Diamond in the Rough Reviews
Diamond in the Rough
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…and Maverick is the name…,
After all these years, the celebrated first full season of the classic Western series “Maverick” finally makes it to DVD. This was the series that made James Garner famous and shaped much of his image that audiences enjoyed in his second TV hit “The Rockford Files” as well as films such as “The Great Escape” and “Support Your Local Sheriff”.
When “Maverick” first appeared in 1957, it immediately set itself apart from most Western series thanks to its somewhat lighter approach and the magnetic character that Garner had created. While the first episodes of the season are generally more serious in tone than what “Maverick” became famous for, the sheer entertainment value and strong story telling is apparent right from the get-go with the pilot episode “War of the Silver Kings” which demonstrated the ability of Bret Maverick to quickly think on his feet.
The first seven episodes feature only James Garner, but it was taking too long to shoot each episode to fulfill the contract so they brought in Jack Kelly as Bret’s brother Bart Maverick and they began splitting episodes. Kelly brought a much needed addition to the series with his unique personality and style which worked well with Garner. The series then began taking on the somewhat lighter tone that made “Maverick” famous.
This 27 episode collection on 7 DVDs is moderately priced and well packaged, though there are no extras whatsoever which is a little sad considering the long wait for this series to come to DVD. There is a small insert which gives a basic description of each episode and highlights the noteworthy guest stars. Otherwise, this collection is fairly bare bones though it does have some highly entertaining episodes such as the aforementioned “War of the Silver Kings”.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this release is the fair to good quality of the episode prints themselves. There are scenes in some episodes such as “Ghost Rider” that are grainy and of poor quality. Perhaps the master prints are not in very good shape and either no effort or attempt was made to restore them. Plus, some episodes such as “According to Hoyle” and “The Long Hunt” actually used old stock footage from previous Warner Brother’s western films such as “Dodge City”.
For the generally poorer quality of the episode prints and the lack of any extras, I am docking this DVD collection one star. However, this should not reflect poorly on the highly entertaining nature of the episodes themselves which certainly deserve a 5 star rating.
For those who want to see James Garner establish the character that he became famous for, this is still a fine collection for those who want to see one of the most entertaining Western TV series ever made.
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|Maverick,
This was one of the best westerns that was ever on tv. James Garner is the highlight in the series. Maverick was serious & irreverent at the same time. This is one series that Warner Bros. ought to release on dvd. There were many classic episodes from this series, way too many to mention here. C’mon Warner, just do it! There are way too many out here waiting to gobble this one up!
We have 124 episodes in the original Maverick & it was actually aired for five seasons, the last one only producing 13 episodes. James Garner was only in the first three seasons, Jack Kelly (though not casted originally) appeared in all five seasons, Roger Moore did one season (the fourth), while Robert Colbert appeared in two episodes the fourth season. James Garner was the real star & Maverick launched his career. Surprisingly, Roger Moore (James Bond) did well in his one season as cousin Beau.
If Warner Bros. ever decides to release this on dvd we will be in for a treat. I, for one, would buy this even if it is a single set. C’mon everybody… let’s flood the airwaves at WB asking for this!
For those interested: About 50 episodes are available for viewing at […] but downloading is not available. Their delivery system is not particularly good though, video will stop multiple times for several seconds. It’s better than nothing.
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|Maverick Makes History,
I bought every available episode of “Maverick” as offered by Columbia House ($25 for 2 episodes) – I think about 50 total – and it was wonderful. After a while the plots seem to be recycled, but to watch James Garner take the TV western where it had never gone before was amazing to review as an adult, 50 years later. Physically, Garner did not look 29 at the start of the series nor his acting seem that of someone relatively new to acting for film/TV but he was extraordinary from the start.
I stumbled into looking for the DVDs and was amazed that they have not been released.
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