Over forty years later, Charlie’s Angels is once again in the spotlight. The latest attempt to bring the television series to the big screen has sadly crashed and burned with a domestic total of just over $17 million. With a budget of $48 million and a worldwide take of $55 million, maybe it isn’t as much of a failure as everyone is thinking it is. The film, directed by Elizabeth Banks, stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska is in theaters now. The 2019 version is severely flawed, but it’s not nearly as bad as everyone is trying to make it out to be. The franchise was previously brought to the screen in 2000 and 2003 respectively with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu in the lead roles. These films were both far more successful and featured some truly exciting and energized action scenes. These films would have never existed if not for the original television series which premiered on ABC Sept. 22, 1976. While many considered it to be nothing more than “Jiggle TV,” it would run for five seasons on the network and turn into a cult phenomenon. It’s very exciting to see that Mill Creek Entertainment has finally brought the complete series to Blu-ray, just in time for the holiday season.
The mysterious Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe) runs the Charles Townsend Agency, a private detective business that employs three beautiful women Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith), and Jill Munroe (Farrah Fawcett). Charlie is never seen but delivers his orders via a speakerphone, and the “Angels” are sent on cases. Sometimes aided by Charlie’s right-hand man Bosley (David Doyle), they risk their lives going undercover in order to solve each case.
This is a massive, twenty disc set. There are two separate, double-wide cases, and each one contains ten discs. They are housed in a standard, side-loading slip that keeps the set tight. There’s no writing on the case other than on the front where it has the black logo, series name, and what number discs are contained within. On the flipside of the case, there’s an assortment of pictures from the show, many featuring guest stars like Tommy Lee Jones and…wait for it…Tom Jones! The disc has no insert or booklet with episode names, numbers, or episode descriptions, which would have been really cool. The discs themselves are numbered, show the season, and the episode names are listed on them. The transfer is actually quite good, with a show like Charlie’s Angels, it’s important to have a crisp, vibrant image to show off the colorful palette the show always delivered. A really great surprise was the inclusion of the 2011 Charlie’s Angels series ABC tried to launch. Due to low ratings, the network canceled the show after airing the fourth episode, allowing three more episodes to run before taking it off the air completely. The eighth episode never aired but all eight are collected on one disc. This version starred Annie Ilonzeh, Minka Kelly, and Rachael Taylor and was axed with good reason.
As for the original series, it was great to revisit this show after having not watched it since my childhood. There were some things I didn’t realize going on, like the exit of Farrah Fawcett after only one season, and the amount of faces who appeared on the show that would go on to huge popularity later on. Tom Selleck, Robert Englund, and Jamie Lee Curtis all appear on episodes and, being a fan, it was quite exciting to discover new performances by them and the others.
It’s not a show you necessarily have to watch in order, most of the episodes are self-contained and allows for some skipping around. I had also totally forgotten about the season four opener that served as the introduction of Shelley Hack’s character Tiffany Welles after Kate Jackson’s exit, but also crossed over with another ABC hit show, The Love Boat. The show may be bit fluffy and silly, but at the same time it was a showcase for some fantastic talent. Even if the new film isn’t for you, take a journey back and re-visit this classic show and just have a good time.
Available now from Mill Creek Entertainment.
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Are they full episodes that aired originally or edited syndication version?