Best of Route 66

Re: Best of Route 66

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but is Route 66 one of the earliest TV series to actually have a series finale episode? I remember when The Fugitive ended it's run, it was much lauded for actually having a series finale. But didn't Route 66 end its run before The Fugitive?

Re: Best of Route 66

Some news on the third season set, with a nod to our very own Bob Huggins (great going, Bob!). Looks like a complete season set is on the way after all, hopefully in time for the Nov. DD sale.

Route 66 DVD news: Release Date for Route 66 - The Complete 3rd Season | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Re: Best of Route 66

Michael, I'm sure there is some method to their madness but, for the life of me, I honestly do not understand why Infinity has to release two separate volumes of season 3, followed by a complete season 3. As much as I like this show (among my top 10 all-time favorites), I think I'm going to wait for the general release in November of the complete series rather than buying the separate volumes. The combined set is likely to be a little less expensive and, if nothing else, it will match seasons 1 & 2 on my shelf.

Re: Best of Route 66

I will wait for the complete season 3 as well.

Re: Best of Route 66

Sounds like the way to go.

Gary "like Bob, I prefer when my dvd sets match" O.

Re: Best of Route 66

^^ Ditto Here!

Re: Best of Route 66

Isn't the complete season set going to just be the two separate volume packages stuck in another rather plain outer case? And probably the same release as the Critics Corner early release of the same Complete Season 3? I already ordered that, so that's what I'm expecting.

Re: Best of Route 66

Oy Vey . . . . . yet another delay for some of the season 3 releases. See Dave Lambert's news article here:

Route 66 DVD news: Delay for Route 66 - Season 3, Volume 2 and Route 66 - The Complete Season 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com

Re: Best of Route 66

i read that. But I am still willing to wait for the complete season 3. I am still watching my season 1 dvds.

Re: Best of Route 66

If the famous Rte 66 Corvette stalled as often as the DVD series does, there wouldn't have been much of a show!

Yikes. How do I cancel my Critic's Choice order?

www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Route-66-Season-3/12268

I have a $25 Best Buy gift card on the way as a reward for my Visa card points.  Now I know what I will use it for. 

re: Route 66 Complete Third Season...
I was at the Best Buy in my hometown and it was already on the shelf, so I picked it up.
Here's a little heads up on the packaging for Complete Season 3 from Best Buy:
Other than than the description on the back of the box there is no episode list enclosed like the previous releases. So unIess one goes to the IMDB and prints their list there is no way of knowing what episodes are on what discs.

Other than that...It all looks good!

I hope they don't sell out before my $25 gift card arrives.

What's it going for at BB? Curious as to what discount, if any, is being given.

I'd also like to know if this is the Complete Season 3 or just volume 1 of that set. People have already been receiving Season 3 volume 1 via Amazon and posting reviews, but I've talked to about four different local Best Buys and they don't know anything about a complete Season 3 release, and are not even going to carry Season 3 Volume 1 scheduled for release July 21 in their brick and mortar stores.

Oops. Nevermind. I just got an email from Critics Choice saying my Route 66 Complete Season 3 has shipped. Total $39.96. So it IS out there, or going out there.

I'd still like to know who's running Infnity's marketing plan on this and what prescription medicine they are abusing.

I stopped by BB on my way home and the complete Route 66 season 3 is going for $34.99 right now, while season 2 is going for $29.99. The season 3 box is similar to the first two seasons but a bit narrower so the internal setup must be a little different.

I almost got it using a $5 reward zone wearing a hole in my pocket that would have put it at the season 2 price. But since I'm only part way through season 1 I have plenty of time to wait for it to come down in price even more. Plus, they had the Starsky and Hutch seasons on sale for $14.99, which I watched growing up. So I picked up season 1 for a net price of $9.99 before tax.

If anyone is still interested in buying, Route 66: The Complete Season 3  from Critic's Choice, this is the month. They are having a 25% off sale  to 7/31/09.  

The 25% off code is:  JUL0925


 

Unfortunately, with shipping at $6.95 for CC it pretty much negates any advantage over the BestBuy price and becomes a wash. Now if anyone knows of a way to get free shipping from CC then it does become a better deal again.

$34.99 is the price. The packaging is a generic black box with a place for all 8 discs, but no place for a disc guide insert. Still, it's great to ride 66 again.

Is there any picture on the box or anything identifying the show?

The box looks similar enough to other Route 66 sets that it would not look out of place next to them on a shelf. It is a little narrower that is all. Probably slight differences in the case design prevented a disc guide insert or it was just a cost savings move.

 

If I was done or almost done with season 2 I would have picked it up yesterday, but it will be awhile for me to catch up so I have plenty of time to wait for even further discounts.
 

What I meant by "generic" is there are no frills: just the box with the discs. No individual episode descriptions like in the previous sets. The cover is as pictured on the TVShowsOnDVD.com site.

Apologies: The pic on TVShowsOnDVD.com is the "Volume one" box....but....the complete set from Best Buy has the very same cover but labeled as the complete season three.

The mini reviews continue ... on to Season 3 (no spoilers except guest stars or what you could read off the box). And, as always, feel free to ignore these, since they're just my own two cents.

Season 3 - Episode 1

"one tiger to a hill" David Jansen can act! Who knew? I mean he had two basic expressions in The Fugitive; mumbling with a haunted look, and mumbling with a slightly relieved look. To be fair, those are exactly the right choices for a fugitive running from the law. But we rarely saw more. Here we see him emote the whole range; angry, sad, crying, and even performing a soliliquy about why he is so ... haunted here.

Tod Stiles is the yin to Jansen's yang, as they both pursue the same chick ... Laura Devon.  Wow. How gorgeous was she? She's like a more natural version of Morgan Fairchild. Naturarlly, she's drawn to the internally tortured bad guy (Jansen). Stiles' "there's a reason to embrace the day" sunny attitude represents the optimistic view of life versus Jansen's character's nilhilism (everything sucks, and then you die). Who will win? Tune in to find out.

Oh, and as was the tradition throughout Season One, there are plenty of fisticuffs here but, ironically, more from Tod. Buz is a bystander in this episode, but still has some classic Stirling Silliphant lines. Shot in Astoria, Oregon. This episode definitely would have benefited from color. It looks like the town ... would've been green and gorgeous. But we'll just have to settle for the full rainbow performance from our man Jansen. Nice going.

Here in suburban Philadelphia, the Best Buy I went to had six copies of ROUTE 66 Complete Season 3.

Armed with the knowledge (learned here on the Forum) that the replacement sets have yellow/orange shrink-wrap, I found the DVDs on the shelf facing out.  The catch was that the first three copies were in -clear- shrink-wrap...and the three in the back were orange/yellow.

The stock person had placed the replacement sets BEHIND the original bad ones.  Whether it was intentional or not is unknown.  However, they're not milk cartons with newer expiration dates, so I'm leaning toward it was someone wanting to sell the recalled sets first.

The price was $34.99 before a 10% Rewards coupon.

I was a little peeved with the 8 discs jammed into a multi-case box...and NO episode lists.

Why couldn't we just wait for the Complete Season 3 release, like Season 1 and Season 2?  We're impatient suckers, I guess. 

Season 3 two cents, con'd. Those not interested ... feel free to keep on moving.

"man out of time" This episode is basically a character study of an ex-con payoff mobster (Luther Adler) getting out of prison after 32 years and trying to recapture his life back in Chicago, but someone is still out to get him. Buz and Tod are marginally involved in the storyline as the taxi drivers who have to ferry him about. This episode clearly feels like a Naked City-style leftover instead of a Route 66, which makes sense considering the producer is the same for both shows. But the story isn't that compelling, and the only thing that saves it is a very nifty twist ending in the tradition of The Twilight Zone.

Season 3 two cents, con'd.  Please ignore if no interest.

"ever ride the waves in oklahoma?" Dig this. After the death of a young contender to the surfer throne, Buz goes ballistic on the reigning surfer king of the beach for living a carefree life void of any responsiblity ... before eventually driving away with Tod again in the Corvette on their cross country and carefree life void of any responsibility.

But to be fair, Buz certainly pays his dues. This is the third episode out of the first four for Season 3 where he spends time in the water or dripping wet outside of it. And wasn't it just last season where George Maharis missed several episodes from health complications due to spending a cold night in and out of the water? And he doesn't last much longer after these episodes. You wonder if the producers had it out for him.

And is there anything more ridiculous looking than when you have an actor try to simulate surfing when they really aren't, and don't? I give the show tremendous credit for so ambitiously attempting a surfer episode of this show actually shot among the waves at times, but you will never see a more obvious (and far more tanned) double than you see for the one doing the actual surfing for Maharis.

I would have titled this episode, "Beach Blanket Buzzkill" because it doesn't pull it's punches on slacker surfer dudes and their babes. But it's still a hoot to watch, and it has the requisite worthwhile monologues from Stirling Silliphant that polish it better than a glaze on a 9-foot board.