Search - Police Woman - The Complete First Season on DVD

The first, best year of an influential show

widowedwalker | USA | 12/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1975, this became the hottest show in the United States and many other countries, and ALSO became the first successful drama series in TV history to feature a woman in the title role.

And although this may sound like faint praise, in an era where Emma Peel had regrettably become a faded memory, if it hadn't been for "Police Woman", there literally would have been no (albeit more-fanciful) "Charlies Angels", "Wonder Woman", "Bionic Woman" or, a few years later, muscular "Cagney & Lacey".

But suffice it to say that Season 1 of "Police Woman" is easily its best year: the show was, for the period, edgy and focused, with Angie Dickinson (then) chewing the scenery with a mesmerizing blend of toughness and effervesence; and her chemistry with co-star and onscreen boss Earl Holliman is very good as well... In this freshman season, "Police Woman" often felt like a taut, foreboding movie, both dark and sun-streaked... No wonder it went to Number One for a few months.

Subsequent seasons weren't quite the same... There was pressure to tone down Miss Dickinson's almost effortless sex-appeal, and in so caving to pressure, the series wound-up squelching her personal power and strength as well, and so the show went off-track a bit: as a result, only about 50% of the episodes of seasons 2 and 3 are really up to par, and season 4 contained just a small handful of good installments.

Perhaps all that's why the show seems to have disappeared from view for quite a while...

Regardless, season 1 is an absolutely great '70s cop show classic-- funny, dramatic, a bit shocking for TV (at the time) in places, with a moody and often-cinematic '70s flavor--- and Angie Dickinson and Earl Holliman NEVER had such a good vehicle.

4/17/06: Unfortunately, no one seems to know it's on DVD, and the mediocre sales reflect that. Plus, it hasn't been available much for a while, so the kids haven't seen it."

Great show with wonderful & hilarious commentaries

Pageturner in NYC | Manhattan | 04/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sure, its period 70s action, but if you've ever seen some of the action flicks of the 70s like COFFY or FOXY BROWN, you know that some of them are more violent than anything being made today. In some ways, POLICE WOMAN is surprisingly violent. When was the last time you saw an episode of a cop show where a bank robber shoots a witness with a shotgun? And in that same episode, the POLICE use shotguns to blow people away. The controversial lesbian episode, FLOWERS OF EVIL, (which was only shown once on TV) is very entertaining and nothingthat GLAAD would get upset about. In fact, one of the final scenes has Angie getting one of the women to confess by relating that she isn't shocked or judgmental and in fact had a gay roommate in college who fell in love with her. The colors on the show are vibrant and the acting is swell with lots of fun guest stars (William Shatner, Larry Hagman, Bob Crane, Rhonda Fleming, Monte Markham, Marian Mercer, William Katt, Smokey Robinson, Della Reese, Robert Vaughn, Lara Parker, etc). Best of all is the numerous commentaries--two solo one with Angie Dickinson butthe majority with Angie and Earl Holliman chatting. Their great chemistry is still strong 30 years later...esspecially when they start bickering over facts (their Who's On First-like monologue about Mark Harman is laugh-out-loud funny; and Angie still has an infectious laugh--at one point she laughs at a piece of dialogue and just cant stop laughing). This show hasn't been in syndication in years, so most of the episodes are still surprising and fresh. I cant wait for season two! And keep those commentaries coming!"

Great Season of Classic Show! Dickinson and Cast Rock!

Jackie L. Holstein | MPLS, MN | 04/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great show We just need to make sure Columbia and Sony will release more seasons of this classic show ASAP! I realize it prob doesn't sell huge numbers but I hope us fans aren't left in the cold over the show - it really is a great to see again. I'm ready for more!

Fans of this show should buy Season 1 so we can maybe get the rest of the show. For some odd reason Sony didn't do the best with pricing on the set. Yes it is retail 49.99 39.99 would have been better to help sell the show BUT I still think it was worth every cent. However for some odd reason the very day the show was released all of the Best Buy stores that stocked the set had it priced $49.99 which was retail That was it! Not Best Buys fault but Sony for what they had it priced at towards retailers. In the end it drove sales of the show to be very weak. it is a real shame the show is great .. Sure it doesn't have the power of selling like shows that are still airing today but had DVD been released back in Police Womans day then you would have seen sales like Desperate Housewives etc.

Sony Should release the remaining seasons for fans. Finish what you begin .. don't release a season of a show and move on to something else. With all the useless tv shows being released cause they are just a "fad" Police Woman was quality Release the other season and get some promotions out on it! Angie - Earl and the rest of the gang deserve all seasons released! Give us more Sony!"

A Very Underrated and Underappreciated Show

LaShawn N. Hardy | OHIO | 11/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was very young when Police Woman first aired back in the 70's, but I remember sitting up with my grandmother and watching it EVERY week. As soon as I saw the package that infectious theme song popped into my head and I remembered myself as a kid running around with my mother's police badge and my water pistol, pretending to be Pepper.

Police Woman was groundbreaking for the times. It featured a WOMAN as the lead character. At a time when there weren't many women police officers PERIOD, the lead character was not only a COP, but a DETECTIVE and a Sergeant. With it's often film noir qualities, Police Woman covered subject matter that other shows were too afraid to touch. This is something we take for granted today with shows Like the Law and Order shows and CSI where they give us everything and then some.

Each week we viewers saw Sgt. LEANNE *not Suzanne* "Pepper" Anderson deal with the criminals as forcefully as the men, but also with humanity when it was necessary. Along with Investigators Joe Styles and Pete Royster, and their immediate supervisor Sgt. Bill Crowley *Not Lt.*, the team members of LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Investigations unit took a no holds barred approach to tagging the heavies and busting up the crime rings. Pepper was CCI's Secret Weapon. Many times, she went undercover in order to gain the evidence needed to take down the bad guys. And OFTEN, it was Pepper who used what appeared to be minor evidence and pieced it together to get a break in the case.

This show was, and still is appealing because it was hip without being over the top. The plots are timeless because crime doesn't really change. Then there's the undeniable chemistry between Pepper and Bill that, *With thanks to Angie and Earl*, permeates through even in the first episode they film together; Warning to All Wives. Bill's relationship with Pepper can be best explained as boss/father/brother/husband/best friend...in other words they're "Intimate Friends" *CUE THE EDDIE KENDRICKS SONG* You will easily find yourself getting totally engrossed in the stories because you will be drawn in with wonderful comraderie between the members of the CCI team. You will also find yourself laughing at the double and triple entendres they toss at one another. (Esp. Pepper and Crowley).

So, with this said, why buy this dvd boxset? Well for one, the Police Woman dvd set is BY FAR one of the best packaged box sets released. You really get your money's worth. Someone else already mentioned the wonderful pictures on the slimline cases *Thank you Sony*. Also, there are SEVEN AWESOME COMMENTARIES that are informative and entertaining *Thanks Angie and Earl*. And I must add that the picture quality is pretty decent.

Police Woman is a show that should DEFINITELY be in your classic 70's tv collection.

Now if only Sony would release the rest of the seasons.


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