The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

Finally! Quite nearly three decades after this show appeared, it's BACK! This series starred Shaun Cassidy, Pamela Sue Martin/Janet Louise Johnson, and Parker Stevenson, and was shown on ABC from January 1977 to to January 1979. The Hardys alternated with Nancy Drew once a week in the first season. By 1978 the Nancy Drew series was failing. In a last ditch attempt to save the series, ABC combined the Hardys and Nancy for a few episodes. This didn't work and Ms. Drew was canceled in the fall of '78. The Hardys followed this fate early in 1979. Thus season two is the only FULL season out there.

If you enjoy Hart to Hart, Magnum PI, or even Murder She Wrote, this classic DVD set is for you -- and they'll even throw in a poster of Shaun!

It is difficult to introduce the concepts of mystery and investigation to a youngster through television today. Most current detective shows offer up unnecessarily gruesome storylines to paint a bleak portrait of the lives of cops chasing criminals. That is where 'The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries' proves to be so different- as do other detective shows of that era, like 'Murder, She Wrote', - except that THB/NDM was tailored to appeal to teenaged audiences. Every episode presents an intriguing, yet innocent mystery that is solved by the respective young detective (or 'part-time investigator') using logical deduction and the occassional gut feeling. The sequence of investigation depicted is exactly as described in the books, thus making it the perfect show for Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys fans. The actors play the eternally-beloved title characters well, and there are only a few fairly negligible departures from the original storylines that in my opinion, only increase the viewers' enjoyment. There is also a certain quality to the writing of the dialogues that can induce a wave of nostalgia in anyone familiar with the books. Every episode in the entire series focuses mainly on the case at hand, and never dwells too long on the characters' personal lives. Their eccentricities and quirks come out while they work, therefore making them all the more real and relatable.

I love reading "The Hardy Boys" books and I really enjoy the series, not so much of "Nancy Drew" though but then again, I never liked reading Nancy Drew in the first place. The series is very much like the books with similar plots. My favourite episode is the 2-part "The Last Kiss of Summer" as it was very touching. I enjoy Shaun Cassidy's music and it was great that he belted out some songs in the show as well. Many celebrity stars guested in the show like Melanie Griffith, Marj Dusay, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert Englund, Stuart Whitman, June Lockhart, Terry Kiser, Lorne Greene and Ricky Nelson. The plots in this show is very similar to other shows during this era like "The Six Million Dollar Man", "Bionic Woman", "Starsky & Hutch", "Charlie's Angels" and "Rockford Files" I'd recommend this show to anyone who likes the shows I mentioned.

Looking back at the Hardy Boys episodes, it is amazing that they could get by with such poor scripts and mediocre acting. But one has to remember that the entire success of these shows was based on the teen idol appeal of Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson. These boys weren't acting; they were performing acts of S & M (standing and modeling). As long as those blow-dried, pouffed-out hair don'ts were perfect with every hair in place, nothing else mattered. It is amusing to note that the boys still had perfect hair after deep sea diving, laying comatose in a hospital, and having the %$# kicked out of them. The vision of Shaun running through a fire engulfed room with soot on his face and perfect hair stretches credibility to the limit. What is even more ridiculous is how the Hardy Boys were crammed into very tight pants, leaving NOTHING to the viewers' imagination. Even the most brain-dead preteen could quickly figure out that Shaun dressed to the left and Parker dressed to the right. (And neither boy had anything to be ashamed of in that department.) The Nancy Drew episodes were less popular in their day, but the acting and writing was far superior to that of the Hardy Boys. Unable to play the teen idol card, Pamela Sue Martin actually had to act, and her talents in that department were almost as sizeable as what the Hardy Boys were not hiding in their pants. Pamela was also much less preoccupied with perfect appearance. She actually allowed her clothes to get dirty and her hair did occasionally get messed up. But Martin's most astounding feat was climbing up ladders, running down alleys, and jumping across rooftops in 3-inch heels. This makes her a much bigger super-heroine than Wonder Woman.

I have really enjoyed reliving my early and mid teen years through this wonderful show.I had forgotten what a crush that I had/have on Parker Stevenson!! I'm so glad that it has been released on DVD and hope that the other two seasons won't be far behind. It's great for teens to have a chance to watch some of the great programs that we grew up with, especially with the shows that they have to watch today. If you haven't bought the first season DVD yet, I strongly recommend it. If you have kids they will love it, if not and you grew up in the 70's it's great to watch and go back just for a while. Not that we're old by any means, we just had good taste !!! Also, it couldn't hurt to let Universal know how much you would like to see the other seasons. Lisa