This show gets points from me for nostalgia. Objectively speaking, however, some episodes are dreadful, especially any involving guys in gorilla or bear suits (Sam himself dons such a suit in one episode) or phony gypsies--although in the episode "Slay Gypsy Slay" Sam does a revelatory turn disguised as an old prospector; you suddenly realize that the actor who played Sam could act like more than one type of person. Aside from that, that episode is awful and its not the only one that is. Still, other episodes are OK or at least have more than one redeeming moment.
One thing that becomes clear, when you study the credits of each episode, is that the best ones were written by William Link and Richard Levinson, the writing team that later created the "Columbo" TV series. Every time you see their names on the screen, you know you are about to see a "Honey West" episode that will be a cut above the rest.
All that said, I am glad I bought the DVD. There are about 30 episodes in the season. Nowadays you are lucky to get 22. The old commercials included on the DVD are nostalgic as well, and sometimes hilarious. Watching the show again makes me realize I have acquired some taste since then, and it is a little disappointing to realize how flawed the show was. (It was an Aaron Spelling show, not to speak ill of the dead.) He had seen "The Avengers" before the rest of America had, he tried to come up with his own imitation of it, and he missed the mark a bit.
One thing he got right however, was choosing Anne Francis to do the honors. She is terrific as Honey West.
One thing that becomes clear, when you study the credits of each episode, is that the best ones were written by William Link and Richard Levinson, the writing team that later created the "Columbo" TV series. Every time you see their names on the screen, you know you are about to see a "Honey West" episode that will be a cut above the rest.
All that said, I am glad I bought the DVD. There are about 30 episodes in the season. Nowadays you are lucky to get 22. The old commercials included on the DVD are nostalgic as well, and sometimes hilarious. Watching the show again makes me realize I have acquired some taste since then, and it is a little disappointing to realize how flawed the show was. (It was an Aaron Spelling show, not to speak ill of the dead.) He had seen "The Avengers" before the rest of America had, he tried to come up with his own imitation of it, and he missed the mark a bit.
One thing he got right however, was choosing Anne Francis to do the honors. She is terrific as Honey West.