User reviews

This show gets points from me for nostalgia. Objectively speaking, however, some episodes are dreadful, especially any involving guys in gorilla or bear suits (Sam himself dons such a suit in one episode) or phony gypsies--although in the episode "Slay Gypsy Slay" Sam does a revelatory turn disguised as an old prospector; you suddenly realize that the actor who played Sam could act like more than one type of person. Aside from that, that episode is awful and its not the only one that is. Still, other episodes are OK or at least have more than one redeeming moment.

One thing that becomes clear, when you study the credits of each episode, is that the best ones were written by William Link and Richard Levinson, the writing team that later created the "Columbo" TV series. Every time you see their names on the screen, you know you are about to see a "Honey West" episode that will be a cut above the rest.

All that said, I am glad I bought the DVD. There are about 30 episodes in the season. Nowadays you are lucky to get 22. The old commercials included on the DVD are nostalgic as well, and sometimes hilarious. Watching the show again makes me realize I have acquired some taste since then, and it is a little disappointing to realize how flawed the show was. (It was an Aaron Spelling show, not to speak ill of the dead.) He had seen "The Avengers" before the rest of America had, he tried to come up with his own imitation of it, and he missed the mark a bit.

One thing he got right however, was choosing Anne Francis to do the honors. She is terrific as Honey West.

Meet L.A.'s #1, hardboiled, high-heeled P.I., Honey West. And (as her name suggests) she's a honey-of-a-honey as TV's first, female detective from the male-dominated 1960s.

Together with her stud-muffin partner, Sam Bolt, Honey (who's, naturally, a total martial arts expert) kicks ass and rights wrongs from one end of the City Of Angels to the next.

And when the day is done - You can always be sure to find Honey and Sam cooling their heels at a local, hip, 60's-style discotheque.

Filmed in b&w - This 4-disc set contains all 30, half-hour episodes from Honey West's first and only season (1965-1966).

If you ask me - It was all of the unintentional humour that prevailed throughout this TV show that earned its 6-star rating from me. As well, some of Honey West's "James Bond"-style gadgets were good for a chuckle, too. It was especially the walkie-talkie sunglasses that really killed me.

*Note* - Anne Francis, who played the Honey West character, died in 2011 at the age of 80.

Is anyone aware that the man who worked on Special Effects for Honey West is the same man who did the Special Effects for the Star Trek series just a year later? The man's name was Jim Rugg. He was my Pops. He also worked on such shows as The Rifleman, Burkes Law, Broken Arrow, Mission Impossible, Cannon, Barnaby Jones and Hawaii Five-O. He worked on such movies as The Wizard of Oz, River of No Return, Bus Stop, The Day the Earth Stood Still, On the Riviera and Silent Running. Pops had a pyrotechnic license and he made a living blowing everything up from cars to boats to airplanes... you name it. He was most proud of the fact that in no show that he was in charge of did anyone ever get hurt. My Dad is gone now but he was the best in the business... just ask anyone who ever worked with him.

The good die young, the loveliest things are the most ephemeral, and the best TV shows are killed after a short run: Star Trek, Due South, The Powers that Be, and Honey West -- the briefest of the lot. I had already fallen for Anne Francis, from Forbidden Planet and The Satan Bug. But Honey West topped them and any other offering on TV or in movies. Honey was ultimately cool, ultimately hot, self-assured, poised, capable; she was superlative. But above all, she was smolderingly sexy. She made me think of a steel spring encased in ice-blue velvet. I think the ocelot only accentuated the sexual appeal of the woman, which needed no accentuation. She was the ultimate, and pheromones fairly poured out through the screen. Whether as Honey West or any other of her characters, Anne Francis was the sexiest woman who ever lived on this planet.

I, too, have recently been enthralled by Honey West. I have 4 episodes (complete with glitches) that I watch over and over. This was a wonderful show. The batter is funny, too! Excellent job by all involved. But most of all there is the charming and glamorous Anne Francis. Knowing that Honor Blackman was originally in mind for the role is interesting, as I am a huge fan of the early Avengers episodes with Blackman. Anyone who loves The Avengers will love this show. It is too bad it only lasted one season, as it would have been great to have a color season as well, but what we do have are 30 fine half-hour episodes (plus the introduction of the character on an episode of "Burke's Law".) I am anxiously awaiting the release of "Honey West" on DVD here in America. It is already out in Europe, but a US release is coming in 2008. Can't wait.

It is a shame this only stayed one season. Anne Francis is sexy, classy, clever and fun. Now out on DVD for a low price. Enjoy!

Honey West/Anne Francis was certainly my favorite back then (on TV, second was Diana Rigg - in the movies, I liked Raquel Welch).

Honey had an attitude that Donna Reed & Doris Day did not have. For a kid in the 60's, she was something different & special.

My folks let me watch because they thought I liked the cat - duh... I had a crush on Anne Francis... (I was 15).

And the ocelot's full name was Bruce Bite-A-Bit.

I don't remember much else. Maybe some studio would do a re-make with a current star as Honey (sorry, Anne, but you are in your 70's now, and still very good looking, but you're just not convincing as a karate-chopping PI any more - maybe you could be the new Honey's "office manager" or something... that way, we could still enjoy your screen-presence).

Why this series was dropped after only one season is one of those mysteries of behind-the-scenes TV politics.

As well as providing reliably enjoyable entertainment, it gave us tight-knit plots, great dialogue, well-established character actors, lots of off-beat (albeit sometimes corny) humour, a sizzling onscreen chemistry between the leads and an overall innovative approach to television - in its editing and creative style, and its trailblazing female protagonist. On top of that, the lead actress, Anne Francis, scored a Golden Globe best actress award and one episode, The Gray Lady, a nomination.

So ... it was dropped after one season. Why? For heaven sake why?

Yeah, I've read some stuff about the network ratings blunder of showing it on a Friday night when most of its potential viewers would have been out for the evening and those that stayed in watched Gomer Pyle (no VCR or DVD in those days), and producer Aaron Spelling's comparative cost decision of importing The Avengers rather than going to a second season, even though ABC studios wanted to renew.

Whatever. At least we are left with a gorgeous, but sadly limited, TV feast of 30 episodes to look back on.

(IMO) - "Honey West" is clearly one of those decidedly "tongue-in-cheek" detective shows from the mid-1960s that I'd say had both its fair share of good moments, as well as its not-so-good moments, too.

Featuring plenty of martial arts action-sequences, specialized gadgetry, and oodles of unintentionally laughable dialogue (in order to attract and hold the viewer's interest) - "Honey West" is definitely one of those vintage TV programs that you are really gonna have to be willing to cut it some serious slack in order to fully appreciate it for its intended entertainment value.

All-in-all - I'd say that (from a purely nostalgic perspective) these 30 "Honey West" episodes were at least worth a view.

I just went down to my local video store and rented this series that I read about. After viewing all the episodes I can honestly say that the series exceeded my expectations. Anne Francis' role as Honey West is the perfect combination of Kate Jackson's Sabrina Duncan and Jacklyn Smith's Kelly Garret from Charlie's Angels. Fans of the Russ Meyer movie Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill should look closely for Lori Williams. She has two uncredited roles in the 1st and 7th episodes wearing bikini's on both occasions. This show was truly ahead of its time and even though the idea was stolen from the Avengers, Arron Spelling sprinkled it with his own touch on TV magic. The episodes keep your attention right until the end and the acting and fight choreography are superb. Check it out if you can.

Honey West (Anne Francis) does her best at maintaining the P. I. agency inherited from her father. She is not another wonder woman and makes mistakes. She knows martial arts but still gets tied up.

And Francis has an ocelot to compete with four the cutest actor.

The programs are quite dated and you can tell they were made for TV. However, it's fun looking at now our vintage cars and old-timy tape recorders. Filmed in black and white you don't get the fancy color picture that's on the cover.

The program is usually compared to the English show called "The Avengers. " And of course, everyone remembers and Francis in "Forbidden Planet ", loosely based on Shakespeare's the "Tempest."

We are looking at 31 episodes (1965)-(1966)

Have seen one or two episodes here in UK & felt frustrated - an excellent lead & a good idea for storylines but ruined by the half hour format. Barely any time for story development, this with an hour long format could & should have been much better. This type of show half hour doesn't really work another example being The Protectors with Robert Vaughan & Nyree Dawn Porter. An apt title for an episode would have been Honey West- Shortchanged & Sent Due South. Thankfully we seem to have moved away from the half hour format since then. The 5/10 rating I've given this show on balance 4 marks for Anne Francis 1 mark for the rest.

People see something of The Avengers in this series and the connection is stronger than some may realize. As I've read it, Aaron Spelling had been to England and saw The Avengers with Patrick MacNee and Honor Blackman. I even think I know the episode he saw: Both the 1962 Avengers episode `Death of a Great Dane' and the 1964 Burke's Law episode `Who Killed the Richest Man in the World?' are about a reclusive billionaire who is actually dead but his staff is pretending he's alive to split up the profits from his empire. He was so impressed with Blackman that he offered her a job as the star of a private eye series he would create called `Honey West'. But she opted to do `Goldfinger' instead. Spelling wasn't willing to give up on the idea and searched for the actress who most reminded him of Blackman and decided it was Anne Francis. Honey West was then introduced on the Burke's Law episode `Who Killed the Jackpot?' in 1965. The series began the following fall but lasted only one year as it was on opposite the huge hit Gomer Pyle.

I don't think I ever watched a single episode of Gomer Pyle. I fell hard for Anne Francis, who I think was much better than the rather dower Blackman in The Avengers, (which I didn't see until A & E showed the earlier version of the series in 1990). If you rate Francis with the `Avenger Girls', the only one who really ranks with her is Diana Rigg, although I liked Linda Thorson as well. I think Francis and Rigg were easily the best actresses in those parts and brought both a dramatic weight and light comic touch to the characters and the show.

Looking at Honey West now, it doesn't seem like much of a show other than what Francis brings to it. John Ericson is a `he-man' who's only job is to argue with Honey whenever she tries to do anything dangerous. Quite a difference from Steed's genuine respect for the capabilities of Cathy Gale and Emma Peel. Irene Hervey as `Aunt Meg' adds nothing whatsoever to the show. The pet ocelot was more interesting. The fact that the show was only a half hour show also hurt: it came off as a cartoon rather than a dramatic adventure.

But a half hour with Anne Francis makes it worth it.

There's no doubt that Ann Francis made this show. Her crisp delivery and sex appeal offered the show something special. Or at least special enough to save it from being corny.

The relationship between her and Sam previewed the chemistry we'd later see in "Moonlighting".

Personally I thought it deserved a longer run.

This is an all-around good TV show that does exactly what it was intended to do-it entertains the viewer! The delightfully lovely Anne Francis portrays detective 'Honey West' with charm and style without overdoing it or being annoying. Co-star John Ericson does a good job portraying fellow detective and coworker 'Sam Bolt'.

The writing/storylines of the show can be rather weak at times,in fact,some of the story-plots are downright silly to be honest.

However,the stories do keep moving-along,there is plenty of action and suspense to keep the viewer interested in what happens next.

The show episodes are only 30 minutes,so there is not a lot of obvious dead-time or wasted film on these episodes,the editing and making of the whole show is pretty tight.

All in all this is a very-good show that should have lasted longer than 1 season.

They recently did a Honey West marathon on the "Decades" .channel. It brought back memories. I was 15 years old when when the series premiered and I fell in love with Anne Francis immediately. She was so alluring yet tough and daring too. She wasn't affraid to use her sex appeal, but she was quite capable of taking out a male tough guy if the game got rough. Her co-star amd on screen partner John Ericsson was also very good. He and Honey gave the impression that they might be having a relationship, but you sensed that he was looking for a more a more exclusive one.

The show did have problems though. Anne's spectacular blonde good looks cried out for a color version rather than a black & white one. The format should have been an hour rather than 1/2 hour to build up the villains and create an atmosphere of danger. The stunt work was fair but not great. Sometimes you could see that stunt doubles were working. The fight scenes were okay, but those scenes were done better in the Diana Rigg version of the British series "The Avengers". Despite this the scripts were good at first, but but became weaker as the series continued. What saved the show was the beautiful and talented Ms. Francis I believe the show was almost renewed ,possibly with an Improved format, but mediocre ratings against tough competition, and more importantl the fact that the British "Avengers" with better scripts, could be gotten moore cheaply doomed renewal. Too bad.

Honey West only aired for season, but it was show I have always remembered and enjoyed Most of since I now have the entire first season on DVD! It was like Batman meets Mission Impossible. Lots of cook toys for spying on the those out to cause harm or dangers to clients of the West Detective Agency! The pairing if Anne Francis and John Ericson was a perfect match as their skills complimented each other. Irene Harvey as Honey' aunt was perfect with her whit somewhat like that of Maggie Smith Violet of Downton Abbey!

This series would have been better if John Erikson didn't shout his way thru each episode.

I mean that in a complimentary manner. Before there was Pamela, or Farrah, or Sigourney, there was...Anne Francis as Honey West. The producers of "Honey" knew exactly what their strong hand was in this series, and that is the sex appeal of Anne Francis as the smart, resourceful, but above all else, sexy Honey West. But, while she could play the soft and feminine sex object in one scene, in the next Honey could show she was no cupcake when it came to battling it out with the baddies on the street.

For those of us who remember the sexually liberated sixties, Honey West was the epitome of raw sexuality dressed up in evening clothes. Yet, at the same time, she had the same quality of femininity when wearing a skin tight jumpsuit ala Emma Peel of The Avengers. Anne Francis is one of those rare females who looks as if she could glide off the runway of a fashion show and slip into the working garb of a private investigator without a hair out of place or smudge of makeup.

The storylines of this series were by no means bad. They featured the usual blend of mystery and intrigue, spiced with some (for the time) techno-gadgetry (courtesy of Honey's partner, Sam, who spent many hours in his "Bolt's TV Repair" panel truck eavesdropping on the bad guys, and would pop out in the nick of time to assist or occasionally save Honey from peril), and a good amount of action. Honey could hold her own against the bad guys when it came to kickboxing or gun battles, and always did so with style and flair and her usual touch of femininity. But, make no mistake, the storylines are merely vehicles for the display, to the pleasure of male viewers, of the sex appeal of Miss Anne Francis.

While Miss Francis is the show's feature player, a nod goes to John Ericson as Honey's able assistant, Sam Bolt. Fans will recognize the ruggedly handsome character actor from his lead role in the 1960 movie Pretty Boy Floyd. Here, he goes over to the right side of the law, and provides the rough-edged male counterpart to Honey's cool and soft femininity. While there was sexual tension between Sam and Honey, I always thought that Sam also felt a protectiveness towards Honey since he was her father's partner in the business and retained that loyalty. Still, the episodes never showed Sam putting any serious (in today's context) moves on Honey, something that intrigued and puzzled by fevered adolescent brain to no end.

All in all, Honey West was a fun hour of escapism and distraction, and will be fondly remembered, thanks to the smoldering sexuality of Miss Francis, by legions of men like myself who came of age in the midst of the sexually liberated sixties.

The "Honey West" 4 single-sided disc DVD release contains all 30 (half-hour) B & W episodes, which ran on ABC during the 1965-66 television season. Also included are some vintage commercials and several promos for other ABC shows. The set is nicely made from high quality recordings of the original episodes.

If you are unfamiliar with the show it is like a blend of Honor Blackman's "Avengers" episodes and Gene Barry's "Burke's Law" stuff. In fact, the title character and her associate Sam Bolt (John Ericson) had been first introduced to television audiences in the "Who Killed the Jackpot" episode of "Burke's Law".

It did not approach the imaginative whimsy of Diana Rigg's "Avenger" episodes. It was played pretty straight, putting it a bit behind the times as shows like "The Wild Wild West" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." were following "The Avengers" down the self-parody road. This odd disconnect was one reason the series never made it past its first season.

Another problem (obvious at the time even to a pre-teen like myself) was the casting of a high mileage actress like Anne Francis in the title role. Francis had been tantalizing eye candy back in the 1950's (see "Forbidden Planet" and "Susan Slept Here"). Unfortunately by 1965 she looked like my Cub Scout den mother, but with too much make-up and a much more tacky wardrobe. Poor Anne had gotten a little chunky by this time and you felt sorry for her trying to go after the same demographic as the svelte and much younger looking Diana Rigg. And they wonder why these things get weak ratings.

The half-hour format also hurt the series as there was not sufficient time for either character development or interesting misdirection. The production design was pretty basic and generally low budget. They did manage a few gimmicks like a pet ocelot (named Bruce), high tech gadgets, and a nicely understated attraction between Honey and Sam.

Honey is more Cathy Gale than Mrs. Peel, using her feminine wiles and a few judo moves. Francis and her stunt coordinator were not up to Mrs. Peel's fighting skills so Honey mostly resorts to a gun. The action sequences are generally pretty lame, so you can imagine that after a few tries at staging fights the producers decided that it would be a good idea to give Honey marksmanship ability.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I recently got my hands on a few episodes of this show and I still don't understand why it only lasted one season, just as I wondered in 1965...! Not only good looking people, but interesting story lines, good guest stars, great clothes & cars, hip apartments, delicious banter and a very unique camera/editing style! Who's cuter than Anne Francis?? and wow, John Ericson is gorgeous! I also enjoy the comic relief of Jack Jones' mother, Irene Hervey as Aunt Meg. I plan to find more episodes of this show, maybe ALL of them! I recommend this show to anyone who enjoys private eye fare, good looking blonds, 60s hunks and good 60s TV!

I am a bit perplexed by a lot of the negative comments I have read about this show on this website. Granted, I have only seen three episodes as an adult, but still . . .

I first saw this program during the sixties when I was only 9 or 10 years old. There was enough action (the fist-fights and most of the Judo moves still look great now) and gadgets (only in more recent years do you see readily commercially available some of the things they purported to have then) to make it entertaining to kids at that age and both my younger sister and I enjoyed watching it. In the past few years, however, when I became interested in revisiting the shows I had watched growing up when they became available for the first time on video, I made no particular effort to see it when I learned that it was canceled after only a single year on the air. I naturally assumed that must have not been very good, something only a ten-year-old looking for action and gadgets would think was worthwhile. Maybe I would find it would turn out to be as bad as *Lost In Space* (which ran for three seasons) did, for example.

Just recently I had a chance to see the three episodes alluded to previously ("The Owl and the Eye", "A Neat Little Package", and "The Abominable Snowman") and based on that I'm just plain amazed this show was canceled so soon. The writing overall was excellent, the score very reminiscent of a lot of what you heard on *I Spy* or even *Peter Gunn*, and the rest of the production values were every bit as good as anything else that you would see on TV in the mid-sixties. It was much more plausible in every respect than the comparatively cheesy *It takes a Thief* with Robert Wagner, which lasted three seasons, and the terrific dialog and character development and relationships light-years better than the famed *Hawaii Five-O*, which ran for a total of 11 in prime time. I can't disagree enough with the reviewer who said that the only reason to see this show was to appreciate the blonde bombshell appeal of Anne Francis. He really ought to go back and look at it again as an adult over 40 or 50.

From that perspective, too, the relationship between Sam & Honey is readily understandable. Sam is a classic protective male who out of uneasiness or even acute anxiety finds him constantly yelling at Honey that she needs to do or not do something on a case because, at a minimum, it makes him worry about her, but she totally fails to appreciate this. Instead, after promising to heed his concerns, without a second thought she then promptly goes off does exactly the opposite of what he advised, just as she always intended, leaving Sam looking rather hapless and helpless. The results are mixed but often include Sam having to physically come to the rescue in the end. The writers caught this kind of real-life battle-of-the-sexes dynamic perfectly and if you don't appreciate it when you see it it probable that you have never experienced it yourself. While it is much more prosaic than the intriguingly ambiguous relationship between Mrs. Peel and Mr. Steed of *Avengers* notability, it is also that much more likely and realistic.

Add to this some cleverly conceived supporting characters (not the least Bruce the Ocelot, played by Himself) and the most perfect choice of a car for Honey, a 1965 AC Cobra (that car could be worth as much as 1.5 million dollars today, depending on which version it was) and you have about as stylish and entertaining a detective show as was ever on American TV.

If this program had any weaknesses that I could see, it was in the acting or direction. I felt that the lead actors performed outstandingly well in some scenes yet appeared to lack the range to do as well with some of the other scenes that had been written for them. While actors in this situation tend to get blamed for this kind of thing, it could easily have been the fault of directors who asked them for the wrong kind of performances in the wrong scenes.

Anyway, the user rating of 7.8 that is on here at the time I'm posting this is well-deserved, and I think it is most definitely a must-see for anyone who likes vintage crime/private-eye TV. Moreover, I am delighted to be able to add that it has been released on DVD!

The same building housed "H. West & Company, Private Investigators" and "Charles Townsend Associates, Private Investigations." Whenever I see the camera shots of the exterior of that building I always wonder, did Hank West (Honey's father) and Charlie know each other? Did Honey West and Charlie's Angels ever run into each other from 1976 on? Surely Honey's macho partner Sam Bolt must have been aware of the Angels, hehe, but then again, he was secretly stuck on Honey.

Over a decade earlier it was September of 1965 and I was eight years old when Honey West sizzled the airwaves. Producer Aaron Spelling had been inspired to bring the pulp fiction heroine to television after viewing Honor Blackman play Dr. Catherine Gale, the blond anthropologist partner of secret agent John Steed in the original episodes of the British television series "The Avengers." All I remember about "Honey West" from that time is seeing her face in the honeycomb cells during the title sequence. Then it was off to another channel to watch good ol' Gomer Pyle.

Most people don't know that the enormously popular "Make Room For Daddy/Danny Thomas Show" spun off the enormously popular "Andy Griffith Show", which in turn spun off the enormously popular "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.". With Honey West in the same Friday night time slot as Gomer Pyle, how could she buck a tradition like that? On Friday nights the people who would be more devoted to watching "Honey West" would probably be out on the town anyway. What's more, Anne Francis said in an interview that the second season was going to be in color but there was a dispute between ABC and Four Star Productions, so ABC decided they could just air "The Avengers" cheaper than they could make "Honey West." They also thought they didn't need two catsuit-clad, karate-chopping women on the air at the same time. I disagree. Cathy Gale's successor Emma Peel was British -- played by Diana Rigg, she was the first Avenger woman to be seen in the States -- and Honey West was American. I would have watched both because I loved "The Avengers," and now I know I would have loved "Honey West" too.

When the TV Land channel aired a "Honey West" marathon during the late 1990's ("brought to you in VertiVision, the vertical stacking modern marathon miracle where you know what show is coming up next by the show you're watching now!"), a friend of mine videotaped several of the episodes for me. Yowsa! I soon realized that Honey West knew the secret of being a great entertainer: she left me wanting more! And not just because of her sex appeal; she was strong, she was smart, and the stories brought back that wonderful world of thirty-minute dramas and mysteries which we just don't see anymore. I also dug that crazy jazz score, which I can listen to over and over again without getting tired of it. With a little bit of suspension of disbelief, "Honey West" is credible to me; and contrary to the sleazy pulp fiction novels on which it was based, the TV series can be safely watched by the whole family. I'm so glad those DVDs are finally available!