"Hey, keep the faith, baby. And don't spread it thin." - Clarence Williams III as Linc Hayes
The Mod Squad: Season 1, Volume 1 DVD Review
By Jude Clement
Captain Adam Greer (Tige Andrews) wants to reach out to the youth in his Southern California city, but in 1968-a time of hippies and yippies, sit-ins and be-ins, flower power and black power-the kids just don't trust the fuzz. So Greer comes up with a plan-recruit a group of juvenile delinquents who can easily blend in with the psychedelic crowd. Enter Pete Cochran (Michael Cole), Julie Barnes (Peggy Lipton, Twin Peaks), and Linc Hayes (Clarence Williams III). Pete is movie star-handsome and grew up in a mansion with "fourteen rooms, five beds" but was disowned by his family for his radical beliefs. Julie is a mournful blonde who escaped from life with her prostitute mother. Linc grew up in Watts and learned to be patient while lining up for his large family's lone bathroom. Together, they are The Mod Squad in The Mod Squad: Season 1, Volume 1.
Pete, Julie, and Linc aren't exactly thrilled by their new jobs. Sure, their criminal records will be wiped clean, but they are reluctant to rat on their contemporaries. Instead, they operate on both sides of the law, withholding information from Greer when deemed necessary and trying to steer youths to be lawful.
In the first season , the trio investigate the murder of a cop that involves a politician's daughter ("The Teeth of the Barracuda"), a murder that may have been committed by Linc's best friend ("When Smitty Comes Marching Home"), a computer dating service that uses the information gathered from clients to blackmail their families ("You Can't Tell the Players without the Programmers"), a folksinger who is on the run from the mob and is infected with meningitis ("Find Tara Chapman!"), Pete's cousin who robs Beverly Hills mansions and kidnaps her baby brother for attention ("Love"), a killer who targets young blonde actresses ("Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Starlet"), and an underground newspaper, the editor of which goes to great lengths to increase circulation ("The Guru"). In each instance, they go undercover to suss out the perpetrators. Rarely do they identify themselves as cops, and rarely do they play by the rules.
The Mod Squad is very much of its time. Each episode is a mixture of love beads, miniskirts, and distrust of "the man." Still, this time capsule quality is what makes the show fun to watch.
The series is also well produced. It features stylish camera angles, groovy music, great location work, excellent use of the Paramount back lot, and convincing stunts.
Hip viewers are sure to spot a few groovy guest stars in Season 1, Volume 1, including J. Pat O'Malley (Maude), Henry Jones (Phyllis), Paul Sorenson (Dallas), Louis Gossett, Jr. (Roots), Mark Goddard (Lost in Space), Robert Lansing (The Equalizer), Yvonne Craig (Batman), Della Reese (Touched by an Angel), Sid Melton (Green Acres), James Best (The Dukes of Hazzard), James Gregory (Barney Miller), Dub Taylor, Isabel Sanford (The Jeffersons), Nina Foch (Tales of the City), Joan Van Ark (Knots Landing), Dabney Coleman (Buffalo Bill), and Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch).
The thirteen episodes that make up The Mod Squad: Season 1, Volume 1 are divided onto four discs. All four discs are housed in what, from the outside, appears to be a standard DVD keepcase. An interior swinging arms holds two discs while the remaining two discs are affixed to the interior front and rear covers. Each DVD is individually accessible, meaning that you won't have to fumble around and remove one disc to get to another. There is one flaw in the design-the keepcase is clear, allowing the double-sided coversheet show through to the inside of the case. The interior features episode titles, original airdates, and brief plot synopses. Because discs one and four attach to the interior covers, the discs must be removed in order to read the episode guide.
The static menus feature a group shot of the series' stars. Viewers can choose to play all episodes on each disc consecutively or individually. There are no scene selection menus, but chapter stops are included.
