|
|
 - Great 70's NostalgiaThis was by all accounts a fun show, as a 1979 mid-season replacement & coming on the heels of 1977's "Smokey & the Bandit", one can see why it did so well , it was not a show to be taken seriously, the pilot episode "One armed Bandits" is probably the best, shot in Georgia, which really shows by the way, unlike future episodes shot on the backlot of Warner Bros, this particular episode shows a more serious side to the Duke saga, Bo & Luke are not the cartoon characters they became later, they both have an edge to them, as well as questionable practices, such as Bo's comment to Luke that one of the kids at a nearby orphange could be his, or Daisy who comes off as not so innocent, or Uncle Jesse who has an edge to him not seen in later shows, Roscoe P. Coltrane who later became a bumbling idiot is a hard-nosed sherriff, very reminisent to Jackie Gleason's Buford T. Justice in "Bandit" who justify's his actions regarding his lost pension, & Boss Hogg in this episode acts more like a politican & not the cartoon character he would become, the first season was great, & highly recommended for those who liked the edgyness this show had at first, but by the time you get to the 12th & 13th episode, you can see the edge slipping away, the second season was mired by controversy though, with James Best(Roscoe) protesting the direction of his character(wonder why??) & Ben Jones(Cooter) protesting over his character's appearance(they wanted a clean cut Cooter) to Sonny Shoyer(Enos) possible spin-off show, not to mention the writers & actors strike in 1980 that kept one of the best two-part episodes "Carnival Of Thrills" out of season 2, where it rightfully belongs, hope this is on the season 2 set said to be slated later in the year, if so, 1 & 2 are the only seasons to get, the rest that followed were not as good, & are in my view nothing but a cartoon cutout, like many shows, the direction was changed & the outcome a joke to many viewers & critics, they should have kept the edge, but they didn't & screwing John Schieder(Bo) & Tom Wopat(Luke) out of their royalties was the death knell for this show, highly recommend season 1 & 2 though!!!, but that is about it!! unless you like the cartoonish stuff, I would stop at season 2!!! Rating:  - Another One of My Favorite Television ShowsThe Dukes of Hazzard is one, out of many, shows that are my favorite. This 3 disc collection is a great asset to any collection. The show stars Tom Wapot as Luke Duke, John Schneider as Bo Duke, Cathrine Bach as Daisy Duke, Denver Pyle as Jesse Duke, James Best as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, Sorrell Booke as Boss Hogg, Ben Cooper as Cooter, and Waylon Jennings as the Balladeer. There are 13 episodes total. Each disc has two sides, except the third disc that only has one side. Each side has 3 episodes. The final disc has the 13th episode and has some bonus features. The bonus materials are ok, they include the 2oth Anniversary Hazzard County Barbecue Documentary, Dukes Driving 101: A High Octane Salute featurette, and a video game preview for, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Return of the General Lee. This collection has the total running time, not including bonus materials, of about 637 minutes, it is presented in a fullscreen format and filmed in 1979. The "Dukes of Hazzard Season One" is a great addition if you like the Dukes and the General Lee. Rating: - Just Good Ol' Boys!I was so excited to see DoH released. They're cheesy...SURE! But they're also good wholesome fun for the whole family! Now, where are the remaining seasons? I can hardly wait!!! Rating: - LOVED Season One - A Wish List For Seasons 2+First, I loved season one and I'm posting this message in the hopes that Warner Brothers can make all the future releases even better. The extras that are there are great, but they just leaving you wanting more. With that, here's what I want to see in the future: 1. Better sound - MONO is just not going to cut it. Remaster the sound for 5.1 surround. 2. Widescreen option. These episodes were shot in 35 millimeter film, which is a widescreen format. Go back, pull the original film, and release a widescreen version. 3. More commentary - one out of thirteen episodes just isn't enough. John and Catherine were very good on One Armed Bandits, but it just left me wanting more. How about some of the production people (i.e. producer, director, stunt men). 4. Where the heck is Tom Wopat? He didn't participate at all in any of the extras for the first season. How about some commentary or interviews for the 2nd season? 5. Dust off any old interviews with Denver or Sorrell. They can't be with us today, but surely they talked about the show at some point. 6. Ditto for Waylon Jennings. Something on the Waylors would be nice, too. 7. How about a behind the scenes stunt featurette on all the wonderful stunt work over the years? 8. How about a playable demo of the Dukes of Hazzard video game? Well, that's all I can think of now, but I'm sure more will come to mind. I hope that WB gets wind of this and adds at least some of these to future releases (especially 1 & 2). And get them out ASAP! Rating: - The Dukes Rock My World!!!The Dukes are back! The complete first season is everything you would imagine it to be. It's AWESOME! Woo Hoo, I want to kiss Daisy Duke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
|
