MovieFreak.com - S.W.A.T. Season One DVD Review

The Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics team are highly trained and heavily armed police officers who's purpose is to make coordinated assaults on armed and dangerous criminals in sensitive situations and defensible locations.

Executive produced by Aaron Spelling (Charlie’s Angels, Beverly Hills 90210) and Leonard Goldberg, S.W.A.T. premiered in 1975. For its time the violence seemed harsh, maybe hardcore, but by today’s standards it’s as tame as can be. This show takes the viewer inside the elite force of the LAPD, which means following the team on tough and dangerous missions to thwart criminal activity and apprehend the perpetrators. The concept of such a cop show is great and today we can see a reality-based spin-off, if you will, on COPS.

In terms of the weekly storylines, S.W.A.T. is a little too one-sided in its portrayal of criminal activity. The creativity in the writing is just not there. Dialogue is not always cliché or fishy as there are some good interactions between the major characters. The bad guys consist mainly of terrorists, hostage takers or lone crazies, which drags down the possible ingenuity of the stories portrayed in this first season. This type of formula becomes a little boring after watching a few episodes. Sure, each episode adds a new spin to the formula, but variety is more important. Predictability exists, too, but is not a major concern. Now I’m not saying the show is bad, it’s not. In fact, it’s pretty decent, for it’s time and place. Today, S.W.A.T. seems kind of laughable, but it’s not fair to judge it on those terms. I don’t want to impose, but the team’s mobile command looks just like a UPS truck. Now that’s funny, well, kind of. Nevermind, read on.

The five major characters are straightforward, which is kind of refreshing, however, at the core they’re also a little stereotypical. Each of them have different feelings and ways to handle a situation (non-combat wise). First up is Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (Steve Forrest), the wisest of the team. Yes, he’s older and more experienced, which qualifies him for the top position alright. Then there’s Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay (Rod Perry), the second-in-command. Officer Jim Street (Robert Urich) is the young recruit with an emotional trauma background, yet he’s also very dedicated to the job. Officer Dominic Luca (Mark Shera) is more like the sidekick of the team, but fits well into the mix. Lastly, there’s Officer T.J. McCabe (James Coleman), the excellent marksman who also sports a stark chin (sorry, I couldn’t refuse). Lt. Dan (hehe) and Street are the more enthusiastic characters with the late Robert Urich (RIP) displaying the most charisma. It’s nice to see that S.W.A.T. doesn’t only focus on the job of these characters, but their personal lives as well.

The pilot episode, The Killing Ground, sets up the show rather profoundly. It introduces us to Jim Street who watches his partner get killed by three attackers out for revenge. The rest of the pilot deals with the search for the attackers to bring them to justice. Each episode features scenes with the criminals where they reveal their thoughts and plans, a trademark of the show’s writing that is rarely interesting. Coven of Killers, aside from its silly title, follows a crazed prison escapee and his family-like group as they exact revenge on the city’s D.A. and murder police officers. The climax is fun to watch, but you can probably guess how it turns out. Below is a list of all 13 episodes of the first season.

Disc 1: The Killing Ground, Coven of Killers, Death Carrier, Pressure Cooker, Hit Men

Disc 2: Jungle War, Death Score, Time Bomb, The Bravo Enigma, The Steel-Plated Security Blanket

S.W.A.T. is a decent show with discrepancies that can be distracting or forgettable. Considering its age, the show is somewhat enjoyable with straightforward characters. The weekly formula for crime and criminals makes the show a bit forgettable, especially in today’s time.

Columbia Tristar presents S.W.A.T. in 1.33:1 full screen format. Considering the show premiered some 23 years ago, the print looks cleaner than I thought it would. The DVD labels the video is digitally remastered, however, the print still shows a lot of grain and occasional scratches. The color palette is decent, but some colors seem a little washed out. Dark tones and black level look decent, too. I guess the only real good thing to say is that S.W.A.T. looks as decent as it can be. It certainly is a nice transfer to the DVD medium with a slightly better and improved image quality over the original TV source.

Columbia Tristar presents S.W.A.T. in Dolby Digital Stereo. Aside from the famous theme score by Barry De Vorzon, this transfer sounds the same as on TV. While I’m sure the audio is digitally remastered, nothing seems to suggest it’s a big deal. The front speakers are the only ones working, as they should be, since the sound is ultimately designed for a TV show and not a motion picture. S.W.A.T. sounds strong coming from the middle and the use of sound effects is somewhat soft. Dialog scenes are easy to understand. For a TV show this age, the audio presentation is as decent as it’s going to get, that’s a good thing.

The only thing you get here is a set of trailers. The menu offers an episode selection menu, but no chapter selections. As with the Dawson’s Creek release, Columbia does not divide an episode into chapters. For TV DVD sets, this is a major no-no and takes away the privilege other DVDs get to exercise, specifically scene navigation/selection, a necessary and powerful tool. I guess we all just have to do without them for now. Hopefully Columbia will take a hint.

You can select to view the episodes with optional English subtitles. The DVD’s menus are not animated. The 45-minute episodes are organized into two chapters. The total running time of the 13 episodes is 564 minutes.

Fans of the show might want to check out this 3-disc box set. Fans of the genre might, too, but anyone else watching today’s top crime shows, such as CSI (my review here), probably doesn’t need to bother. The video and audio presentations are decent at best, while special features are nonexistent. This first season of S.W.A.T. is a nice start to the cop show trend that followed it.

THE SEASON	5
THE VIDEO	5
THE AUDIO	5
THE EXTRAS	0
OVERALL (not an average)	5