Spenser

I think Spenser for Hire is the best shows I've ever watched. The books that Robert Parker wrote are excellent. Just recently been able to purchase all of his shows and watch them non-stop on weekends. Spenser and Hawk were great team partners, Robert Urich is surely missed and Avery Brooks, well he's great also. I have read all of books that Robert Parker wrote about Spenser for Hire. The movie Hawk is also excellent to watch as well. If you have not seen any of the movies and your a fan of both Robert Urich and Avery Brooks, then you should take the time to watch the shows. As for the movies that were released, okay, didn't particularly care for the actor that played Susan Silverman.

I never liked VEGA$ very much, never read any of Parker's books, had never heard of Parker before, and found myself watching almost every episode of SPENSER only because TV GUIDE described it as a conventional cop show. (Not that VEGA$ was unconventional, but SPENSER was the first such show I ever watched without considerable parental guidance.) What I didn't expect were Spenser's delightful literary meditations. They (along with the beauty of Barbara Stock) made this show not just a rite of passage (for me) but one of my all-time favorites.

However, there was one Shakespearean passage I waited to hear and never did. Given Spenser's apparent compassion for all those involved in his cases, when he had to kill someone or witness a scene of massive killing I kept waiting for him to quote Fortinbras' lament for both the innocent and the guilty dead at the end of HAMLET:

"Take up the bodies. Such a sight as this

Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss."

Several weeks before posting this review, I visited Boston for the first time. While riding the city's MBTA Red Line across the Longfellow Bridge, I could not help but hum variations of the theme song from "Spenser: For Hire," which aired over 25 years ago. I never read the Spenser books written by Robert B. Parker so I have no idea if the show ever captured the essence of the novels. The series never ranked in the top 20 and was switched to several time slots during the show's three seasons. The show's major strengths were Robert Urich as Spenser, Avery Brooks as Hawk and the incredibly strong on location production values that made the show better than some current and past detective shows, depending on the episode.

Some episodes, especially within season 1, had strong, intriguing plot twists that kept my interest. Three of my personal favorites were "The Choice," (which starred Patricia Clarkson and Sam Robards as thrill killers), "When Silence Speaks" (with Phyllis Frelich as a newspaper columnist who hires Spenser to locate a letter writer) and "Discord in a Minor," in which the teenage daughter of the city's symphony director tries to run away with the son of a local crime boss.

The show was far from perfect. Both of Spenser's love interests, Susan Silverman (played by Barbara Stock, seasons 1 and 3) and Rita Fiori (played by Carolyn McCormick, season 2) were generally thankless, underdeveloped roles. Arguably, both actresses tried their best with the material given but, more often than not, the dynamic between Spenser and Hawk was more interesting. In addition, several episodes depended more on chase scenes and stunts instead of correcting plot deficiencies, great stunt work notwithstanding.

I watched "Spenser: For Hire" on SlashControl.com and, as of this post, over 50 of the show's 65 episodes are available for streaming. Overall, the show was a nice diversion and a better-than-average detective series.

Update (6/14/2012): Sadly, with AOL ending SlashControl.com, Spenser: For Hire is not being streamed as of this update. I hope Warner Brothers will reconsider and stream and/or release the program on DVD in the future.

Update (2/3/2015): The WB Shop has released season 1 of "Spenser: For Hire" on a made-to-order DVD basis.

This was and is the best series about PI's ever, Robert Urich and Avery Brooks where what made this series great also Richard Jaeckal and Ron McLarty were great support, The episodes of the first season were the best of the series, the 2nd season had standout episodes, but was not as good as the first, the third season started to show the shows age but I can't think of a bad episode, I love a show which surprises you and causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand up!!, and this show did, Hawk was such a great character and there is only one Hawk!!(Avery Brooks), This show had the human touch which is lost on shows today, this show is not dated it looks as though it was released today

It is my desire to own all three seasons on DVD someday when they are released, Robert Urich was a TV god to me and he is truly missed, this is TV to be remembered, Oh yeah Barbara Stock was OK!(No Truly great acting there) and Carolyn McCormick had bite in **Eye For An Eye** but after that she was dull and un-interesting

Over all a truly great show!!

Here's what can happen when intelligent people put together a show and keep up the quality thru its run. Spenser, though it only lasted three short seasons was a witty, intelligent, and suspensful show. The chemistry between Ulrich and Brooks (Spenser and Hawk) made the show...It was shown those two guys (while often dissagreeing about things) genuinly respected and cared about each other. The show was superbly shot in and around Boston, though a few locations (the abandoned Navy Yard especially) were used a bit to often, but at least it was Bosten, and not LA. The only weak link was Barbara Stock. Her continual "hampster in heat" acting mared the series, and Carolyn MacCormick (as Rita Fiori) was a far more interesting love interest for Spenser. Like "Harry-O" (w/ David Janssen) Spenser's adventures ended far to soon.