I am – Hercules!!

So there was this great Don Siegel movie titled “Dirty Harry,” which was released in December 1971 and was basically about a pissed-off San Francisco police detective who catches the Zodiac serial killer. It was a huge hit for Clint Eastwood, spawning many sequels. The real Zodiac killer, of course, was never captured, and bodies kept piling up in Central California well into the 1970s. ABC used to love to rip off hit movies. “Happy Days.” “Battlestar Galactica.” “Tales of The Gold Monkey.” You get the idea. Less than nine months after the release of “Dirty Harry,” ABC premiered “The Streets of San Francisco,” about a pair of Bay Area homicide detectives. The first half of its first season hits DVD today. This being 1972 television, the two detectives – played by Kirk Douglas spawn (and future movie star) Michael Douglas and longtime Marlon Brando associate Karl Malden (“A Streetcar Named Desire,” “On The Waterfront,” “One Eyed Jacks”) - were rather less angry and menacing than Harry Callahan. Douglas, assigned to sport the Callahan-esque coif and sideburns, was still a regular on “Streets” in early 1976 when he won the Best Picture Oscar for producing “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.” He left the series a few months later, and was replaced in the show’s final season by Richard Hatch, who went on to play Apollo and Tom Zarek on different incarnations of “Battlestar Galactica.” The TV-movie that served as the show’s pilot (based on the Carolyn Weston novel “Poor, Poor Ophelia”) as well as the first season’s 13 episodes are components of the new set. Extras include a 4-minute interview of the show’s stars by Variety columnist Army Archerd and a 9-minute pilot presentation. “Streets,” was just one of a great many Quinn Martin-produced TV projects, which included “The Fugitive,” “The Invaders,” “Dan August” (starring a pre-“Deliverance” Burt Reynolds), “Banyon” (starring a post-“Medium Cool” Robert Forster), “Cannon,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The FBI” “Caribe,” “Most Wanted,” “The Manhunter” and of course “Quinn Martin’s Tales of the Unexpected.”

Martin made his mark as a TV producer by overseeing 1959’s “The Scarface Mob” two-parter for the anthology series “Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse.” “Scarface” starred Neville Brand as Al Capone, Bruce Gordon as Capone henchman Frank Nitti and Robert Stack as hard-charging federal agent Eliot Ness. Those two episodes evolved into the Martin-produced ABC Desilu spinoff series “The Untouchables,” which featured Gordon’s Nitti as a recurring character throughout the show’s four-season run. The cinema version of the pilot and the first 14 episodes of the first season are featured on the new "Untouchables" set released today.

Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry

50% Off Sony!! Sony has slashed prices on loads of sets, with nothing selling at the moment for more than $22. (I seem to remember these Sony sales usually only maintain their initial prices for a few days.) Some of what’s available for the moment: $19.49 Action: The Complete Series $9.99 American Chopper: The Complete First Season $9.99 American Chopper: The Complete Second Season $9.99 American Chopper: The Complete Third Season $21.99 Barney Miller: The Complete First Season $9.99 Broken Trail: The Complete Miniseries $21.99 The Jeffersons: The Complete First Season $21.99 The Jeffersons: The Complete Second Season $21.99 The Jeffersons: The Complete Third Season $21.99 The Jeffersons: The Complete Fourth Season $13.49 The Jeff Foxworthy Show: The Complete First Season $9.99 Monster Garage: The Complete First Season $9.99 Monster Garage: The Complete Second Season $9.99 Monster Garage: The Complete Third Season $12.49 My Big Fat Greek Life: The Complete Series $19.99 Significant Others: The Complete Series $9.99 Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital: Vol. One $9.99 Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital: Vol. Two $9.99 Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital: Vol. Three $12.49 Spider-Man: The Complete 2003 Series

60% Off Newsradio!! In celebration, presumably, of the release of the final season of “Newsradio” last month, all previous extra-crammed sets of the series are available for less than $16 each! $15.99 Newsradio Season One and Two $15.99 Newsradio Season Three $15.99 Newsradio Season Four

TV-on-DVD Calendar
Last Week Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series Defenders of the Earth Vol. 2 Entourage 3.1-3.12 Galapagos: The Complete Series Happy Tree Friends Vol. 2 Law & Order 5.x The Lost Room: The Complete Miniseries Mind of Mencia 2.x The Pink Panther Vol. 5: The Ant and the Aardvark Roseanne 7.x She-Ra 1.x Vol. 2 Tom Goes To The Mayor: The Complete Series Twin Peaks 2.x
This Week

Avatar: The Last Airbender 2.x Vol. 2

The Batman 3.x

Murder In Suburbia 2.x

Proof: Prescription For Murder

Scooby-Doo Where Are You 3.x

The Streets of San Francisco 1.x Vol. 1

Teen Titans 3.x

The Untouchables 1.x Vol. 1
Next Week America's Funniest Home Videos: Motherhood Madness <--- NEW!! Foxworthy's Big Night Out: The Complete Series The George Lopez Show 1.x/2.x The Ghost Busters: The Complete Series Happy Days 2.x Highlander: Best Of Larry King Live: Greatest Interviews

The Larry Sanders Show: Not Just the Best Of Laverne & Shirley 2.x Masters of Horror: Family <--- NEW!! Mork & Mindy 2.x Murder She Wrote 6.x

MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge 2.x

Shadow Warriors Starring Sonny Chiba 1.x SpongeBob SquarePants: Friend Or Foe?

The Venture Bros. 2.x
; April 24 Columbo 1989 Daniel Boone 3.x Dogfights 1.x Dr. Danger With Dr. Bob Arnot 1.x <--- NEW!! The Drew Carey Show 1.x Ed, Edd & Eddy 2.x Flipper 1.x Ironside 1.x Ironside 1.x Vol. 1

Kidnapped: The Complete Series Moral Orel: Vol. 1 NCIS 3.x NCIS 1.x-3.x The Odd Couple 1.x One Day At A Time 1.x Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series (BLU-RAY) <--- NEW!! Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series (HD-DVD) Rob & Big 1.x Shameless 1.x Tsunami: The Aftermath Wall Street Warriors 1.x <--- NEW!! WKRP in Cincinnati 1.x
May 1 Beverly Hills 90210 2.x Dinosaurs 3.x/4.x The Girls Next Door 2.x Inside The Actors Studio: Johnny Depp The King of Queens 8.x Melrose Place 2.x Michael Palin: Around The World In 80 Days Ozzie & Harriet: Best Of Three's Company: Janet's Favorites What I Like About You 1.x Will & Grace 6.x
May 8 Battlstar Galactica 2.x Value Pack Cagney & Lacey: The First Gless Season Clatterford 1.x Everybody Loves Raymond 8.x The 4400 3.x House 1.x/2.x Value Pack Jason of Star Command: The Complete Series Las Vegas 1.x/2.x Value Pack McLeod's Daughters 2.x Mission Magic: The Complete Series That '70s Show 6.x Voltron Vol. 3 The Waltons 5.x The Waltons 1.x-5.x
May 15 American Dad Vol. 2

Banacek 1.x Coach 2.x Curious George: Rocket Ride <--- NEW!! ER 7.x Frasier 9.x Home Improvement 6.x Martin 2.x M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen Masters of Horror: Right To Die <--- NEW!! Monarch of the Glen 6.x Monarch of the Glen 5.x/6.x A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Vol. 6 The Rockford Files 4.x Tex Avery's Droopy: Complete Theatrical Collection Tom & Jerry Tales Vol. 2 Wanted: Dead or Alive 2.x <--- NEW!! The War at Home 1.x Wings 4.x
May 22 Airwolf 3.x Avatar: The Last Airbender 2.x Vol. 3 Hero High: The Complete Series Instant Star 1.x Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series Kyle XY 1.x Legend of the Dragon Vol. 4 <--- NEW!! The Magnificent Seven 2.x Mythbusters Vol. 1 <--- NEW!!

The OC 4.x Roots: 30th Anniversary Edition Scrubs 5.x Follow hercaicn