Hunter - The Complete First Season (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Nominated for three Emmys, Hunter stands out as one of the premiere action police dramas of the 1980s. Just as Tom Selleck's on-camera charisma carried Magnum, P.I. through nine highly-rated seasons, Fred Dryer's knack for drawing an audience to his unique persona carried an otherwise lackluster series through much of the decade. The brainchild of Frank Lupo, creator of The A-Team (1982) and writer for such hit series as Battlestar Galactica (1978), Magnum, P.I. (1980), and Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), Hunter is built on the clichéd concept of a rogue cop who breaks the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Dryer does well in his role as the Clint Eastwood of the small screen, yet the show's writers give him little to work with in terms of a highly developed character and, as the seasons pass, the plot becomes quite formulaic. Nevertheless, Hunter is pure mind-numbing police chase entertainment with the added element of nostalgia for those who long for the 1980s when Hunter ruled along with The A-Team, Magnum, Miami Vice, and Knight Rider, and I for one loved those shows...!
Hunter follows the life of Los Angeles Police Department detective Sgt. Rick Hunter (Fred Dryer), a renegade cop whose family has ties to organized crime. This family tree, coupled with a penchant for getting his partners injured and a propensity to bend the rules, make Hunter an unpopular guy within the department. Only two officers will even agree to partner with him - Bernie Terwilliger (James Whitmore Jr.), who's a total incompetent, and Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer), a stunning brunette with a rebellious streak of her own (and also disliked by her colleagues). Together, Hunter and McCall are a perfect fit as partners, breaking up crime rings, solving murders, and dealing with internal problems such as irate captains. In seasons one and two, Hunter's bosses are a thorn in his side. But both are soon replaced by Capt. Charles Devane (Charles Hallahan) who plays the role of Hunter's by-the-book, yet generally amiable authority figure for the remainder of the series. Meanwhile, original Saturday Night Live cast member Garrett Morris plays a brilliant recurrent role as police informant Arnold "Sporty" James... Overall, Hunter is a solid and highly entertaining action/adventure police drama series, one indispensable to 1980s TV aficionados...The Hunter (Season 1) DVD features a number of action-packed episodes including the two-hour series premiere in which the audience first meets Sgt. Rick Hunter, a mobster's son turned cop who is generally disliked within the LAPD. In this first episode, Hunter tries to investigate a murder, but the case is given to Bernie Terwilliger (the first cop to arrive on the scene), and Hunter is told to back off. With a by-the-book Captain hot on his heels, Hunter partners with feisty Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, and the duo work together to set a trap for the perpetrator... Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Pen Pals" in which Hunter takes the rap for a murder he did not commit, and Dee Dee and her new partner must track down the true culprit, and "Guilty" in which Hunter and Dee Dee disobey a direct order and go it alone to investigate the connection between two murders...
Below is a list of episodes included on the Hunter (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Pilot: Part 1)
Episode 2 (Pilot: Part 2)
Episode 3 (Hard Contract)
Episode 4 (The Hot Grounder)
Episode 5 (A Long Way from L.A.)
Episode 6 (Legacy)
Episode 7 (Flight on a Dead Pigeon)
Episode 8 (Pen Pals)
Episode 9 (Dead or Alive)
Episode 10 (High Bleacher Man)
Episode 11 (The Shooter)
Episode 12 (The Garbage Man)
Episode 13 (The Avenging Angel)
Episode 14 (The Snow Queen: Part 1)
Episode 15 (The Snow Queen: Part 2)
Episode 16 (The Beach Boy)
Episode 17 (Guilty)
Episode 18 (The Last Kill)
Episode 19 (Fire Man)
Episode 20 (Sniper)
The DVD Report

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S.W.A.T. - The Complete First Season (1975) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ah, those unforgettable words...especially poignant since they were said to me by Steve Forrest (Hondo)a number of times. Yep, I played T.J. McCabe in the original series, the guy with the bolt action scope rifle who'd climb up on high places (technically the sniper was called the "high man"), yank my cap around and try to emulate Steve McQueen's smooth moves with guns. So it's a real gas to see the original 13 come out on DVD...especially because I never had good copies of the originals!
SWAT was a great experience, with a bunch of great guys. We were surprised when they cancelled the show...it had been doing great, #1 all summer...then ABC switched it to try to win another night...good old network TV wisdom...and we lost our audience.
The scuttlebutt around the 20th Fox lot was that Aaron Spelling hated the show...it wasn't what he felt his name should be associated with...you may remember he went on to do Family and Dallas after that...so he allegedly swapped us out for Starsky and Hutch, which was a more character-driven show. Can't say I blame him...the writing got pretty stale pretty quick, because at least one of the line producers would take good scripts and turn them around to focus on Hondo and also dumb 'em up in favor of action, whereas we kept hoping they'd give us more of a shot at a Rookies-style, character-strong program.
We did have a lot of fun in that short 35 episodes...and I was particularly happy to find out that Rod Perry (Deke), whom I believed, thanks to a story Mark Shera (Luca)told me in the mid-80s, had died of a heart attack way back then, is in fact still very much alive!
But still sad that my old pal Bob Urich (Jim Street in SWAT, Dan Tana in Vegas, Spencer in Spencer for Hire)is gone for real. He was a good and good hearted man.
The only bummer about the new movie is that at least a couple of the guys from the old show did brief cameos in the flick, but since I live in NY, and the casting agent told me there was no real effort to include all of us anyway as in a reunion scene, I got left out of the movie. That was a little disappointing, I would have loved to do a bit in it, especially since they reprised our original character names (and made my character into a bad guy!) Well, that's Hollywood for you.
Best news is I'm happy to hear our old fans are still out there and rooting for good over evil on the streets of L.A. Thanks for still digging the show, everybody!
your ever-lovin', crime-fightin' T.J.
James Coleman

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Moonlighting - Season 3 (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is, by far, the best season of Moonlighting. From the day waiting at the post office to find a man who's been sending a woman love letters to the trip to New York to Shakespeare...it has it all. Below is a list of episode summaries:
26. The Son Also Rises
David's estranged father makes a surprise visit to announce his upcoming wedding and to introduce his bride-to-be, who comes as a shock to David.
27. The Man Who Cried Wife
A man hires Dave and Maddie to find his wife, who's been making mysterious late night phone calls to him, the same wife he's sure he killed and buried in the forest.
28. Symphony in Knocked Flat
Dave and Maddie agree to each arrange what they consider to be an ideal evening for the other, but the concert tickets Dave buys from a scalper get them into nothing but trouble.
29. Yours, Very Deadly
Dave and Maddie are hired by a married woman to find the man she has been sharing a torrid romantic correspondence with and make sure he understands the arrangement is over.
30. All Creatures Great and ... Not So Great
A priest asks Dave and Maddie to find a woman he's become infatuated with during confession and whose latest revelation was her intention to kill herself.
31. Big Man on Mulberry Street
Maddie becomes consumed with curiosity when David announces he must fly back to New York to attend the funeral of his former wife's brother.
32. Atomic Shakespeare
A boy hoping to watch Moonlighting but forced to study Shakespeare instead daydreams about the cast performing their own version of The Taming of the Shrew complete with Petruchio Dave and Kate Maddie.
33. It's a Wonderful Job
A depressed Maddie gets a chance to see what her life and the rest of Blue Moon staff would be like if she had sold the agency as she originally intended.
34. The Straight Poop
Rona Barrett investigates the rumors about discord among the principals at the Blue Moon Detective agency.
35. Poltergeist III--- Dipesto Nothing
Ms. Dipesto tries to solve a haunted house case refused by Dave and Maddie to show Bert Viola that she's just as good a detective as he is.
36. Blonde on Blonde
Maddie's strange mood has David worried so he spends the evening following her, but ends up involved in a murder.
37. Sam & Dave
Dave and Maddie quarrel over Sam as they keep watch on a man for his mistress, who's convinced he's two-timing her-with his wife.
38. Maddie's Turn to Cry
Maddie feels more and more confused about Sam and Dave after an all-night stakeout with Dave ends in an early morning proposal from Sam.
39. I Am Curious... Maddie
Sam confronts Dave about Maddie, and tells him he's not good enough for her.
40. To Heiress Human
Maddie tries to ignore the previous night as she and David tackle a new case: a woman wants evidence that her fiance loves her and not her father's money.

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Columbo - The Complete First Season (1972) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have never been a huge fan of murder mysteries, either in book, TV or movie form. I either figure them out too soon or in the cases where I don't, the resolution tends to be a severe let down. Its not that I'm some sort of amateur genius detective or anything, I just have a very good memory and tend to keep certain aspects of the mystery catalogued as I watch and figure them out based on that minor skill. Columbo, however, is a murder mystery show of a different animal. Quite frankly, no show of its type has been more original in presentation, format or style before or after its initial launch in the 60's.
The reason for this bold claim? Peter Falk and the innovative idea to reveal the murderer at the start of the tale. The enjoyment, and I'm sure many of you have heard this time and time again, in watching a Columbo episode is; a. the interaction between Columbo and the suspect; b. the personal mannerisms of the Columbo character; c. following Columbo as he uncovers every facet of the crime committed and pieces them together and; d. the satisfaction of being in on the moment when the killer is exposed. Instead of being surprised like the killer is, you get the satisfaction of being a silent partner with Columbo as he brings the culprit to justice.
Few shows are based in total reality, and indeed, this show harkens back to a time when people weren't as savvy about every detail of crime solving as they are now what with constant airings of documentaries on A&E such as Cold Case Files and drama based modern shows like CSI on CBS. But what helps Columbo stand the test of time ultimately is the performance of Peter Falk in the role of Columbo and a sense of relief in not having to constantly try and figure out who the killer is throughout the episode. Below is a short synopsis of the episodes and original movies that will be included on this 5 disc set:
Prescription: Murder (1968)
Gene Barry plays a cheating doctor out to get rid of the main obstacle standing in the way of him and his young, pretty actress girlfriend. This first movie introduces the audience to the typical type of villain Columbo will face in future episodes; rich, famous and well connected politically...and sometimes all three.
Note: This episode is especially interesting to watch due to the fact that the Columbo character had yet to be fully fleshed out by Peter Falk. He is seen being rather harsh in this episode and would only rarely show this type of rage again in any other episode. He toned down the character and made him much more laid back later on.
Ransom for a Dead Man (1971)
A lawyer (Lee Grant) kills her husband for the insurance money and makes the whole thing look like a kidnapping. It never hurt the Columbo series that most of the guest stars were actors or actresses every bit as talented as Peter Falk himself, something Murder She Wrote could rarely claim.
Murder by the Book (1971)
Jack Cassidy in one of a number of memorable turns on the show plays one half of a successful writing team...the untalented half. When his partner makes it known his intentions to break up the team, Jack Cassidy's character makes sure he regrets that decision.
Note: Jack Cassidy is the father of Shawn and David Cassidy. This episode is directed by a very young Steven Spielberg whose other early TV directing gig was an episode of Night Gallery.
Death Lends a Hand (1971)
Robert Culp guests as the owner of a powerful detective agency who murders a client's wife. One of my favorite episodes of them all, and includes some of the earliest tidbits of information regarding Columbos past.
Dead Weight (1971)
Eddie Albert plays a retired military officer bent on keeping his corruption a secret, even if it requires murdering a subordinate. The only problem? Helen Stewart (Suzanne Pleshette) sees the whole thing from a row boat on the water. The only obstacle she has is proving to the police and her own mother that she isn't batty and just seeing things. Of course, Columbo believes her, which is strangely fitting since the police on the scene feel he's just as batty as she is!
Suitable for Framing (1971)
Ross Martin kills his uncle for a valuable art collection and tries to pin the whole thing on said uncle's first wife. Overall, the only weak link in an otherwise stellar first season in my opinion but a good episode regardless. And be sure to look out for Don Ameche in a guest starring role.
Note: Ross Martin was the one time acting teacher to Peter Falk.
Lady in Waiting (1971)
Susan Clark plays a woman who kills her brother in order to take over the family company. She attempts to make it seem like a case of mistaken identity thinking he is an intruder. Leslie Nielsen guest stars as her non-bumbling boyfriend.
Note: This episode was written by Steven Bochco who later gave us stunning television such as Cop Rock. ;)
Short Fuse (1972)
Roddy McDowall guest stars as a brilliant scientist whose uncle wants to force out of the family chemical company. Something tells us that the uncle won't make it very far in the episode with that sort of attitude! Cigars play a crucial role in uncovering the nephew's guilt. Something I'm sure Columbo relishes in the end.
Blueprint For Murder (1972)
Forrest Tucker makes a brief but memorable turn as an obnoxious Texas developer who gets the short end of the jerky stick when his architect murders him to keep a proposed building project from being axed. Probably my second favorite episode from the first season and it ends up being the toughest case so far for Columbo to break.
So there you have it. An outstanding start to an outstanding series. I have heard grumblings from other reviewers regarding the lack of extras, but as for me, I'm just glad they are finally being released. This is the first and probably last review I will write for a television program, but Columbo deserves my attention and will hopefully earn yours as well. Forget the A-Team DVD set and plunk down your hard earned cash on this one instead, you won't regret it!


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