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Alias Smith and Jones

post #1 of 92
12/12/06 at 8:40am
Thread Starter 
We are finally getting this Febuary 20th. This is another great show I am looking forward to.
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post #2 of 92
12/12/06 at 8:50am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Wow, is it Christmas already?!?! What great news!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6714

P.S. Gord -- fix the spelling! It's "Heyes" and Curry!
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post #3 of 92
12/12/06 at 9:03am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Good to see that they are including the 90-minute pilot movie in this set. Let's hope that this doesn't wind up being another one on Universal's ever-growing list of "one and done".
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post #4 of 92
12/12/06 at 9:36am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Barbara, you beat me to the "post" This is another one on my list. Ironic, but recently my nephew and I had a conversation about TV/DVD. He's mainly a movie DVD guy, but we were talking about the recent slow-down during the 2nd half of '06 in 60's-80's TV/DVD's and I said "Maybe the market has peaked". He said "Nope, I wouldn't be surprised if in time most TV series will see a release." Normally I'd have said "What do 'Millinium Kids' know?" Now, with several series' announcements posted on TSoD for Q1 '07, it's looking for next year. That signature's getting smaller
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post #5 of 92
12/12/06 at 10:16am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

So much for the thread about the demise of classic TV on DVD. I can't even keep up with the deluge of product.
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post #6 of 92
12/12/06 at 10:19am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

No kidding. My shelves (note plural!) of stuff waiting to be watched are entirely full now and I'm sure I'll be adding more to it in the next couple of months, including, very happily, this release. Except that they won't take up long-term residence on the waiting-to-be-watched shelves, 'cause that puppy's going straight into the player the moment I have it in my hot little hands!
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post #7 of 92
12/12/06 at 10:21am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug^Ch
So much for the thread about the demise of classic TV on DVD. I can't even keep up with the deluge of product.

Doug, I was thinking the exact same thing. We tend to "give up the ghost" too soon when it comes to the older series getting released.
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post #8 of 92
12/12/06 at 4:17pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Willis
Doug, I was thinking the exact same thing. We tend to "give up the ghost" too soon when it comes to the older series getting released.

As one who was leading the chorus of "Classic TVonDVD has been abandoned" I have to come clean and say I was at least partially wrong. The studios, especially Paramount, have shown that this isn't the case. The only thing I'm concerned about at this point is continuations of classics. And again, most of the studios are doing a decent job on this. At present, the only series I'm really interested in that seem to have hit a snag are LEAVE IT TO BEAVER, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, MY FAVORITE MARTIAN, and THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY. Each of these seem to be in limbo and that does concern me somewhat. I'd hate to see all these newly announced classic titles fall victim to the done-in-one syndrome (even though all four have had more than one season released, I trust you know what I mean).

If any one of the four series I mentioned above are announced by year's end, then I'll completely and unabashedly say I was 100% wrong about the trend. But until I see at least one of these shows continue, I'll still be slightly reserved about the future of Classic TVonDVD.

Gary "just my two cents" O.
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post #9 of 92
12/12/06 at 6:26pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

My own dvd-rs of this series is crap so what a great surprise. I honestly didn't think I'd ever see this any time soon.
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post #10 of 92
12/13/06 at 1:20am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Great news!

I waited for this a very long time (only have the pilot and first episode on VHS). Yes, I do hope they bring out the complete series (even with the change in the Hayes-actor).

(Next wish is the original The Virginian.)




Cees
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post #11 of 92
12/13/06 at 6:18am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Ditto, Cees

Your post brings up a good question for "Alias Smith & Jones" fans. Which did the other posters prefer in the role, Pete Duel or Roger Davis? My vote is for Pete Duel.
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post #12 of 92
12/13/06 at 6:53am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

My vote is Pete Dual too. He is Hannibal Hayes (silver tongue and all ).

I'm not sure of this, but I always believed that Roger Davis (didn't know his name, BTW) was a guest star in one of the previous episodes.
In my memory, he was the one gun-slinger who was almost as fast as "Kid" Curry and was the one person who had to shoot it out with him. The gunner-with-the-smile, or so. Or the smiler-with-the-gun.

(They used the famous visual "click-trick", as I called it, for him too.
You know, if it's Curry: Curry is seen facing a villain and has his hands in an almost impossible position to draw - e.g. holding his reigns in two hands, often advising the other guy not to draw his gun - and then we see the villain starting a quick draw, close-up of villain, but while he's only half-way we hear "click": a gun getting cocked, next image shows Curry with his cocked gun pointing straight at the surprised villain who only has his own pistol half-way out of the holster. Very funny effect.)

N.B.: "Villain" = not Hayes or Curry, but anyone opposing our heros.)


Cees
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post #13 of 92
12/13/06 at 6:56am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Cees,

You're correct. That was Roger Davis in the guest role. You're an "Alias Smith/Jones" official expert
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post #14 of 92
12/13/06 at 7:26am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Cool. This show was a favorite of mine.

But, I've got to come clean and say I was only 12 when Pete Duel died. This show (and that event) had quite an impact on me...but, I am afraid to say, both have faded from my memory. This is a set that will be mine as I look forward to becoming reacquainted with some old friends.

I DO remember having a clear memory that that although I missed Duel's charisma in the role, that the fella who took his place (Roger Davis) WAS quite good.



Ben Murphy with Pete Duel



Ben Murphy with Roger Davis
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post #15 of 92
12/13/06 at 7:39am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

I'll be picking up S1 for sure and probably S2 as Pete Duel appeared in the first 19 of a 23 episode season before Roger Davis assumed the role. S3 is problematic for me as the series IMO as the chemistry between Heyes and Curry was lost following Duel's tragic suicide. I still recall us kids in the 7th grade lamenting the passing of Peter Duel. Ironically, Davis supplied the voiceover in the show's opening credits.

In S1 alone, there were some great guest stars, including some of my favorite (and lovely) small screen sirens (Susan Saint James, Juliet Mills, Diana Muldaur, Susan Oliver and Barbara Rhoades). Other notables in S1 include:

James Drury
Earl Holliman
Cesar Romero
Burl Ives
Mark Lenard
Slim Pickens
William Windom
Royal Dano
Alan Hale
John Larch
Peter Breck
John McGiver
Steve Ihnat
Keenan Wynn
Joseph Campanella
Richard Anderson


Borrowing from Gary again, Michael "your resident character actor fan" KS
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post #16 of 92
12/13/06 at 7:54am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Yes, and James Drury was of course the Virginian in the series with that name.

There's even an episode of ASaJ that played as a copy of an episode from The Virginian (again: if memory serves me well). One where an old couple have to be suspected of stealing the content of a briefcase with a lot of money, and are forced to open a room they keep closed all the time.

As it appears, the money was ... well, somewhere else. Nice and moving episode(s).


Cees


PS:
Another lead character in The Virginian, Judge Garth was played by Lee J. Cobb (of Twelve Angry Men and much more fame), who's stage name I always found to be one of the cleverest I knew. The name ends with a double-b, pronounce this therefore as "b's" and you get his real name: Le(o) Jacobs.
However: from a certain moment on, the IMDB started to give his birthname as Leo Jacoby (not Jacobs), so I may have had this wrong for a long time.
C.
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post #17 of 92
12/13/06 at 8:01am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

I remember as a kid hearing Roger Davis doing the original intro voiceover (knew him from Dark Shadows viewing), and then being surprised to find him as Duel's replacement. And wasn't it Pete Duel (posthumously) doing the intro voiceover when Davis took over the Heyes character? Might've been my 12-year old imagination at the time. . . .

I still remember seeing and enjoying the pilot on the ABC Movie of The Week, and probably all of the subsequent episodes. I haven't seen the series since then. What a treat.
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post #18 of 92
12/13/06 at 8:10am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cees Alons
I'm not sure of this, but I always believed that Roger Davis (didn't know his name, BTW) was a guest star in one of the previous episodes.
Yep, he played Danny Bilson, title character in "Smiler With a Gun."

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
The first (only?) person we ever saw Kid Curry shoot to kill.


Maybe that's why it was hard for many fans to accept him taking over the role of Heyes, because he played one of the series' baddest bad guys. Some fan lists go nuclear even at the idea that they might be discussing Roger-Heyes episodes. Which is a shame. I haven't watched them nearly as much as the Pete Duel episodes, but they're still part of the series.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cees Alons
One where an old couple have to be suspected of stealing the content of a briefcase with a lot of money, and are forced to open a room they keep closed all the time.

"The Girl in Boxcar #3," written by Gene Roddenberry.

Who knew the 2000's were going to be such a great decade for this series? There's a terrific book that came out a year or so ago with tons of detail and background on the series ("Alias Smith & Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men" by Sandra Sagala and JoAnne Bagwell), the series has been running on Encore/Starz Westerns for the past two years, I just heard there's an authorized biography of Pete Duel in the works that should be released sometime in 2007, and now what's hopefully the first of three DVD sets. Can't wait till February!

Mary
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post #19 of 92
12/13/06 at 8:17am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
one of the series' baddest bad guys.
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
And who died in style: with a chuckle


Quote:
Some fan lists go nuclear even at the idea that they might be discussing Roger-Heyes episodes. Which is a shame.
Agree! He may not have been able to make us forget Pete Duel, but he did an excellent job playing Hayes.

Quote:
There's a terrific book that came out a year or so ago with tons of detail and background on the series ("Alias Smith & Jones: The Story of Two Pretty Good Bad Men" by Sandra Sagala and JoAnne Bagwell)
Thanks, Mary! I'm going to look for it! (Edit: Found it, ordered it! Thanks once more!

Quote:
Can't wait till February!
Agreed again! Double so. Triple.


Cees
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post #20 of 92
12/13/06 at 10:27am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cees Alons
Found it, ordered it! Thanks once more!
Enjoy! Its episode synopses may be a bit too detailed for those who are already very familiar with the series, but that's in addition to background info on the episodes and series, not in place of. Lots of commentary on historical accuracy (or sometimes lack thereof!), detailed information from Huggins' notes to writers, lots of info culled from interviews with many involved in the production, even some input from those in Universal's "Black Tower" -- the executive offices.

BTW, you mentioned that there's an episode that's essentially a reworked "Virginian" episode; there's also one in the second season that's a reworked "Maverick" episode. "Dreadful Sorry Clementine" with Sally Field owes a lot to "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres." (But as they were both Huggins productions, I suppose he's allowed to steal from himself!) I think there's a lot of the spirit of "Maverick" to be found throughout AS&J, though thankfully Heyes and Curry weren't split off into solo episodes nearly as often as Brett and Bart were.

Mary
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post #21 of 92
12/14/06 at 8:48pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

i remember this show fondly from when i watched when i was younger,

i do have a question though, does anyone else here think this set is

overpriced?

why does universal price this so high?

i think riptide is overpriced too, with a 19.99 to 24.95 price point i think these

sets would sell better.
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post #22 of 92
12/14/06 at 9:39pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by bobraleigh
i remember this show fondly from when i watched when i was younger,

i do have a question though, does anyone else here think this set is overpriced?

why does universal price this so high?

i think riptide is overpriced too, with a 19.99 to 24.95 price point i think these sets would sell better.

I had to check. The MSRP is $39.98 according to the guys at TVShowsonDVD.com. What does that usually translate to at B&Ms? $32.99 on release week? I don't know. Maybe this could be a $27.99 release?

Sure, I'd like lower...but it doesn't seem out-of-line compared to other product on the market.
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post #23 of 92
12/15/06 at 8:40am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Sure, I'd like lower...but it doesn't seem out-of-line compared to other product on the market.
It's already on Universal's website for pre-order at $29.99. I don't think the price is out of line at all, although since it was a midseason replacement, it's less episodes (15) than many sets and I haven't seen any extras announced for it. Worth every penny to me, but of course I hope it sells well enough that we'll get the rest of the series.

Hey, at least it's not the $59.99 MSRP that "Quantum Leap" S1 (9 eps) and "Northern Exposure" S1 (8 eps) originally were when they came out....
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post #24 of 92
12/15/06 at 8:53am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

But it will undoubtedly include the pilot, won't it.


Cees
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post #25 of 92
12/15/06 at 9:14am

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cees Alons
But it will undoubtedly include the pilot, won't it.

Cees: I'm not sure...but I assume the 90 minute first episode was the pilot? Here is what Gord Lacey has in his TVShowsonDVD.com report:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gord Lacey
Universal has announced the first season of Alias Smith and Jones, the 1971 comedy/western starring Ben Murphy and Pete Duel. The show ran for 3 seasons, totaling 50 episodes (seasons 1 and 3 were short. The series kicked off with a 90 min episode, followed by 14 regular hour-long episodes:

1. Alias Smith and Jones
2. The McCreedy Bust
3. Exit from Wickenburg
4. Wrong Train to Brimstone
5. The Girl in Boxcar #3
6. The Great Shell Game
7. Return to Devil's Hole
8. A Fistful of Diamonds
9. Stagecoach Seven
10. The Man Who Murdered Himself
11. The Root of It All
12. The Fifth Victim
13. Journey from San Juan
14. Never Trust an Honest Man
15. The Legacy of Charlie O'Rourke

Universal will release this as a 4 disc set (783 mins)
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post #26 of 92
12/15/06 at 12:36pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Oops...I thought this thread was announcing "ALAS SMITH AND JONES," the UK sketch comedy series with Mel Smith and Gryff-Rhys Jones.
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post #27 of 92
12/15/06 at 12:40pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

That name was chosen with a big wink to the Western series. Very funny series, BTW. I'm sure it will come to DVD once too.


Mike,

Yes, that 90 min first episode is "the pilot" in my previous post.


Cees
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post #28 of 92
12/15/06 at 1:48pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

I've received more than a few pissy emails directed at me for listing "Alias Smith and Jones" as "Alas Smith & Jones" on the website, even when there are 13 years separating the premieres of each show.

Gord
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post #29 of 92
12/15/06 at 2:14pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

I have every episode on DVD-R except for the pilot movie and the first episode of the second season, which was 90 minutes and later released as a tv movie entitled THE DAY THEY HUNG KID CURRY. Neither that show nor the pilot were included in syndication. I recorded them all off of satellite from the WESTERNS CHANNEL and think I should probably wait to see the reviews on the first set before I decide to replace my home copies. As far as I know WESTERNS CHANNEL showed them uncut and the prints they used were beautiful.

I had the pleasure of meeting both Ben Murphy and Roger Davis recently and they were just as charming and gregarious as they appear on the series. Poor Roger was in a rather no-win situation, but after watching the entire series again I really think his Heyes is as interesting and accomplished as Duel's was, but forced to make a choice, I would pick Duel as my favorite. At least Roger has a sense of humor about it, adding to his autograph the name: "HANNIBAL HEYES II."
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post #30 of 92
12/15/06 at 4:16pm

Re: Alias Smith and Jones

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gord Lacey
I've received more than a few pissy emails .....

You must excuse those poor guys: the comedy series was aired in the UK.


Cees
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