The "Honey West" 4 single-sided disc DVD release contains all 30 (half-hour) B & W episodes, which ran on ABC during the 1965-66 television season. Also included are some vintage commercials and several promos for other ABC shows. The set is nicely made from high quality recordings of the original episodes.
If you are unfamiliar with the show it is like a blend of Honor Blackman's "Avengers" episodes and Gene Barry's "Burke's Law" stuff. In fact, the title character and her associate Sam Bolt (John Ericson) had been first introduced to television audiences in the "Who Killed the Jackpot" episode of "Burke's Law".
It did not approach the imaginative whimsy of Diana Rigg's "Avenger" episodes. It was played pretty straight, putting it a bit behind the times as shows like "The Wild Wild West" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." were following "The Avengers" down the self-parody road. This odd disconnect was one reason the series never made it past its first season.
Another problem (obvious at the time even to a pre-teen like myself) was the casting of a high mileage actress like Anne Francis in the title role. Francis had been tantalizing eye candy back in the 1950's (see "Forbidden Planet" and "Susan Slept Here"). Unfortunately by 1965 she looked like my Cub Scout den mother, but with too much make-up and a much more tacky wardrobe. Poor Anne had gotten a little chunky by this time and you felt sorry for her trying to go after the same demographic as the svelte and much younger looking Diana Rigg. And they wonder why these things get weak ratings.
The half-hour format also hurt the series as there was not sufficient time for either character development or interesting misdirection. The production design was pretty basic and generally low budget. They did manage a few gimmicks like a pet ocelot (named Bruce), high tech gadgets, and a nicely understated attraction between Honey and Sam.
Honey is more Cathy Gale than Mrs. Peel, using her feminine wiles and a few judo moves. Francis and her stunt coordinator were not up to Mrs. Peel's fighting skills so Honey mostly resorts to a gun. The action sequences are generally pretty lame, so you can imagine that after a few tries at staging fights the producers decided that it would be a good idea to give Honey marksmanship ability.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
If you are unfamiliar with the show it is like a blend of Honor Blackman's "Avengers" episodes and Gene Barry's "Burke's Law" stuff. In fact, the title character and her associate Sam Bolt (John Ericson) had been first introduced to television audiences in the "Who Killed the Jackpot" episode of "Burke's Law".
It did not approach the imaginative whimsy of Diana Rigg's "Avenger" episodes. It was played pretty straight, putting it a bit behind the times as shows like "The Wild Wild West" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." were following "The Avengers" down the self-parody road. This odd disconnect was one reason the series never made it past its first season.
Another problem (obvious at the time even to a pre-teen like myself) was the casting of a high mileage actress like Anne Francis in the title role. Francis had been tantalizing eye candy back in the 1950's (see "Forbidden Planet" and "Susan Slept Here"). Unfortunately by 1965 she looked like my Cub Scout den mother, but with too much make-up and a much more tacky wardrobe. Poor Anne had gotten a little chunky by this time and you felt sorry for her trying to go after the same demographic as the svelte and much younger looking Diana Rigg. And they wonder why these things get weak ratings.
The half-hour format also hurt the series as there was not sufficient time for either character development or interesting misdirection. The production design was pretty basic and generally low budget. They did manage a few gimmicks like a pet ocelot (named Bruce), high tech gadgets, and a nicely understated attraction between Honey and Sam.
Honey is more Cathy Gale than Mrs. Peel, using her feminine wiles and a few judo moves. Francis and her stunt coordinator were not up to Mrs. Peel's fighting skills so Honey mostly resorts to a gun. The action sequences are generally pretty lame, so you can imagine that after a few tries at staging fights the producers decided that it would be a good idea to give Honey marksmanship ability.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.