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Rating:  -
Right on top of my DVD-wish-list is that they would put out the other seasons of this show (and S.W.A.T. as well, which is only missing one season, anyway). I'm starting to balk at buying box sets from certain companies, because they're not keeping what I see as a commitment with their customers. So, if you guys at Universal are ever checking Amazon to see if there's still an interest in having more seasons of Baretta released, your answer is oh hell YES. I check up every month or so to see if there are new seasons of the shows I buy, and I would buy every season of Baretta if they'd just put them out. You got me hooked with season one and then cut me off... that's not a good way to build brand loyalty, Universal. Please stop disappointing us and release the other seasons. If you'd do that, I would strongly recommend this show, because it's one of the best TV cop shows ever. Thanks.
Rating:  -
A review of the first season of Baretta should remind any viewer that Robert Blake was one the best actors anywhere. No joke! His career never got him the fame of a Robert DiNiro, Al Pacino, or the other acting "greats" of the '70's but he was every bit as good or even better.
This DVD set shows Blake's ability to be completely comfortable and relaxed on screen, and to mask any trace of "acting". He's master of an acting technique that makes it look like there is no technique being used. Perhaps Blake was aided in this by playing "Mickey" (his real first name) at such a young age as one of "Our Gang" in the 1930's (later renamed "The Little Rascals" for TV syndication).
"Baretta" showcases Blake's talents well with this lead role with lots of quirks to it. The newsboy hat, the pet cockatoo, the ever-present unlit cigarette in the mouth or behind the ear by this non-smoker.
There are interesting elements to this TV character that I don't recall having been done before or since. When's the last time you saw a TV show lead character willing to dress in filthy vagrant clothes and literally sleep on the sidewalk to stakeout a suspect across the street? Baretta is a police detective who's so willing to look "not cool" that it's the ULTIMATE cool.
This show was produced by Stephen J Cannell who also went on to do the Rockford files and there are some similarities between the two. One interesting convention shared by the two shows is the willingness of the story to have the lead get beat up, rather than being the "superhero" type who always wins a fight...a conceit that was original at the time. Also the older man as supporting character. In Baretta it's the old manager of the resident hotel where Baretta lives in his one room apartment complete with fold-away Murphy bed. In Rockford, it was his father who acted more like a friend. The age-mixing offers nice variety compared to today's strict TV show demographic appeals where most shows are 100% pretty young model/actors and even their parents (when they make an appearance) are under 45. And too the main character who lives modestly. Rockford's trailer compares to Baretta's studio apartment. And because it's the '70's it seems everyone in Baretta just by default drives a really cool muscle car, except for Baretta himself who's stuck with a P.O.S. lead-sled chevy. Oh, and anyone in organized crime who all drive Cadillacs of course.
Noticably absent here is today's strict political correctness. Characters are allowed to affectionately rib each other about their repsective cultural backgrounds, Italian, Jewish, black or whatever. Diminutive Tony Barretta is nicknamed "midget" a couple of times. In another instance Baretta tells his regular black/pimped-out street informant and friend "Rooster" that there's going to be "fried chicken and watermelon". Modern viewers may find this treating the viewer as an adult and lack of pandering either incredibly refreshing or offensively insensitive. Either way, it's a noticable departure from today's network TV.
The quality of the specific 12 shows in this DVD set is uneven. Some like "The Five And A Half Pound Junkie" and "If You Can't Pay The Price" are gritty and nuanced. Others like This Ain't My Bag seem more like an episode of "Columbo"...a generic whodunit with uninspired directing, and that has Baretta filling in as the modern day Hercule Perot instead of Peter Falk in a raincoat. Especially so compared to innovative directing in some of the other episodes such as the interestingly shot montage scene where mobsters undress Blake and force him into bed with a woman to take compromising photos to serve as blackmail.
In general, those episodes which remove the Baretta character from his element of "the streets" may be more likely to disappoint but as a whole the disc set is satisfying. In light of Blake's recent court problems, viewers might especially enjoy the indignant Baretta's climax courtroom speech to the witch hunt city commission that calls him in on suspicion of taking payoffs and dealing drugs to gain cooperation from the underworld in the episode "Walk Like You Talk"
Rating:  -
I'm not buying season one till I see season 2 released... If season 2 never gets released I'll simply pick up a used one on Ebay.
Rating: -
This just gets me after what 2 years still no season 2 Thats why I find it hard to comit to buying tv on dvd for ya never know if they will follow thrue Just like Mary Tyler Moore after 3 years on that still no season 2 The one that is good about it is MASH every 6months a new season. MORE BARETTA PLEASE
Rating: -
Anyone who grew up in 70s watching TV shows can not forget the amount of entertainment and enjoyment, week after week, the TV shows brought them and their families right in their living room. Several dramas of 70s are worth mentioning; Baretta, Starsky and Hutch, Rockford files, Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, and SWAT. Baretta is a one cop show; Starsky and Hutch is a two cop team show and SWAT - five man team show. The release of this new CD comes at a time when Robert Blake is accused of wife Bonnie Lee Blakely's murder. It is hard to talk about this CD without touching upon current situation with Blake. For example, lines such as "Husbands have been known to sometimes kill their wives for money" make a sad reference to drama of his life. The truth of the matter is Blake is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
There are three-disc set containing all 12 episodes of the series' first season. All episodes are worth watching and thoroughly enjoyable; in one episode named Mansion, his first wife of real life appears as an eccentric character of the show. I think second season episodes are little more enjoyable as the show's story and writing gets better. The price of new CD is a little steep and I would recommend if you are a real fan of Baretta and not put off by Robert Blake's real life drama.
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