Stingray

Finally it is here

I have been waiting for this series to come to DVD for years, checking in every now and then. If you were a fan of the show, it is worth every penny. While I am not a car junkie by nature, this show made my favorite car the 1965 Corvette Stingray... in black of course. June 23, 2008

Revival of all-too-quickly-cancelled series

Would add my favorable review to the others here. The audio/visual quality is good. The liner notes are okay although a little more detail would have been nice. The plastic case is adequate.

The show itself? The interesting thing is that it's an anthology: Ray is the only main character, so you've got an almost anonymous character who can easily be slotted into any number of stories. During the course of the series they did Amerindian supernatural ("The Ninewah"), a technology breakdown ("Playback"), a viral outbreak ("Less Than the Eye Can See"), serial killers, street gangs ("Blood Money"), Bond-style villains (an unnamed villain in "Abnormal Psych" who sadly didn't return), psychodramas, political intrigue ("Sometimes You Got To Sing the Blues"), and comedies. The comedies are among the best: check out "Caper" (a near-perfect parody of "Mission: Impossible"), "Autumn" (a parody of "Murder She Wrote"), and "Cry Wolf" with a hilariously over-the-top Jeff Conaway as an actor who ropes Ray into a showdown with the Mafia and the Yakuza.

As suits an anthology, Nick Mancuso plays many different roles within the role, able to take on the persona of a surgeon or a revival preacher at the drop of a hat. While good with a gun and martial arts, he's just as capable of getting through to a brainwashed killer just by being persuasive ("Abnormal Psych"). He also displays a photographic memory and the ability to temporarily stop his heart.

The musical scores are good, and each show ends with shots of the production crew taken during the episode.

Overall, highly recommended. Comes across as a bit dated with the 80s clothing styles and computer tech, but as noted elsewhere, it's really a pretty timeless kind of show. Wonder when someone will do a remake in these years of remake-heavy TV revival shows? May 12, 2008

Better than I remember!

It sounds like an exaggeration but it's true...I've been waiting nearly 20 years to see this series again!

I caught a few episodes on TV as a kid in the 80s and was amazed by it...so different to what else was on TV at the time - yeah, it was an action/adventure/detective kind of series but it was actually intelligent and thoughtful. Unfortunately, because of the TV timeslot, I missed most of the episodes and was desperate to see the repeats - but they never came.

The series just seemed to vanish as mysteriously as it first appeared...very appropriate for Stingray as you'll know if you watch it.

Now, expecting to be let down (as you usually are when re-experiencing childhood memories), I'm finally watching these episodes again and I'm amazed at how good they are.

And, looking back, I see that the unique idea of a hero who deals only in trading favours is one that has influenced me quite a bit over the years as I've grown up.

Nick Mancuso's interpretation of action hero "Ray" is full of warmth and humanity, and is surprisingly believable. Reminds me a bit of the depth that Harrison Ford gave to the character of Indiana Jones as compared to the wooden, cardboard-cutout "heroes" that came before Raiders of The Lost Ark.

Stingray is not your ordinary throwaway TV series by any means. Look past all the 80's styles/clothing/music and there's a timeless archetypal quality to it all.

If you like Knight Rider, A-Team, Airwolf etc. then here's a series that has all the appeal of those without requiring you to leave your brain at the door. May 5, 2008

Stingray - all the memorable episodes back again.

Could hardly believe it when we saw that we could acquire the entire series. The old VHS copies of a few of the shows were just about worn out and could no longer be copied with any detail. April 28, 2008

FINALLY!

I don't write reviews very often and others have already given helpful comments, so I will try to distill what it is that made this show my favorite of all time. Ever.

To me, this series combines great acting, good music, interesting story plots, a 1965 Corvette, martial arts action, and just the right touch of poignancy as our mysterious hero, Ray, helps others without payment except for his client's promise to grant a favor in return. Often experiencing romantic feelings in the process, Ray ends up having to leave each adventure behind as he moves on to help someone else, driven by whatever pushes him on in his private quest to be the modern day Robin Hood. That quality keeps his character from being arrogant or overly macho. We marvel at what he can accomplish, but feel his self-imposed loneliness. This makes him just sympathetic enough that while we celebrate his victories, we also admire him in the process.

This show was filmed in 1986, only 15 years after the close of the Vietnam war. The creators of the show did a good job of tapping into the tragic past of that war and Ray's mysterious connection to it. As a result of whatever the character experienced in 'Nam, it continues to drive him onward to rescue and help people out of jams. The result is always a generous helping of action and suspense.

I remember getting hooked on this show when it came out. By then, a few episodes had run, but I figured it would last forever, so I taped some episodes and then taped over them with something else. To my horror, I realized when the show stopped that I had nothing to re-watch. For an all too short time, our local TV station ran rebroadcasts in the wee hours of the morning in 1991 after late night updates on the Gulf War. I would set my VCR to try to catch some of those; I ended up with a few complete episodes and a few half-episodes, hanging on to them like a starving man, wating and waiting for someone to finally release the series.

Now, after 22 years, it has finally happened. The complete set is here and life is good.

If you know this show, you, like me, probably already have your copy. If you don't know this show - this would be one worth buying. It will not disappoint. Bear in mind that when the show was made, we were just getting into computers, so their use will appear a little dated. Otherwise, the show is timeless and even better than I remember it. April 27, 2008

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