Amazon.com
It may sound like a gimmick--
The Greatest '70s Cop Shows is a compilation of first episodes from
Starsky and Hutch,
Police Woman,
S.W.A.T.,
The Rookies, and
Charlie's Angels--but this DVD anthology really opens one's eyes to the look and feel of dramatic television during the so-called Me Decade. Except for
Angels, which never wavered from its self-mocking, glossy action/stiff exposition playbook, these cop-program debuts (four of them from Aaron Spelling) import much of their fluid camera movement, multiple points-of-view, and dynamic, often wordless storytelling from the era's rough-and-tumble action movies (e.g.,
The French Connection). Which is to say these shows may be dumb but not necessarily cheesy (except
Angels' post-modern cheese). There is a lot to admire about the opening ambush in
S.W.A.T.'s "The Killing Ground," the hard-boiled camaraderie of
Police Woman's "The End Game," and especially the reckless physicality and ironic jokes of
Starsky and Hutch's "Savage Sunday."
--Tom Keogh
Video Description
The definitive collection of your favorite '70s cop shows is finally here! See how all the action started with this collection of the first episodes of Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch, S.W.A.T., The Rookies and Police Woman!