The Silver Screen Oasis

It looks as if this classic TV series will be out on DVD soon.

What are your memories of this? I was too young to see it in first run, but I knew of it as a series that pressed the limit of good taste on TV from all sorts of jokes on other shows.

Finally, in the mid-80s, I was able to watch "The Untouchables" on rerun, ironically on a "Christian TV station" run by Rex Humbard in Akron, Ohio. This was pretty funny. All I can think of it that the station approved of the show because of the (implied) anti-booze aspect of the show. Still, I was shocked by the violence in the episodes, such as the "Purple Gang" episode when a guy had a fork stuck into his hand to make him talk.

All in all, I really liked what I saw, and I look forward to the DVDs.

Excellent, hardboiled, fast paced show (at least the first couple of seasons). Notable too for its extreme use of violence, particularly unusual for its time. Of all the cop-related shows on TV from this period, UNTOUCHABLES was one of the few that could get away with being called noir (Johnny Staccato, Peter Gunn, M-Squad would also be qualifers). A worthy choice for DVD release.

Dewey is right. Excellent show.

Robert Stack and Paul Picerni made good G-men - tough and hard as nails. I remember Bruce Gordon and Nehemiah Persoff, but they were the gangsters, and not very much to be idealized. Good show to catch on re-runs when there is nothing else on TV.

Anne

When people ask what was so great about Desilu in the post I Love Lucy years, I tell them The Untouchables and Star Trek.

They (Desi and Lucy) took a flyer on The Untouchables when no one else would and a few years later, Lucy would do the same with Star Trek.

Lzcutter wrote:When people ask what was so great about Desilu in the post I Love Lucy years, I tell them The Untouchables and Star Trek.

They (Desi and Lucy) took a flyer on The Untouchables when no one else would and a few years later, Lucy would do the same with Star Trek.

That's true, Lynn - Desilu gave us some very good shows. Desi in his memoirs says, I think, that one of the reasons he was willing to go with The Untouchables was that Quinn Martin (remember the announcer intoning A Quinn Martin Production!) was married to one of their former I Love Lucy writers, Madeline Martin (a/k/a Madeline Pugh and one other name, if I recall rightly).

Here's a little something special for all you UNTOUCHABLES fans!

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John -- I think you'll find it well worth the cost; these episodes hold up incredibly well!!
-Dewey

Childhood memories relived with the DVD release of "The Untouchables". It was a great series until it ran out of steam towards the end of its run. I had the privilege of conducting what turned out to be Robert Stack's last interview and told him that "The Untouchables" was THE program that my dad and I watched together every Friday night. Mr. Stack laughed and said that it was amazing how many people had told him the same thing. I guess it was the ultimate father-son bonding show.

The Untouchables, like The Rifleman, was one of those shows you watched every week to see the shooting, or like me, because you had a crush on the star. Now, however, as an adult, you can look back and watch it with a more discernible eye, and enjoy it for its' actual value as sharp technical skills in all ways from acting to lighting. Supporting actors may have been a little stiff, but the main stars and guest stars always gave 100% to make it an exciting hour of TV every week, and something to look forward to.

Anne