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Naked City (1 Viewer)

stuartfanning

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May 23, 2009
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Stuart Fanning
I am currently watching Season 4 and am not at all surprised that this was the last season. The first 3 seasons were full of good quality realistic stories, while Season 4 is full of light hearted comedic episodes - with the Libby character becoming more prominent. I cannot think why Herbert Leonard let the series degenerate in this way!
 

Jack P

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I think also after three full seasons of still being engaged the whole Adam-Libby relationship was increasingly looking silly. Just have them get married for goodness sake. I also didn't like the change in theme music that final year.
 

Roy Wall

Supporting Actor
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Jun 7, 2005
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Season 4 also had four outstanding classic episodes rivaling season two's best to it's credit, IMO.....and none of these were romantic comedies

Robin Hood and Clarence Darrow, They Went Out With Bow and Arrow

Prime of Life

The Highest of Prizes

On the Battlefront, Every Minute Is Important
 

jperez

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I haven't reaches season 4, but I imagine that a possible explanation for the new emphasis in lighthearted fare could be the effects of the congressional campaign against violence on television, which also affected many westerns of the era. I remember an interview with Laramie's Robert Fuller where he says that, whereas the shootings and deaths were rampant in the first couple of seasons, by the fourth they maybe had a shooting by episode... where one man maybe was hit in the arm. And Laramie was shown from 1959 to 1963, roughly the same time period as Naked City.
 

oldtvshowbuff

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James Beer
I am currently watching Season 4 and am not at all surprised that this was the last season. The first 3 seasons were full of good quality realistic stories, while Season 4 is full of light hearted comedic episodes - with the Libby character becoming more prominent. I cannot think why Herbert Leonard let the series degenerate in this way!
The same way can be said for Route 66 in its final season, particularly its two-part series finale, which was a comedy farce!
 

jperez

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As far as I know, Naked City's ratings were not falling on season 4, and the series cancellation came as a surprise to most of the people involved, so the 'lightening up', if indeed it happened as markedly, didn't come as a possible attempt to save a dying show. On the other hand, Route 66 went completely downhill after Maharis left.
 

hypnohighball

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jperez said:
As far as I know, Naked City's ratings were not falling on season 4, and the series cancellation came as a surprise to most of the people involved, so the 'lightening up', if indeed it happened as markedly, didn't come as a possible attempt to save a dying show. On the other hand, Route 66 went completely downhill after Maharis left.

Like season 4 of Naked City, Route 66 had a handful of killer episodes in it's last season as well, imho.
 

Richard V

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Ian K McLachlan said:
I am delighted with this release and I am wondering if this company might consider releasing The complete original series of The Defenders as well.
A lot of us having been waiting for that. Alas, CBS doesn't seem to have any love for this show, despite its' stellar reputation.
 

oldtvshowbuff

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James Beer
So far, my brother and I have seen 83 out of 138 in the complete series collection. The Face Of The Enemy is next up, and NC ventured into "Rashomon" with a pair of classics "The Sweet Prince of Delancy Street" and "The Fingers of Henri Tourrelle", where murder suspects offer their own versions of the crimes that were committed. Wagon Train also did something like that with "The Cathy Eckhardt Story" and even in more recent years, a sitcom titled "Reba" did the same kind of thing about I believe was a missing dog. I figure we'll finish up NC by the end of February.
 

oldtvshowbuff

Supporting Actor
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James Beer
Wow, "Prime of Life" has to be the most powerful NC episode ever made IMO. Should have been among TV Guide's top 100 episodes of all time, for it packs a wallop about Adam Flint agonizing over witnessing an execution of an inmate he had apprehended some time earlier, Great Stuff.
 

stuartfanning

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Darby67

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Dec 4, 2009
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I just purchased the complete series from Amazon and can't wait for it to arrive. It's a blind buy for me, but after reading the views of fans in this forum, it definitely sounds like the type of show I would enjoy.

Darby
 

Hollywoodaholic

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stuartfanning said:
Just wanted to mention here that Nancy Malone has just died. The last of the stars of Naked City to do so. Linked below is a long interview she did with the Archive of American Television. Once there you can click on 'Shows' then 'Naked City' to here here thoughts on working on the show.

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/nancy-malone

Below the news of her death.

http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/nancy-malone-pioneering-tv-producer-director-studio-exec-dies-at-78-1201176751/
Quite a legacy, and a career. Thanks for posting that.
 

DeWilson

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Having seen episodes with original commercials, I recall Oasis Cigarettes was the major sponsor, I wonder it the cancellation had anything to do with them putting out.
 

oldtvshowbuff

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James Beer
DeWilson said:
Having seen episodes with original commercials, I recall Oasis Cigarettes was the major sponsor, I wonder it the cancellation had anything to do with them putting out.
It was Viceroy cigarettes that sponsored Naked City in the half-hour format. Kentucky Kings and Kool were later cigarette sponsors of the hour-long NC.
 

DeWilson

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oldtvshowbuff said:
It was Viceroy cigarettes that sponsored Naked City in the half-hour format. Kentucky Kings and Kool were later cigarette sponsors of the hour-long NC.
Misremembered :) Watch enough old shows with original commercials,all that tobacco advertising blurs together.
 

Jack P

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Okay, did anyone else going through this series see William Shatner's guest shot in S3 as an Asian with bad wig and Charlie Chan style accent and get through the episode without laughing? I have seen some lame performances by Caucasians as Asians but this one was the absolute worst in a serious dramatic show I've ever seen.
 

Neil Brock

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So I just finished watching the half hours and it looks like The Sandman and Turn of Events seem to be the only episodes that look really bad, like 4th generation VHS dubs. Which sucks but I'll just keep my 16mm film chain masters on those two shows. My question for those deep into the hours, are there any hours that are dodgy looking as well?
 

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