Alias Smith And Jones: Season 1 [DVD]

Although AS&J was intended as a quick cash-in on the popularity of Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, it is one of the best Western series around, in my opinion unmatched until the wonderful 'Magnificent Seven' series starring Michael Biehn, Anthony Starke et al. AS&J's great strength - and it's great luck - was the perfect chemistry between Pete Duel (Hannibal Heyes) and Ben Murphy (Kid Curry) which carried some of the weaker episodes (not that there were that many). Also, unlike other Westerns, the dialogue contained humour and banter instead of relentless dourness and/or perpetual moralising; it also had strong, positive female characters like Clementine Hale (Sally Field) again a contrast to such as "Bonanza Woman" (any woman who appeared on that Western, or such as High Chapparal tended to be killed, die of disease or leave within two episodes). The show also featured elite guest stars such as Cesar Romero, Don Ameche, Patrick McNee amongst others such as genre veterans Slim Pickens and Keenan Wynn. Not that AS&J was fluff - many of it's epsiodes were written by Roy Huggins (1914-2002) who could make serious points and intriguing, engaging plotlines. His best was "The Bounty Hunter" episode in 1972, guest-starring Lou Gosset Jnr as the eponymous BH who was black; that single episode did more to highlight the stupidity and monstrousness of racism than any other TV show before and for many years after. The suicide of Pete Duel, caused by alcoholism and severe depression, was also the death knell of the series, not helped by the insensitive reaction of the studio to shoehorn Roger Davis into the role; lacking that vital chemistry with the grieving Ben Murphy, Davis was also burdened with the network's desire to maximise profit without expense - for several episodes of Season 3, the opening credits still clearly showed Duel, a constant reminder to viewers reluctant to embrace Davis in the role just who he was replacing. My main bugbear is the wait - AS&J wasn't released in the UK in Region 2 format until 2007, despite it's huge popularity, and we are now entering 2009 with no sign of Season 2 - please can someone get their act together, particularly as they have to know how much of a guaranteed seller this will be?

I'd give this six stars if I could. I was fifteen when Alias Smith and Jones first hit BBC2 and the memory has stayed with me ever since. It was an instant success and the cheerful, self-effacing style of AS&J was irresistable. (I read somewhere that at its height the BBC was receiving 5,000 letters a week demanding more episodes and rapid re-runs). For the first time we had a Western series that featured two amiable rogues as the lead characters. The level of scripting and the storylines were, for the most part, very original and highly intelligent, but what carried the series was the free-wheeling approach of the late Pete Duel (as Hannibal Heyes) and Ben Murphy (Kid Curry). Some of the stories involved quite sophisticated "stings", making it almost a Western version of the present-day Hustle, and clearly AS&J was closely modelled on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (and a good premise at that). Watching the pilot episode is just so uplifting and reminded me just how good some US television can be; it's not all about designer suits and hairdos. And essentially, unlike many old TV series, AS&J has not dated. It looks great, it's funny, uplifting and so fresh in its approach. I'm not sure that anything's come near it since. The only negative point is that the sad and untimely death of Pete Duel cost the series a key player after he'd filmed around 32 episodes. The dozen or so that followed were of a similar quality but it wasn't easy to replace him, although Roger Davis made a gallant effort. I could start quoting memorable one-liners or dialogues from the series. I'll resist the temptation and just affirm that this is, without reservation, an excellent series. Buy it and enjoy it!

Good all action film

This is a superb series and will appeal not just to the fans of the show, but to many others as well. It was a long time coming to this region, but was worth the wait. (I originally purchased the Region 1 version) Despite being created some years ago by Glen Larson, it is so well written that it has stood the test of time. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and you certainly get a 'feel good' factor from watching it. Pete Duel and Ben Murphy have great chemistry, and the quality of the acting was way ahead of its time. This show has to go down as one of the finest western series of the period. Buy it!

All of the 3 episodes we have watched so far have poor image quality. All shades of green and grey. We sent the first set back, but the next set was exactly the same. It's a real shame as we enjoy the series. It really shouldn't be sold without some warning of this and also not at a comparable price to good image quality DVDS. The series is 5 stars, the image quality 1 star, so went for a 3 star review. Since writing this review we have tested the DVD on another TV - and the colour is fine. The first TV we used is a 'smart' telly, but obviously not that smart. The series is excellent and we can enjoy it in full colour, on the right TV. It's a bit odd as we have a box set of original Colombo and haven't found the same problem. The image quality of Colombo is the same quality whichever TV we watch it on.

I loved this series as a young teenager. Now I'm watching it with my own young teenager and we both love it. It's rare for a show that is almost 40 years old to stand up so well. The scripts are witty and intriguing, the two stars play it perfectly - tongue in cheek but not too knowing a send-up of the genre - and the guest stars are clearly having a whale of a time. I'd forgotten how many strong and independent female characters Smiths & Jones encounter. How long till they release series 2 and 3?

Es ist wirklich schön, die Originalstimmen von Pete Duel und Ben Murphy in diesen Serienfolgen zu hören. Sicher kennt jeder Fan, die ersten Folgen dieser Serie, "Ein Jahr Galgenfrist"-der Pilotfilm, ";Mc Creedys Büste" u.s.w. Da es diese Serie soweit ich weiß, einzeln nicht in deutscher Sprache gibt, (nur komplett, 1. u. 2 Staffel, wahrscheinlich auch schon als Sammelpackage , Staffeln 1-3, habe ich mich entschlossen, jede Staffel mit Pete Duel einzeln zu kaufen, denn er war lt. meiner Info, komplett in der ersten Staffel dabei und in der zweiten Staffel nur für 4 Folgen. Schade. Roger Davis, der Pete's Part übernommen hatte, kann ihm lange nicht das Wasser reichen. Wirkt gegen Pete Duel unscheinbar. Bonus Feature gibt es nur zum Pilotfilm ein Audiokommentar von Glen Larson, dem Produzent u.s.w. Es ist nur in englisch aufgenommen, ohne Untertiteln 4 DVDs. DVD 1 enthält den Pilotfilm und zwei Folgen. DVD 2-4 jeweils 4 Folgen. Die Qualität ist ansonsten gut, wie im Fernsehen, eben. Ich bin froh, das ich diese DVDs gekauft habe. Für Interessenten, die mehr Ausstattung einer DVD-Box erwarten, wie z.B. Booklet, oder HD-Qualität etca. wäre hier nicht zufrieden. Wem es nur um die beiden Schauspieler geht, englisch versteht, empfehle ich diese DVDs weiter.

Beeldkwaliteit van DVD 4 disc (Alias Smith& Jones Season 1) is prima. Echter, in tegenstelling tot de vermelde productgegevens, is er geen ondertiteling beschikbaar. Ik versta Engels, maar een (Engelse) ondertitel heb ik toch wel nodig. Slechts een halve aflevering bekeken; 2 sterren voor beeldkwaliteit en snelle afhandeling retour door Amazon.

Hannibal Heyes (Pete Duel) und Kid Curry (Ben Murphy) sind zwei ziemlich gute schlechte Leute im wilden Westen. Sie rauben Banken und Züge aus und machen sich mit dem Geld ein schönes Leben. Als jedoch die Sheriffs immer schlauer, die Safes immer sicherer werden und ihnen während eines Überfalls eine nette alte Lady aus Boston ein Informationsblatt über eine Amnestie für kleine Kriminelle in die Hand drückt, beschließen sie, ihr Leben zu ändern und von nun an den rechten Weg zu gehen. Doch bevor sie die Begnadigung vom Gouverneur erhalten, müssen sie ein Jahr lang beweisen, daß sie tatsächlich die schiefe Bahn verlassen haben und ehrlich leben. Fortan versuchen sie als Joshua Smith und Thaddeus Jones den Kopfgeldjägern zu entwischen und zu verhindern, daß ihnen andere Banditen ihre Überfälle in die Schuhe schieben. Die Serie wurde Anfang der 70er viel Charme und Humor gedreht. Die vier CDs enthalten neben dem Pilotfilm noch 14 weitere Folgen.

They did not come in a box and they look like they were recorded right from the t.v. They skip. Poor overall quality.

This series brings back memories. Great humor and a lot of good chemistry between the two lead characters. Very good quality.