Bearcats! The Complete Series

Possible Work around on the pilot
I am certainly delighted that Bearcats is coming out on DVD at such a reasonable price. The problem which is highlighted in the comments and responses to another reviewer is that it is unclear that this version includes the pilot, which is called "Powder Keg." According to one source, copyright to the pilot and series are held by different sources and getting the rights to one does not mean getting the rights to both.

I hope the pilot is included since it was one of the best episodes with Fernando Lamas as the villain. I have however noted that Amazon.com sells a collection called 20 Great Westerns which lists Powder Keg as one of the movies that it includes and this collection is very inexpensive. It is the right year and the right actors so it is THAT Powder Keg. So if the series does not include the pilot, I will buy the 20 Great Western collections and get it that way. Powder Keg is also available from Amazon as a stand alone DVD under the original title for a few...

Get Ready to Rumble(seat)!
If you remember this series, it probably isn't because you hate it - you probably recall it because you loved it. It had likable characters, action-packed (if not always logical) scripts, minimalist settings (the great Southwest), and it was set in pre-Vietnam, Pre-World War Two, pre-World War One America when high tech was a motorcar and a machine gun - where a crafty plan could outsmart evil doers every week.

Over the years I taped the pilot, "Powderkeg" off TV, then bought it on VHS (terrible quality, but all there was), later on DVD (an awful transfer that suggested a version recorded on the VHS slow speed was simply moved to the DVD), and a year or so back the complete series set (I think) by EMT from Amazon. This set was an improvement in quality, but while the images didn't seem to bleed color, they were a bit soft.

I received the new Shout Factory! version yesterday and watched two eps last night. Though not a Blu-Ray disc, I used a Blu-Ray player and ran...

Great Show, Family Fun
From 1948-1970, it was pretty easy to find family entertainment. That's all there was. Stuff you could watch with grandma, the kids, the grandkids, etc. These days, it's not so easy to find, especially if you have tastes that run conservative in any direction. Unless you delve into reruns from the aforementioned era.

The release of "Bearcats!" lets you have it all: classic reruns from that bygone age, and newness (while a few of us may remember this series, nobody remembers the episodes).

Like "Gilligan's Island," it's fun escapism for all ages, not intended for much scrutiny (such as "Where do our heroes get gasoline for their car, out in the middle of the desert? Why are there so many level (and even PAVED) roadways in an age with so few horseless carriages...in a desert? Why is there so much post-1914 technology in a series set in 1914?").

In that context, the acting's good and, when mixed with strong writing in this genre, it makes for some...

Click to Editorial Reviews