The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

As far as 1970s adventure tv for young people goes (most were really cheap and dumb), this was a fine series.

But the writes and producers really dropped the ball on the Nancy drew segments. The first Drew episode was a perfect modern adaptation - the characters were right (especially George) and the 'gothic lite' mystery was intriguing. But after that it seemed like the writers (all make, I'd guess) just didn't know how to come up with suitable stories. Nancy was almost immediately shifted to a secondary character in her own segment, the action carried by male guest stars. It was only a few episodes before the Hardy Boys took over entirely. Nancy just made guest appearances.

It's kind of sad.

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.

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!

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

We watched this on the new cable as kids, and loved every moment. What prepubescent kid didn't. Parker Stevenson and teen-idol Shaun Cassidy in the boy-detective lead roles of Frank and younger brother Joe. Then soon introducing the Poseidon Adventures, Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. It all worked and flowed brilliantly. Parker was already a seasoned young actor, and Shaun played his own role well. Not to mention the Powers included his vocal talents later into the series. The guys played well off each other. And when coupled with Nancy on certain episodes, the three truly meshed.

Watching it today as an adult, most of the episodes flow decently enough, though some scenes or dialogue appear to drag in certain places. But that may well have been the original editing. Overall, this classic '70s series has retained its original charm, and is well worth watching and re-watching.