"Burke's Law" was a very successful detective show that ran from 1963-1966 on ABC. Starring Gene Barry (War Of The Worlds, Bat Masterson), it slickly blended comedy and drama, had good chemistry between cast members, and a ton of weekly guest stars. What made "Burke' Law" really unusual is that the main character, chief of detectives for Los Angeles, was also a millionaire, who drove around in a chaufffered Rolls Royce. Barry's costars were the young Gary Conway (Land Of The Giants) and Regis Toomey, an older detective who enjoyed Burke's lifestyle and couldn't wait for retirement. Conway does get to shine a bit as the super effecient young cop while Toomey is slower and wiser. Of course, neither can hold a candle to Burke, who's lavish lifestyle is interrrupted weekly with a murder before the credits.
The guest stars were also a great appeal for the show and the list is unbelievable. Guests also repeated appearances playing different characters. Long before Love Boat, Aaron Spelling was having Hollywood's finest guest star on "Burke's Law."
Each episode was titled Who Killed ....? and most of the guest stars were the suspects. Here's a short list of guest stars in this first box set: William Bendix, Rod Cameron, Fred Clark, Bruce Cabot, Zazu Pitts,Sir Cedrick Hardwicke, Elizabeth Montgomery,Will Rogers Jr., Charlie Ruggles, Jim Backus, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mary Astor, Chill Wills, Barbara Eden, Don Rickles, Sammy Davis Jr., Carolyn Jones (playing three roles in one episode), Keenan Wynn, Ed Begley, John Ireland, Richard Carlson, Ida Lupino, Nick Adams, Tina Louise, Debra Paget, Dean Jones, Edward Everett Horton, Jack Haley, Agnes Moorhead, Yvonne DeCarlo, Oskar Homolka, Burgess Meredith, Hoagy Carmicheal, Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Una Merkel, Terry Moore, Broderick Crawford, and Carl Reiner. Now, if you don't know who these people are, you must not like classic films.
VCI has taken the original masters and digitally restored them for a very sharp, fullscreen, black and white picture. A few flaws are seen occasionally but the episodes are in remarkably good shape. Sound is Dolby mono and there is just a hint of harshness occasionally. Overall, the quality is very good through most shows.
Extras in this 16 episode set include the original promos for the next show , which are placed right after an episode to tell you about "next week's show". What is a real winner are the old commercials they have dug up from the show, including Py-Co-Pay toothbrushes, Crest toothpaste and L&M cigarettes. Just watch young, athlectic Arnold Palmer make a tee shot with an L&M in his mouth and then throw it on the ground on the course. My , how times have changed.
VCI is committed to bringing all the Burke's Law episodes to disc and also the Anne Francis spinoff, Honey West, whose character is introduced in this first set. Kudos to VCI for doing this but they should be doing these sets as complete seasons, not half seasons. Paramount is also doing this with their classic television shows and I believe if they would stop splitting this seasons up, they's sell a hell of a lot more discs. Splitting up the seasons just pisses fans of the show off. Both companies should rethink this policy.
Burke's Law was a great reflection of the early 60's television show with some very unique aspects that are appealing to a large audience. These shows are still just as entertaining as when they were first broadcast and I am glad they are finally available on DVD.
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