Naked City (1 Viewer)

[Joe Lugoff]

You guys should have ordered several from both Walmart and Amazon and then cleaned up on eBay -- after selling me one at $25, of course, out of the goodness of your hearts.

 

[Randy Korstick]

I was thinking the same thing Joe. Should have ordered a few. I missed the boat by a day.

 

[davidHartzog]

Received Naked City The Complete Series today from Walmart via UPS for $25 and free s&h. Package in tiptop condition. Good deal.

 

[sessal]

I invite you all to join my new facebook group The 65th Precinct - Fans of "Naked City" (TV Show 1958-63).

This is an informal group for fans of the television series "Naked City" which aired on ABC-TV from 1958 to 1963. A place for general discussion on the series' episodes, cast members, guest stars, filming locations and more.

Click on the link to send me request to join the group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428643450688299/

 

[Jack P]

In the S1 episode "One To Get Lost" freeze your screen when the newspaper headline "Seek Slayer Of Young Model" is shown. This is a hastily reworked version of the fake newspaper front page created for "North By Northwest" which wouldn't be released for another four months because if you look at the photo underneath the sub-headline "Object Of Manhunt" there is Cary Grant plain as day holding the knife from the UN murder scene!

 

[Dan McW]

My Naked City set shipped from Amazon today after I placed the order Oct. 28. I got the set for the $25.48 price plus shipping.

 

[Wvtvguy]

Any more thoughts about the picture quality? My only exposure to the show came from the 40 episode release last year. Those were outstanding!!

 

[bigshot]

I just got mine and watched the first episode. Picture quality is good. The stock footage has a considerable amount of negative damage, but the show itself looks fine. FANTASTIC SET!

 

[davidHartzog]

I watched the episodes on the first disk last night, and thought the picture quality was pretty good. I am very happy with this set, and not just because of the price. The stories and the views of late 50s NYC. are very interesting.

 

[Jack P]

Almost finished with S1. S1 is a very different show from S2-4 and not simply because of the half-hour format (which I have to admit makes for some cramped storytelling at times; some shows like TZ and Gunsmoke were better at a half hour. "Naked City" neede the hour long format from the get-go IMO). There's also the more affectionate father-son type relationship between Franciscus and McIntire that as a result makes Franciscus's grief when McIntire is killed in episode #25 quite effective. I have to admit that once McIntire is gone and Horace McMahon come on board I'm more anxious to get through the rest of S1 and on to the Paul Burke era because there is really no chemistry at all between McMahon and Franciscus (which may also explain why he didn't return) whereas by contrast Burke would play off better with McMahon.

 

[Roy Wall]

Well said, Jack. I'm on Cloud Nine as my DVD Set just came in the mail about 5 minutes ago. Very happy to say the least.

 

[jperez]

Can someone tell me what TZ stands for, as mentioned as one show that, like Gunsmoke, was better in a 30 minute format?

 

[younger1968]

Can someone tell me what TZ stands for, as mentioned as one show that, like Gunsmoke, was better in a 30 minute format?

TZ is short for Twilight Zone!

 

[jperez]

Oh, I see. Sometimes even the more obvious ones are difficult to identify right away.

 

[Jack P]

Finished with S1. The last episode "Wood Of Thorns" is the ultimate case of an episode screaming "budget saver!" as all of it is shot inside a studio set and there are only three characters in the entire piece for what amounts to a talky, stagy kind of episode with a totally unconvicing plot line. And frankly it's a poor episode for Franciscus to go out on as he acts in a totally unprofessional manner to try and force a mob moll to change her testimony and prevent an innocent man from going to the chair. The irony is that I have seen many other shows where this kind of behavior would be depicted as a case of a "coerced confession" if the same means were applied to someone of a different ethnic or cultural background (and the whole change of heart by guest star Cara Williams at the climax rings totally untrue and is pure bad melodrama at its worst). Silliphant clearly was told "we're over budget, so save us some money with a bottle show" and the end result is not one of the finer moments of "Naked City" IMO.

I now plan to delve into S2 by alternating episodes with S1 of "Route 66" and get a feel for how the whole production company was operating at that point in time with "Naked Ciy" giving us New York and "Route 66" the rest of the country.

 

[Wvtvguy]

The impression I'm getting is that the video quality on the first season, while not bad, isn't on par with the other seasons. I can live with that. I'm assuming the episodes that were released in the past on DVD look as good as before?

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I have to admit that once McIntire is gone and Horace McMahon come on board I'm more anxious to get through the rest of S1 and on to the Paul Burke era because there is really no chemistry at all between McMahon and Franciscus (which may also explain why he didn't return) whereas by contrast Burke would play off better with McMahon.

I read somewhere that Franciscus left the show because he wanted to live in California.

 

[Roy Wall]

You guys should have ordered several from both Walmart and Amazon and then cleaned up on eBay -- after selling me one at $25, of course, out of the goodness of your hearts.

It sounds like some of them did.

 

[jim_falconer]

The impression I'm getting is that the video quality on the first season, while not bad, isn't on par with the other seasons. I can live with that. I'm assuming the episodes that were released in the past on DVD look as good as before?

I've now watched the first four discs of season 1, and have been quite happy with the video / audio quality. A minor point is some shows seem less bright then others. But once you get use to the difference in contrast between one show to the next, it's fine. One glaring issue is the last episode on disc 4, entitled "The Sandman". This appears to be the first episode where IMAGE could not locate a decent 35mm or even 16mm print. It was transferred from a low-grade video source, and as such, is very hard to watch. Hopefully that is the only episode culled from such a poor source.

Besides that, it's been pure joy to watch these shows. A real time capsule into how NYC looked some 50+ years ago.

 

[oldtvshowbuff]

I've now watched the first four discs of season 1, and have been quite happy with the video / audio quality. A minor point is some shows seem less bright then others. But once you get use to the difference in contrast between one show to the next, it's fine. One glaring issue is the last episode on disc 4, entitled "The Sandman". This appears to be the first episode where IMAGE could not locate a decent 35mm or even 16mm print. It was transferred from a low-grade video source, and as such, is very hard to watch. Hopefully that is the only episode culled from such a poor source. Besides that, it's been pure joy to watch these shows. A real time capsule into how NYC looked some 50+ years ago.

Just got my set today from Amazon shipped to me via UPS for a total of $31.48. I took a peek at "The Sandman" episode, and it doesn't look much different than a poor quality "Route 66" episode from early season one.