CHARLIE'S ANGELS: THE COMPLETE SERIES - Blu-ray (Columbia, 1976-81) Mill Creek
One of the first prime time TV shows to successfully – and perpetually –
keep updating its cast, Aaron Spelling’s Charlie’s Angels (1976-81)
remains a time capsule of the social mores and sexual politics that once seemed
an indestructible part of our pop culture. Whether one chooses to disregard the
rather sexist approach to these scantily clad sexpots in sleuthing drag,
fronted by the never seen ‘Charlie’ (voiced by John Forsythe), or Charlie’s
even more laissez faire and James Bond-esque approach to bedding an
ever-evolving lineup of decidedly attractive women, Charlie’s Angels
quickly established itself - not only as the cornerstone of ABC’s programming
in the fall of ’76, but as a cultural touchstone in the mainstream vernacular,
to have been endlessly rebooted and lampooned ever since, and, for what is
today largely regarded, as its quaintly out of touch vanity and sexism. The
most recent cinematic reboot has decidedly shed all that fantastic plastic
superficial sheen that made the original series such a gosh-darn hoot; the newest
trio of ‘angels’ fronted by one of their own: Jaclyn Smith, having taken over the
mysterious crime-solving enterprise once fronted by Charles Townsend. The theme
of female empowerment is at the forefront of the new 2019 movie that all but
jettisons what NBC executive, Paul Klein condescendingly referenced in 1979 as ‘jiggle
TV’ – an homage to the angels’ obvious assets. While the original triumvirate
of Jaclyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett-Majors, and Kate Jackson barely lasted a season
(Fawcett, erroneously believed she could do better, and briefly ventured on her
own as a ‘serious actress’ – a decision that, despite a few well-timed Broadway
and movie roles, led to the all-but-immediate evaporation of her instant
stardom while an angel she remained), Charlie’s Angels would continue
for another 4 seasons; Cheryl Ladd (lasting 4 out of 5 seasons), Shelley Hack
(Season 4 only) and Tanya Roberts (Season 5 only) filling in after Kate Jackson
decided it was time to hang up her holster. Interesting, Jackson would return
to TV in Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983-87) – another crime-solving drama,
costarring Bruce Boxleitner.
The longevity of Charlie’s Angels can be attributed to far more
than ‘jiggle TV’. Aaron Spelling’s Midas
touch for one. Indeed, Spelling ruled contemporary programming tastes during the
latter half of the 20th century with far too many mega-hits to list
herein, touching off a powder keg of solidly written, if conveniently resolved,
whodunits and minor espionage capers for which the angels frequently required
an assist from Charlie’s right hand man, John Bosley (David Doyle, playing it
strictly for laughs). Interesting too, to note that no one at ABC had faith in
the series. In fact, Spelling had to fight like hell, merely to shoot the
74-min. pilot, confronted by antipathy from network execs, Barry Diller, who
suggested no one would watch it, and Michael Eisner, having no compunction
about telling Spelling it was “one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard.” Alas,
both men were chagrined when the pilot rocked the Nielsen’s on its initial broadcast,
and a second ‘repeat’ viewing pulled in as big a share of the viewing audience –
proof enough, Spelling had his finger on the pulse of the public. Thus, the
naysayers were left head-scratching, if still modestly reluctant to green light
a commitment to a full season of episodes.
Writers, Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts were responsible for the general
premise, pitting three beautiful female private investigators against the
male-dominated criminal element – the notion of a ‘strong woman’ then, a
revolutionary concept in television. In casting the show, Spelling and his co-producer,
Leonard Goldberg always had Kate Jackson in mind; Jackson, having come across
with audiences in another police-themed TV drama, The Rookies (also
created by Spelling). Initially cast as Kelly Ann Garrett (the role eventually
filled by Jaclyn Smith), Jackson, who had been afforded some creative latitude
to ensure her commitments on the show, instead gravitated to the demurer part
of Sabrina Duncan. Farrah Fawcett-Majors as Jill Munroe, came to Spelling’s
attention after her brief, but memorable turn in the colorful sci-fi dud, Logan’s
Run (1976). Of the original three angels, only Jaclyn Smith had to ‘audition’
to prove herself worthy to Spelling – Smith, an unknown quantity, leaving Spelling
and Goldberg reticent about hiring her, as their initial plan had been to distinguish
the angels by – wait for it – their hair color: a brunette, blonde, and
red-head. Mercifully, Smith’s on-screen chemistry with Jackson and Fawcett clicked.
And thus, the triumvirate was locked and loaded for prime time.
Today, Charlie’s Angels seems such a perfect title, one can easily
forget it was not preordained at the time Spelling and Goldberg were evolving
the series. On the contrary, Goldberg had envisioned a series, effectively to
meld the high-adventure of The Avengers with Honey West – a horrendous
first bite at a similar apple, produced by Spelling for one failed season in the
mid-1960’s. Herein, Goff and Roberts were absolutely no help at all, absurdly titling
the series, The Alley Cats to have depicted its three protagonists –
then, named Allison, Lee, and Catherine – as backstreet dominatrix, sporting whips
and chains as their main line of defense. Afforded semi-creative control, Kate Jackson
vetoed this premise and ‘encouraged’ producers to find a better title for the
project. It was Jackson who suggested the terminology ‘angels’ as part of the
title, after seeing a picture of seraphs adorning Spelling’s office. So, Harry’s
Angels was born. Only ABC feared confusion between this new program and Harry
O – a series already running on their network. So, Spelling accommodated,
changing the omnipotent puppet master’s name to Charlie instead. Another change:
Charlie, envisioned as an integral part of these crime-solving capers would
now, instead, act as an elegant cipher, prompting each week’s assignment with
an overview of the case and, reappear only briefly before the final fade out,
to congratulate his angels on a job well done.
Casting the voice of Charlie, Spelling turned to long-time friend and
actor, John Forsythe (after his original choice, Gig Young – turned up intoxicated
and unable to read his lines). Forsythe, whose inimitable diction came to typify
millionaire, Charlie Townsend, kept in contact with his angels via a Western
Electric speakerphone. And Spelling would remember Forsythe fondly when
re-casting the part of Blake Carrington (after George Peppard proved a handful)
on Dynasty (1981-89); Spelling’s grand foray into the nighttime soap opera
cycle that dominated 80’s television programming. Forsythe’s attachment to Charlie’s
Angels was perhaps the easiest to secure. Virtually all of his lines were
pre-recorded in an audio studio – another undisclosed actor, briefly appearing
with his back always to the camera for Charlie’s cameos. But Forsythe never
came to the working set. “I didn't even take my pajamas off,” Forsythe later
joked, “I just put on my topcoat and drove over to Fox. When it was finished,
Aaron Spelling said, ‘That's perfect.’ And I went home and went back to bed.”
Nearly a decade later, Forsythe recalled how he accidentally bumped into Farrah
Fawcett on a tennis court long after the series had run its course; Fawcett,
playfully declaring, “Charlie! I’ve finally met Charlie!”
In a last-minute concern over a series to depict 3 women crime-fighting
mostly on their own, ABC encouraged Spelling and Goldberg to hire David Ogden
Stiers as Scott Woodville, a sort of ‘Mission Impossible’-styled
organizer to assist the angels and act as John Bosley’s superior; one ‘cook’
too many for this ‘broth’ and, never again to appear in the series after the
pilot. If Charlie’s Angels has a flaw, it is its infantilization of these
strong women – as Charlie’s ‘three little girls’ who ‘once upon a
time’ trained together at the police academy. While this narration opens
each program, with Forsythe playfully enforcing glibness and only marginal respect for
his hard-working gals – what follows is often an exercise in just how tough and
resilient ‘three little girls’ can be when determined and prompted to succeed. On
March 21, 1976, audiences were officially introduced to Charlie and his
angels, the plot, revolving around Jaclyn Smith’s Kelly Garrett, who impersonates
a long-lost heiress, presumably come home to inherit a winery after her father’s
death, but actually there to investigate Beau Creel (Bo Hopkins), the winery’s
manager, suspected in the murder of the original owner. The pilot also featured
Tommy Lee Jones as Aram Colegium - a former flame. Deliberately, Garrett’s cover
is blown by Woodville after Aram discovers Kelly is an imposter; replaced by Kate
Jackson’s Sabrina Duncan, also impersonating the heiress – this time, as a flighty
millionaire, desiring to build a bird sanctuary on swamp lands adjacent the property,
where the body has been previously dumped by Creel and his cohorts. Inveigling
Farrah Fawcett’s Jill Munroe in this convoluted scenario, Fawcett plays a
pig-tailed backwoods’ country bumpkin, lying to Creel about the swamp land’s
rich oil reserves, merely to spur him on to dredge up and relocate the body
before anyone is the wiser.
To suggest ABC executives were underwhelmed by the pilot is an
understatement. Instead, they found the action subservient to the camp, and
thought Spelling had clearly lost his mind. Charlie’s Angels would
premiere as a forgettable movie of the week before quietly relegated to the
dust bins of television history. But no – the fate of the franchise was instead
sealed when the pilot soared in the Nielsen Ratings. Still unconvinced, ABC
re-ran the pilot on a different night, where it still managed to dominate viewership.
Marveling at their good fortune, execs relented, ordering Spelling to reassemble
cast and crew to make more. Viewing Charlie’s Angels today, one is
immediately struck by its endlessly watchable resilience and its tongue-in-cheek
charm. Even more impressive, the show managed to overcome cast changes that
would have tanked most any other television franchise of its generation. After
all, this was an era ruled by the seemingly indestructible chemistry of
time-honored cast members assembled for the long haul. Alas, after only a
single season, Farrah Fawcett-Majors elected not to renew her contract. So, Jill
Munroe was replaced in Season Two by Cheryl Ladd, as Jill’s sister, San Franciscan
police academy graduate, Kris Munroe. In hindsight, Ladd would be the series’
second longest-running cast member (Jaclyn Smith, the only angel to stay the full
course), remaining happily ensconced as Kris from Season 2 to the series end,
three years later. By Season 4, Kate Jackson had also departed, necessitating
the brief debut of Shelley Hack, as Bostonian police academy graduate, Tiffany
Welles, replaced for the 5th and final season by Tanya Roberts, as model-turned-private-investigator,
Julie Rogers.
The departure of the original angels is definitely worth noting,
particularly Fawcett’s exit – given the overnight buzz generated by her
participation on the show. Indeed, when Fawcett handed in her resignation at
the end of Season One, Spelling did everything to make the actress reconsider –
even offering to raise her salary from $5,000 to $8,000 per episode – but to no
avail. Prior to signing on to Charlie’s Angels, Fawcett had appeared in
several high-profile feature films. She had also made cameo appearances on
several long-running TV shows and had modeled on the side. Charlie’s Angels,
however, put Fawcett’s career into overnight overdrive. Arguably, instant fame
went to Fawcett’s head. She thought she could leave the show to successfully
return to films. Spelling and ABC sued her for breach of contract. But Fawcett
settled out of court after agreeing to resurface in the series – eventually making
6 guest appearances over the next 2 years. Alas, Fawcett’s popularity never
recovered from this misfire, despite receiving great reviews from the New York critics
for her Broadway debut in Extremities (1983) and marking her return to
the small screen as a ‘serious actress’ in The Burning Bed (1984) and Between
Two Woman (1986). As for Kate Jackson, perhaps it was bitterness for having
to give up the plum part of a harried divorcee (eventually played by Meryl Streep)
in the Oscar-winning Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), due to a conflict of
interests and contractual obligations to the show, that touched off her grave
contempt for the daily grind of doing a series. Pegged as the level-headed
angel in this triumvirate, Jackson’s chronic grumbling about the quality of the
scripts, and, her inability to get along with Cheryl Ladd – Fawcett’s replacement,
eventually resulted in her dismissal – in retrospect, providing the opportunity
to chase after her own dreams of making feature films. And although she briefly
endeavored to make a success of this career move, by 1983, Jackson had again
signed on to a series for her bread and butter; the highly popular, Washington
espionage/thriller series, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983-87).
Jaclyn Smith – the only ‘original angel’ to fill out the run of her
contract, proved eclectic in more ways than one. Although her initial reading for the part of Kelly
Garrett was a minor disaster, Spelling and Goldberg were entranced by her
presence, and, even more assured she could carry the role by her prior work in The
Rookies (1972) and Get Christy Love (1974). During this interim,
Smith also became a recognizable face in commercials, shilling for Wella
Balsam, Breck Shampoo and Max Factor. Her
instant fame on Charlie’s Angels resulted in a flourishing TV career –
dubbed ‘queen of the mini-series’ and even finding time to shoot the perennial
holiday classic, The Night They Saved Christmas (1984). After the run of
the series, Smith picked up the baton, launching her own signature clothing
line for K-Mart. Meanwhile, following Farrah
Fawcett’s abrupt departure from the series, Cheryl Ladd was practically goaded
by Aaron Spelling into filling her shoes; a role Ladd initially wanted
absolutely nothing to do with. Indeed, Fawcett’s iconic presence had jinxed any
actress naïve enough to assume she could simply step into role on her own
terms. So, Spelling accommodated Ladd by introducing her as Jill’s kid sister,
Kris – an executive decision that worked like a charm. Far from assuming the
mantle vacated by Fawcett as ‘second best’ – Ladd came to the series as her own
person, and, with an already successful singing career to continue after the
end of her run on the show. She also proved adept at starring in feature films
and appearing on Broadway.
While finding ‘the new’ Farrah Fawcett proved not altogether an
uneventful experience, replacing Kate Jackson with Shelley Hack was a catastrophe.
Indeed, Jackson’s Sabrina Duncan had been the anchor of the show, and Hack –
whose previous lack of experience (she was Revlon’s ‘Charlie Girl’)
nevertheless was overlooked by Spelling, quite simply failed to catch on with audiences.
Ironically, Hack had beat out such front-runners as Barbara Bach, Connie
Sellecca, Shari Belafonte, and, Michelle Pfeiffer for this coveted part. But Season
4’s ratings were the weakest by far, and, after only a single season, Hack was
quietly replaced with Tanya Roberts in 1980. “They can say I didn't work
out, but it isn't true,” Hack later offered up, “A business decision was
made…new publicity. A new Angel hunt. Who… to replace? …the new kid on the
block.” An ex dance instructor, Tanya Roberts beat out literally thousands
of hopefuls; Spelling, impressed with her cameo on another of his popular TV
franchises, Vega$ (1978-81). The producer had hoped to spin off another
series from Vega$, entitled The Ladies in Blue, which would have
starred Roberts. Alas, networks were unimpressed with his pitch, and Roberts
wound up being cast as the 6th and final angel instead. Although
ratings for Charlie’s Angels marginally improved for its final year, it
was not enough for ABC to reconsider continuing on. Charlie’s Angels had
run its course. After Charlie’s Angels went off the air, Roberts dyed
her hair blond and moved into feature films, appearing in Beastmaster
(1982), Sheena – Queen of the Jungle (1984) and, as the Bond girl in
Roger’s Moore’s final outing as 007, A View to a Kill (1985). After a fallow period, Roberts was back in vogue,
returning to her natural hair color and the seventies’ milieu in Fox’s That ‘70’s
Show (1998-06).
At its core, Charlie's Angels is a formulaic procedural drama
following a stock structure: a crime already committed, the angels given their
assignment by Charlie, and then, going through the various plot entanglements
to bring about a successful resolution within the constraints of hour-long and
commercial-interrupted prime time programming. The final scene always takes
place in Townsend’s office, with hearty congratulations from the puppet master to
his sexy minions. Rather unflattering, Charlie’s Angels was branded as
‘Jiggle TV’ – loosely translated to sexploitation of the lowest order, for
which the 1970’s were richly regarded. And yet, critics who believed the series
possessed zero intelligence or substance were in for a quiet surprise – at least,
during the first two seasons. While the
angels oft did their crime-fighting scantily clad, they nevertheless proved to
hold their own in a seemingly perverted ‘man’s world’ – the series’ camp,
viewed as trashy and escapist by critics, instead beloved and embraced by the audience,
who tuned in each week to ogle the stars. Farrah Fawcett joked, “When the
show was number three, I figured it was our acting. When it got to be number
one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra.”
Indeed, Time magazine, while recognizing the show’s immediate appeal,
labeled Charlie's Angels as a “aesthetically ridiculous, commercially
brilliant brainstorm.” There is little to deny Aaron Spelling was – if not,
ahead of his time – then, most assuredly completely in tune with the times in
which he toiled to make some of the most iconic TV fare of his generation. In
years since passed, the remaining angels have defended Charlie’s Angels
as good-humored, even trail-blazing fun. “It was about three emotionally and
financially independent women,” Jaclyn Smith surmised, “I think the
producers were smart. They wanted to bring in that younger audience and…families
to watch together.” Cheryl Ladd seconded this opinion, denouncing the show’s
branding as ‘jiggle TV’ – “There hadn't been a show like this on the air...we
were very inspirational to a lot of young women. 'Angels' were grown-up Girl
Scouts. With the feminist movement, we were kind of half-heroes, half-goats.”
And while some feminist scholarship was quick to disagree, outspoken social
critic, Camille Paglia, has since gone on record as among the show’s champions,
calling Charlie’s Angels an "effervescent action-adventure
showing smart, bold women working side by side in fruitful collaboration.”
In the end, what likely did the series in was not its ever-revolving cast
roster, nor even its gradual shift away from classy undercover drama to
mainstream ‘cop story of the week’ – rather, ABC’s overactive concerns
the show needed a shake-up after Charlie’s Angels slipped out of the top
5 in the Nielsen Ratings. Migrating in its final season to no less than 3
different time slots effectively alienated the audience, and resulted in one of
ABC’s top-rated dramas slipping into the bottom 5 by 1981. After 110 episodes, ABC
effectively turned out the lights on one of its programming cornerstones. The
network said goodbye to Charlie’s Angels. But the audience never did.
Now, Mill Creek Entertainment debuts Charlie’s Angels: The Complete
Series on Blu-ray, cribbing from digital remasters provided them by Sony
Pictures Entertainment – the custodians of this classic Spelling gem. The
results, alas, are quite uneven. While a good many episodes herein impress with
their overall clarity and exceptional color reproduction, a handful of episodes
– and more than a handful of scenes – wildly veer from marginally acceptable
to downright appalling. Where the fault lies remains open for discussion. Charlie’s
Angels was shot on 35mm film – its main titles composited using dupes and
opticals – always to result in at least one generation of downgrades in image
fidelity. So, the main titles for the series are among the worst-looking
segments of any episode, with amplified grain, built-in flicker, distorted
contrast and a curious amount of discoloration and/or color fading. There are also age-related artifacts to
contend with; light speckling and an errant scratch or two – classified under forgivable
sins. Personally, I think a little extra money ought to have been spent on a
full restoration of the iconic main titles.
Restoration is costly – yes. But cumulatively, this would have resulted
in Sony having to hash out cash for clean-up, color balancing and image
stabilization on barely 8-full-minutes of run time – hardly, breaking their
coffers. All episodes exhibit varying degrees of image clarity and stability. But
most are competent efforts that will surely not disappoint. Compression
artifacts are not an issue – surprisingly, as Mill Creek is still in the habit
of cramming their discs with as many episodes as is possible, instead of
properly spacing them out to maximize bit rate. We also get 6 episodes from the
failed 2011 reboot of the original franchise. Otherwise, there are NO extras.
Bottom line: despite changing social mores (a show about 3 hot women fighting
crime in bikinis and other tight-fitting clothes would never fly today) Charlie’s
Angels holds up remarkably well under close scrutiny. It’s still a lot of
fun with a lot of entertainment value to be had – and jiggle TV be damned! The
Blu-rays are adequate, if hardly exceptional and that’s a shame for a show as
beloved and long-enduring in our pop culture as this. So, judge and buy
accordingly.
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
Overall 3.5
VIDEO/AUDIO
Overall 3
EXTRAS
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