Release Date: October 25, 2005 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Color/1979-80
MSRP: $49.95
Number of Discs: 6
Number of Episodes: 23
Running Time: 1139 minutes
Total Run Time of Special Features: approx. 120
minutes (w/commentary)
Languages: English, Portuguese
Subtitles: English, Portuguese
Closed Captioned
Special Features: Audio Commentary on the Pilot
Episode and a Feature: The Hart of Season One
Introduction:
Created by best selling novelist Sidney Sheldon, Hart
to Hart season 1 stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie
Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart; a fabulously
rich couple who always seem to find themselves
entangled in an exotic blend of mystery, intrigue, and
adventure. They are accompanied by their loyal servant
Max (Lionel Sander), the smart and sexy twosome
jet-set around the world, where they solve cases
ranging from espionage to murder.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
You can’t discuss memorable episodes in the first
season of Hart to Hart without discussing the two-hour
introductory pilot episode. It introduces the Harts,
and sets the tone for the entire series to follow.
The rest of the episodes are good in their own right,
offering varying degrees of action and suspense.
There’s really not a bad episode in the bunch.
Some guest stars include:
Episode 7 “Cop Out”: Markie Post (“Night Court,”
“Hearts Afire”)
Episode 8 “Max in Love”: Rene Auberjonois (“Star Trek:
DS9,” “Boston Legal”)
Episode 10 “With This Gun, I Thee Wed”: Tommy Lasorda
(L.A. Dodgers Manager)
Packaging:
The box is the usual for Sony releases, an appropriate
number of slim cases inside a cardboard box. The
front cover features the Harts posting in front of a
Rolls-Royce, which is parked in front of their rather
nice home. Rear cover has the two of them in front of
the red car that Jonathan Hart drives in the intro.
Also dotted on the back are miscellaneous pictures
from the series. On each of the three slim cases is
a different picture of the duo. On the first case
are the Harts in their dress best at a party with
drinks. On the second case is the Harts in front of
ANOTHER car, while on the third case is the Harts, in
more casual attire (relative term with them) with
champagne. The interior covers of all three slim
cases feature a 70s-like background with various photo
stills. Rear cover of all three cases is a close-up
shot of the entrance to the mansion with the Rolls
parked in front. The SIX yes six discs both
reuse preexisting artwork in the set, and throw in
some new surprises.
Disc Breakdown
Disc 1:
Cover Art: Same as Slimcase Cover 1
Episodes: 1-3
Disc 2:
Cover Art: The Harts with Jennifer dressed as a
Fortune Teller
Episodes: 4-7
Disc 3:
Cover Art: Same as Slimcase Cover 2
Episodes 8-11
Disc 4:
Cover Art: Generic Shot of Harts in Formalwear
Episodes 12-15
Disc 5:
Covert Art: Same as Slimcase Cover 3
Episodes 16-19
Disc 6:
Cover Art: Jonathan, in tux, hugging Jennifer
Episodes 20-23
Menu Design and Navigation:
I wish there was more to write home about. The Sony
design department did a decent job on the graphics
themselves, but the menus are still the same static
and simplistic menus that pretty much every Sony
release since the dawn of time has used. On all six
discs, the main menu is a rehash of the Cover Art,
with menu options to the right. Episode selection
menus feature the same shot of the mansion as the
Special Features menu, but with the text Episode
Selection in a banner at the top. Each menu has a
still photo from the episode to the left of the
episode title. The Languages menu on each disc
features Max holding a cigar, with the dog. Special
Features (Disc 1 only) has a shot of the front of the
mansion. The menu for the Previews provides the last
unique photo in the set, a shot of Jonathan and
Jennifer face-to-face after shopping. Previews are
Bewitched (TV), The Partridge Family, and 80s Hits
movies.
Video and Audio Quality:
Video looks amazing, even viewing in full-screen mode
on a laptop in 1280x1024 - the high definition
re-mastering of the episodes really shows. The colors
are bright and vivid without seeming overly
unrealistic. The edges are sharp and clear, without
being overly corrected…this is possibly the nicest
video I’ve seen on a set of any show set prior to 1990
released by Sony. Audio's a 2.0 Dolby Digital track.
Still, sounds amazingly nice on multiple sound setups.
NO hiss, vocals are loud and clear, and the music is
as dynamic and vivid as can be expected from a 2.0
track. Chapter stops are incredibly well-placed.
Episode runtimes are roughly 50 minutes per episode on
the one-hour episodes, and is 96 minutes on the
two-hour pilot, all but prohibiting the possibility of
syndicated rerun-cuts.
Special Features:
The Hart of Season One: Special (22:45): An amazingly
well done featurette. It features interviews with the
entire cast, plus key crew from the series. It also
has outtakes, bloopers, and scenes from the show.
One strange thing is that a lot of the outtakes are
from 1980-81...season TWO of the series.
Pilot Commentary (1:36:34): Commentary on the two-hour
pilot is delivered by Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers,
and writer/director Tom Kaniewicz. There was a fire
on the first location shoot of the pilot, in addition
to the grass around Stefanie's house being on fire.
Final Comments:
There’s only one big flaw in the set. One. And it’s
THE persistent flaw in Sony sets - the menus. The
nicest photography in the world won’t save dull and
lifeless menus. Sony really, REALLY, needs to learn
from other studios, and pep up their menus. Animate
the menus…put moving clips in places…add the show
theme in the background…anything!! I also felt the
set was lacking in special features, but again, this
IS a Sony release, so any special features are nice to
behold. Hopefully they can find deleted scenes, or
network promos, or any number of things for inclusion
on the season two set.
Otherwise, this is a fantastically well done set of a
show that’s better than I remember from the few times
I saw it on the Hallmark Channel. I’d recommend the
set to any fan of the detective genre of a whole, or
anyone looking for an interesting way to spend a
couple hours.
