The greatest of the anthology suspense shows is now available at Amazon for a paltry $20 a season, 50% off the MSRP. This program was the exact opposite of The Hitchhiker, offering beautifully crafted little screenplays, and appearances by both big stars and an endless parade of familiar character actors.
And then there were the still drolly hilarious introductions by Hitchcock, who often (due to censorship restrictions), would come out after we’d witnessed some perfect crime and inform us offhandedly that the killer later got caught. It was generally with a wink, though, and we knew he really meant, “No, not really.”
The sets are also valuable historical artifacts of a completely different time in network history. Then a season of shows offered something like 39 (!) episodes a season, as opposed to the standard 22-24 now. And commercial time was far less. A half hour show then often ran 25 minutes or more; now it’s more like 17 minutes. In any case the first set, for example, offers 1000 minutes of programming; more than 16 hours worth, for that $20.
Obviously these would make terrific stocking stuffers, too. It’s ever too early to start looking for Christmas and birthday gifts, etc.
Oh, and nostalgia buffs may also be interested in this:
Trivia question: What show was Adam-12 a spin-off of? No Googling, cheaters.
Other classic TV sets Amazon offers at the moment for half off or more include Baretta S1; Dragnet ’67 S1; Kojak S1; various sets of the various Law & Order shows; Magnum PI S1-7; and Quincy ME S1-2 (63% off).
