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What did you watch this week in classic TV on DVD(or Blu)? (3 Viewers)

morasp

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Thanks, morasp, for letting me know about that VEI MATT HOUSTON complete series set. I have fond memories of watching the show back in the 80s, but the previous OOP set was way too pricey for my tastes. From what I remember, the show changed format a bit in the second season. Will try and pick this set up soon.


I was on VEI's web site the other day and they are having a 10% off free shipping new year sale. Many of the titles would be a steal, some half of what I paid for them like diagnosis murder. If I'm looking at it right Matt Houston would be $27 or about 40 cents per episode. The picture quality and sound on the episodes I watched was quite good.
 

morasp

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I hope this thread continues, I've picked up a lot of ideas reading other members comments. Here is my list for last week:

Monday

Bewitched 1:8 Witch or Wife Love all of the sixties comedies Bewitched is towards the top of the list.
Emergency 4:1 The Screenwriter I finally purchased the complete series and glad I did, very clean engaging entertainment.
Tuesday
The Adventures of Robin Hood 1:10 Checkmate I really like this 30 minute show from the 50's. I think the copy on Amazon prime was better.
Hart to Hart 3:3 Hartland Express I like all of the male/female crime dramas this episode kept me guessing.
Wednesday
Bordertown 1:10 The Killing This newer 30 minute western is always good very clean and holds your interest
Thursday
Dennis the Menace 1:3 Fishing Trip I am very happy with the picture quality of this set, Dennis always makes me laugh reminds me a little of myself when I was young.
Friday
The Munsters 1:2 Munster Masquerade I enjoyed this episode very much, it's too bad they only made 70 episodes of this.
Star Trek The Next Generation 2:1 The Child I've made Friday night Star Trek night and rotate between the five series. They are very high quality TV.
Saturday
The Odd Couple 1:2 The Fight of the Felix Remember watching this growing up. Felix reminds me a little of Monk
Jag 2:3 Jinx Love this show, I bought all of the seasons individually and it was hard not to buy the complete set at Christmas when it went below $60. This episode was a very good one with lots of scenes with Tomcats, carriers, and pilot lingo.
Sunday
The Three Stooges Collection 1937-1939 Back to the woods I'm so glad they restored these, it's timeless good clean comedy and always fun to watch.
 
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bmasters9

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Jag 2:3 Jinx Love this show, I bought all of the seasons individually and it was hard not to buy the complete set at Christmas when it went below $60. This episode was a very good one with lots of scenes with Tomcats, carriers, and pilot lingo.

You are referring to CBS' condensed all-in-one, aren't you?
 

morasp

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In that case, the one you have is the one I have as well.

It's nice to be able to watch any episode of a show any time you want. I was watching NCIS and decided to watch the back door NCIS pilot that was a two part JAG episode. It was fun to just pull out the season and watched it with my wife. Mark Harmon was sure young back then.
 

BobO'Link

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I finally cracked open my The Dick Van Dyke Show BR I purchased some time back (bargain price too!). Last week I watched season 3. Lots of fun!

I also watched some 1973 and 1976 episodes of The Carol Burnett Show. That's one of only 2 (3?) "variety" shows I ever cared for enough to make time to watch. The others were The Smothers Brother's Comedy Hour and The Flip Wilson Show but, as I recall, TFWS grew old/stale rather fast. All others were of the "nothing better is on" type.
 

Blimpoy06

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The Six Million Dollar Man - "H+2+O=Death"
Early fourth season episode that is built around the core values of the show, science and espionage. Steve goes undercover to convince spy master Omega that the OSI has created a self contained underwater breather that doesn't require oxygen tanks. A double agent is discovered that may, or may not be an ally.Nice change of pace from the silly season three shows about janitors, football players and Sono Bono. Written and directed by John Meredyth Lucas.

Wings - "Business Or Pleasure"
From season 5. Joe needs to impress a potential investor and coaxes Helen to "play nice" , since he has an obvious interest in her. He feels guilty, but doesn't get a chance to talk business. Written by Steven Levitan. Judging by the writing talent involved on this series it should have been a classic. Something never quite gets above OK for most of the series run.

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea - "Day Of Evil"
Does the plot really matter? The ship rocks, sparks fly, the crew is in danger from an unknown alien and Nelson and Crane have evil doubles. Just a typical day for the crew of the Seaview.

Law & Order - "Bailout"
From season 19. A dead woman turns out to be a kidnap victim in an extortion plot. I am really behind watching this show. Past it's prime by this point, but I still wish it was on the air today.

The Immortal - "Sylvia"
First episode aired after the TV movie. It feels like I've missed something. Ben's fiancee from the movie has already met someone, fallen in love and agreed to marry. What happened to Barry Sullivan? A new terminally ill rich industrialist now has Don Knight looking for Ben. A good lawyer and a restraining order would solve most of this series plot points, but I guess the fun is in the chase. I enjoyed Sherry Jackson in her brief appearance. Carol Lynley is easy on the eyes, but can't convey any deep feeling or torment. Not a good fit for the role.
 

Jeff Flugel

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Now that I'm (mostly) on vacation, I have the free time to watch some vintage TV shows. Yay!

Hawaii Five-O "A Thousand Pardons - You're Dead"

Perusing the "Complete Series" thread on this show elsewhere on the forum inspired me to dip back in to the series, in this case, the second series premiere, featuring Harry Guardino as a G.I. murdering prostitutes involved in an insurance scam. The sultry Barbara Luna plays a bar girl who an undercover Danno gets close to during the investigation. The ubiquitous James Hong also shows up. A pretty solid entry in the series, with Jack Lord's McGarrett's verbal fencing with Guardino a highlight. Hard as it might be for others here to believe, I never really watched Hawaii Five-O back when it was on, despite being a massive TV nut growing up in the 70s - so watching it on DVD has been a new experience for me. Knowing that the first few years of it were filmed at the tail-end of the 1960s led me to pick up the first two seasons on DVD a few years back, and I have to say, I'm getting a kick out of the show. All the location filming helps a lot, and Lord oozes cool charisma as McGarrett.


So impressed by Barbara Luna's sexy turn in the above Five-O episode was I, that I took a note out of Jack P's handbook and decided to watch a few more of her appearances on other shows I have in my collection, to wit:

Mike Hammer "So That's Who That Was"

I'm a big Darrin McGavin fan, and quite enjoy this energetic late 50s private eye series, where he gets to play tougher than usual. This one is set in Chinatown and has a pretty impressive guest cast for a low-budget Revue show. Besides Ms. Luna (who gets one scene as a hot secretary who flirts with Mike) we also get brief appearances by a couple of classic Asian-American acting greats, Keye Luke and Anna May Wong.

Ripcord "A Present for Felipe"

I really like most of the ZIV shows I've seen, but I must admit I've had a hard time getting into this one. Being a amateur scuba diver myself, the long scuba scenes in Sea Hunt don't bother me at all, but all the sky diving stuff here drags a bit. Perhaps it's the juxtaposition of the color-drained, virtually B & W skydiving footage mixed with the brighter color of everything else that I find distracting. That said, this was an entertaining enough episode, with Luna switching gears from Asian to Mexican to play a vivacious diamond smuggler that takes our rugged leads, Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis, for a bit of a ride.

The Invaders "Storm"

This is a terrific series overall, but this was not one of the better entries, IMO. The premise is good, but this is an example of one of those episodes where the hero spends most of the story in a drugged and helpless state (not one of my favorite storylines). This sidelines the usually very capable David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) from most of the action. Luckily, the wonderful Joseph Campanella is there to pick up the slack, as a kindly priest being used as a cover by the evil aliens (including Luna), while they plot to wipe out the eastern seaboard with their high-tech hurricane-generating machine.

I finished off my Barbara Luna-thon with...

Tarzan "Mugumba Curse"

I confess to finding this show a bit juvenile and slow sometimes, but Ron Ely makes for a good Lord of the Jungle and it's diverting enough watching him run all over the place (including around bubbling lava pools!) in his bare feet. Luna gets a fairly thankless role here as the damsel in distress who Tarzan must save from a tribal curse by besting slimy con man Simon Oakland, in a sequence of death-defying challenges. Oakland is always a very welcome presence on my TV screen, and enlivens this episode considerably.

I enjoyed this little Luna marathon and think Jack P's method of tracking an actor or actress' career over a variety of TV shows is a worthwhile endeavor - especially as it motivates me to dip into some of the less-visited corners of my TV on DVD collection.
 
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Jack P

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I enjoyed this little Luna marathon and think Jack P's method of tracking an actor or actress' career over a variety of TV shows is a worthwhile endeavor - especially as it motivates me to dip into some of the less-visited corners of my TV on DVD collection.

It is indeed as I've found, often the best excuse to get one to see an episode of a show that's been gathering dust for too long on the shelf. And it really shows off ultimately the foresight into having an extensive collection accumulated over the years so that when the mood strikes you to see the credits of a performer noted only for TV as opposed to movies, you'll often find unexpectedly that you've got a large chunk of their careers already accounted for!
 

Jeff Flugel

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Fun fact for TV nerds. Barbara Luna appeared in the 60's and 80's incarnations of Mission:Impossible.

Yes indeed! In fact, she was in TWO episodes of the original recipe MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, "Elena" from season one and "Time Bomb" from season four. I was planning on watching one of those, as I have the first four seasons of M:I, but didn't get around to it.
 

Jeff Flugel

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It is indeed as I've found, often the best excuse to get one to see an episode of a show that's been gathering dust for too long on the shelf. And it really shows off ultimately the foresight into having an extensive collection accumulated over the years so that when the mood strikes you to see the credits of a performer noted only for TV as opposed to movies, you'll often find unexpectedly that you've got a large chunk of their careers already accounted for!

So true. My TV on DVD collection pales in comparison to some members here, but I was surprised, taking the example of Barbara Luna from above, at just how many episodes she guest starred in over her career that I actually had in my collection. Besides the ones I mentioned, I also have episodes of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, HAVE GUN - WILL TRAVEL, THE UNTOUCHABLES, THE WIDE COUNTRY, BONANZA and CANNON that she appeared in. I'll be sure to try this again soon, with another actor / actress.
 

Jack P

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Watched a couple Six Million Dollar Man episodes from its final season.

"Sharks". The two part season premiere (and a leftover bit of Pamela Hensley business for me!). The show was trying to cash in on "Jaws" (with an episode score that conscientiously riffs on the famous theme when sharks appear) by giving us a tale of a disgruntled ex-Navy man sabotaging a sub so it sinks to the bottom and his daughter (Hensley) is a marine biologist who can control sharks so that way the Navy divers can't get down to the sub to repair it. I'd note that the sub model used in this episode was the same one Universal used for its movie "Gray Lady Down" with Charlton Heston which was also about a sub sunk on the ocean floor though a comparison notes that while the model is the same SMDM didn't use any F/X shots from the movie (the movie had been shot in early 77, but was held back from release until the middle of 1978 and thus wasn't out at the time SMDM aired). The episode was more about build-up than good dramatic resolution which it has to be said is true of most SMDM episodes where everything is shoehorned around a gimmick of what stunt can Steve Austin do this week and this time it has him battling sharks and even pushing a stuck submarine all by himself!

"Killer Wind." Here we get an episode that shows how lax the standards of believability were becoming in the late 70s. We've got a tornado approaching a small town and Steve and Rudy have to put their plane down near where the tornado is approaching and Rudy gets hurt getting out of the plane, and meanwhile there's a group of bankrobbers who took advantage of the crisis to rob the bank figuring the cops would be too busy......

The thing that's so ridiculous about this episode isn't the death-defying feats Steve Austin performs its how the writer of this episode clearly doesn't know the first thing about a tornado, in which he seems to think a tornado is a dry-land hurricane that approaches towns over hours of buildup and can be tracked (and at one point Rudy refers to the "eye of the twister") and thus the surrounding lands are filled with ominous howling wind as we wait for this to happen. That isn't what a tornado is or does! "The Wizard Of Oz" tornado had more believability!
 

Bert Greene

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Watched a couple Six Million Dollar Man episodes from its final season.


The thing that's so ridiculous about this episode isn't the death-defying feats Steve Austin performs its how the writer of this episode clearly doesn't know the first thing about a tornado, in which he seems to think a tornado is a dry-land hurricane that approaches towns over hours of buildup and can be tracked (and at one point Rudy refers to the "eye of the twister") and thus the surrounding lands are filled with ominous howling wind as we wait for this to happen. That isn't what a tornado is or does! "The Wizard Of Oz" tornado had more believability!

Yeah, I remember that weird illogic about tornados from that "Six Million Dollar Man" episode. I like to think I can maintain decent levels of "suspension of disbelief," but things like this are so bad that they can completely undermine an episode. There was also a very similar situation regarding a tornado in an episode of "Sugarfoot" that was just as exasperating.
 

morasp

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Now that I'm (mostly) on vacation, I have the free time to watch some vintage TV shows. Yay!

Hawaii Five-O "A Thousand Pardons - You're Dead"

Perusing the "Complete Series" thread on this show elsewhere on the forum inspired me to dip back in to the series, in this case, the second series premiere, featuring Harry Guardino as a G.I. murdering prostitutes involved in an insurance scam. The sultry Barbara Luna plays a bar girl who an undercover Danno gets close to during the investigation. The ubiquitous James Hong also shows up. A pretty solid entry in the series, with Jack Lord's McGarrett's verbal fencing with Guardino a highlight. Hard as it might be for others here to believe, I never really watched Hawaii Five-O back when it was on, despite being a massive TV nut growing up in the 70s - so watching it on DVD has been a new experience for me. Knowing that the first few years of it were filmed at the tail-end of the 1960s led me to pick up the first two seasons on DVD a few years back, and I have to say, I'm getting a kick out of the show. All the location filming helps a lot, and Lord oozes cool charisma as McGarrett.


So impressed by Barbara Luna's sexy turn in the above Five-O episode was I, that I took a note out of Jack P's handbook and decided to watch a few more of her appearances on other shows I have in my collection, to wit:

Mike Hammer "So That's Who That Was"

I'm a big Darrin McGavin fan, and quite enjoy this energetic late 50s private eye series, where he gets to play tougher than usual. This one is set in Chinatown and has a pretty impressive guest cast for a low-budget Revue show. Besides Ms. Luna (who gets one scene as a hot secretary who flirts with Mike) we also get brief appearances by a couple of classic Asian-American acting greats, Keye Luke and Anna May Wong.

Ripcord "A Present for Felipe"

I really like most of the ZIV shows I've seen, but I must admit I've had a hard time getting into this one. Being a amateur scuba diver myself, the long scuba scenes in Sea Hunt don't bother me at all, but all the sky diving stuff here drags a bit. Perhaps it's the juxtaposition of the color-drained, virtually B & W skydiving footage mixed with the brighter color of everything else that I find distracting. That said, this was an entertaining enough episode, with Luna switching gears from Asian to Mexican to play a vivacious diamond smuggler that takes our rugged leads, Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis, for a bit of a ride.

The Invaders "Storm"

This is a terrific series overall, but this was not one of the better entries, IMO. The premise is good, but this is an example of one of those episodes where the hero spends most of the story in a drugged and helpless state (not one of my favorite storylines). This sidelines the usually very capable David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) from most of the action. Luckily, the wonderful Joseph Campanella is there to pick up the slack, as a kindly priest being used as a cover by the evil aliens (including Luna), while they plot to wipe out the eastern seaboard with their high-tech hurricane-generating machine.

I finished off my Barbara Luna-thon with...

Tarzan "Mugumba Curse"

I confess to finding this show a bit juvenile and slow sometimes, but Ron Ely makes for a good Lord of the Jungle and it's diverting enough watching him run all over the place (including around bubbling lava pools!) in his bare feet. Luna gets a fairly thankless role here as the damsel in distress who Tarzan must save from a tribal curse by besting slimy con man Simon Oakland, in a sequence of death-defying challenges. Oakland is always a very welcome presence on my TV screen, and enlivens this episode considerably.

I enjoyed this little Luna marathon and think Jack P's method of tracking an actor or actress' career over a variety of TV shows is a worthwhile endeavor - especially as it motivates me to dip into some of the less-visited corners of my TV on DVD collection.

Great list, I'm not familiar with the Invaders would you recommend it?
 

Jeff Flugel

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Great list, I'm not familiar with the Invaders would you recommend it?

Oh, yes, a very high recommendation from me. The show is a very sober, well-made sci-fi drama with a strong sense of 60s paranoia (kind of like THE FUGITIVE with aliens). If you like classic Quinn-Martin TV shows and science fiction, I think you'll dig it. It has NO sense of humor whatsoever, though...deadly serious through and through, which fits the show perfectly. It's not a show that I personally like to binge watch, but watched once a week or once a month, it hits that sweet spot for me.

Here's a very good HTF review of the first season:

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...nvaders-the-first-season.268843/#post-3268287

There are a few discussions of the show on older threads, such as this one (though it does ramble off topic a bit):

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/the-invaders-seasons-1-and-2.279139/#post-3412268
 
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The Obsolete Man

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Well, I finished up The Nanny this week. Quick review... seasons 1-3: magnificent. A nice, screwball, I Love Lucy-like sitcom. Seasons 4-5... still decent, but it tipped a bit too far into the romance angle at times. Season 6? Good god, enough with the baby rabies already. And they attempted to add a bit too much drama in. But when it wasn't all about babies, there were still some great moments.

Anyway, after some digging through my still-boxed collection, and a bit of thought, I've pulled out a series I've had sitting around since it was actually affordable to buy, and finally decided to watch... Moonlighting.

Pilot was good, episode 2 was interesting enough for me to keep going. This really isn't the Bruce Willis I've come to know and expect in the last 20-some years.
 
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