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It may sound like a gimmick--The Greatest '70s Cop Shows is a compilation of first episodes from Starsky and Hutch, Police Woman, S.W.A.T., The Rookies, and Charlie's Angels--but this DVD anthology really opens one's eyes to the look and feel of dramatic television during the so-called Me Decade. Except for Angels, which never wavered from its self-mocking, glossy action/stiff exposition playbook, these cop-program debuts (four of them from Aaron Spelling) import much of their fluid camera movement, multiple points-of-view, and dynamic, often wordless storytelling from the era's rough-and-tumble action movies (e.g., The French Connection). Which is to say these shows may be dumb but not necessarily cheesy (except Angels' post-modern cheese). There is a lot to admire about the opening ambush in S.W.A.T.'s "The Killing Ground," the hard-boiled camaraderie of Police Woman's "The End Game," and especially the reckless physicality and ironic jokes of Starsky and Hutch's "Savage Sunday." --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (5)

OH.....JUST SHOOT ME!!
It was just GREAT having the chance to own this DVD ! I am a big fan of America's Cop Shows and this item was really a "must -have".I just wish they could release more episodes of "The Police Woman" and "The Rookies" ( with Kate Jackson!!!), which are very interesting and which I had never watched before due to they had never been aired here in Brazil."The Angels" are "foxy" as always and you also get a chance to watch "Starski & Hutch" in the same package.

More Angie, please...!
"Starsky & Hutch" were entertainingly silly for a couple of years, as were "Charlie's Angels", and "The Rookies" looks earnest but dated and tad naive. "SWAT" is essentially a shoot-em-up with few characters you get to know at all.

Interestingly, the one out of the five (and the one NOT produced by Aaron Spelling) that is easliy the most legitimate cop drama is "Police Woman" with Angie Dickinson--- it feels like a damn movie... something the other four certainly do not.

Funny how memories have written-off this series as a single, older version of a Charlie's Angel who still has her badge but does nothing else but turn "tricks", when, in fact, "Police Woman" seems to be the most sophisticated of the lot; it's aged beautifully.

Instead of packaging this mismatch of fun but otherwise unconnected 70s cop-show memories, let's see a DVD release of at LEAST "Police Woman"s first season, as I seem to remember it was the best year of the show--- and certainly quite removed from the other more comic-strip, though watchable, entries.

Back when TV was great
Let me tell you, I LOVE this dvd. I have been waiting for these shows to be released on dvd format for a long time. You get the first episodes of 5 classic 70's cop shows.

1. Charlies Angels
2. The Rookies
3. Starsky and Hutch
4. Swat
5. Police Woman

I love all these shows, but I espacially love Police Woman and Starsky and Hutch. I grew up watching these shows, and there is not a cop show today that can hold a candle to these shows. I have some Charlie's Angels on dvd, and Starsky and Hutch on VHS from Columbia House, but I have missed watching Police Woman in over 25 years. I had a serious crush on Angie Dickinson back in the day. This is a great dvd of classic tv, when tv was entertaining, not all this reality crap that is on now. I just hope they realease more Police Woman and Starsky and Hutch on dvd. Its well worth the price and then some. Get it....

This Is The One I Been Waiting For!!!
I am so glad they are bring out those old cop shows out on DVD. I remember watching those shows like Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch,S.W.A.T, The Rookies and Police Woman back then when I was a child in the 70's. I also watched those shows when they were on TVLand til they took all the cop shows off on TVLand. I brought the DVD and I have too tell you this is the best DVD ever!!! My favorite ones on there are S.W.A.T and Charlie's Angels. You Must Buy this DVD to enjoy!!

Great fun!
If like me, you're a fan of '70s pop culture...you'll want to add this DVD to your collection. Sure, you'll read reviews that refer to the "cheesiness" factor. Forget all that. I hate the word "cheesy." It assumes that everything that's current and hip will always be cool and in fashion. How short-sighted. But I digress. Watching "The Greatest '70s Cop Shows" brought me back to a time when TV was truly exciting. You get the following first episodes:

"Starsky & Huch" - "Savage Sunday"
"Charlie's Angels" - "Hellride"
"The Rookies" - "Concrete Valley, Neon Sky"
"S.W.A.T." - "The Killing Ground"
"Police Woman" - "The End Game"

My favorite out of this bunch is the "Police Woman" episode. I had not seen that show in at least 25 years and it holds up very well. Angie Dickinson is extremely sexy, sensitive, feminine and tough. What an awesome, groundbreaking show.

The sound on the disc is terrific, the picture is probably the best we're going to get...and the price is right. Never mind those big-budget theatrical versions of these shows...they don't hold a candle to the originals. Buy this and go back to the groovy '70s. You'll have a great time! ... Read more

Description

Once upon a time, Jill, Sabrina and Kelly were police officers whose skills were being wasted in menial duties such as answering phones and filing. A mysterious millionaire named Charles Townsend took them away from all that by having them work for his private detective agency. Starring Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, David Doyle. 250 minutes.ANGELS IN CHAINS The Angels discover that the sheriff, prison authorities and the local County Manager are partners in an extortion-murder scheme in which wealthy young women are arrested and virtually enslaved as prostitutes until they sign over all their assets in exchange for an "early release" and then are killed. THE SEANCE The Angels are called in when rich widows and widowers are hypnotized into thinking their deceased spouses still manage their business affairs from the "other side." DANCING IN THE DARK Lured by a gigolo, wealthy women studying ballroom dancing are blackmailed for all they're worth. CONSENTING ADULTS A computer dating service, fronting for prostitutes and their robber accomplices, starts an underworld war by stealing hot diamonds from a syndicate courier. HELLRIDE Sabrina becomes a race car driver while Kelly, Jill and Bosley assume unusual disguises to learn why a pretty woman driver lost control of her car and died in a flaming wreck. They discover a conspiracy that extends far beyond the track. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Talent
I've seen most of the 1st 2 seasons and some of 3 and 4.
I saw seance for the 1st time the other week and thought it was really well done and a great performance by Jaclyn Smith.

A Fun Blast From The Past
When these shows first came out, I was eleven years old. I really didn't get a chance to see much of this first season when it ran in 1976, but I knew all about the three women who were the Angels thanks to tons of magazine coverage. The show was a phenomenom. Everybody had the Farrah poster!

Jump to today. This set is a very nice, complete view of season 1 (the only season Farrah was on the show). It includes the pilot and 22 episodes. Some are good and hold up with time. A couple are clinkers. But, the sound and video reproduction are good and it is easy to see why everyone was so spellbound by the show - Kate, Farrah and Jackelyn were stunning. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It is a sordid fact of life that were it not for Robert Blake's newfound infamy as an accused wife murderer, Baretta, which lasted three seasons beginning in 1975, might have been relegated to late nights in TV land. But as they say in Hollywood, there's no such thing as bad publicity. So for those who do not want to invest in the Season One boxed set, here are three episodes from this offbeat cop series' first season, including the atypically gritty and brutal pilot, in which funky undercover cop Anthony Baretta goes after his girlfriend's killer, and speaks those grimly prophetic words: "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." As these episodes testify, Baretta is more than a newly minted sick joke. The randy, rule-bending Baretta was a cop like no other on TV. And, as Tony was fond of saying, you can take that to the bank. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (2)

WHY BUY THIS???
I give this two star, ONLY BECAUSE....and I mean this....WHY BUY THIS DVD SET WHEN THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON HAS THESE SAME EPISODES? I give the FIRST SEASON DVD SET about 10 stars, because I love watching Baretta. It brings back some great memories. Truly just "one" of the best shows from the seventies. So any fan of this show would know, why waste the money. I'm not sure why the companies do this. JUST PUT OUT THE OTHER SEASONS. Then we'll be happy.

I LOVE BARETTA
I watched aLL THE bARETTA SHOWS AND I just love him and still do. THis episode is one of the hottest.Only robert blake can come across as he does for I BELIEVE a little of it is part of him....he is just great!!! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Fantastic DVD release
CHARLIE'S ANGELS gets a wonderful DVD release with perfect picture and two choice episodes.

Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson star in two stories from the memorable first season; "Night Of The Strangler" and "To Kill An Angel". The only main qualm is the lack of chapters in the episodes.

Also included is the entertaining "Angels Forever" retrospective featurette which quizzes fans of the show as well as providing footage from the show and details from later cast members including Cheryl Ladd and Tanya Roberts.

Pretty impressive DVD package all-round!

The Angels are back !!!!!!!
This two-part special edition is definitely a collector's item especially for those die-hard "Charlie's Angels" fans.It features Jaclyn Smith, who deserves the recognition as the "most angelic of them all," and two of the best episodes of the series. We're not talking award-winning stuff in this dvd issue but an outstanding entertainment to "visit" the undisputed queens of the 70s television.

The episode "Night of the Strangler" shows why Jaclyn Smith lasted so long in the series. Her looks and style are timeless plus that scene in her famous white bikini is a must to see. Of course, Kate Jackson and Farrah Fawcett are on hand to complete the trio.

For the episode "To Kill An Angel," new fans will be surprise that the show is not just pure bikini's and guns. It showcases also the dramatic sides of the trio.

The cover alone is worth the trip, so buy it now and collect! A must!

Charlie how do you your Angels get down
OMG, please tell me this is the first of many more to come, Having the Angels on DVD is way fun. One mishap though, NO SCENE SELECTION. But it makes up for that with the Angel Featurette and the digitally enhanced audio and video.

CHARLIE,S ANGELS
WONDEFUL lots of added features and Angels Forever is highlights from alot of the shows.This is a must for any Charlie,s Angels fan. Columbia and Tristar have done a GREAT job. Hope they come out with more. Charlie would give them all a week off with pay ,for a job well done.

Contains an Exclusive Featurette! Must Have For Angel Fans
Just finished viewing The DVD and in addition to the Two Classic epiodes mentioned in the description, the DVD also has an Exclusive Featurette Titled "Angels Forever"! This 20 Minute Documentary tells of The Impact that Charlies Angels has had on Various Fans and includes Vintage Scenes from The Series from The Farrah Year until the Tanya Roberts Last Year! The Special Feature Contains Hilarious Montages made of vintage scenes from the series! It made me realise why I loved Charlies Angels so much as a Kid and Love it even more now as an adult! The Show was Pure Fun and Escapism an I really missed those days when I would eagerly await every Wed Night for a New Angel Episode and to see what the Angels were Wearing(and in many cases not wearing). Hey for a 13 year old, seeing Farrah Fawcett's Nipples was a Big Deal(probably would not even be talked about today). If your an Angel Fan, you really need this DVD. I hope they release more episodes on DVD! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Your mission: get the studio to release this great series!
The original Mission Impossible is the most innovative, intelligent T.V. series ever produced. It is the only one of the 60s t.v./movie spy series that is not spoofish. It is about an incredibly cool and professional Intelligence team deployed to perform missions that are -- well, impossible. The amazing gadgetry is employed so imaginatively that it seemed plausible, notwithstanding that much of the stuff is still, forty years later, technologically unattainable. James Bond and MacGyver are amateurs compared to the I.M.F. team. Even more fascinating than the gadgets themselves is the way the team operatives interacted like parts in a well-synchronized machine. The cast was wonderful, but no single individual was the star and no one character dominated. All the roles were straight and serious and the characters performed their job each week with dispassionate, clinical efficiency. This all lent such a degree of verisimilitude that actual C.I.A. and F.B.I. agents reportedly watched the show and took notes.

The plots are so intricate that you must pay attention. If you zone out even for a moment, you'll be confused and hopelessly lost. This show is not amenable to the casual watcher or one who suffers from a short attention span.

This is the one t.v. series that MUST be released on DVD. If you have never seen it (forget the Tom Cruise movie) you owe it to yourself to experience it. Therefore, your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to convince the studio to produce this DVD. If they don't think that there is enough interest, they won't make it. So please give Amazon your e-mail address to notify you when the DVD will be out. They will inform the studio how many people have inquired about it.

Excellent series, much better than the later movie copies
This series was innovative and excellent during the earlier years.After Martin Landau and Barbara Bain left the series, the female substitutes were not as good as Bain and although Leonard Nimoy was good, he was not as good as Landau (who has since won one Academy Award and been nominated a few other times).Steven Hill (recently of Law & Order) played the leader Mr. Briggs the first season; Peter Graves (brother to James Arness) played Mr. Phelps beginning in season two.
As an aside, Peter Breck was one of Barbara Stanwyck's sons in the Big Valley, and was not a regular on Mission Impossible.
For anyone interested in accurate details of TV shows, a good reference is "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present."
I consider this TV series so good that it is one of the few series that I want in DVD format (VHS tapes just don't last).The review is based on the complete set of IM tapes that have Bain and Landau on them.

Mission Impossible
I'm 58 years old.This is the only place I could find
to submit a review.

The original TV series of the 1960's is not to be
confused with anything that came after.

Starring Peter Breck (bother of James Arness of
Gunsmoke), Barbara Baines, Martin Landau (husband
of Barbara Baines), and Greg Morris, each week's
episode started out with Breck being contacted by some
unknown department of the Executive Branch concerning
a problem no one else could solve.

The recording always started out with the famous line,
"Good Morning, Mr. Phelps,"and from there presented
the problem (a great help for the viewing audience).
It invariable wound up, "...and as usual, if you or any
of your IMF are caught, the Secretary will disavow any
knowlege of your actions This recording will self-destruct
within ? seconds".And it always did, except that the
setting and the recording machine was always different
each week.

So, the IMF was off to the races, and with that they overcame
the most unimaginable situations using the ultimate high
technology, much of which doesn't even exist today.And
while the plots were usually quite intricate, the sceenplay
writers made them easy to follow.

I'm eagerly awaiting a complete DVD set for this series.
It will certainly take me back to my college years.

To sum it all up, the series was absolutely intriguing,
not to mention highly imaginative.Rather than just
a sci-fi series, the interaction between the players was
very real, as well as quite gripping.


Michel Martin
michel_91941@yahoo.com
... Read more