Spenser: For Hire- The Complete Series DVD Review
The cast carries “Spenser: For Hire.”
Based on Robert B. Parker’s “Spenser” novel series, 1985’s “Spenser: For Hire” was a 3 season ABC television series created by John Wilder. The series was followed by 4 TV movies, but they are not included in this Complete Series set. As one might expect, the Boston set series revolves around the titular private eye who was a former cop, a former boxer, and a war veteran. Spenser takes on jobs for hire and frequently collaborates with the police (both Lt. Quirk and Sgt. Frank are central characters in the series). Spenser also frequently works with Hawk- a sunglass sporting badass enforcer. Throughout the series, plots involve Spenser searching for missing people, people protection, murder investigations, ransom money delivery, Spenser looking into corruption, undercover jobs, arsonists, Hawk and Spenser getting in trouble with the law, wrongful charges, and Spenser getting injured. Spenser also goes up against killers, thieves, criminals, traps, and gangsters. Spenser has a love interest named Susan who appears in the first and third seasons. Season 2 saw a complex but evolving dynamic with District Attorney Ria.
Although it differs from the novels, “Spenser: For Hire” is a solid 80s crime drama. In the first and best season, the show is grittier and channels “Dirty Harry,” “The French Connection,” and “Serpico.” There’s even a touch of film noir (especially Bogart films) with Spenser’s noir esque narration. The show certainly wears its influences on its sleeve, but season 2 and 3 are less gritty and more watered down. Yes, there’s more characterization to be found, but the show felt more cinematic in season 1. The subsequent seasons felt more like a standard private eye/cop procedural. One thing is for certain- the Boston location shooting elevated the series as a whole. You don’t get that cheap soundstage look here. The city is alive and is essentially a character itself in the show with the rundown buildings, the locals, the weather, and so forth.
Robert Urich is the main star here as Spenser and he’s an interesting character to be sure. He can rub people the wrong way, he puts his life in danger, he has quite the past, he’s sarcastic, but he’s also well read. He’s a dimensional character to be sure, but he’s also not infallible. He fails sometimes and people die on his watch which adds further depth to his character. As fascinating as Spenser is though, Avery Brooks’ Hawk steals the show completely. There’s a reason he got his own short-lived spin-off “A Man Called Hawk,” he’s just that cool. Avery Brooks may be best known as Captain Sisko from one of the best series of all-time “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” but the actor became a star with his work in “Spenser: For Hire.” It’s not hard to see why as every time Hawk is on screen the episode automatically improves. Barbara Stock (Susan) is also a notable addition here. Her chemistry and romance with Spenser worked well. Having the character written out of season 2 was a mistake to be sure.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 1.37:1. How does it look? This set features re-releases of the single season releases. The DVD quality, but one has to wonder why they didn’t just release a Blu-ray instead.
Audio Track: Dolby Digital Mono (for seasons 1 and 2) and Dolby Digital Stereo for season 3. How do they sound? The audio doesn’t fare as well as the picture quality. It’s a bit too low for my liking.
No extras.
No comments yet.
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
Leave a comment