Reviews of new DVD collections
of your favorite classic TV shows!

(Click on the titles to order - huge discounts
and free shipping through Amazon.com!

Columbo - Season Two
The 1972-73 season of Columbo is a delight. Columbo deconstructed the mystery format by showing the murder taking place at the very beginning, with little or no ambiguity about who did it. The fun - and there's a lot of fun - comes in watching Peter Falk hem and haw and "one more thing" his way under the radar and over the heads of the crooks. At times laugh-out-loud funny, inevitably Columbo solves the mystery, although occasionally with a thoroughly unrealistic proposition - but hey, it's TV. Definitely recommended!

Columbo
One of the most fondly remembered series of the 1970s was the NBC Mystery Movie, a rotating 'wheel' of three crime dramas from Universal Studios - Columbo, McCloud and McMillian & Wife aired on alternate weeks from 1971 until 1977.

Now you can begin collecting all of those programs.

Columbo, the most popular Mystery Movie feature, was the first to come to DVD last year. The latest collection, Columbo: The Complete Third Season, has some incredible star turns by Johnny Cash, Martin Sheen, Vincent Price, Ida Lupino, and another scene-chewing performance by Jack Cassidy (who turned up as the villain several times on Columbo).

Columbo never fails to entertain. Part of it is the irascible charm of Peter Falk in the title role, he won four Emmy Awards for the role. Another key element is in the choice of guest stars, most being legendary movie and TV actors. Witty scripts and an abundance of pristine 1970's Southern California locations add to the alchemy.

With Columbo: The Complete Third Season you get the 1973-74 season, eight episodes (15 hours), and a bonus episode of Mrs. Columbo which aired in 1979 starring Kate Mulgrew. Columbo has rewatchability and wide appeal - this is one for your library.

McCloud debuted in 1970 (the first season was a short one, it was one quarter of a show called Four-in-One before joining the Mystery Movie), with this new DVD collection you get the pilot episode and all of Season One and Two, along with a bonus episode of McMillian and Wife - quite a bargain for thirty bucks (if you order now, with free shipping)!

McCloud starred Dennis Weaver as a folksy detective from Taos, New Mexico operating in New York City; look for some lovely shots of what the City looked like in 1970 (although most of the shooting took place in LA so there are a lot of process shots and backlot scenes).

For the record, the first season of McCloud presented on this collection were actually re-edited, making the six one-hour episodes into three 90-minute episodes for reruns. Standouts feature guest stars Milton Berle, Susan Strasberg and Burgess Meredith. If you enjoyed the Universal style of drama during the seventies McCloud will be a pleaser.

All of the Universal Studios shows at the time took place in different cities - it was part of the gimmick - Columbo in LA, McCloud in NYC and McMillian and Wife in San Francisco.

McMillian & Wife, which started in 1971, is also new on DVD; you get all of Season One. Rock Hudson, Susan St. James and Nancy Walker starred.

Back to the TV on DVD Review Section

TVparty is Classic TV!

We use:

For video

Reviews by Billy Ingram,
as seen on VH1, Trio and Bravo.
Watch for Billy Ingram on BRAVO this month!

---

Columbo on DVD

Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Release Date: September 7, 2004
Run Time: 725 minutes

Product Description
Its the landmark series that inspired an entire genre. Now, televisions greatest detective, Columbo, comes to DVD for the first time in this deluxe collectors set. Starring Peter Falk in his 4-time Emmy-winning role as the cigar-chomping, trench coat-wearing detective.

PLAYBOY AFTER DARK

Everything you're looking for is here: