The Big Valley - Season Two: Volume One
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: C+
Put on
your boots and cowboy hat, here comes Season
Two: Volume One of The Big Valley. The Barley’s are still at it in Season Two rouging it in the Old West. The series uses drinking, fighting, love,
secrets, treasure, and every other aspect of the West to display a solid series
that held its ground for four seasons.
Competing with such shows as Bonanza,
which ran for 14 years and Gunsmoke
that ran for 20 years, The Big Valley
may have been just a baby in 1965, but it still managed to take advantage of
the Western gunslinger style audiences seemed to love.
With a
solid story concept and great actors such as Linda Evans, Lee Majors, and
Barbra Stanwyck the show managed to become somewhat of a success for its
time. This Season holds such classic
episodes as Lost Treasure and A Day of Terror which are sure to
excite. The only down side to this DVD
release is that it only holds 15 of the 30 episodes from Season Two, unlike the First
Season release which had all 30; but good things can wait I guess.
The
technical aspect of the Western-Themed TV on DVD set are better than any
syndicated version on television, but far from perfect. The picture is presented in a 1.33 X 1 full
screen format and for the most part is clear.
The problem this reviewer observes in the picture is found in the color
at times being too bright and off balance.
The sound is a basic Dolby Digital 2.0 mono that is not impressive by
any means, but gets the job done even with the occasional distant or off
balance quality. The extras are once
again absent here on this second DVD release, which is quite sad for fans. The studios have to get in gear and grab
commentaries and interviews while the actors are around to speak for them.
Western
fans should rejoice for this Season Two
- Volume One release, even though it is a cut back from the 30 episodes
included in the Season One DVD
release. The Barley’s truly show the
challenges the Old West offered, even if times don’t always seem so tough.
- Michael P Dougherty II
