Shadow Squad (1957 – 1959 Series plus Skyport/PAL/Region
2/Two/Network U.K.
DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Episodes: C+
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD is only available in the U.K. from our friends at Network U.K. and can be
ordered from them at the website address links provided below at the end of the
review or at finer
retailers. This is in the Region
Two/2/PAL format and can only be operated on machines capable of playing back
Region 2/PAL discs.
I am ever
amazed at the neglect that can take place with the archives of feature films,
but TV tends to suffer more, especially in England. Shadow
Squad was a detective drama George Moon as Ginger Smart, Peter Williams (Bridge Of The River
Kwai) as Don Carter and Rex Garner as Vic
Steele, who forms his own agency when he gets sick of regulation in regular
anti-crime work. 179 half-hour shows
were made, but only 4 (yes, four) have survived and they are two-part stories
included here on this new DVD release from Network U.K. leading the release of priceless shows that time has seem
to have forgotten.
It is a
smart, fun show with some humor that is not just another boring police
procedural when the characters had some character. The Steele character eventually disappeared
as does happen on some of these shows, but I can see why the series was a hit
despite aging a bit. However, we will
never know if these were the best episodes, but it was certainly good for its
time and worth a look.
Skyport was a spin-off series that ran
from 1959 – 1960 and has 52 half-hour shows.
So how many episodes survived?
Only one! Yes, one. Terrible.
However, the episode that has survived is The Spanish Girl, which just happens to have Gerald Harper a few
years before his great spy series Adam
Adamant Lives!, Gazette and its
spin-off, Hadleigh, all of which we
have reviewed elsewhere on this site. In
this show, the title young lady is lost at the airport where the show takes
place and it becomes the basis of many questions on why she is there and how
did she get there to begin with. George
Moon’s Ginger Smart was carried over from the first series. Even Edward Woodward was on this show for a
time.
All in
all, a nice look at some key British thriller TV found again. Hope some other episodes turn up somewhere
down the line, but at least we now have these to see.
The 1.33
X 1 black & white image on all the shows are 16mm film prints of what looks
like PAL analog tapings of the time, possibly even kinescopes of live
broadcasts, but they have some print damage and detail can be limited as
expected. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono in
all cases is also a generation down and has its share of distortion throughout
each show, even with rough patches, but can sound good at times.
As noted
above, you can order this DVD import exclusively from Network U.K. at:
http://www.networkdvd.net/
or
www.networkdvd.co.uk
- Nicholas Sheffo
