When you think of nighttime soap operas, you think of Aaron Spelling. Mention disaster movies and most of us will come up with the name Irwin Allen. For cop shows, there is a toss-up. Either the name Steven Bochco will come to mind, or more than likely it will be Stephen J. Cannell. As one of the most prolific writer/producer/directors in cop show history, Cannell has been one of the most innovative in his field. I grew up watching most of the shows he was involved with, including “Toma”, “Rockford Files”, and “Barretta.” Occasionally he even strayed off the beaten path and gave us shows like “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “The A-Team”, and “Greatest American Hero.” In the 80’s, he gave us shows like “21 Jump Street”, “Hardcastle and McCormick” and “Wiseguy.” He just kept chugging into the 90’s with “The Commish” and “Silk Stalkings.” Now, I can’t claim to have watched ever show he had a hand in, but I’d say I’m at least familiar with most. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy his work, you can already find several seasons of most of these out there on DVD. And Anchor Bay is gearing up to release a whole bunch more in the coming months.

A few months back, Anchor Bay released the 1st season of “Hunter” on DVD, and followed that up with the 2nd season last week. For those of you who are not in the know and have never heard of “Hunter”, that’s a real shame because it has been considered by many to be one of his best shows. The series revolved around L.A. homicide detective Rick Hunter Fred Dryer) and his partner Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer). To say they have issues is an understatement. Hunter has to deal with his family’s ties to organized crime, which often causes him to be mistrusted by other officers. Most won’t even work with him, but McCall will. She has her own way of doing things and though they often butt heads, they realize they can only trust each other.

“Hunter” was one of those shows that I missed during its initial run. After watching the 1st and now 2nd season episodes, I’m sorry that was the case. The series was very well written, and the characters were terrific. I should have known I was missing something considering the series lasted a full 7 seasons (1984 - 1991, and then came back for several reunion movies. There was even a brief attempt to revive the series in 2003. Why it didn’t carry on any further I can’t say.

The 2nd season came with e few changes, most notably the addition of veteran character actor Bruce Davison as Captain Wyler. Davison first came to my attention as the main character in the original “Willard”, then later as a convicted child molester in “Short Eyes.” Over the years, he’s popped up in numerous movies and TV shows, always adding something special when he’s there.

When Anchor Bay teamed up with Cannell’s production company to release these DVD sets, there couldn’t have been a better partnership. Like all Anchor Bay releases, these sets are nicely packaged and even when there are few extra features, they are always worthwhile. Along with the 23 episodes that make up the 2snd season of “Hunter”, there are some new interviews with Cannel and Mike Post (who composed most of the music for Cannell’s shows) and a look at some scenes from one of the episodes in Spanish and French Canadian. You’ll also find the script for the same episode in a DVD-Rom feature.

“Hunter” was one heck of a ‘kick butt’ cop show and I can’t wait to see the upcoming seasons as they are released.

Episodes:
Case X
Night Of The Dragons
The Biggest Man In Town
Rich Girl
Killer In A Halloween Mask
Rape And Revenge, Part 1
Rape And Revenge, Part 2
Million Dollar Misunderstanding
The Big Fall
Waiting For Mr. Wrong
Think Blue
Blow-Up
War Zone
Burned
Scrap Metal
Fagin 1986
Hours Of Terror
Death Machine
The Setup
The Beautiful & The Dead, Part 1
The Beautiful & The Dead, Part 2
The Return Of Typhoon Thompson
Saturday Night Special

Starring: Fred Dryer, Stepfanie Kramer
Extras: Interviews with Stephen J. Canell and Mike Post, DVR-Rom Script for “Six Million Dollar Misunderstanding”, Select scenes from “Six Million Dollar Misunderstanding” in Spanish and French Canadian
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital Stereo
Studio: Anchor Bay
Release Date: 7/12/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
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We'll give Hunter: Season 2 a B.