equally famous sunglass commercial that asked, "Who was that Masked Man behind those Foster Grants?")

Still today, the Ranger remains a symbol of truth, justice, courage and friendship, embodied in the Lone Ranger creed, a copy of which is included in this boxed set, and reads in part: "I do solemnly swear to be honest and truthful...to pledge my hand to the weak...to pledge my heart to the helpless...to pledge my life to my fellowmen."

Hooray to Classic Media for this truly classic, and long-overdue, DVD tribute to the Ranger for both old and new fans alike.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: The Mod Squad - The Second Season, Vol. 1

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 16:40:41 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

The Mod Squad - The Second Season, Vol. 1 DVD ~ Michael Cole

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

The COOL Returns, August 5, 2008

Love and loss are highlighted in the latest release of The Mod Squad in a half-season DVD boxed set.

Thirteen episodes, representing the first half of the Second Season of the Classic TV iconic police drama, are expected to be included, along with additional features and interviews to be announced.

The Mod Squad is the original counter-culture phenomenon that remains a favorite, replete with one of the best and most memorable TV musical themes ever composed. It is remarkably watchable despite its age - ironically, now older than young people of that era were warned never to trust in adults.

Premiering Sept. 24, 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War, The Mod Squad lasted five action-packed seasons with episodes that dealt as much with social issues as it did crime in the streets.

Set in Los Angeles, the premiss was simple enough: Three young people in trouble with the law were given the opportunity to avoid jail sentences by infiltrating the counter-culture as undercover cops and exposing criminals who prey on youth by bridging the generation gap between the youth and the "fuzz."

The three "delinquents" were Pete Cochran,(Michael Cole) who was arrested for car theft; Julie Barnes, (Peggy Lipton) who ran away from her prostitute mother in San Francisco; and Lincoln Hayes, (Clarence Williams III) who was arrested during the Watts riots. Tough talking Capt. Adam Greer, (Tige Andrews) was in charge of the special squad and eventually became a father-figure to them. (Lipton, who later played Norma the waitress in another cult classic - Twin Peaks - was nominated for an Emmy for her role as Julie, and won a Golden Globe in 1970 for her portrayal of the character.)

In the series, Cochran drove an old green "woody" side-paneled 1950 Mercury station wagon with two surf boards on top that became a lasting symbol of the show, along with cooooool bell-bottomed pants! Sadly, the wheels were destroyed in this second season when the car was set ablaze by an arsonist. (The Woody was wrecked in Ep. 35, "The Death of Wild Bill Hannacheck," which is included in this boxed set. At the end, the Squad stands and watches their "old buddy" burn. Linc has the classic line "Good bye olde paint." During the Reunion movie in 1979, Pete is rich so he buys a Woody when the three of them unite once more.)

The stellar series spawned a block-buster movie in the 1990's that was horrible by comparison, failing in all respects to capture the chemistry and remarkably innocent sincerity of the original.

Episodes expected to be included in this DVD set, with their original airdates and brief description are: The Girl in Chair Nine (9/23/1969), the Squad befriends a young mother; My Name is Manolette (9/30/1969), the Squad "adopts" a nine-year-old boy; An Eye for an Eye (10/7/1969), Capt. Greer falls in love unaware that he puts the woman in danger; Ride the Man Down (10/14/1969), Pete is framed for murder; To Linc - With Love (10/21/1969), Linc falls in love; Lisa (11/4/1969), the squad helps a woman with a split personality; Confrontation! (11/11/1969), racial strife and murder at a college; Willie Poor Boy (11/18/1969), Pete helps an illiterate boy accused of robbery; The Death of Bill Hannachek (11/25/1969), Julie poses as a country western singer; A Place to Run, A Heart to Hide In (12/2/1969), the Squad pose as college students to investigate a murder; The Healer (12/9/1969), the Squad investigate a faith healer after a patient dies; In this Corner - Sol Albert (12/16/1969), the Squad try to find a slum landlord; and Never Give the Fuzz an Even Break (12/23/1969), the Squad try to catch a con man with a con.

Created by the legendary TV mogul Aaron Spelling, he produced it along with Danny Thomas and Sheldon Leonard. Harve Bennett replaced Spelling in later seasons. Hopefully, the remained of the series will soon be released.

E. Hornaday gave 5 stars to: Dark Shadows

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:27:11 GMT

E. Hornaday reviewed:

Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Vol. 6 DVD ~ Dark Shadows

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

The End of the Beginning!!, July 18, 2008

Fans of the Classic TV show Dark Shadows have wrung their hands in anxiety, held seancés, looked into crystal balls and read tarot cards to divine when - or if - the next DVD release of their favorite gothic soap opera would EVER be released, but mainly they've just plain waited and waited and WAITED. In fact, they've waited for these DVD episodes longer than the beloved series aired - and now it's finally come true.

MPI Home Video began releasing Dark Shadows episodes onto DVD on May 28, 2002, with its first boxed set of 40 episodes, which began about a year after the series debuted and included the fabled first appearance of 175-year-old vampire, Barnabas Collins, impeccably portrayed by Jonathan Frid.

Now, more than six years later, Dark Shadows: The Beginning, Vol. 6, collects the remaining black and white episodes to be released on DVD, truly coming full circle, as it ends with the fully-restored and remastered episode of the fabled first appearance of 175-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins!

In total, all 1225 episodes from the iconic horror series (which premiered on ABC June 27, 1966, and aired episodes until April 2, 1971) are now available on DVD. Whew!

When MPI began releasing episodes on DVD, they had not decided if they would release ALL of them or certainly the pre-Barnabas episodes, because they tended to be less popular than those after the arrival of everyone's favorite Creature of the Night. In the end, they decided to release everything, calling the pre-Barnabas episodes "The Beginning" series, of which this is the final of six sets.

MPI should be genuinely congratulated for its unwavering commitment in releasing the entire catalog of Dark Shadows episodes onto DVD. Few studios show that kind of dedication to fans, plainly evident by the large number of Classic TV shows that have been dropped after only a couple of DVD season releases, or even dropped in mid-season. Imagine a studio committing to release 1225 episodes of ANYTHING onto DVD, much less a cult TV series from the 1960s. Also, we fans deserve huge kudos for our steadfast devotion to be willing to wait out the lengthy release schedule to enthusiastically obtain the entire series run. The fact that it has even happened is a tribute to the enduring power of Dark Shadows, which cast a powerful spell that has transcended time: It is truly the show that would not die.

The episodes in this set continue to focus on the unexpected return of Roger Collins' wife, Laura Murdock Collins, whose presence has become more mysterious, supernatural and - very, very dangerous.

Roger (Louis Edmonds) had told his young son David (David Henesy) that his mother was dead, but she had actually suffered a mental breakdown and was confined in sanitarium. Since being released, she apparently had been living in Phoenix, Ariz., unbeknownst to the Collins family.

Without warning, Laura (Diana Millay) returned to Collinwood and demanded full custody of her son. Roger's sister, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Joan Bennett) steadfastly refused, and was inexplicably stricken by what appeared to be a trance, but was actually a spell cast by Laura.

Now, Governess Victoria Winters (Alexandra Moltke) has figured out that two other Laura's (Laura Murdock and Laura Murdock Stockridge,) each died by fire exactly 100 years apart. Now, Laura Murdock Collins wants to take David away with her, despite a series of foretellings that depict them being consumed in fire: exactly one hundred years after the death of Laura Murdock Stockridge.

In a dramatic and fiery finale never seen before that time in soap opera history, Victoria struggles to pull David away from his mother in the midst of a crackling fire that threatens to destroy them all. The Phoenix is Reborn! (This represented the series first truly supernatural story arc, along with its first seancé, which would become a Dark Shadows' staple.)

Classically trained actor Frid became Barnabas Collins at Episode 211, which first aired 04/18/67. Frid was beyond perfect, playing the most unusual role completely straight. He was compelling, guilt-ridden and just as often cruel and dangerous. Almost immediately, the show, which had been constantly threatened with early cancellation, skyrocketed in the ratings and made Frid an international super star. (Note: Many fans who began watching only after Barnabas had become a fixture on the show, either never saw these early episodes when they first aired, or when they were syndicated for a short time years later.)

In this set, Episode 191 has extended footage, and Frid's Episode 211 has been fully restored and remastered. Original 1967 commercials that aired at the time are included as a special feature, along with new interviews and newsreel footage of movie star Joan Bennett.

This set is also noteworthy for introducing the character of Willie Loomis (originally horribly portrayed by James Hall who was VERY thankfully and quickly replaced by the brilliant John Karlen.) It was Willie, after all, who inadvertently let Barnabas out of his coffin and the rest is soap opera, entertainment and cultural history!!

Let's hope that whichever studio or studios that have the rights to the two 1971 Dark Shadows' movies, House of Dark Shadows and Night of Dark Shadows, finally allow those dead films rise from their coffins and onto DVD. I just hope that it won't take yet more seancés and spooky incantations, not to mention more YEARS of waiting, to get it done!