Dragnet 1967 - Season 1
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Movie Reviews of Dragnet 1967 - Season 1
Movie Review: Good release, but should have been great
Summary: 3 Stars
Disclaimer: I'm the author of "My Name's Friday: The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and the Films of Jack Webb."
Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business. This was a good set (although I needed to exchange it once due to freezing and skipping issues). It's great to see these classic episodes uncut and with good color contrast. (The series was originally released in Eastmancolor, which tends to turn pink over the years.) These 17 episodes were far and away the best of "Dragnet's" late-sixties revival. There's plenty of location shooting, a lot of great dramatic shots and dialogue, and the show hadn't yet become the "warm and fuzzy LAPD" propaganda machine that it did during its final two seasons. Say what you will about Jack Webb - when he wasn't bored, he did some incredibly imaginative and gripping television. "The Big Interrogation" is a landmark. Everyone remembers Friday's "What is a Cop?" speech (which was read into the congressional record by both Republicans and Democrats), but the whole episode is stunning: from the absence of music to Kent McCord's star-making tour de force as the accused cop.
The purist in me was annoyed by the constant repetition of the new Universal logo at the start of EVERY episode, and the absence of the old logo, but c'est la vie: Universal is no longer owned by MCA, so there's no point in publicizing it.
Now for the nitpicking. Universal is now owned by NBC, the network that originally had "Dragnet" beginning in 1949, and somebody there should have had a longer memory. "Dragnet" was the network's #1 show for most of the early 1950's. One radio episode does not special content make; not in this day and age. In fact, the episode is the SAME one that appears on a new Radio Spirits box set: Larry King's Favorite Classic Radio Shows. Seems to me no one - not Universal, not Radio Spirits - had to put any effort into adding this one less-than-stellar "Dragnet" episode to the package.
Universal DOES hold the original negatives to the b&w "Dragnet" of 1952-59, and although many of those episodes have lapsed into public domain, a sizeable number (105) have not. Among those that are still Universal's intellectual property is "The Big Bible" (1954), which was the original version of "The Big Bullet" - the final episode in this set. It would have been really nice to have the older one as an extra, if only to compare how each was filmed (and to see a pre-"Gunsmoke" Dennis Weaver as the Crime Lab's Sgt. Jay Allen). It's not as if there wasn't enough room on disc two!
So, NBC-Universal, how about a little more love and attention for the "Dragnet 1968" set? Will you include both versions of "The Christmas Story", and will the 1953 one be in color, as it was originally filmed? Will you include "The Big Constitution" (1957), the original version of "The Big Departure"? And down the road, how about adding some of the 1950's shows that feature icons like Lee Marvin, Leonard Nimoy, Morey Amsterdam, Robert Vaughn? You guys paid Jack Webb $5 million for the rights to all those episodes back in 1953 (the equivalent of $34.8 million today); why are they sitting in the vaults?
Include some as extras in the next release, and maybe you'll see the kind of sales that Warner Bros. gets for its series box sets.
Movie Review: Great shows, lousy packaging
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm happy to finally have the color episodes available on DVD - especially if they make good with the entire run. But this thing is ridiculously overpriced. Season one has only 17 episodes (compared to 29-30 episodes for each following season) and this set breaks them up into 14 eps on disc one and 3 eps on disc two (?????). The bonus disc contains one measily episode of the old radio show and nothing else. Dragnet radio episodes are public domain, you can get them by the hundreds on eBay for under $20. They couldn't come up with anything else to justify the price tag of this thing? No commentary? No interviews? Where's the Dragnet '66 film?
I'd still recommend securing these great episodes on DVD (Blue Boy is worth it, gang) but order it used.
But I might add: Viewers should be aware that this DVD features copy protection encoding, meaning that it cannot be copied to another DVD or VHS cassette for further viewing. This technology is very popular with the copyright holders of various entertainment media, desperate as they are to preserve their dwindling profits in a digital age where making copies of movies, music and other media properties is easier than ever. In effect, what these media companies are trying to tell us is that They, and They alone will set the conditions under which their product will be consumed. You will either purchase or rent this product in the format they provide or you will not partake of it at all. You will not make a copy to view at a later date or give to your neighbor. You will not transfer the media to a more desirable format. You will not edit any part of the program to suit your tastes.
If you agree that consumers should only enjoy the world of art, music, news, history and cinema under the strict conditions set by media giants, then by all means, purchase this DVD. But be aware that, in doing so, you are supporting these media barons in their belief that the short-term profits of a corporation outweigh individual freedoms. You are agreeing with them that civilization's creative achievements are entirely Their property. Forever. And only they will decide what you will and will not do with your own purchases.
Today they say you cannot make a personal copy. Tomorrow they will say you cannot have it at all.
Movie Review: I really like this set, 3 Stars
I'm a really big fan of Jack Webb and his work. This DVD set is well worth having if you like Mr. Webb and love his kind of shows like Adam -12, Emergency etc. I grew up with these shows. But there are a couple of things that I feel I should mention.1. The price for 17 episodes and the only extra being a radio show is really too much! As mentioned by another reviewer, get a used copy if you can.
2. At the start of every episode ( every single one! ), there is a 20 to 30 second Universal Pictures introduction, like we are going to forget who released this set! It's the same introduction as they have on their feature films. Once is nice, but at the start of all 17 episodes is a little too much...
That said and done. I would also like to mention that the quality of the video and sound is extremely good. For as old as this show is, it could have been worse. The menus are easy to navigate through. Some behind the scenes extras would have been nice, but who knows if they even exist. Some commentary by Harry Morgan ( God bless him! ) would have been excellent!
The people who mentioned that the disks would not play on their DVD players. I have a possible solution. Older players, over three to five years old seem to have problems playing the newer DVD disks, why this is, I'm not sure. It may have something to do with the copy guards that some companies are useing to stop disk piracy. I think I saw a logo on the box saying this set has been copy guarded. I have a DVD player I bought back in 2001 and it won't play some disks that I have bought recently. My newer player, bought last year, so far has not had this problem. Please keep in mind that this is just a guess on my part.
I do hope that they will release the rest of this series ( 4 more seasons ), I almost hate to think what the price for a full season will be from now on. But being a fan of the show, I will definitely get them, but I probably will be hunting around for the best price. Incidentally, I bought my set for $27.99 at Best Buys. I bought another season set from another series I'm collecting and the cash register automatically dropped the price $5.00 on each set when the cashier rang up my purchase!! Saving $10.00 was an unexpected gift!!
Movie Review: Here Are The Facts, Ma'am!
Summary: 3 Stars
Well,
After years of waiting, and countless bad purchases of the old black and white Dragnet episodes (some of which are so badly licensed, they aren't even allowed to use the original theme music!) Universal has finally released my favorite incarnation of this terrific show. I have always preferred the Harry Morgan era Dragnet. Jack Webb is always good, but Harry Morgan as Bill Gannon, his sick kick, offers Joe Friday a bit more comic relief, and not over doing it. Joe Friday's quick no-nonsense pace is perfectly blended with the quick wit and warm demeanor of Bill Gannon... it's just the right balance to make this 60s era Dragnet perfect! My favorite '67 show, "The Blue Boy" episode, is even historically neat to watch as it deals with (although in a slightly silly way) LSD, and how it fist hit the drug scene. At the start of the episode, LSD isn't even illegal yet!
My only concerns are of the technical variety.
Every time you start an episode, you have to sit through a big Universal Opening Credit and Theme, as if you are watching a movie every time! It really gets old. Also, There doesn't appear to be a "play all" feature. There are virtually no extras in this set either. Hell, Harry Morgan is still kickin', they could have interviewed him, or had him do some commentary!
And a "pet-peeve" of mine... At the end of the episodes, you still get the famous "hammer striking the metal anvil" to reveal the "Mark VII" logo, but you don't get the old Universal globe and theme to follow! that was almost as much of the show as the famous theme song!
One more thing, The sound seems to be remixed a little badly. The music is MUCH louder than the dialog. I found myself at times having to keep re-adjusting the volume to compensate.
The picture looks pretty clear.
I still think this Box Set of Classic Dragnet is worth purchasing, I just wish they would have taken a little more time in making it a bit more user friendly!
Larry Lee Moniz
Hayward, California
Movie Review: "Just the facts, sir."
Summary: 3 Stars
I love the old DRAGNET TV series and I was thrilled to see the release of DRAGNET 1967. Sgt. Joe Friday and Officer Bill Gannon are right there on the shelf and I can pick up the DVD set and watch them any time I want. Ain't technology great!?!
Well, sometimes it isn't! I was lucky with my set because it doesn't stick or skip the way so many people have complained about. But that's not to say I haven't had problems with my Universal sets. The HAMMER HORROR SERIES I bought a few years ago was so bad I gave it away. It was unwatchable. I recently read that Universal has fixed this problem, so I hope they will re-issue that set and I'll try again.
Now, eventhough my DRAGNET set played well, I still have a major problem with Universal. Where was the introductory movie? You guys had plenty of room for it on the DVDs, but left it out. I'm glad you did better with EMERGENCY! But, why did you snub DRAGNET?
While I'm at it, I would like to know when DRAGNET 1968 is coming out. It's been nearly three years! I want more Friday and Gannon on good DVDs that include the missing movie!! Hey, Universal, wotcha waitin' for!!!