Burke's Law: Season 1 - Volume 1

A Well Produced Masterpiece of Classic TV!

I was very young when this Series was produced and so I did not have the opportunity to see it as a child. However, back in the early 1980's it was re-broadcast at about 1AM on a local Seattle start up station and I caught about three episodes and was hooked! The program was soon withdrawn and I have been searching for it since. When it came up on a search here on Amazon I decided I had waited long enough and bought it on the spot!

After its arrival, I was very impressed by the quality of the video transfer and clarity of the picture. It was a pleasure to watch this Series and be re-acquainted with many Stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood! This Product is well worth the cost and those of us who still enjoy the Television Classic's will not be disappointed! I highly recommend this my fellow Amazon Supporters! November 16, 2008

Burke's Law stinks

That was a crappy show. Why would anyone want to buy a DVD of it. September 15, 2008

Great show, Terrific Special Features - But.......................

This is one of those cop shows that my mom DIDN'T tell me about, actually, my Dad got me hooked on this one, even at the tender age of nine, I watched this show with interest of "who killed......" this one and "who killed........." that one and I never got tired of it and my prayers were answered when I stumbled on this while accidently roaming through the DVD section one day on Amazon a few weeks back and instantly purchased it. The episodes still hold up very well and are still as entertaining today as they were back in the 60's and what's even better for me is I do not remember alot of the ones I just saw on this first set so I will be looking forward to the second set toward the end of the year I was told so..............

THE GOOD: The quality of the transfer is good, there were a hiccup here and there in the later episodes of this set that I noticed. Another terrific plus is the inclusion of the vintage commercials from that time period, I was laughing watching Arnold Palmer smoking while playing golf, it boggles the mind (nowadays anyway) how much they pushed smoking back in those days. There is also a special feature on the restoration process of the episodes.

THE BAD: VCI Entertainment dropped the ball on the Marketing strategy, not so much the fact that they decided to put the seasons out in Volumes but instead of putting 16 episodes on 4 discs in one DVD package, they put 4 Episodes on 1 DVD in 4 DVD packages so it is somewhat a bulky package and I think after they are done releasing Season 1, I am going to write to them ( I already did and thanked them for putting this series out, they told me they appreciated ANY feedback from customers ---HINT HINT ) and suggest they slim down the rest of the seasons because it takes up way too much space on my DVD rack and I'm running out of space as it is.

So in the end, do I reccomend this TV series?, Absolutely, it definitely holds up better than I thought it would. August 31, 2008

Enjoying Burke's Law

Love Gene Barry...wonderful guest stars...great humor....all and all, an enjoyable show to watch. I only wish they would release the show in complete seasons rather than Volume 1 and Volume 2 per season. Releasing in volumes rather than complete seasons seems like just another way to get more money out of the fans. August 25, 2008

Stylishly Cool 60's Crime Show with a Twist...

"Burke's Law" may seem more than a bit implausible to today's jaded TV viewers (a swinging millionaire choosing to be a homicide cop is, honestly, a BIT of a stretch!), but for those of us who grew up in front of the TV in the 60s, the show was fabulous...and I am thrilled it is finally on DVD!

The series had (in it's heyday) a kind of Politically Incorrect, 'Rat Pack'-style chic, with star Gene Barry ("Amos Burke") sipping martinis, seducing nubile and oh-so-willing women (the opening theme song even featured a breathy, seductive female voice moaning, "It's Burke's Law!"), and arriving at crime scenes in a Rolls Royce (chauffeured by funny Leon Lontoc), often attired in a tuxedo. Once on duty, however, Burke was all business, offering sage advice (the actual "Burke's Laws") to young detective Gary Conway and veteran cop Regis Toomey.

What really set each episode (always entitled "Who Killed...?") apart were the quirky nature of each homicide, and the guest stars, virtually a "Who's Who" of the Golden Age of Hollywood, often in off-beat roles. It became great fun just to see who would appear in each episode! With effortless ease, Burke would sift through the suspects, and always prove the less-likely one was the culprit, much to the chagrin of his partners...then it would be back to the boudoir and more "ring-a-ding-ding"...

Until the series made the disastrous decision to capitalize on the spy craze (by revamping the format, completely), "Burke's Law" was one of the most stylish shows on TV, and certainly deserves to be on DVD. While I dislike splitting the seasons into 'volumes' (which is why I only give this collection 4 stars), it does also offer some terrific vintage commercials, as un-PC as the series, itself.

Great fun! August 3, 2008

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