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 “Wiseguy” out there on DVD. But even better, Anchor Bay is gearing up to release a whole slew of his shows in the coming months.

First up is “Silk Stalkings.” This unusually names series took viewers into the world of the wealthy and glamorous living in Palm Beach, Florida. Of course, being that it was a cop show, we also caught a glimpse of the deaths of a few of these folks. Enter homicide detectives Sgt. Rita Lance (Mitzi Kapture) and Sgt. Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes). It was their job, under the watchful eye of their Captain (Ben Vereen), to solve the murders of the rich and famous.

The series lasted an incredible eight seasons, originally running on CBS back in 1991. It also made the leap onto the USA Network, running almost concurrently until CBS dropped it altogether. Over the years there were a few cast changes, but it was the team of Lance and Lorenzo that remained the fan favorites. Kapture and Estes had a great rapport, and as most successful series have the habit of throwing in, a lot of sexual tension. But, as both were involved on and off with other people, they maintained a purely professional relationship. As to whether or not they ever got together later in the series, I’ll have to say I don’t know. As much as I enjoyed the first season when it originally aired, I didn’t stay with the show after that. Luckily, I may yet find out because if this first season DVD set does well, I’m sure Anchor Bay will release the rest. I just have to be patient.

This first season of “Silk Stalkings” contains all 22 episodes, and it kind of took me back watching them. I really wondered why I strayed after the second season began to air. I guess I probably have to chalk it up to timing. The series itself is quite enjoyable, much better than I had remembered. It still kept a little bit of that ‘80’s’ feel since it was created so soon after the decade ended. And the rapport I mentioned before between the stars was full of some classic innuendos. Both went on to have strong careers after leaving the series. Estes worked in a few films but continued his TV calling on shows like “Melrose Place” and “Suddenly Susan.” Kapture, who also got a few films on her resume, did a stint on “Baywatch” (of all places) and joined the cast of “The Young and the Restless” in 2002.

I was glad to see the DVD included some extra features, all of which are interviews. We get to hear from Cannell, Estes and Kapture, as well as Ben Vereen. I wish there had been a little more behind the scenes featurettes, but I’m sure the availability of materials for show like this is slim. Overall, the interviews are long enough and interesting enough to fulfill fans of the series.

The packaging on this particular set is interesting. I’ve really like the studios that have switched over to the slim cases. They tend to use up less space on the shelf and that’s really important to me. But this if the first time I’ve ever seen a 2-disc slim case. Anchor Bay was able to get 6 discs into a package that would normally only hold 3. It is unquestionably a plus in my book.

I’ll definitely be on the lookout for all of the Cannell series that will be coming out over the next few months, but I’m already looking forward to future releases of “Silk Stalkings”, just so I can finally find out what happened after season 1!!

Episodes:
Pilot
Going to Babylon
S.O.B.
In the Name of Love
Men Seeking Women
Dirty Laundry
Hard Copy
Curtain Call
The Brotherhood
Blo-Dri
Intensive Care
Squeeze Play
Shock Jock
The Sock Drawer
Internal Affair
Witness
Domestic Agenda
Lady Luck
Working Girl
Powder Burn

Starring: Rob Estes, Mitzi Kapture, Ben Vereen
Extras:
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Anchor Bay Enterainment
Release Date: Available
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Silk Stalkings: Season 1 a B-.