Hawaii Five-O - The Fourth Season
by Robert Butler
from Paramount
Filmed entirely on location in Hawaii the show followed Jack Lord as he played Steve McGarrett head of an elite state police unit investigating "organized crime murder assassination attempts foreign agents felonies of every type." James MacArthur played his second-in-command Danny ("Danno") Williams with local actors playing members of the Five-O team.System Requirements:Running Time: 1215 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368920743 Manufacturer No: 892074
Could it be that with Hawaii Five-O's fourth season, a third of the way into its remarkable '60s-'70s run, the show has gotten... well, cool? Actually, there are signs throughout this six-disc set of 24 digitally-remastered episodes that point to yes. Let's not get carried away here; Five-O is still basically as square as Tiananmen and Trafalgar, and as long as Steve McGarrett (portrayed, as ever, by Jack Lord) is in charge, its groove factor will never rival that of, say, CSI: Miami, or any other glossy new millennium cop drama. Indeed, the show's corniness and utter lack of irony remain integral to its charm. But there are a few interesting developments in this '71-'72 season. There's a good complement of snappy dialogue (one particularly large perp is "so big he could go bear-hunting with chopsticks"). And although the pacing can be pretty stodgy, the editing is a bit more deft; many scenes flow more naturally, and in at least one instance ("I Want Some Candy, and a Gun that Shoots," wherein a sniper is picking off cops on a coastal highway), the entire episode is more exciting than the Five-0 norm. The direction and lighting are also more stylish, while the music (not just Morton Stevens' classic theme song but the incidental sounds as well) and location scenery, two elements that have always been among the series' strong suits, are as good as ever; in fact, the islands look so lush and inviting that one wonders why the bad guys can even get motivated to commit their dirty deeds.
But they do, of course, and McGarrett and his faithful team (James MacArthur as Danno, Kam Fong as Chin Ho, and, in what remains one of the great TV credits ever, "Zulu as Kono") are there to stop 'em. This time around they're dealing with everything from a big money travelers check scam ("3,000 Crooked Miles to Honolulu," with Jed Clampett... er, Buddy Ebsen as a guest villain), eco-terrorism ("Is This Any Way to Run a Paradise"), political assassination ("Rest in Peace, Somebody"), and racism-rape ("Skinhead"), along with the usual murders and encounters with Red Chinese nemesis Wo Fat (Khigh Dhiegh). McGarrett is for the most part still as stiff as his hair, but Lord occasionally displays considerable passion, as when he breaks down in tears upon being informed that a nasty car accident did not leave him paralyzed (in "The 90-Second War," a two-parter). As always, bonus material is limited to brief, previous-week promos for each episode. --Sam Graham
I Spy - Season 1
by John Rich
from IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Robert Culp and Bill Cosby star as international espionage agents Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott on highly dangerous missions in this ever-popular award-winning series. Culp poses as a world-class playboy/tennis player and Cosby goes undercover as his trainer. Together they travel the world trading quips and fighting high-level crime with cool bravado and extraordinary savoir-faire. Combining humor with action/intrigue "I Spy" was the first adventure TV series to be shot in exotic international locales establishing a new standard for television dramas.System Requirements:LENGTH: 1429 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 014381395228 Manufacturer No: ID3952PQDVD
I Spy - Season 2
by John Rich
from Image Entertainment
Robert Culp and Bill Cosby star as international espionage agents Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott on highly dangerous missions in this ever-popular award-winning series. Culp poses as a world-class playboy/tennis player and Cosby goes undercover as his trainer. Together they travel the world trading quips and fighting high-level crime with cool bravado and extraordinary savoir-faire. Combining humor with action/intrigue "I Spy" was the first adventure TV series to be shot in exotic international locales establishing a new standard for television dramas.System Requirements:LENGTH: 1428 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 014381395327 Manufacturer No: ID3953PQDVD
I Spy - Season 3
by John Rich
from Image Entertainment
Robert Culp and Bill Cosby star as international espionage agents Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott on highly dangerous missions in this ever-popular award-winning series. Culp poses as a world-class playboy/tennis player and Cosby goes undercover as his trainer. Together they travel the world trading quips and fighting high-level crime with cool bravado and extraordinary savoir-faire. Combining humor with action/intrigue "I Spy" was the first adventure TV series to be shot in exotic international locales establishing a new standard for television dramas.System Requirements:LENGTH: 1332 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 014381395426 Manufacturer No: IS3954PQDVD
Leave It to Beaver - The Complete First Season
by James Neilson
from Universal Studios
Finally one of the most beloved series from television s Golden Age comes to DVD for the first time ever! Join the Cleavers America s quintessential family in all 39 digitally remastered unforgettable episodes from the complete first season of Leave it to Beaver! Theodore Beaver Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) can t seem to avoid trouble and his older brother Wally (Tony Dow) and mischievous pal Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) aren t any help. But with some wise advice from his father Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and mom s (Barbara Billingsley) home-cooked meals Beaver learns that all s well that ends well. Complete with the original pilot brought out of the studio archives this must-have DVD collection will have you declaring Gee that Beaver sure is a swell guy! System Requirements:Running Time 6 hrs 6 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 025192911323 Manufacturer No: 29113
Leave It to Beaver - The Complete Second Season
by James Neilson
from Universal Studios
Now with this release fans nostalgic for the simple moral lessons at the heart of LEAVE IT TO BEAVER can own the show's entire second season. Part of television's golden era the series first aired in 1957 but really grew in popularity with later audiences when it ran as repeats. The picture of a perfect 1950s family the Cleavers consisted of troublemaking Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) too-perfect big brother Wally (Tony Dow) wise dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) and eager-to-please housewife June (Barbara Billingsley). Thanks to the influence of his friend and ally in crime Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) Beaver never goes too long without getting into some kind of mess. But with some of his mom's home cooking and his dad's sage advice Beaver always sorts it out in the end.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 025192927621 Manufacturer No: 29276
The second season of Leave It to Beaver finds the Cleaver family happy and wholesome as ever, with most episodes involving the Beaver getting into a scrape, or hearing the from-the-mountaintop advice from Mom or Dad afterwards. Despite the formula, the episodes hold up well, because of the earnestness of the actors and the delivery of their lines, which is, well, swell. Mom June (Barbara Billingsley) is the matriarch who makes it all look easy in her well-pressed frocks and pearls (pay close attention to those necklaces--there are actually several; some plain strands and some with pendants), and Dad Ward (Hugh Beaumont) is thoughtful and a little monolithic. But it's the adventures of boys, older brother Wally (Tony Dow) and the Beav (Jerry Mathers), that make the show so fun. One episode involves Beav and pal Larry (Rusty Stevens) playing hooky (they're late to school anyway, and they figure they may as well get "killed" later as opposed to today), and then winding up on live TV, on a show which June just happens to be watching. Moral? Golly gee, there's more than one, and they're delivered by both parents and Beav's teacher--and echoed earnestly by Beaver himself. The chuckles come in a ready stream, even if sometimes inadvertently. Sample exchange: Wally: "Mom, can I get tattooed?" June: "Tattooed!? Absolutely not!" Wally: "Oh, OK. Bye." No wonder people are so nostalgic for the '50s--teenagers never gave anyone any lip. This season, 1957-58, contains 39 remastered episodes on three double-sided discs, and is a treasure box of nostalgia, in the absolute best sense. --A.T. Hurley
Daniel Boone - Season One
by Anton Leader
from Goldhil Home Media
Wholesome fun for the entire family!Fess Parker stars as Daniel Boone in this timeless classic series. Daniel Boone America's classic frontier hero begins his journey right here with this first Season box set on DVD. Digitially restored and re-mastered from it's original televison presentation in 1964 in classic black and white. Set in and around Kentucky and Virginia during the colonial period preceeding the American Revolution Daniel Boone takes us on suspensful action adventures with his fellow frontiersman and women Yadkin (played by Albert Salmi) Mingo (Ed Ames) Rebecca (Patricia Blair) Jemima (Veronica Cartwright) and Israel (Darby Hinton).Special Features Include:- Exclusive Interviews- Photo Gallery- Visitor's Guide to Fess Parker's Los Olivos Winery & Spa ResortSystem Requirements:Run Time: 1455 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 743452200825 Manufacturer No: GH2008
Lost in Space - The Complete First Season
by Jus Addiss
from CBS Television
Lost in Space began life in 1965 as a science-fiction take on The Swiss Family Robinson. Produced by Irwin Allen, then in the midst of his run of spectacular-but-childish TV sci-fi (before he became the master of big-screen disaster movies), the show featured a family of all-American space colonists cast away on a mysterious planet. Gradually the whole thing devolved into a silly (but sometimes fun) exercise in childish camp. This boxed set includes all 29 black and white episodes from the first season (with a burst of color at the end of the last show--a foretaste of the garish look of the remaining two seasons) along with "No Place to Hide," the expensive pilot show that sold the series but prompted Allen to revamp the whole premise in comic mode when network execs responded best to its unintended humor.
"No Place to Hide" has action scenes that cropped up in the first six regular episodes but is missing several of the show's trademark aspects, most notably that infectious theme from Johnny Williams (later, John Williams of Star Wars fame) and the scheming presence of Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) and his alternately menacing and comical robot ("It does not compute"). As the series progresses (or degenerates, depending on your taste), Harris's Smith changes from pantomime villain, a saboteur who is trying to kill the family, into pantomime idiot whose foolishness, cowardice, and avarice are an endless source of plots. It mostly makes do with the regular cast plus an array of shaggy-suited, snarling aliens, but you do get sterling ham from visiting astronauts such as Warren Oates ("Welcome Stranger"), Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet ("War of the Robots"), and a very young Kurt Russell ("The Challenge"). Stories about surviving on an alien world give way to lifts from fairy tale, myth, and old movies as Smith gets hold of a wishing cap, becomes a giant, is chosen as a sacrificial king, turns the children over to an alien zoo, squeaks in fright as a werewolf approaches, or is cursed with a platinum Midas touch. --Kim Newman
Season 1 of the 1965 sci-fi favorite.
Lost in Space - Season 3, Vol. 2
by Jus Addiss
from CBS Television
It's the third and final season of the far-out tales of TV's most lovable space crew! Complete your mission with these intergalactic adventures! Join in as the Jupiter 2 crew attempts to finally return home to Earth, with more help from the wily Robot B-9, more antics from master meddler Dr. Zachary Smith, and of course, more "Danger, Will Robinson!" Along with out-of-this-world extras not available anywhere else, this collectable DVD installment of Irwin Allen's LOST IN SPACE presents the final 9 episodes of America's favorite space family.
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