The Big Valley Season One (1 Viewer)

[Duane Alford]

I got a Panasonic, it has where you can put a VCR tape on one side and record it to DVD on the other. It was close to $300, but has come down some since it came out. I've got tons of tapes I need to put on disc. Now if only I can find the time.
Since were on the topic of Westerns, all we need now are Alias Smith & Jones, The Rifleman in season sets, and the last 2 seasons of Wanted Dead or Alive.

 

[michael_ks]

Well, we need alot more than that, but those are good choices for starters. "The Rifleman" almost certainly will not be released in season sets any time soon, but I feel confident that MPI will release the remaining 48 episodes (following the announcement of box set 6 in July). I'm concerned about "Wanted", it's been too long since the release of S1. I'm hoping that seasons 4-6 of "Have Gun Will Travel" are on track and I'm pleased about the upcoming release for "Rawhide". Other westerns topping my want list are "The Loner", "Trackdown" and "The Rebel".

On the subject of "The Big Valley", I'm not really big on the soap opera westerns, which is why I steer completely away from fluff like "Bonanza". I've seen a few, was not overly fond of the show and I recall the dreaded "Deefendorfer" episode featuring Marty Allen as an utter klutz, so I'm kind of on the fence on this release. Unusual for me in that:

1. It's 1965.
2. It's a western.
3. Great music by George Duning, Mullendore and others.

Normally, I'd be there. What do others think of the transfer quality? Gary, Dave? I read a couple poor reviews regarding soft images, blemishes, etc.

 

[Bob Hug]

I just picked this up last evening at Wal-Mart for $19.96 (thanks for the tip, guys) and watched episode 1 last evening. It looked pretty solid to me. The review over at DVDTalk.com was pretty glowing . . .

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=21628

 

[Dave Scarpa]

There are some Dirt and scratches but the image looks generally good for a TV Show of this age.

 

[michael_ks]

Bob, Dave--thanks, the review made a believer out of me. Researching further on tv.com I realized that "Under a Dark Star" with Albert Salmi as wrongly convicted Keeno Nash appears in this season! It's a superb performance by him and he should have won an emmy for his role.

Many of my favorite actors appear in S1, including:

Malachi Throne
John Anderson
Ken Lynch
Jason Evers
Ford Rainey
R.G. Armstrong
Charles Bronson
Warren Oates
Paul Fix
Diane Baker
Martin Landau
Warren Stevens
Morgan Woodward
Steve Ihnat
Royal Dano
Harold J. Stone

So it's off to feed the 'Evil Empire'.

 

[Roger_S]

I wasn't sure I would be getting this but if I can find it at that price at my own local Wal-Mart, I may just go for it. Considering Miss Stanwyck's illustrious movie career, however, I'm not sure I'd agree this was the high point of her career.

 

[michael_ks]

It most assuredly was not. We need look no further than "Sorry, Wrong Number" and "Double Indemnity" to find evidence to the contrary.

 

[Charles Ellis]

On the other hand, it had a successful run and won her some Emmys, keeping her in the spolight in a good way whereas most of her contemporaries were either forced into retirement or into substandard material- could you see Miss Stanwyck in "Trog" like her pal Joan Crawford? I think not.

 

[Roger_S]

If I recall correctly, Miss Stanwyck did win 3 Emmy Awards...with one of them being for this series. I think the others were for an earlier series she starred in (The Barbara Stanwyck Show) and for The Thorn Birds. I'm certainly not trying to belittle her work on The Big Valley...she was obviously very good in it...but I feel her earlier movie work was better yet.

 

[Jeff Willis]

I just finished watching one of the eps from Disk 1 to check the xfr quality. It looks good for a '65 season 1 series. Can't complain. I'd rate the xfr a "3" on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being near-perfect (the series' "Time Tunnel" and "Twilight Zone Def Edition" come to mind for a "1" 60's xfr). Speaking of Barbara S., I guess I'm in the minority. I thought this was one of her best roles. I also have "Double Indemnity" on DVD. Great performance, but the part in B.V. was made for her, IMO.

 

[GlennH]

Haven't watched an episode of this in a long time, but I still remember the narrator saying "Victoria Barkley .... a woman of backbone and bite."

 

[Doug Wallen]

Thanks for the tip OP. Found this at my Wal-Mart for $19.96. Picked it up at lunch today. Gonna start this after I finish Hill St. Blues - Season 2.

 

[michael_ks]

Finally found a Wal-Mart stocking BV at the $19.96 price. Considering that in the past I've paid well over $2 for hour length shows of other DVD releases, 67 cents per episode in this case is one of the greatest bargains I've come across. By comparison my sets for "Have Gun Will Travel" comes in at around 85 cents per HALF hour with "Rifleman" doubled at $1.80 per show.

 

[Bob Hug]

I wonder how Tower and Wal-Mart were able to sell BV at $20, when even DeepDiscountDVD and Amazon have it for about $28, which is what you normally expect to pay for a new release that retails at $40. The set is “no frills,” but the transfers are good. Message to the studios . . . keep putting out classic TV sets attractively priced liked “The Big Valley” and you won’t have any problems selling them. I was a little on the fence on this one, but the price made it a no-brainer. Anytime that I can get good transfers of a full season of classic/vintage TV on DVD for $20 or less, you have my undivided attention.

 

[michael_ks]

Couldn't have said it better myself. That's why when Sgt. Preston S2 comes out ($15.13 at DDD) I'll be waiting for it. Never seen the show, but hey, it's 50's era tv, in color, solid transfers (S1), dignified actor in main role and wholesame family entertainment. What's not to like?

 

[michael_ks]

Couldn't have said it better myself. That's why when Sgt. Preston S2 comes out in July ($15.13 at DDD) I'll be waiting for it. Never seen the show, but hey, it's 50's era tv, in color, solid transfers (seen in S1), dignified actor in main role and wholesame family entertainment. What's not to like?

 

[MattHR]

My guess would be they based their selling price on the (incorrect) notion that the set's regular SRP was $30 -- and not the correct SRP of $40.

Their $20 selling price would better reflect their discounting trends -- if the set had retailed for $30. The fact that Wal-mart's "everyday" price is only $19.96 (50% off!) leads me to believe it's an error in their pricing. There really is no reason to heavily discount a relatively obscure title like this. The heavy discounts are typically reserved for very high-profile and competitive titles.

 

[Jeff#]

One of Barbara's last Emmys was for The Thorn Birds miniseries in the 1980s.

I'm about to download and listen to an Mp3 of her guest appearance on The Jack Benny Program, which first aired on January 7, 1940!

 

[Michael Alden]

Unfortunately on any of those dual machines, the VHS player part is akin to a $59 POS that you would buy as a bottom of the line stand alone unit. The playback it gives you is pretty piss poor. Myself and my friends who are doing serious transferring are using JVC SVHS machines with built in time base correctors. These units improve the picture quality on the videotapes by at least 50%, if not more.

 

[Bert Greene]

Well, I've just about made it through this set (only 5 more episodes to go), and I've enjoyed it a great deal. That's a funny thing about dvd's. I've often found myself vastly enjoying series I often thought of as second-stringers. "Big Valley" was always that way with me. It's been a pretty common staple on cable channels for the past two decades, and I guess I took it for granted... watching a few examples here or there, but never particularly going out of my way to catch it. Yet, with dvd's you have complete, uncut episodes, without discordant interference from obnoxious commercials, and the resulting viewing experience is improved tenfold. I've noticed this time and time again ("That Girl" is another example, which I'm viewing concurrently). Anyway, this set turned out to be well worth getting, although I'm one of the unfortunates who grabbed it elsewhere, before reading here of Wal-Mart's ultra-cheap price.