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Quincy ME Season 1 & 2
While this six-disk set contains the first
two seasons of episodes of the memorable police forensic series, people
might be surprised by the number of actual episodes on the disks. Season
1 of "Quincy ME" actually consisted of 4 episodes of a shared
crime-genre show, NBC's "Mystery Movie" series in 1976 (which I had
always thought was a compilation made here in Australia - guess I owe
someone an apology for that)! Quincy was the last of the series added to
a rotating group of shows which also contained Columbo, McCloud and
McMillan and Wife. Since these shows were 70 minutes long, they were
what we would now call telemovies. Season 2 of Quincy began airing only
2 days after the last of the Quincy telemovies and contained 13
episodes, including the notable "Has Anyone Here Seen Quincy" (Season 2,
episode 7)which is notable for the absence of the star of the show, Jack
Klugman (the producers were testing the feasibility of a spin-off show).
I remember when these shows first aired; they were enjoyable television
then, and are equally so now. However, it's interesting to compare these
to the modern equivalents, the CSI franchise series, Bones, etc; the
pacing of Quincy is more casual, the shows have a slightly lower
emphasis on homicide and violent crime and more emphasis on melodrama,
the dialogue is less gritty and realistic, and T-shirts were worn by the
trendy as fashion statements. Just like the 70s really were, as I
recall! The one element of the series that I found jarring, both then
and now, is the apparent inability of any reasonably attractive female
to resist Quincy's charms for more than ten minutes. But if you can
suspend your disbelief long enough, or ignore this unnatural compulsion
that has clearly been scripted in, the series remains as watchable today
as it ever was. The episodes are absolutely complete, including the
trailers that were designed to be used in promotional advertising by the
televising networks.
Picture Quality is excellent, despite the 4:3 ratio (i.e. normal TV).
Sound Quality was also absolutely fine, if mono in some cases. There are
no extras to speak of other than the menu, but that deserves special
mention; it is extremely counter-intuitive. The selection on the menu
that you are actually choosing is the one where the bullet is not
highlighted bright white, but is an almost-invisible pale green, with
the menu items themselves grayed out. There is also an item on the menu,
"UK Market Only" which is nothing but an advertisement for this and
other classic-TV DVDs.
This DVD set will appeal to anyone who watched the original series of
Quincy, or who enjoys classic police television programmes. Younger
audiences might struggle a little with the pacing, the shortage of
special effects, and with the disconcerting "sex appeal" (or lack
thereof) of Jack Klugman, but if they can get past those flaws, they
will discover a source of entertaining mysteries laced with an idealism
that, however corny, is still at the heart of the best police television
even today. These shows are classics, and the series is heartily
recommended for those who enjoy this sort of thing. The only shame is
that this series has taken so long to be made available, and that even
now many seasons worth remain in the vaults.
DVD CONTENTS (6 Disks)
Season 1:
1. Go Fight City Hall... to the death! (3 October 1976)
2. Who's Who In Neverland (10 October 1976)
3. A Star Is Dead (28 November 1976)
4. Hot Ice, Cold Hearts (2 January 1977)
Season 2 (4 February 1977 - 27 May 1977):
1. Snake Eyes: Part 1
2. Snake Eyes: Part 2
3. ...The Thigh Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone...
4. Visitors in Paradise
5. The Two Sides of the Truth
6. Hit and Run at Danny's
7. Has Anybody Here seen Quincy?
8. A Good Smack in the Mouth
9. The Hot Dog Murder
10. An Unfriendly Radiance
11. The Deadly Connection
12. Valleyview
13. Let Me Light the Way |
