Written by: Dominicus at 3:12 am
Filed under: DVD Box Sets,Television
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton, Tige Andrews
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount Home Video
Release Date: December 18, 2007
The Mod Squad is one of those hip 70′s television shows that was popular back in the day. It’s a police drama that is essentially about a group of punks that end up as police officers. Naturally, this makes them a little bit cooler then the average police officers on the force. It also makes them pretty entertaining as far as things on the show go.
While things were amusing, I am hard pressed to say anything more about this series. I assume that you had to be around and able to watch this show when it was released to really appreciate it in the way most do. If you’re younger like I am, the mood is fun and lighthearted, but it’s not contagious enough to become a must have or must own set.
It’s somewhat hard to offer a definitive vote for whether or not this series is an asset to television history because this is a split set that offers only half of the season. With no way of knowing how the season ended, I cannot offer any positive information as to whether there was even a point to a second season. I can only assess the episodes I am able to watch here. This leaves me in a position to review this set rather than the season or series as a whole.
Release Information:
The Mod Squad: The First Season, Volume One is available in a four disc box set that was released by Paramount Home Video on December 18, 2007. The set offers half of the episodes in season one and a few special features to round out the set. You can purchase this set on Amazon for $29.99.
The The Mod Squad: The First Season, Volume One Plot
The Mod Squad has the ability to be interesting for a number of reasons. Starting with the obvious, this squad is three criminals that are offered a chance to be cops instead of go to jail. The Captain, Adam Greer (Tige Andrews) must have had the idea that the squad could make investigations easier between the criminal element and the police force. So, after a little bit of training, which includes running from a car that is chasing them, Greer deems them officers unofficially and calls them when he needs them.
I say unofficially assuming they were not technically made police officers because they do work for the force, though they don’t do things like paperwork, they never have to wear drab uniforms, and there is never any mention if they were formally made police officers, though it honestly does not appear that way.
The series revolves around the three young criminals turned cops. The group includes Pete Cochran (Michael Cole – Mr. Brooks), Lincoln Hayes (Clarence Williams III – Purple Rain), and Julie Barnes (Peggy Lipton – Twin Peaks). These three all had their own specific story that led them to crime though the point was that each of them was essentially good at heart. They made it look like it had more to do with being a victim of circumstance. After all, if they were true criminals they would have made an effort to abuse the system a little more than they do on the show.
Pete is a rich, somewhat emo punk that ends up getting kicked out of his parents luxury pad because of his bad attitude. Lincoln was born in the ghetto and never strayed too far. While he was a troublemaker it seemed to be more of an expected rite of passage based on his zip code. This is not to say that I agree with this. It’s just how the show made it seem. Finally, there is the lone girl of the group, Julie Barnes, who was the daughter of a prostitute with a tough girl attitude and a flower child sense of style.
The mysteries are not hard to solve. In fact, if I had invited my kid brother over to watch this I have no doubt that it would have only taken him minutes to figure each episode out. The fact that the mysteries are too easy to figure out in this set makes them entertaining but not replayable, in my opinion. With these incredibly easy mysteries, it makes one assume that the show is really not about cops or mysteries at all. Instead it seems like it is a product of a failing culture and a look at the styles and trends of the times.
Of the thirteen episodes on the four discs, I would have to say the best ones included “The Teeth of the Barracuda”, “Bad Man on Campus”, “Find Tara Chapman!”, “A Quiet Weekend in the Country”, and “The Guru”. The mysteries include everything from solving crimes of blackmail to mob hits and murder.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The Mod Squad is presented with a compression ratio of 1.33:1. Despite one of the most basic compression rates and the year that this was made, things turned out well. The video quality never had any problems. The colors are sharp and deep with a clarity that is surprising considering the age of the show. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital English sound. It’s fairly flat and I am guessing it sounds like it did back then, which is not overly impressive, but passable.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
There are a few special bonus features included in this season one, volume one box set. I was surprised to see any features at all, considering many of these split sets do not contain any added extras. The set includes three featurettes. The first is a behind the scenes kind of thing, “Forming the Squad”. The second offers historical looks at the show in a featurette called “The Teeth of the Barracuda”. The last featurette offers thoughts and words from people that appeared on the show in a feature called “Friends of the Mod Squad”.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The Mod Squad, Season One, Volume One is an entertaining 13 episodes. If you are watching for the mystery element then you should just skip this one off the bat. If you are watching for those nostalgic moments because you were a former fan you might want to rent this to see if it’s still your style. It’s likely everyone else will want to rent this first, too, just in case you find that while entertaining, it just doesn’t hit a mark that equals a purchase.
Overall Rating: 
Technorati Tags: The Mod Squad, The First Season, Volume One, Classic Television, TV on DVD, DVD Box Set
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Written by Dominicus - Visit Website
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At 23 years old, I feel that I've lived enough life to share my opinion with the world. That's what I'm doing here, as a writer, for Literary Illusions. I was born in Florida, raised in California, and currently living in Colorado, where I go to a small school in the middle of nowhere. Majoring in Business Administration, I have the goal of one day ruling the world. Interests in life include dating, movies, sports, hanging out with friends, drinking, bar hopping, and writing in both an inebriated and sober state.
